Martha Stewart products launch at Home Depot

Martha Stewart's Miramir at Home Depot. 5-pce outdoor dining set, $524

Look for Martha Stewart-branded products in Home Depot stores this month.

The new partnership, announced in September, 2009, will include outdoor furniture, paint, storage, lighting and cleaning products… and bring together the country’s largest home hardware chain (that’s eager to attract more women) with one of the top celebrity brands (that already does).

Martha Stewart’s ten year marriage with Kmart will end this month. A decade after the joint venture to offer consumers housewares, decorative accessories, RTA furniture, lighting and outdoor furniture under the Martha Stewart Everyday  brand, the companies are parting ways. At their zenith, revenues were a billion dollars, MSLO executives say. in 2008, Martha Stewart Living reported that 43% of its merchandising revenue came from the Kmart line.

Stewart’s outdoor living products will be the first category to launch at Home Depot in January, with home organization following in February and paint in March. Executives say at least one dining set will sell for under $400. Organizational products will include a one-track closet system and a 9-cube storage unit. The 280-color line of Martha Stewart paint colors will replace the Ralph Lauren paint brand. Cleaning products will also be available, including 10 under Home Depot’s ”Eco-options” line.

Home Depot is the nation’s largest home improvement retailer, with 2,241 stores in the U.S. and Canada

Martha Stewart has additional home-based licensing partnerships with Macy’s (bedding, food preparation, dining and entertaining lines), Wedgewood (fine china), Bernhardt (furniture), Murrary Feiss (lighting), Flor (floor design), Safavieh (rugs) and 1-800 flowers (flowers and gifts). The company claims 1.4M  followers on Twitter.

a coffee table for the ultimate couch potato

For the multi-functional living room…

light up your pictures this Christmas

Here’s a fun christmas decorating idea from Country Living and Sears…

Cluster a few of your picture frames together on a mantel, buffet or sofa table. Place a low round candle in front of each and wrap some pine branches or holly around the bottom. A simple way to add some Christmas decor around the house… and light up your pictures at night!

For lots of new, inexpensive christmas table decorating ideas, check out www.cookingquarters.wordpress.com.

For home decorating ideas, visit www.roomplanners.com

Happy holidays!

what’s new in christmas tree ornaments

What’s new in Christmas ornaments? According to trend experts and a new collectionfrom Country Living at Sears… it’s birds and owls. But not just any birds and owls.

If you’re looking to spruce up your Christmas tree or holiday decor this year, look for well-fed birds and owls. Yes, the pudgier the better. Seems the fowl of the earth didn’t suffer any recessionary cutbacks in 2009.  They’ve been eating just fine.

These charmers are quite cute. They make a fun Christmas tree ornament… or addition to a Christmas table centerpiece.

For more holiday decorating ideas, visit www.cookingquarters.wordpress.com

For home decorating ideas, visit www.roomplanners.com.

Happy holidays!

see inside Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams NYC furniture store

Check out my quick tour through the Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams store in NYC (201 Lafayette, New York, NY). These two design gurus add their own eclectic touch to design with a mix of contemporary and traditional design in the same room. www.mgandbw.com

Christmas 2009 to include berry colors

The economy may not be looking so good this Christmas, but that’s no reason for your dinner table not to.

If Jaclyn Smith has anything to say about it, Christmas 2009 will include plenty of elegance… and more than a few berry tones. Her new line at KMart includes all the bobbles, trim and ribbons needed to inspire your own Christmas decorating ideas.

Smith’s own inspirtions for Christmas decor include favorite objects form Christmas past, ballerina dresses, elegant slippers and dinner dishes lined with gold, just to mention a few.

Smith thinks every home can look special at Christmas, and that the best Christmas traditions are built up over time, with objects bought today being able to be paired with favorite Christmas objects from our childhood and maybe even our grandmother’s.

Check out these photos of her new collection at KMart stores this holiday season… along with a few of her best Christmas decorating ideas.

jaclyn smith speaks about her new Christmas collection

Jaclyn Smith was here in NYC recently to launch her new Christmas collection for KMart.  Here’s what she had to say about it.  (Yes, my first-ever video was shot sideways…  I can’t be the only one who didn’t know you have to hold the camera horizontal?).

home decorating trends reflect new lifestyle realities

See if you agree with the seven emerging home design and color trends Better Homes & Gardens recently identified at the recent High Point Furniture Market.  Here’s what they say matter to most of us!

 1. A “Right-Sized” Home
Influenced by economic realities, we’re looking for a home that’s the right size and arrangement for how we live now. That means: (a) no-wasted space, (b) comfortable, casual family spaces, (c) furniture that’s more in scale with our homes and (d) finishes that improve or reflect natural daylight.

2. Comfort & functionality rather than formality
We’re seriously rethinking formal, stuffy, rarely used spaces. More of us are opting for (a) comfortable multi-functional rooms and furniture and (b) dining rooms that are more livable, casual and integrated into the rest of the home. For example, a dining room table may become the family study or crafts center, or a sideboard may hold office files and electronics instead of china and serving pieces.

3. Personal expression at home
Owning a home is part of our vision of the good life…. perhaps now more than ever. More adaptable open-floor plans are leading to a loosening up of decorating inside the home and we’re thinking more about outfitting our homes the way we dress ouselves—by mixing and matching pieces, styles, materials and colors.

4. A new kind of family room
Family rooms are evolving into entertaining/media centers. Multiple computer stations are located in a family gathering area where kids’ internet access can be monitored. The Wii phenomenon has families looking for new furniture solutions to make room for active –play—for example, an ottoman or coffee table on casters easily moves to create space. Flat-screen TVs are driving more flexible media storage furniture that works along an open wall rather than is sized to the inch because electronic media components are ever-changing!

5. A Well-Organized Home
Ample storage is an ‘absolute priority’ to stay organized and resist clutter. Smart storage solutions are top of mind, making inventive storage features such as slide-out jewelry compartment hidden in a bedroom dresser mirror appealing. More women want their own at-home office -  an open, bright and more decorative space that’s equipped with extra electrical outlet and the internet connections needed to manage work-home balance.

6. Feeling good about staying home
More of us are looking for home furnishing and decorating ideas to make staying in feel good. To create warm, inviting family spaces, wer’re moving toward (1) warm wood such as oak and walnut, (6) light neutral colors, or earth-inspired green, chocolate, wine and berry tones, and (3) backyards that feel like an extension of entertaining areas.

7. Durability
“Durability” and “high quality” define value as much as price. We’re looking for furniture that will grow up with us and our kids. For example, a bedroom chest becomes a hallway entry table to store linens and to drop keys and other items on top.

make room for SpongeBob and friends

The Adventure Loft

Kids furniture has come a long way from toddler car beds and french provincial canopy beds. My Room, an entertaining new furniture collection from Nickelodeon and Lea Furniture will have toddlers, tweeners and teens alike begging for a bedroom makeover. Though this cartoon-inspired kids furniture is targeted to, well, kids,  it’s worth noting that fully one third of SpongeBob viewers are older than age 18 (… closet SquarePants fans of the older variety may be relieved to note there are plenty of full-sized bed options).

The Adventure Loft  will turn a bedroom into a play room. The loft bed with mesh-top tent covers a fun play area below. Tent pattern options will include SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer and Go, Diego, Go! graphics.

The Slider

For tweeners (ages 8-12), check out the The Slider, a space-saving daybed that will convert to a full-sized bed by sliding the castered platform out from its 17″ storage headboard. Upholstered back rests in orange microfiber fabric will create a comfortable place to hang out, do homework or play video games. Games, videos, DVDs can be stored in compartments hidden behind the back rests.

The Cave

Also for  tweeners, The Cave will create a room-within-a-room with sleep time above and serious play time below. The exterior can be personalized by mixing BobSquared or Slime panels (both included) or by leaving it all white. Two-sided privacy curtains feature a caution sign on one side and Slime on the other. Inside, The Cave will feature an upholstered loveseat with a built-in media center for a TV, gaming equipment and books.

Expect to see these and many other products in the MyRoom collection in retail furniture stores by spring 2010.

Based in High Point, NC, Lea Furniture is a La-Z-Boy Incorporated company and a leading producer of youth furniture at moderate prices. Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products is celebrating its 30th year as a favorite entertainment brand for kids.

art deco furniture… for the 21st century

Destination by aspenhome

If you’ve ever been intrigued by old Hollywood glamour and the jazz age… that time when Veronica Lake, the silver screen and all things French moderne were shaping our tastes, hair and lifestyles…you’ll probably be just as intrigued by a new art-deco inspired dining room furniture collection (Destination by aspenhome) that’s set to hit retail furniture stores this fall. 

If you don’t catch your breath when you see this beauty, check your pulse. This dining room furniture captures what America first loved (and still loves) about French moderne.. that sultry interior design fashion movement that America fondly renamed art deco in the early 20th century.

If you’re already a fan of art deco furniture, you’ll recognize some signature details, including sultry curves, intricate inlays, polished wood finishes and elegant, narrow legs. But this dining room furniture throws in a few other details… just as French, to be sure. Check out the lacey swirl pattern around the corners of the  wall mirror, on the brass hardware, rosewood table inlays and removable rosewood panels behind glass on the china cabinet doors. More than  a hot new look in the market, this see-through tracery pattern shows traces of art nouveau – a slightly over-the-top, avante-garde French movement that preceded art deco. A few chic classic details are seen in the fluted pedestal table base, sling chairs and brass hardware. 

But as glam and red carpet-worthy as this dining room furniture looks, it shows what can happen over a century of real modern living. The dining table features two self storing leaves (no more stowing leaves in the hall closet, folks). But I have to say the sideboard / buffet cabinet will make home entertaining so easy you’ll be inviting the in-laws for dinner.  With more of us eating buffet style these days the sideboard features a handy, built-in AC outlet for appliances, a coffee maker or a warming tray. The marble countertop is ideal for hot plates (trivets not needed) and wiping up moisture or spills is a snap. Pullout storage shelves provide extra serving room, a removable storage bin for flatware or cutlery lets you set the table quickly and the hanging wine rack lets you store your wine glasses just like a swanky hotel bar.

Being a product of chic style, the Destination dining room will look great with  an understated paint color. With the rosewood furniture accents, you could choose a soft, barely-there color such as a champagne hue (Benjamin Moore #1158) or a cameo hue (Benjamin Moore #1172).  Or, for a more casual effect, a light cafe au lait hue (Benjamin Moore #1073/74) will simulate those chic, city coffee-shops you never want to leave. Look for art-deco furnishings, such as elegantly simple but glamorous wall sconces and chandeliers, artwork and sculptures with old Hollywood or early 20th century modern art themes.

Aspenhome is an innovative supplier of stylish furniture with a reputation for really clever storage ideas.  The Destination is available fall 2009. For retailers in your area carrying the group, contact aspenhome at  www.aspenhome.net.