Diva Design Diary

By Holly Peterson

Diva Design Diary is about bringing the latest interior design trends and tips to our existing clients, as well as future clients...enjoy!

What's Your Face, Her Face, His Face?!

By Holly Peterson

What's Your Face, Her Face, His Face?!


This fun rug featuring the work of photographer Francois Robert will no doubt keep a kid busy taking a closer look at the faces that emerge from doorknobs and other everyday objects. Flor's modular carpet tile system allows you to customize each piece to your space by combining both playful six-tiled versions, or change the shape by adding complementary solid shades.

More info. @ flor.com

Summer Treat

By Holly Peterson

Summer Treat

I had lunch at a fabulous cafe the other day in Trondheim, Norway...
I ordered this amazing salad, with ingredients that I would have never thought of putting together. I Googled, and found the recipe! I couldn't resist sharing with you all... This is must-try for the Summer!


Ingredients:
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 3 Tbsp. champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp. kosher salt or salt
  • 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
  • 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1-1/2 tsp. sesame seeds, toasted
  • 1/2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
  • Dash cayenne pepper
  • 2 cups cut up seedless watermelon
  • 2 cups cut up cantaloupe
  • 2 cups cut up honeydew
  • 1 cup sliced English cucumber
  • Lettuce leaves
  • Snipped fresh cilantro (optional)
  • Crisp cooked bacon, drained and crumbled (optional)
Design Diva Tip: Replace the bacon with prosciutto.

Enjoy and HAPPY Summer!

Clean Air...

By Holly Peterson

Rabbit Air MinusA2 Air Purifier

Modern, innovative, ultraquiet, wall-mountable air purifier features six-stage filtration with customized filter and deodorization to purify the air you breathe. Unit comes with a five-year warranty and lifetime 24/7 tech support.

Save $20 by entering DSum09 at checkout, when ordering online!

Rabbit Air
888-866-8862
rabbitair.com

Enjoy clean air!

Guess?!

By Holly Peterson

It's a headboard!


For over 10 years Urban Hardwoods has transformed salvaged trees into beautiful furniture. Each piece is handmade in Seattle from massive slabs of Pacific madrone, black walnut, Chinese elm, and more. Each piece has a story to tell.

You can visit them online @ urbanhardwoods.com
OR
contact Design Diva Interiors to take advantage of "to the trade only" pricing!

Honesty...

By Holly Peterson

Honesty...


...is important to most people. But (because of all the green-washing), it’s especially appreciated by the eco consumer. That’s why designers like Ali Sandifer Studio, that prides itself in making honest furniture, is tops on my list. The Chicago-based furniture company uses only domestic woods from sustainable forests, natural oils, and water-based sealants to make their Star-Trek-meets-mid-century hardwood tables. Honest in both form and function, every piece of Ali Sandifer furniture serves a clever, unexpectedly useful purpose. In a world of studio-turned-one-bedroom apartments and material excess, what good is a coffee table that can’t store anything? Sure, we all wish we were minimalists living in enormous homes, but let's be a little honest here.

Available in Walnut, Ash, and Rift White Oak. Find out more at alisandifer.com

Not Your Father's Concrete

By Holly Peterson

Not Your Father's Concrete


The possibilities are endless with concrete...
Even better, you can make it as warm or as sterile as you'd like (I'll take the warmth).

Explore your options @ Ernsdorf Design

Contact Design Diva Interiors for ways that you can bring concrete into your home.

MiniLOO... Who?!

By Holly Peterson

MiniLOO... Who?!

Maybe it's just Europe inspiring me, or maybe these are just SUPER COOL toilets...
See what you're missing... MiniLOO

Fun Find

By Holly Peterson

Fun Find: And the birds will love you for it!

I can't wait to figure out where I can put these fun & modern bird feeders...
Get yours here @ feelmorehuman.com

Pure & Simple

By Holly Peterson

Ami McKay Furniture

You can walk around the house with a white glove. You can do your best to use all-natural cleaners. But, the truth is, a lot of contaminants in your home are not traceable by touch or smell. A lot of it lives in your furniture. Which is why, your best bet for a truly clean home is to go Pure. Pure, a Vancouver-based furniture company, makes contemporary guilt-free pieces using sustainable hardwoods, biodegradable latex rubber stuffing, organic cotton, renewable jute, natural fabrics free of pesticides, formaldehyde, heavy metals, and preservatives, and staples (yes, staples) made of recycled aluminum. True to its moniker (both inside and out), the wing chairs, daybeds, and sofas are made of clean lines and give you just enough flare to deflect cold vibes you would get from similarly basic, modern furniture.
What can I say? Pure is simple.

See for yourself at purebyamimckay.com

Crank It Up

By Holly Peterson

Kikkerland Solar/Crank Radio
Remember when it was completely normal to lug around a boombox? Families would have them for outdoor gatherings. Homies would sport them as accessories. Although size totally mattered (and it was the bigger the better), these portable sound systems were considered convenient. And, even though teased bangs and shoulder pads are long gone, the handheld radio remains the perfect beach or picnic take-along. If anything, they’ve gotten more convenient with time. They are smaller, lighter, and sans ‘D’ batteries. And, they are perfectly exemplified by Kikkerland’s Solar and Hand-Cranked AM/FM Radio. One minute’s worth of cranking gets you 30 minutes of play. And, a full solar charge gets you seven whole hours. We know you all have iPods (myself included). But during the boombox days, people listened to music together. And, it was great.

For a list of retailers, go to kikkerland.com or buy now at amazon.com
(I say we do it for the novelty)

Happy 4th of July!

By Holly Peterson


Design Diva Interiors is wishing you a happy and safe
Independence Day in the U.S.A.!

Here in Norway, it is Queen Sonja's Birthday.
(I had the opportunity today of seeing/hearing them shoot
off canons in memory of her at the Resistance Museum)

Happy Birthday Queen Sonja!

The Beauty of Trash Compactors

By Holly Peterson

Trash compactors have a pretty sketchy reputation, don't they?



What turned trash compactors around?
A compactor turns about six bags of trash into one 30-pound bag. So you only have to take out the trash once a week instead of every day. And I've never met anyone who loves taking out the trash. There's a new model by Broan with a door that swings out,s o the trash is easy to access.

How exactly do trash compactors work?
You touch the start button, a flat plate powers down, compresses the trash, and lifts back up automatically. It basically does all the work for you in 45 seconds. Some are more powerful than others.

How much power do I need?
If you have a family that generates a lot of trash, I would recommend going with the maximum amount - 3,000 pounds of force - so you can get the maximum amount of trash in each bag.

How big are they and how much do they weigh?
They're 15 inches wide, 34 1/2 inches tall, 24 inches deep. They weigh about 150 pounds. So it doesn't have to be this big, ugly thing, standing there bulking up your kitchen. Most of them are built into cabinets, and now there's a new Broan model that's even shallower - 22 1/4 inches deep. Or you can get a stainless-steel, black, or white freestanding unit and ass a cutting board top so it extends your counter surface.

Are they easy to install?
If it's a freestanding unit, just plug it in.

What about the smell?
New models address that. There's a compartment for a charcoal filter. They run about $5 each. Broan makes a model that has an odor-reduction disc that cycles through automatically for up to six months. But really, when people complain about the smell, just put a piece of newspaper over the trash. It's a simple fix, a little trick no company tells you about. That way, when the compacting plate comes down, it doesn't touch the trash, just newspaper, so it doesn't get dirty before it lifts back up.
What other accessories do I need?
Just the plastic bags, which are about $1 each.
How good are compactors for the environment?
Some people say that they're not green, that the trash is so tightly compacted that it slows decomposition. But they're great for compacting recyclables. Often, people will buy two compactors - one for trash and one for recyclables. Some areas charge for recycling by the bin, and you use fewer bins by compacting your bottles and cans. Not glass, though - I don't recommend crushing glass.

How much can I expect to spend?
There's a Whirlpool model for $550. A high-level Electrolux is about $1,500.

Safety features?
Oh yeah, once you hit start, you can't open it. No way a kid can open the door and put her brother in! Also, Broan has a model with a removable key - you can't even turn it on without the key. Kids can close it, but it won't start, so they can't throw in toys or glass bottles. Only you can start it, with your key.

Skeptical?
I'd have to say that all the negative things you could think of are taken care of - they're not smelly, noisy, bulky. They're convenient. You take out the trash less, you contribute less to the landfill. But this is the coolest thing: If very single household in the U.S. had a trash compactor, our landfills could be reduced by 80 percent. Can you believe that? Huge. It's also a kitchen appliance that guys are really hip to, since taking out the trash is usually the guy's job.

Vacant Lot, No More...

By Holly Peterson

Next-Generation Prefab


Having trouble getting a construction loan these days?
This is the answer to your vacant lot prayers...

Learn more @ LogicalHomes

Forever Photos

By Holly Peterson

PRESERVE YOUR MEMORIES
BY KEEPING DIGITAL PHOTOS IN SAFE STORAGE

Chances are you have a digital camera. In fact, the technology has so effectively replaced film that Kodak has stopped making Kodachrome. Polaroid, too, has discontinued production of the instant film that made it famous. And with the end of film comes the end of negatives, of the physical presence of our photographs. Relatively few images are printed, and even fewer saved in a dedicated location. For better or worse, our memories are captured in pixels. How are you protecting yours?

Where and how we store our photos matters almost more than the camera we use. Why take beautiful pictures if we don't protect them? And a shocking number of people just leave pictures on the camera card. Keeping images on the computer drive is better, but hard drives crash. So it's wise to have backup, especially because many simple and inexpensive options are available.

Visit your local electronics store to be educated on the best flash drive for you!

Some digital photo storage ideas to entertain are: Carbonite, Mozy, & SOS.