Need a pen?

The 1010 -- named after the "magic moment when the hands are in perfect balance" -- is a limited edition pen inspired by the wathmaker's art produced by Caran d'Ache.

(The links are to a very loud and flash heavy site.)

Another great find by Gary.

Bringing Glamor Back, The new Home Design Trend of 2008

Several famous home designer said that Design trends are fascinating things to observe. They can be predictable or surprising, so the recent interest in natural materials has spawned the renewed fascination for glamorous and refined designs" in the look he calls "Luxe Redux."Here are highlights from Remignanti's 2008 Design Trends report:

• The Return of Glamour: A renewed appreciation for post-Deco glamour brings refined silhouettes and finishes to the fore. The look of "Luxe Redux" features gently swept lines, strong geometric forms, and finishes that emphasize exotic veneers.
• Scaling Down: Exaggeratedly oversized furniture is on the way out.
• Scaling Up: Not everything is going small scale. "A very hot trend is large scale patterns used in fabrics and floor and wall coverings.
• Black and White: Stylish interiors are using black and white as the main color scheme. "Using black, even as the dominant color in a room, can yield classic and refreshingly chic results.
• Accent Colors: A "spice-inflected" palette will be the hottest look in accent colors for the coming year. He lists carnelian, flax, russet and acid green as the hottest hues, and predicts that 2008 will be the year that blue makes a strong return.
• Vintage in the Mix: A still-strong trend of "a la carte," mix-and-match interiors has people combining old and new pieces in interesting ways.

Remignanti counsels against the idea of "rules" for good design, but offers one piece of timeless advice. "Remember that however well put together a room may be, it's meant to be used. If a room isn't comfortable and inviting for those inside it, it's a design failure, no matter how stylish it may be."
adopted from: www.silive.com

Elegant Chinese Dinning Room

The most important to design an elegant room is the size of the room and it's decorations. We can start by designing a large room and completed with on big round table with all chairs around it, place the hanging lamp above the dinning table. To make the room more elegant, complete the floor with contrast color between the floor and other furniture.
Other thing to make the room looks like larger than the real is create large door and window to connect with other room, so we can look around to another room.
this design are adopted from www.yunxingfurniture.com.

Chinese Hand Calligraphy Scrolls

I found this calligraphy at chinatraditional.com, there are several ideas I can give to you, with this calligraphy, you can decorate your home, and also you can make this calligraphy as a gift to your Chinese friend as celebrating their new year, don't forget to say "Gong Xi Fat Chai" or Happy New Year in China language.
Almost all of Chinese people decorating their house with this calligraphy, especially in their pray room, or their living room, you can seeing more information about this calligraphy in www.chinetraditional.com, and if you want to see more Chinese furniture, you can visit in my blog, craftindo.blogspot.com.

Designing an Antique Chinese Dinning Room

Celebrating Chinese New Year, in around the world there are a lot of people who want to celebrate with Chinese style in all things. One of the most famous of Chinese style is room design. Especially for designing Chinese dinning room,we should considering several important thing.

First, The walls of the dining room are painted a warm mustard color to offset the burgundy drapes and a restored wooden Qing dynasty lampshade is covered with Xian silk. Six yokeback armchairs - all balanced forms and artistic lines-are placed around the dining table set with traditional Korean celadon ware.

Second, Chinese calligraphy, carved woods, latticework, lacquer and open fireplaces define the series of intimate lounges and dining room which make up BAM-BOU restaurant in London's Fitzrovia. Vietnam and China have interwoven histories and today the ethnic-Chinese (Hoa) constitute the largest single minority group in Vietnam. It is common to fine Chinese temples and homes that once belonged to rich mandarins still intact across the country today.

The last thing is the impressive dining room table, we need special Chinese furniture to improve the sense of Chinese culture, we can use orient or Chinese Traditional table set. The image are taken from www.yunxingfurniture.com