Lotus Flower Chandeliers are created by artisans combining hundreds of hand-cut capiz shells edged in metal together into large pearl and smoke colored spheres. When lit from within the pendants shimmer and shine like stained glass and look equally impressive hanging alone or in a grouping. Two sizes (13" and 21" diameters) are available from Viva Terra for $329 and $629, and in keeping with their eco-friendly and sustainable stance as many supplies as possible are recycled and reclaimed in the manufacturing of the product -- plus the company recommends using an energy saving light bulb to illuminate your new purchase.
I've never been a big fan of fake fruit as decor but these fruit sculptures of glass by Anthony Biancaniello are really beautiful. Each of Biancaniello's designs have a common theme, be it a uniform shape or color scheme, used throughout and he usually works with pairs or groups of objects to create the desired artistic effect. He also, apparently, really likes fruit.
These sculptures are a great way to have the classic beauty of a fruit still life in your home without the often associated tackiness. Prices range from $245 to $1150.
Gallery: Art Glass Sculptures by Anthony Biancaniello
Suitable for either indoor or outdoor use, the Gownchair takes its inspiration from both the fashion are art worlds. It has a sweeping flowy shape that has it looking just as much a sculpture as a chair. Certain to be one of the boldest items in any room, the Gownchair is bright red with an eye catching glossy finish and it's made 100% of fiberglass that is painted using the same technology used in the automotive industry to paint cars. Available in limited edition (each is numbered and comes with a certificate of authenticity) only 2 remain for $2,105 each.
The chosen New York address is The Manhattan House at 200 E 66 St. and the month long show will include 6 units and two floors of the building. The extra publicity works out well for both the property (it's in the middle of being remodeled into luxury condos), the designers (they are only compensated for their efforts with the exposure), and of course the Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club which the whole thing benefits. The show runs from April 24th through May 22nd and tickets cost $30.
Philippe Starck has gone a little silly with his new collection, although (no worries) he hasn't completely abandoned his usual sense of style in the process. Launched in collaboration with David Sutherland the collection is called RobinWood and is inspired by (you guessed it) the legend of Robin Hood.
With names like "The Lil' John" chair, "The Loxley" canopy bed, and "The King Richard" dining table, Starck is making good on his statement "humor is a sign of intelligence. It should be everywhere." The pieces represent Starck's first outdoor line of furniture and range in price from $1650 to $2350.
The immensely talented, couture jewelry design duo at Erickson Beamon, have created the most fabulous chandelier ever! This exquisite handmade work of art is called the Glam Rock Chandelier, and it looks like it belongs in a castle (it has in fact had a permanent home in a few museums). Completely covered with Japanese glass pearls and Swarovski crystals it still manages to look timeless and classy not gaudy. I adore it, too bad it costs $22,500! Available on vivre.com.
Three centuries worth of New England's magnificent houses and mansions are collected in an equally grand new book from Rizzoli: Great Houses of New England, by Roderic H. Blackburn (text) and Geoffrey Gross (photography). Spanning a wide range of styles, these stately houses are the originals from which many of today's McMansions have been copied. They're more than just artifacts, however; as Blackburn writes, "Through the architecture and decorative arts we see the development of a people and their region."
Among the more splendid examples in the book is the Jeremiah Lee Mansion in Marblehead, Mass., dating from 1767 (pictured here), the impressiveness of which is "conveyed by its subdued monumentality," Blackburn notes. Lee, a shipping merchant, built it to emulate aristocratic estates in England, so you might say not all that much has changed. Also of note are the beautiful brick Georgian Macpheadris-Warner House in Portsmouth, N.H., dating from 1716; Rosecliff, a palatial McKim, Mead & White mansion which was the setting for the movie version of The Great Gasby; and Brookside, a gracious Greek Revival in Orwell, VT. See the gallery for more.
Bring the woodsy outdoors charm into your home with this limited edition unique find. It's called the Meteor Table, it's made by Christa and it's an actual teak tree root that's been coated with bronze. Definitely a conversation starter in any home! I guess you can't rush such a ginormous and heavy package (750 pounds) via mail so it takes 6 months to arrive. Tree tables don't come cheap, this purchase will set you back $55,000! Of course I'm trying to figure out how I can start making these things! It's available on vivre.com, a very cool decor site.
Designer Matt Carr found found two vintage coffee tables and was inspired to create a bookrack for his own home. Earning points for recycling and keepin' it green (possibly saving the tables from the landfill), he configured them into the Biblioteca Bookrack, offered by Umbra.
The shelves have a natural mahogany top and black lacquered legs. Dimensions: 44" x 37" x 11" (111 cm x 93 cm x 20 cm).
$525 on the Umbra site, but pssst, Unica Home offers it for $500.
Some games are just meant to be created in 3-D from the start, and Clue with its many rooms and little murder weapon playing pieces is certainly one of them. The Clue Premier Edition is a luxury board game that is just as fun to play as it is to look at. With each of the 9 rooms designed in sunken 3 dimensional color complete with furnishings, you can look down into the world of secrets and murder and put the clues together one by one to win the game. The only thing missing? Little 3-D people to represent the characters. $150
Hotels are fine as far as they go. For a really luxurious vacation however, renting a private house or villa is much the better choice. Of course the prices at the top-end can be astronomical. If money is no object, however, a new book called Luxury Houses: Holiday Escapes is a perfect guide to the best high-end hideaways around the globe. One of the standouts is Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld's former villa in Monaco (pictured here), which can be yours for a mere €30,000 per week. For that you get six bedrooms, panoramic views of the ocean and the mountains from an enormous terrace, a pool, Jacuzzi, game room and a tent on a private beach. The interior is described unironically as "quasi royal."
Also on display is the Birkenhead House in Hermanus, South Africa (about $7,000 per night) with eleven bedrooms and three pools, dominating a steep cliff above Walker Bay where whales frolic; and Villa Indigo in the Caribbean Sea within a protective reef in Anguilla with two pools and a private beach and sandbar, for $16,000 - $38,000 a week depending on the season; as well as dozens more ritzy rentals from ski chalets in Switzerland to modern palaces in China.
The over-the-top Palazzo Versace Dubai development, plans for which we first told you about back in 2005, is getting a dress rehearsal of sorts in London. Over the next six weeks, famed British department store Harrods in Knightsbridge will feature model rooms from the Palazzo, furnished with marble and gold accents and exclusive designs from Versace's home collection.
The massive 1.4-million sq.-ft. project, slated to open in 2009, is modeled on the Palazzo Versace Gold Coast in Australia. It's comprised of 213 five-star hotel suites and 169 private residences, over 50% of which have reportedly been sold. Amenites include a scuba lagoon, pool bar, rooftop labyrinth gardens, day spa, ballroom, marina, and of course a Versace boutique. Christian Lacroix had better get a move on with his own fashionable Dubai development if he doesn't want to be left in the dust.
The Polaris Floor Lamp is more like a piece of art than a lamp. Made of lacquered nylon that has been rotationally molded, it's a modern, clean piece that would work well in a corner or next to a bed or sofa. The lamp pivots, "revealing a different fluid vertical form on its satin steel footprint base." No fancy bulbs required, just one 300-watt halogen bulb (included). For atmosphere, use the floor dimmer.
A 2008 design by Marco Acerbis for Fontana Arte, it's available in glossy white, glossy black or glossy amethyst (aubergine/eggplant). Retromodern.com sells it for $1,840 (a 20% discount from the list price of $2,300). Measures 11.8" W x 76" H. Delivery in 2-4 weeks.
It's one of the economic vagaries of the business that storied British luxury goods firm Asprey of London no longer has any connection (save an historical one) with the actual Asprey family. After the 200-year-old company was sold to Prince Jeffri of Brunei in the '90s, family scion William Asprey decided to start his own firm catering to the aristocratic trade (Asprey had long held royal warrants). However, he discovered to his dismay that he was no longer entitled to the use of his own last name; while Prince Jefri subsequently unloaded Asprey to a hedge fund, William opened a beautiful shop in London's Mayfair under the name William & Son.
Under its new owners Asprey has gone in an increasingly fashionable direction, and while producing some beautiful things it has suffered financial setbacks from over-enthusiastic expansion. William & Son by contrast hearkens back to Asprey's traditional roots, and still maintains an air of clubby exclusivity in its Mayfair premises (pictured above), which stocks high-end jewelry, silver, watches, leathergoods, china and crystal. A key facet of the business is its bespoke service, which will basically fashion anything you like in whatever precious material strikes your fancy as long as you can afford it. More recently William added an adjacent gun room, where beautiful silver-inlaid shotguns can now be had for $100,000 and up. He is certainly following through on his promise to "maintain his family's reputation in the historic splendour of No. 10 Mount Street." And what's in a name, after all?
Though it will always have strong overtones of colonialism, going on safari in Africa these days isn't about imposing country club comforts on the untamed wilderness or making a dent in the local wildlife population. That's only fitting in an era when more people come to photograph the animals than shoot them. That's not to say there aren't plenty of elegant luxury lodges in Southern Africa where you can be waited on hand and foot; it's just that the emphasis now is on "organic glamour," a more ecologically-minded, indigenous approach that doesn't sacrifice anything in the way of comfort or style.
In The New Safari: Design, Décor, Detail, just out from Quivertree Publications, we get a tour of 17 of the best and most unique of these lodges, from the diaphanous Singita Lembombo in the Kruger National Park to Namibia's Little Kulala with its blend of earthy and contemporary elements. Be sure to check it out before you book your own excursion.
Lotus Flower Chandeliers are created by artisans combining hundreds of hand-cut capiz shells edged in metal together into large pearl and smoke colored spheres. When lit from within the pendants shimmer and shine like stained glass and look equally impressive hanging alone or in a grouping. Two sizes (13" and 21" diameters) are available from Viva Terra for $329 and $629, and in keeping with their eco-friendly and sustainable stance as many supplies as possible are recycled and reclaimed in the manufacturing of the product -- plus the company recommends using an energy saving light bulb to illuminate your new purchase. 
