Kid Room

The colors you choose for kids bedding and curtains will play an important feature in the whole "feel" of the room. You may decide to go with bright and vivid colors (as there are many options available when choosing bedding and curtains for kids, or you may want to keep everything in a calm pastel tones, that will help encourage bed time. No matter which colors you choose, make sure that your child is part of the decision making process. This will help ward off any future battles with your child when the room is complete.

You may also decide to choose kids bedding and curtains that have a theme rather than a solid color. Choose a pattern that will help reinforce bedtime, and not keep the kids up all night. There are plenty of options to choose from, you can find bedding and curtains for kids in nearly every print imaginable. Try choosing a theme that compliments the rest of the room's décor and also your child's personality and hobbies. As long as your child participates, you will find that you can create the perfect room for your child, and have a wonderful and positive time redecorating with your child.

Kid Furniture

Beautiful Kids Room Design  is all about smart positioning of furniture. These furniture should be chosen depending on the age of your kids and how many of them do you have. Besides, the room’s size is very important too. You definitely will need to place enough storage cabinets, sleeping beds and workdesks there. If the room isn’t big enough than you might have some difficulties. The best way here is to use smart modern furniture for kids rooms. For example, on pictures below you could find some interesting kids room layouts done with furniture of Spanish company, BM. These pictures might give you some ideas of how to organize your own kids room. These rooms mostly are oriented on kids between 6 and 15 years.

Computer Desk Design Beamer Wilkins

Beamer Wilkins designs computer desk with a decorative doll king kong.

Name: Beamer Wilkins
Location: Austin, TX
Office: 1000 sq feet
Living Space: 400 sq feet.

Beamer Wilkins is the owner of the San Jose and Austin network of programming companies under the banner of TRNSFR, a ridiculously admirable accomplishment at the age of just 25. But we're equally as impressed with his Austin home office setup, which includes a couple desktop workspaces which integrate his obvious obsession of vinyl collectibles with his home tech equipment, including a myriad of music and computer toys all shown below...

Beamer's living room space

No real rigs. Just obsession with hiding wires. I'm a zip-tie magician. The only real "rig" on my current home setup (MacBook Pro, 23" cinema display) is moving one of the overhead shelves beneath the desk to hold all my business so the desk can look nice 'n clean.

Beamer notes he's moved to a new office in downtown San Jose with a smaller 1,100 square feet, but with similar organization and layout, a temporary loft until he finds a place to purchase to live/work for his business.

Thanks to Beamer for allowing to share this peek inside his previous work space, and we look forward to seeing what he does with his future space.




Desk Computer [Via]

pantone fashion colors for fall 2011

color authority pantone, which provides professional color standards for the design industries, published their fashion color report for fall 2011.  

the color report coincides with new york fashion week, which runs from february 10-17, 2011.

 pantone women's fashion colors for fall 2011

photo by pantone

pantone men's fashion colors for fall 2011

photo by pantone 

of course, honeysuckle pink, the pantone color of the year for 2011, is one of the women's fall fashion colors. 

notice how the other fall fashion colors mirror the color trends from design san francisco 2011?

kravet showroom | design san francisco 2011

photo by innerspace 

'designers take a painterly approach to fall 2011 

by artfully combining bright colors with staple neutrals...'

leatrice eiseman, executive director of the pantone color institute®

hmmm, i think 'i've heard that song before'...

click here to read more about how interior designers use bright colors to accent neutral color schemes...

 do you prefer colors or neutrals?

Drawer Bag | Functional Desk Designs by Jung-Ah Kimoleh

Functional table design with simple and minimalist design.


With its funny name, the Drawer Bag is a beautiful desk that has 3 spaces for drawers which have been replaced with briefcases. Designer Jung-Ah Kim concocted this concept of a desk with pieces that you can take home. Unusual to say the least, it does look like something I would want in my home.

K Workstation Unique Computer Desk Design

Computer desk designs unique and cool. Modern and simple design desk.


MisoSoup are the creators of this space saving home office design. Named K Workstation, the desk is made from a single strip of curved wood that wraps up on the wall and transforms into shelves. Perfect for crowded spaces, the desk uses little space but looks gorgeous. The bamboo from which it is made of gives this desk sustainability and elegance of curvature.

Office Desk Design is Simple and Modern Design

Desk design is simple and modern. Desk is minimalist with a color that can be adjusted.


Dutch designers Dick Spierenburg and Karel Boonzaaijer have come up with this desk design that separates the working space with the help of colourful screens. The storage space, also colourful, contrasts with a manager`s work day and helps ease the stress through the simple and modern design.

Property players see price rise in Penang

A general uptrend in Penang property prices is expected this year as property developers offer better quality products to more discerning buyers.

Penang-based property players interviewed by Business Times have cited construction material prices and inflation as reasons for them to price their units higher this year.

They, however, gave no indication on the quantum of the price increase.

"Despite the risk of price increases in raw materials, the outlook for the property market remains positive this year," SP Setia Bhd general manager S. Rajoo said.

"As the population increases, the demand for properties will increase as well," he added.

Rajoo said available property units in the state have been decreasing tremendously over the past 10 years due to strong demand for selected property types.

"We anticipate demand for landed properties to remain strong, due to the scarcity of land in Penang."

Eastern and Oriental Bhd said the prices of its properties are determined closer to their launch dates and hinge on prevailing market conditions, raw material prices and market sentiment.

E&O owns and develops Seri Tanjung Pinang masterplan township on Penang island that offers a range of properties including landed homes and high-rise residences by the sea.

"Consumers are highly discerning nowadays and they desire a complete package which includes built-in wardrobes and cabinets, quality fittings along with fine finishing and appliances, said its executive direc-tor Eric Chan Kok Leong.

"This in turn affects the eventual pricing of properties," Chan added.

Hunza Properties Bhd group executive chairman Datuk Khor Teng Tong concurred, saying that the rising trend in property prices tend to reflect an upgrading of quality for the said units.

"As buyers demand for better and higher quality, the price of building materials and land contribute to this rising trend," he said, adding that demand for properties in Penang continues to be strong for residential units in the face of a supply shortage.

For Ivory Properties Group Bhd, better finishings and amenities, teamed with larger liveable spaces are expected to result in a higher range of property offerings.

"With impending inflation, increase in prices of construction materials and factors such as all government-driven economic programmes like the Economic Transformation Programme, National Key Economic Area and the economic corridors which are due to drive the economy towards a higher per capita income, we foresee mid- to high-end properties continuing to be in demand," said its deputy chairman Datuk Seri Nazir Ariff Mushir Ariff.

Ivory's ongoing and upcoming projects in the first half of the year, he noted, will comprise commercial, landed residential and high-rise residences in Penang.

IJM Land Bhd, whose flagship "The Light" development is set to keep the company busy for the next 12-15 years, is looking at a slight price increase for its offerings.

IJM Land general manager Toh Chin Leong cited construction materials and inflation as reasons for the revision of prices.

With a gross development value of RM5.5 billion, The Light is a 60.8ha freehold waterfront development which will be built over the next 11 to 15 years.

"We had a good year in 2010 and we foresee the market to be stable and consistent and look forward to another good year ahead," Toh said.

By Business Times

Alice Desk Modern Work of Wood | Office Desk

 

Wood desk from the dark brown color. Modern and unique table designs.

Sleek and definitely modern, the Alice Desk is designed to rotate into and out of various working positions to allow movement during the work day and to remind the person that uses it to take a break every once in a while. This is what designer Lucas Saule thinks about the Alice: “It removes you from the real world time frame, allowing you to free yourself of worries and distractions.”

Mirrored With Style

I saw this mirrored closet door application and thought

BRILLIANT!!!

What about you?

Do you likie?

This is easy enough to do.

Have someone mirror the doors 

then have them glue on the beveled squares.

The mirror is glued on the wall, so the squares will stick forever.

Renée Finberg 'TELLS ALL' in her BLOG..... Interior Design, Palm Beach, Boca Raton,Ft.Lauderdale,Design Service, Window Treatments, TurnKey Interior Design Service,Paint selection, Floor-Plans,Online Interior Design, Stylish mirrored closet doors, beveled square mirrors glued on top of the mirror,Stylish mirrored closet doors, beveled square mirrors glued on top of the mirror

Firm aims for top spot in property management

SUBANG: Andaman Property Management Sdn Bhd (APM), which is currently building and managing 10 ongoing property projects locally, aims to be the country's leading property management and property related services company.

Its executive director (sales and marketing) Datuk Vincent Tiew said from Jan 2011 onwards, the company would be launching and managing at least 10 properties worth RM2bil simultaneously.

Tiew said of 10 projects it currently managed, four belongs to the Andaman group.

“And we anticipate more developers and landowners to request for our services this year,” Tiew told StarBiz, adding that APM's business model was to develop and manage properties while generating high yield and fast turnaround for developers and landowners.

APM was formed in 2009 by some of the management members of the Andaman Group, an established property developer.

“After honing their skills in property development and managing properties of the Andaman Group, they decided to form an independent company, which is how APM was incorporated,” Tiew noted.

On its business model, Tiew said: “We want to be a leader in the industry in the country and build a strong track record of developing, maintaining and adding value to the properties that we manage in terms of yield, occupancy rates and capital gain for our clients, including property buyers.”

He said when APM was given the go-ahead to develop and manage a property project, it would first be looking to fulfill the developers expectation of the property project in terms of commercial reality, yield, bottom line.

“And our work starts from the onset of planning, authority management, construction and building maintenance to units selling, project administration and securing of strata-title. We also provide developers and landowners advice on how to best position the property development in terms of architectural design and other value-added services in line with developers/landowners expectations,” Tiew said.

On pricing he said: “We built shop lots and residential developments with per unit prices ranging from RM2mil to RM10mil and RM350,000 to RM1mil respectively.”

APM targeted its properties at the mass market to ensure that they remain in demand, even during the downturn, Tiew said, adding that for certain properties, buyers were guaranteed with return on investment.

APM's current property projects for the Andaman Group include Kota D'Sara with gross development value (GDV) of RM125mil, and Casa Residenza (GDV: RM180mil), both located in Kota Damansara. APM plans to launch the The Academia@South City Plaza in Seri Kembangan and the RM700mil The Arc@Cyberjaya in Cyberjaya.

By The Star

Lanson Place to operate Bukit Ceylon Residences in 2012

LANSON Place Hospitality Management Ltd will operate a RM207 million property known as Lanson Place Bukit Ceylon Residences in Kuala Lumpur in 2012.

This will be Lanson Place's third property in Malaysia and form part of the Verticas Residenci development in Bukit Ceylon by Wing Tai Malaysia Bhd. The tower, to be managed by Lanson Place, is owned by Wing Tai Malaysia and Lanson Place's parent company, Wing Tai Properties Ltd. Wing Tai Properties is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The management company's senior vice-president Graeme Laird described the upcoming accommodation as "comfortable and chic" and said that it would have 150 keys with one- to three-bedroom units.

The property has set new standards in the serviced apartments as it has very large units, with a one- bedroom unit measuring 1,100 sq ft and larger ones reaching 2,000 sq ft.

When asked about return on investment for this property, Laird said: " We did not calculate the payback period. The expected gross rental yield in a stabilised year could reach more than 10 per cent. So this would be from year three of operation."

The Bukit Ceylon property hopes to garner an average of RM500 per night when it opens.

Meanwhile, its four-star Lanson Place Ambassador Row with 221 keys closed last year with an average room rate of RM207 and an occupancy of 72 per cent.

This year, it hopes to garner RM250 and fill 70 per cent of its room inventory.

It also operates 132 units in Lanson Place Kondominium No 8, which consists of purely residential apartments.

Where next in Malaysia for Lanson Place? Laird said it could be keen on Penang and Kota Kinabalu in Sabah if the right properties become available and the destinations can support high-end serviced apartments.

But its more immediate priority is to upgrade Lanson Place Ambassador Row in 2013 to lift the product and position it further up- market.

By Business Times

Lanson going places

GUESTS of Lanson Place serviced apartments, who are used to the level of service by the group, will be pleased to know that it plans to triple the number of properties within the next three to five years.

Lanson Place Hospitality Management Ltd, a Wing Tai Asia Group company, is also looking at representations in several new destinations like Vietnam, Indonesia, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and Australia.

This expansion will also see the number of rooms triple.

"Within the next three- to five- year period, our internal goal is to have 20 properties and 3,000 keys (apartment units)," the management company's senior vice president Graeme Laird said.

"It is ambitious and will all depend on having the right human resources in place", he added.

Lanson Place has a presence in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and China. In Malaysia, the properties are owned by Wing Tai Malaysia Bhd, which was previously known as DNP Holdings Bhd.

Laird, during a recent visit to Kuala Lumpur from Hong Kong, told Business Times that the expansion could be pure management contracts for its group properties or for others or those where it takes equity.

Lanson Place now has seven properties with a total of 1000 keys. Six of the properties are serviced apartments, while its sole property in Hong Kong is a hotel.

According to Laird, the group is working on introducing two accommodation categories - a premier model that is likely to be called Lanson Place Residences and one which is a rung below, called the Lanson Place Apartments.

The former will typically have 100 to 150 keys while the latter between 150 and 250 keys. Keys refer to the main door as serviced apartments can be a one-, two- or three-bedroom unit.

Currently, Lanson's two top performing properties are located one each in Beijing and Shanghai in China.

The first Lanson Place property commenced operations in 1998 in Singapore. Immediately thereafter, Lanson Place Kondominium No 8, a residential development, and Lanson Place Ambassador Row in Kuala Lumpur opened in the same year.

When asked about competition, especially in Kuala Lumpur where there has been a mushrooming of serviced residences, Laird said: "Our product is different from our competitors. Our style and finishing is of high quality. And so is our standard of service."

"You just have to arrive with a suitcase and be at home immediately," he said.

It positions itself to go beyond expectations in service standards.

If you are a guest from Lanson Place having dinner at a restaurant outside and it starts to pour, don't be surprised if a Lanson Place staff shows up at the restaurant's door just so he can hand over an umbrella to you.

By Business Times

Bina Puri upbeat on cracking RM1b mark

The company expects 2011 to be one of its better years since its listing in 1995, says Bina Puri's group managing director

BINA Puri Holdings Bhd, which is expanding its business, is bullish that revenue will surpass RM1 billion this year, its chief said.



"This year is all about execution of projects and finishing existing jobs. We expect 2011 to be one of our better years since our listing in 1995," group managing director Tan Sri Tee Hock Seng told Business Times.

In 2010, Bina Puri secured projects worth RM2.5 billion. Among the contracts it won were the Ampang light rail transit line extension, the low-cost carrier terminal in Sepang, the Kuala Lumpur-Kuala Selangor Expressway privatisation project and building ramps and a main line bridge for the Eastern Dispersal Link in Johor.

The company hopes to maintain the rate of new contracts this year by securing RM2.5 billion worth of work.
It has bid for building and infrastructure projects worth over RM2 billion, in Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei and the Middle East.

For the nine months ended September 30 2010, Bina Puri posted a net profit of RM8.13 million on revenue of RM861 million. In 2009, Bina Puri made RM6.4 million on revenue of RM780.1 million.

Tee said the company's order book of RM3.3 billion will help improve its earnings for the next two to three years.

Meanwhile, Tee said Bina Puri is on a drive to expand its property division, which contributes less than 10 per cent to its revenue and net profit.

Bina Puri ventured into property development in the 1980sas a boutique developer.

Some of its prime projects include Bukit Idaman township in Selayang and Jesselton Condominium in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

Tee expects contribution from the division this year to be in the region of 15 per cent with RM900 million worth of housing projects in Klang Valley, Johor and Sabah.

"We want to expand the division because of the higher margins that can be made from property development. We don't want to be too dependent on construction, which is harder to take on," Tee said.

By Business Times

Malaysia woos luxury hotel brands

Bulgari, Armani and Versace may no longer be just luxury retail brands found in Malaysian malls, as property developers think about bringing in their hotel brands too.

With brands like Grand Hyatt, Mandarin Oriental and Four Seasons already here while St Regis and Raffles have confirmed openings, developers are eyeing fresh and popular hotel brands.

"Developers are now beginning to look at Waldorf Astoria and also various designer-linked brands like Bulgari Hotels & Resorts, Palazzo Versace, Armani Hotels & Resorts," vice president of the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) Ivo Nekvapil told Business Times in an interview recently.



If these brands make their way to our shores, they are likely to be located either in Kuala Lumpur or on Langkawi island.

Nevertheless, Nekvapil feels that sub-brands or brands that come under their more familiar parent company name should be considered as they have potential in Malaysia.

These would include brands like All Seasons and Ibis which are Accor brand hotels and Hilton Garden Inn, a Hilton group brand.

He explained that these brands have international recognition and as such Malaysia too needs these brands to give the country world recognition.

Meanwhile, when asked about the hotel scene in Klang Valley this year, Nekvapil said that there could be an addition of some 2,000 rooms in the four- and five-star hotel/serviced residence category.

Additional rooms this year will come from the opening of Somerset Ampang Kuala Lumpur, Best Western KL Sentral, Park Regis Kuala Lumpur and Pullman Kuala Lumpur Bangsar.

On occupancy and rates in the Klang Valley, Nekvapil said that 2011 could end with an average room rate (ARR) of RM360 for lower end five-star hotels and about RM500 for higher end five-star category hotels. Occupancy this year could finish at about 68 per cent.

Mandarin Oriental still leads the pack, and is now drawing an ARR of around RM700.

Last year, occupancy ended at around 65 per cent and ARR of between RM200 to RM320 per night.

Malaysia had its highest occupancy of over 70 per cent in 2007.

By Business Times

trends from design san francisco 2011...bright colors

you may have already heard that honeysuckle pink is the panetone color of the year for 2011.

pantone | honeysuckle pink | 18-2120 TCX

photo by pantone

pink cover of interior design magazine | january 2011

dining room | new york, NY | steven harris architects and rees roberts + partners

click here to read the article

photo by innerspace

but, i have to agree with new york interior designer heather clawson, habitually chic blogger extraordinaire, who still thinks that 'green is good'!

!

green cover of veranda magazine | november/december 2010

entry | houston, TX | miles redd

photo by girl learning along the way blog

any way that you look at it, you could say that things are 'all bright now'!

'all bright now' cover of the financial times newspaper's how to spend it magazine | february 5, 2011

photo by innerspace

and, design san francisco 2011 was no exception.

 bright new colorways of oh so practical solution dyed acrylic outdoor fabrics by perennials will debut at the shears & window showroom in march 2011.  look for plushy solution dyed acrylic velvet in eleven new colorways, and rough & rowdy solution dyed acrylic linen in thirteen new colorways.

perennials | plushy solution dyed acrylic velvet

left to right:   sunshine | mandarin | plum blossom | firecracker | deep end | slate | lime punch | aqua | cool pool | noir | sand

perennials | rough & rowdy solution dyed acrylic linen

left to right:  noir | anthracite | slate | hello sailor | bahama mama | lime punch | green parrot | patina | sand | parchment | melon | mandarin | topaz

 photos by innerspace

at the mcguire furniture showroom, peking glass vessels by robert kuo, in bright, tropical colors, accent 'natural magic', a mixed media work on canvas by artist joan elan davis.

peking glass vessels by robert kuo  | mcguire furniture

photo by innerspace

and, at the kravet showroom, shelves and shelves of brightly colored transparent glass vessels accent rooms furnished in magenta or teal.

 

transparent glass vessels | kravet

photo by innerspace

according to her february 5-6, 2011 wall street journal column, 'living well', new york decorator and journalist rita konig is also 'in the mood for...pops of bright color'.

holly hunt seems to be in the mood for pops of bright color, too.  for her trend setting studio h collection, represented by the kneedler|fauchere showroom, hunt introduced a collection of tinted lens tables with mirrored acrylic resin tops by london furniture designers bryan mccollin.

emerald green, amethyst purple, lemon yellow, mandarin orange, rose red...

 tinted lens tables with mirrored acrylic resin tops by bryan mccollin | studio h

 top to bottom:  emerald | amethyst | lemon | mandarin | rose 

photos by innerspace

are you hunting for bright colors, too?