I have two fluffy and squishy Persian cats and I absolutely adore them! Having them at home is a delight, a fact Im sure all pet owners can attest to. Another fact that all pet owners can attest to as well sometimes, just sometimes, our pets can be a little annoying (No, were not horrible people for saying this). Theyre like children, they have their mood swings, demands, tantrums, and an intense need for attention. They also love leaving our homes in a mess, with no consideration for our belongings. And the few pet products that I do add in my home to keep them entertained and comfortable, often turn out to be complete eyesores, having no respect at all for my interior decor and theme. The secret is to integrate furniture designs in our homes that our pets can rest on, relax, and keep themselves busy with, but also designs that manage to harmoniously merge with our interiors, seamlessly becoming a part of our living space and also providing us with some functionality. We can cast aside the bulky pet products that stand out in our homes awkwardly without even really catering to the needs of our pets. This collection of interesting, multifunctional and not to mention fun furniture designs will keep both you and your pet satisfied!

Designed by Ben Hansen, this simple yet innovative dog house uses excess water from watering plants and filters it into the dogs water bowl! Rattan with green accents gives it a light, airy feel. The minimal dog house will brighten any corner of your home hard not to when it holds a cute plant and pet! Its an adorable piece of furniture that not only serves as a home for your pet but also doubles up as an elegant plant holder, harmoniously merging with the interiors of your home.

The idea behind the Gatrimonial bed frame by CatLife is that it should be a comforting space for the pet and owner. The cat gets a secure, comfortable den, and does not feel as if you are invading his/her space. The furniture also provides plenty of stimuli to keep him/her entertained. I can already hear my roommates pet darting through his maze while I lie on the bed above him. Perhaps this cat-friendly furniture will encourage some casual bonding time between the two of us.

Seungji created the Dog House Sofa to enhance the harmony between humans and their pets. Created out of solid wood ash and fabric upholstery, the sofa can seat two people. The entire piece is draped in neutral shades of beige and mocha, so no jarring colors to alarm your pet! The wooden armrest also doubles as a cozy hideaway for your pets. Its a private section where they can laze around, with an opening in the armrest, allowing them to sneakily cuddle up to you! Such a design enables the two of you to interact but also provides sufficient personal space, without your pet destroying your beloved upholstery (for a change).

Industrial designer Jong Hoon Yoon from Seoul, Korea pondered over the unique idea of thinking from a pets perspective and designing an intuitive TV stand. Christened With, the space-saving TV unit doubles as a cozy spot for your cat to never let go of. All this while being considerate of the kind human too. Yes, With considers the positioning of the cat and the fellow human, so that they both are in their comfort zone and dont bother each other. For us, the TV is a mere source of entertainment as well as lousy around on our couch binge-watching streaming content. On the other hand, the heat produced from the TV and the accompanying electronics is an opportunity for your pet to curl up and enjoy in their own space.

People in small living spaces use low furniture (such as rugs, floor chairs) to build intimate relaxing areas while cats prefer covert spaces, but due to the limited space, there are not many places to hide or play.CatYou in a Circle by Jack Dogson (ironic huh!)didnt want to separate the pets from their owners so it is designed to cleverly bring them together while also maintaining boundaries. The hollow armrests and backrest offer cats a playground and hiding territory while the coffee table provides a place to sleep. The woven bamboo texture makes it possible for owners to see their cats even when they are hiding and play with through its holes. The size of holes is different in different parts of the furniture to adapt to the needs of the pet as well as humans. The backrest holes are smaller to make the cats feel more secure. But holes above are bigger so that when people lean on the sofa, they can see through the backrest and find their cats underneath.

In all the desk designs Ive seen over the years, this is a first for me! Its calledAscendand its been created by Dan Devine for all the cat ladies and fellas out there. Like any cat person will tell you, the moment you give attention to anything but your furry friend, theyll find a way to lounge on your keyboard or knock over your utensils until its back on them! Designed with this in mind, the wood desk has been crafted with multiple ramps and landings for cats to perch up and play. If you cant fight em, invite em!

Named after the acorn nut and clearly inspired by its curvaceous form, the Acorn Leisure chair boasts of a similar voluminous design, with a seat above for you to rest on, and an area below thats ideally sized for a pet, or a makeshift magazine-rack. The chairs unique design is instantly eye-catching, with the lack of traditional details like legs, or a backrest thats attached directly to the seat. Instead, the chair builds itself out of a wooden platform on the base, with a wrought-iron enclosure above it, topped off with a seat. The backrest, instead of emerging from the seat itself, mounts directly onto the base platform, making for an incredibly unique chair that your eye naturally gravitates towards! The wooden parts of the chair are CNC-machined to perfection, and the wrought-iron pipes on the base give the chair its sturdiness while allowing your pets to see your legs as they sit inside their safe-space, providing a unique connection between both occupants! Alternatively, you could use the space under the seat to store books, toys, and pouf pillows too!

The latest piece to catch our eye has been the Kyali cat climber by MADE for its almost human furniture-like design because usually, a cat climber would stick out but this one just blends in like a cozy stool! The climber has a warm inviting vibe because of the woody tones and the soft fabric cushioning that will instantly draw your cats in for a nap. It is a blend of a bed and a dynamic game for your pets. Featuring three shelves or levels, Kyalis goal was to provide plenty of fun for your feline friends without taking up too much room. It has a modular structure that lets you adjust the shape to create more space for cats to explore or to make it more compact to store.

Grid functions as a comfy resting spot for your pet. With a cozylounging spot at the bottom and a slanted roof on top, it manages to provide a very homely feel, a safe haven of sorts for your furry friend. The gridded structure at the entrance allows your pet to slither in and out, allowing them to have their own little adventure! On the other hand, the roof also functions as a magazine stand. You can place your magazines on the roof, where they will be supported by an almost inconspicuousshelf.

This particular piece of cat furniture is extremely easy to set-up and seamlessly integrates with your current home setting minus the bulkiness of a conventional cat tree. In 2020, it is all about how modular the product is, and that applies to pet furniture too. With Catssup you can create a DIY jungle gym by simply clamping the different parts onto existing furniture and changing the set-up whenever you (read: your cat) need. The best part is that it doesnt require any floor space so if you want to lie down and WFH you absolutely can with the extra room! The Catssup set includes a Dot Step, a Sleeping Pill, a Space Ball, a Cloud Lounge, and a Climbing Tower I would just like to say that I strongly believe human furniture should also have fun labels like this and maybe we would be more invested in it.

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Pet-friendly IKEA-worthy furniture designs that perfectly balance the needs of your pet, your home and you! - Yanko Design

The group wants to save farmland Photo Ros Tapp

A group set up in a bid to save Westgate agricultural land from being developed hopes to mobilise residents into action.

The Westgate Action Group Against Housing Development says a planning application for a huge 2,000 development of a new town on farmland at the edge of town will mean a massive population increase, lost green fields and a change of environment forever.

Millwood Designer Homes wants to create up to 2000 homes, including up to 100 Extra Care units, a care home, two form entry primary school, health centre and shops, cafes and restaurants on 237 acres which includes agricultural land either side of Minster Road.

The site can be broken into three main parcels, divided by the existing roads. The first parcel is on the west of Minster Road. The second parcel lies between Minster Road and Garlinge High Street. The third parcel extends east of Garlinge High Street.

A full application has been submitted for 120 homes earmarked as a new Dent-De-Lion neighbourhood, with views of the Dent-De-Lion Gatehouse and fronting on to a village green with a feature pond. This site will be accessed from Garlinge High Street / Dent-de-Lion Road.

The development has been named The Gallops. Millwood say the new town will include green spaces, play areas and walking and cycle routes. Plan amendments have been made based on feedback from community meetings and exhibitions, including one held last November.

But the action group says members are concerned about: the decimation of prime agricultural land and that this development will increase the population of Westgate from approximately 7500 to 11,500 changing the character of Westgate forever.

A spokesperson for the group said: Our aim is to raise awareness of the planning application and provide information to support and mobilise residents in responding .

We believe this development cannot be considered separately to other similar developments planned for Birchington and Shottendane and so we aim to collaborate with other groups in Thanet .

We believe it is important to ensure there is sufficient time to consider the application in the light of a number of significant changes and additional evidence.

The first phase planning application was made at a time of national emergency andmany people were not aware of it. There are questions regarding the algorithm used to calculate housing numbers and why Thanet been allocated 10% of the Kent housing quota when it represent only 2.7% of the area and has significant food production.

The application appears to extend beyond the designated allocation as agreed in the Local Plan.

One of our members, Ros Tapp, estimates we are losing one third of the central undulating chalk farmland cited as area of character in local plan.

We do not believe the application has fully considered the extensive wildlife population on the farmland.There has been a climate emergency declared locally, nationally and internationally. It is incomprehensible why there are plans to proceed to decimate acres of prime agricultural land, failing to protect this for food production now and for future generations at a time when we need future food security.

We are urging residents to contact their local town, district and Kent county councillors , MPs and Secretary of State for housing.

Millwood says it is planning to include wildflower meadows and bug and bee hotels as well as areas for foraging, an orchard and a heritage trail. There will also be natural play and sensory areas.

Planning documents say: This first phase of development provides an opportunity to create a visually striking gateway and set a high standard for the future phases of development. The Gallops, Land at Westgate and Garlinge, has been designed comprehensively, demonstrating the potential to deliver up to 2000 new homes in a sustainable manner, with no fundamental constraints on development that cannot be appropriately mitigated.

The proposed site is larger than that suggested in Thanets adopted Local Plan, which is a blueprint for housing, development and infrastructure on the isle up until 2031.

Westgate was originally allocated 1,000 homes but a vote in 2018 to retain Manston airport as aviation-use only instead of mixed-use development meant 2,500 proposed homes had to be reallocated to new sites.

The reallocation included 1,000 homes for greenfield sites either side of Minster Road in Westgate, bringing the draft plan total for the town to 2,000.

Millwood Designer Homes is involved with a similar plan for development in Birchington.

Westgate Town Council has also opposed the development plan. A statement says: We have always been opposed to the building of houses on the grade 1 and 2 agricultural land, the loss of separation between Westgate and Garlinge, the loss of open space and the over development of our small town.

We believe that other, preferably brown field sites should have been chosen for a development of this size. We understand that there is a need for housing, however we have always been concerned that the methodology used to calculate the housing need in Thanet caters for developers and those moving to Thanet from outside the district, more than local residents.

We are concerned that this methodology which does not value agricultural land will result in Thanet becoming more and more densely populated with no concern for the over-arching impact on our towns, our residents or the environment.

As the local plan was approved last year, we had to concede that this land will be used as a strategic site for housing against our will. We are now eager to ensure that if houses go ahead that they are future looking, take the environment and our residents into account and do not impact the town in a negative way, now or in the future.

The full objection can be viewed here

North Thanet MP Sir Roger Gale this week called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to announce and immediate moratorium on the use of all farm land for housing until policy can be reviewed.

The PM said the request was unrealistic although he appeared to believed Sir Roger was calling for a halt on all construction.

The planning documents can be viewed on Thanet councils planning page, reference OL/TH/20/1400

To join the Save Our Fields campaign email saveourfields2021@gmail.com

There is also a dedicated Facebook page and Twitter and Instagram pages @saveourfields

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Westgate action group urges residents to join up and 'Save Our Fields' - The Isle of Thanet News

It was while freeze-framing an episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills to scrutinise the dressing room that interior designer Charu Gandhi took stock of just how much life has changed in lockdown.

Where usually her super-rich clients would be asking for expensive home renovations inspired by their worldwide travels to beautiful boutique hotels, art events or fashion shows, with all such sources of diversion off the agenda during the pandemic, they are doing the next best thing: turning to TV.

We are designing a large house in London with a spacious master suite, and when it came to designing the dressing room, the client referenced a specific episode of The Real Housewives as she loved the way in which the central island was organised, and the surrounding joinery, says Gandhi, founder of the design house Elicyon.

Gruesome plotlines are no deterrent to coveted design either. Gandhi has several clients asking for silk wallpaper to match the one in Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grants bedroom in the gripping but grisly drama, The Undoing. Its similar to a de Gournay design, and we wrapped one entire bedroom, including the wardrobes, in a textured silk wallcovering, adding a sense of narrative, depth and richness to the room as in the TV series, she says.

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The super-rich are designing homes inspired by Bridgerton, The Undoing and The Real Housewives - Telegraph.co.uk

Designer, podcaster and author Rebecca West will present How to Design a Happy Home, an hour-long webinar in the February 17 edition of International Market Centers Market Insights program. Wests session will address how designers help clients put together homes they crave, and how manufacturers and retailers can develop products that generate such satisfaction.

West will provide insights into design psychology fundamentals and alignment as well as product selections and marketing. She will present the eight categories of well-being that meet emotional and psychographic needs with related products and collection ideas. The session goal is to spark new design and marketing ideas for designers, retailers and manufacturers that will lead to consumers and clients feeling truly happy at home.

West is the founder of Seattle-based design firms Rebecca West Interiors and Seriously. Happy. Homes, as well as a podcaster for Creating Your Happy Place and author of Happy Starts at Home. The session, which is worth 1 CEU credit, is set for Wednesday, February 17 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST. All pre-registered attendees can win a copy of Wests book, Happy Starts at Home when registered.

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West To Address 'Happy Home' Design In IMC Webinar - HomeWorld Business

Informed by her upbringing in New York Citys Chinatown neighborhood, the style of up-and-coming fashion designer Sandy Liangcan be described as playful, process-driven, and eclectic. Her bespoke garments reference a fusion of cultural signifiers and emulate this diverse locale. Its no wonder that Liangs first brick and mortar flagship should incorporate a broad material palette that reflects both its context and her approach. Brooklyn firmAlmost Studiodesigned this 1,500-square-foot Lower East Side boutique as a playground for a fashion designer.

Transforming a former laundromat into an expansive, multivalent retail space was a family affair. While Almost Studio coprincipal and Liangs life partner Dorian Booth was responsible for the complete retrofit, her fathers company Sun Sun Contracting Inc served as the builder. These deeply rooted connections ensure that the project is seamlessly embedded within the community and is as true to the fashion designers locally-inspired vision as possible. The new boutique is within walking distance of other family businesses and homes.

Booth and Almost Studio cofounder Anthony Gagliardi implemented a layered scheme that distinguishes different areas with layered materials and curvilineal partitions. These depth-defining mesh and semi-translucent curtain walls are broken up by half-archways, allowing for an easy flow between designated clothing display areas, points of sale, dressing rooms, bathrooms, a kitchen, and an office. Booth described this mise en scene as a stage set with overlapping backdrops.

Take a shopping trip downtown on our interiors and design website, aninteriormag.com.

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Sandy Liang's new Lower East Side flagship reflects eclectic and locally-inspired fashions - The Architect's Newspaper

2020 was a life-altering and drastic year, and 2021 is probably our chance to redeem all our careless mistakes of the past and to start living more consciously and sustainably. We cannot ignore the needs of our planet anymore, we need to take the environment into consideration, and what better way to start doing that than from our own homes? Sustainable furniture is taking the design industry by storm, theyre a step towards making our homes and our daily lives more eco-friendly and sustainable. Theyre an attempt to cast aside toxic materials, and instead, add furniture designs to our home that wont rot away on Earth for years once were done with them. Weve curated a collection of furniture products created from cork, bamboo, rattan, and even orange peels! The options are endless, and the end result is the same a greener, healthier, and happier Mother Earth!

Rattan is an eco-friendly natural material that is usually used in the creation of baskets or furniture, especially chairs. It is sustainable and resilient which makes it an exceptional wood that renews in just 5-7 years. Designers love rattan for creating furniture because the manufacturing is low-tech and the production process usually involves crafting by hand or using facilities that do not negatively impact the environment. Rattan is also an easy material to mold physically and creatively to fit your idea, it accepts paints and it can be worked into many styles. Moreover, the inner core can be separated and worked into wicker talk about reducing waste! This stool explores the malleability of rattan as a material in furniture design, we are so used to seeing it in a checkered woven form that the noodle-like seating of this piece becomes a testament to how we can

Vadim Kibardin decided to give an innovative, sustainable twist to it and designed furniture from paper. Why is his furniture a piece of art? Well, he has spent 5,110 hours making it by hand!Every piece of furniture that Kibardin makes is one of a kind, there is no mold and he shapes them all himself.We are now moving towards a sustainable lifestyle but Kibardin has been doing this for over 25 years he has successfully recycled 2000 pounds of cardboard which is equivalent to saving 17 trees. To put it into perspective, 17 trees absorb 250 pounds of carbon dioxide each year and we need to ramp up the materials we use in design so that they serve a functional purpose while also contributing to slowing down the climate crisis.

Architect, designer, and creative director Jos Manuel Carvalho Arajo who Graduated in architecture from the architecture schools of Oporto and Lisbon, Carvalho Arajo, has a keen eye for product design, making him a well-renowned name in his spheres. His simple yet highly useful chair design christened Tumble is the perfect example of intuitive product design that is well-tailored for ultra-modern interiors. It is essentially a platform that serves as a chair, side table, bench seat, storage unit, bookshelf, center table, or lounger. Depending on the nature of use and the available interior space, Tumble can be put to good use with a bit of creative thinking. The furniture piece is crafted out of natural agglomerated cork and natural oak, making it good for the environment too.

Broom is the ingenious result of a design collaboration that both avoids and eliminates waste. It is made from a compound of industrial waste from lumber factories and industrial plastic plants 75% waste polypropylene and 15% reclaimed wood that usually ends up in the trash. It checks all the boxes for sustainable furniture with its three-fold environmental impact less energy, less waste, and less carbon. With the Broom chair, it is about less and more. We chose less less style, less design, less material, less waste, less energy. And so, the Broom chair became so much more, says Starck when talking about the design process to make a chair that does more than being a surface to sit on.

Simple? Check. Sustainable? Check. Stunning? Check. The Knot chair will check all your boxes when it comes to a stool-style seating solution. The structure is made almost entirely of beautiful, eco-friendly bamboo. The natural material is bent using a unique crisscross weave that reinforces its natural strength and creates an exquisite, sculptural aesthetic. Lightweight, long-lasting, and integrable into a variety of styles, its sure to be a timeless addition to any interior.

Unlimited imagination and unimaginable needs of people could be contradictory to the limitations of our planet and our capacities as human beings. The consumption patterns we have adapted have led to global warming, polluted air, soil, and water while putting pressure on people, both in working conditions and a psychological obsession to gain more without answering the real needs, says designer Ariyan Davoodian on what inspired him to create modular furniture for every space. The aim was to reduce the unnecessary (and constant) buying by using creativity and sustainable development to meet our furniture needs that also work for our environment.Un-Lim is an ageless collection that can be molded and changed over time think of it as redesigning your own furniture using the same pieces to create a whole new form and function! It comes with 8 different parts that you can combine to match your space and needs. Turn it from a bed to a table to a chair seamlessly. The separate modules come with a notebook that tells the story of its production timeline from the furnitures point of view! It also includes a piece of wood from the tree that was used and a shoutout to all wood craftsmen who worked on your set.

Looking to make a switch to a sustainable lifestyle in 2020? Meet the Dot Collection these modern pieces are made from the waste produced during manufacturing furniture. This group will keep with the aesthetic of your space while also allowing you to continue reusing, reducing, and recycling. The Dot collection includes a set of chairs, bench, and side table that all come in subtle earthy colors with a combination of cool and warm. The inspiration for this modern sustainable set was a factory visit where the Studio Pesi team noticed a lot of leftover material.

OTTAN Studio is completely obsessed with sustainable designs, and theyre implementing an innovative method to create them! Theyve been transforming orange peels, cut grass, carrot pulp, fallen leaves, and nutshells into design objects. These products range from tiles to tables and even include lighting designs. The OTTAN coffee table is one of their unique pieces (and also one of my favorites) created from expired lentils and cut grass! Carrot pulp, orange peels, and artichoke leaves were used to make the lamp within the table.

The SMLE, which is a part of the ChopValue catalog, uses a raw material that theres an abundance of used chopsticks. These chopsticks undergo heat, steam, and pressure processes to create a new engineered material, thus giving them a new lease of life thats much longer than what they were originally intended for. The SMLE shelf is a modular system that relies on recycled steel frames that fix to a wall, holding shelves in between. The steel frames can be arranged practically in any orientation and arrangement, giving you the freedom to create your own shelving design that can even be expanded if you want to, in the future! Depending on the size of the shelf you buy, it comes with the recycled steel frames and ChopValues signature chopstick shelves. Each shelf uses hundreds of bamboo chopsticks, compressed together to create a unique looking material with its own bespoke grain-pattern.

When you think eco-friendly, aesthetics is not the first thing that comes to your mind. Most of us will be stumped if we are asked to name three chic eco-friendly products to use daily, but Andrea Juhasz has created an entire interior space that is not only stylish but completely eco-friendly above recycling and beyond sustainability. Lets take a look at the details of what makes for a beautiful environment inside our home while protecting the one outside it.Sustainable and eco-friendly materials were used in every aspect of the house right from flooring with corkwood and bamboo to using jute and coconut fiber carpets without compromising on the visual design. These natural elements in your home can reduce pollution and they are also anti-allergic and antistatic.

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Sustainable furniture designs that replace the mass produced plastic designs and make our homes greener! - Yanko Design

The Design Center of the Americas is hosting a Virtual Winter Market, a series of conversations and presentations specifically aimed at design industry insiders. DCOTAs Virtual Winter Market is one of the ongoing digital activations in 2021 throughout all of the Cohen Design Centers. The theme of DCOTAs all-day event is Navigating the New: Reimaging the Future of Design. The conversations will explore the methods in which the design community has transcended this period of adjustment through togetherness, while reevaluating normalcy and its defined meaning all while fashioning forward into an optimistic 2021.

Powering the Luxury Residence

This exciting virtual event streamed from Crestons DCOTA showroom will provide an overview of Creston Smart Home Technology and the latest solutions for designer homes. Viewers will gain an understanding of various residential control solutions and the benefits associated with each system. Presented by Michelle Guss, Director of Business Development, and Joseph DosSantos, Manager for the Crestron Showroom at DCOTA.

Link to Register:

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIrc-mvrTIvGtGb5hgNqHX562eq0R7N4tGZ

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Powering the Luxury Residence - bocaratonobserver.com - The Boca Raton Observer

Whatever your feelings are on the possibility of High Point, North Carolina, becoming a year-round town, it just got a little more real.

Two leading organizations, the long-established High Point Showroom Association and the recently launched High Point x Design, have announced a merger, bringing their combined membership to 60 brands under the High Point x Design name. The organization is now poised to represent a united front in the cause of establishing High Point as a year-round destination for designers to shop outside of traditional Market days.

The HPxD (as its styled for short) flagship roster now includes American Leather, Councill, Design Legacy, Dovetail Furniture, Hudson Valley Lighting, Jonathan Charles, Kindel, Mr. Brown London, Oly Studio, Randall Tysinger Antiques, Red Egg, Schwung Home, Thayer Coggin, Woodbridge Furniture, Verellen and others. The hope is that increased access to flagship showrooms will be a draw for interior designers.

The two organizations had been separate until now because of a subtle but important distinction in membership. HPxD launched specifically among brands with a trade-preferred model that offered exclusive designer pricing, but sold to the general public. Meanwhile, HPSAs membership was focused on increasing designer access to trade-only showrooms by opening once a month outside of established Market datesa preexisting model with plenty of overlap, but different priorities and perspectives.

Conversations about syncing up the two organizations programming dates soon led to talks of a merger. We started thinking, If were all doing our own thing and planning events, are we confusing our main customer? says Tom Van Dessel, the chairman of HPxD and founder of home decor brand Splashworks. (In addition to HPSA and HPxD events aimed at designers, there is also a monthly First Tuesday initiative that attracts retailers, which only added to the mixed messaging.) We thought, How do we become more inclusive so it works for more people? Because if it works for more people, isnt it a benefit to everybody?

The new organization will include four tiers of membershipbusinesses that are open to all daily; businesses that are open to all by appointment and during events; trade-only businesses that are open daily; and trade-only businesses that are open by appointment and during events. The advantage of so many different ways to participate, says Van Dessel, is that it opens the door to more participants.

Tom Van DesselRon Royals

Cass KeyCourtesy of HPMA

Left: Tom Van Dessel Ron Royals | Right: Cass Key Courtesy of HPMA

Were going to be a much larger group, and I expect that our membership will grow significantly [on top of that] now that you can join in whatever fashion is feasible for your business, he says. Before the merger, HPxD was mulling applications from several brands that didnt meet its open-to-all criteria, but wanted to be part of the collective; now, they are welcome to join. The more people we have, the more attractive it is for designers to comewe can create our own momentum.

Any pushback to that momentum will likely come from retailers, especially regional ones who have long opposed a year-round Market for simple competitive reasonsif brands are selling their furniture direct, they reason, why would customers buy from a retail store? While its superficially a local conflict, the issue has far-reaching implications, as it probes the balance of power between furniture makers and the retail chains who bring their goods to Market nationwide.

Its of interest to one retailer in particular: Furnitureland South, the worlds biggest furniture store. Though the operation is a North Carolina institution, its far from a regional storehomeowners and designers from all across the country drive (or fly) to the one-of-a-kind destination to furnish their homes. Last fall, on the Business of Home podcast, CEO Jeff Harris expressed skepticism about the idea of a year-round High Point, though mostly on logistical grounds. We dont think thats a viable solution. It costs money to staff these showrooms. It costs money to have logistics to support, and then youve got to simplify how in the world it would all work, he told host Dennis Scully. Listen, were the largest furniture store in the world, and its tough [for us] to shop Market. I cant imagine a consumer trying to navigate [it].

Though there was an initial flurry of disapproval around some of the founding HPxD members plans to be open to consumers, Van Dessel says that the actual pushback has been minimal. And while keeping showrooms open the full year will remain a core mission of the organization, the vast majority of the organizations members will be trade-only following the merger.

While the details of the merger have yet to be worked out, including how the leadership teams will combine, both membership bodies are optimistic about the partnership. Simply put, we are stronger together, Cass Key, creative director of Woodbridge Furniture and HPSA president, said in a statement. An interior designer isnt likely to travel to High Point to visit one or two showrooms. Sixty? Thats a compelling reason to come, shop, stay and discover the whole city.

Following the merger, HPxD will update its website, expanding its city guideinspired approach that features profiles of member brands and area designers. The organization will also continue in the process of becoming a nonprofit. (It makes it easier for people to pay fees, and our remit is to make sure we spend that money wisely, says Van Dessel.)

High Point Market Authority president Tom Conley and chairman Dudley Moore Jr. were at the table throughout the formative conversations of HPxD. While HPMAs mission is to drive attendance to the citys Spring and Fall Markets, Conley recognizes that a robust year-round offering would serve to amplify the twice-annual event. These efforts to further solidify High Point as a design destination for the trade is beneficial for all parties involved, and we applaud the Showroom Association and HPxD group for recognizing their mutual goals and creating this alignment, he said in a statement acknowledging the merger. We look forward to continued synergy between their efforts and ours, acknowledging that its not only High Point and the showrooms that benefit in the end, but the buyer, too, as they are able to fully utilize the resources here as their needs arise.

Above all, Van Dessel is looking forward to the bigger tent an enlarged membership will provide. On the whole, everyone is excited to move forward and do something different, he says. I cant imagine there being a real opportunity to launch something like this three years agoit would have been blasphemy to suggest it, and there were too many paradigms in place that didnt allow people to think that this was possible. When something happens like the situation were in, it pushes people to look at things differently. One of the advantages of coming together is we have a bigger body of people to leverage and put their passion and energy into doing what were doing.

Homepage image: The skyline in High Point, North Carolina | Courtesy of High Point Market Authority

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Will High Point become a year-round town? - Business of Home

The One is a recently completed residential estate in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles. It spent nearly a decade in development and it is billed as the world's largest and most expensive home. The 105,000-square-foot property sits on five acres and is surrounded on three sides by a moat. The One gives the appearance of floating above the city. The property took eight years and 600 people to build. It was developed by Nile Niami and designed by architect Paul McClean and interior designer Kathryn Rotondi. The One is on the market for $340 million.

The house has 26-foot-high ceilings and panoramic 360-degree views of the ocean, downtown LA, and the San Gabriel Mountains. Niami stipulated a neutral color palette of gray, black and white, to let the views of the ocean and mountains dominate the color palette of the space. The living and entertainment spaces of the home are separated. The entertainment spaces are located on the lower level.

The One has 21 bedrooms and 42 bathrooms. It is made up of four separate structures. The main house is 74,000 square feet. The master suite is 5,500 square feet and reportedly has several bathrooms, two walk-in closets, and its own infinity pool. The garage can house 30 cars. The home also has a four-lane bowling alley, a movie theatre that seats 30, a private nightclub, and a philanthropy wing designed to host charity galas for up to 200 people. There's also a 10,000 square foot sky deck and five swimming pools. The interior space is designed to look like a high-end luxury hotel. The home also boasts an impressive art collection and bespoke furniture from byShowroom.

The One will always be the largest residence in Los Angeles due to recently changed ordinances in the city that guarantee a house of this size will never be built again in LA.

In 2018, it was reported that The One, which was still under construction, would hit the market for $500 million. It has actually hit the market for $340 million, which still makes it the priciest home in the U.S.

The One's developer Nile Niami started out as a film producer who transitioned into becoming a real estate developer. He is known for developing lavish mansions in Los Angeles that cost over $100 million. He started in real estate by flipping inexpensive homes in the suburbs of L.A. His first big deal was in 2012 when he flipped a home to the Winklevoss twins for $18 million. In 2014, he sold a custom-built mansion in Holmby Hills to P. Diddy for $39 million. In 2016, he sold a Beverly Hills mansion for $38.3 million. In 2017, he sold a $26 million home to Floyd Mayweather. That same year, he completed work on the $100 million Opus home in Beverly Hills.

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Los Angeles Is Home To The Largest (And Most Expensive) Residence In The World - Celebrity Net Worth

Before Covid, designer and artist Luke Edward Halls idea of a perfect Saturday was rummaging through junk shops for anything that caught his magpie eye. Today, confined at home like the rest of us, he has developed a serious eBay and online auction habit. Recently, he bought a 1930s plaster crown, a slightly frayed royal commemorative banner depicting St George and the dragon, and added to his collection of Italian LUomo Vogue covers from the 90s.

This is about more than just consumption, however. Its such a joyful thing, Hall says. Im drawn to playful objects, such as theatrical props. A pair of outsize, decorative lyres from a fairground grace his blush pink spare bedroom. Often, I just grab them and find a home for them afterwards. These things always cheer me up.

Anything that cheers us up has to be a good thing. But its only recently, after long months at home, that we have realised how much our domestic environments contribute to our happiness. Last summer, the Royal Institute of British Architects surveyed 1,500 homeowners, aged 24 to 64, from across the UK, on the impact of Covid on how people want to live and work at home: 70% of respondents agreed that the design of their home has affected their wellbeing during the pandemic.

Certainly, our homes have had to do some heavy lifting, serving as a sanctuary, school, office, even a gym. We have all been reassessing our four walls, wondering if that slate grey paint was a wise decision, how weve lived without houseplants for so long, and why we never got round to fixing that broken blind. For some, fresh flowers bring joy; for others, its a spotlessly tidy living room or a freezer full of batch cooking. But are there concrete ways we can make our homes happier places, ones that increase our own sense of wellbeing?

Absolutely, says Michelle Ogundehin, author of Happy Inside: How To Harness The Power Of Home For Health And Happiness, former editor of Elle Decoration and all-round interiors guru. Your home is as fundamental to your wellbeing as nutrition and exercise. It sustains and supports you. For too long, it was somewhere you left in the morning and came back to at night. But the pandemic has been an awakening: people are now, finally, thinking about how their home makes them feel, rather than what it looks like.

I think a lot of us stopped [last March] and noticed our home was a dumping ground, she says. Overnight, many of us had to work from home and realised we couldnt focus in a messy room. So our first instinct was to declutter it helped us take some control over what was happening, too. And then we started to look at what worked, and what didnt.

For Ogundehin, it was the door to her office or lack of one at home in Brighton. When she first moved in, she removed it. I worked from home alone, while my son was at school, and I wanted to feel open to the rest of the house. But with lockdown and home schooling, she craved privacy and had it rehung. Now, I have the bliss of closing the door and hearing CBeebies fade away.

Before we look at how to make our homes happier, more uplifting spaces, we need to discover what we like, she says. Do a really deep dive into who you are: what are your favourite colours, what triggers your relaxation it might be a process of trial and error. And if you get it wrong? I dont think of it as mistakes, more about gaining experience.

What made Ogundehin happy was a parquet floor. For years, having a dark-stained parquet floor was the stuff of dreams, she says. I always thought, one day, when Im a grownup, Ill have one. Its walnut-coloured chevrons flow from the front door and fill the ground floor. I live in a 200-year-old house, and this floor will probably last another 200 years.

People get nervous around home decoration because they feel they should be following trends, she says. We need to change the narrative around interiors. It isnt about what is the new grey, or whether coastal is this summers look. Its about what makes you feel good. If thats a coffee table with a shiny orange lacquer top, then great.

Wil Law, a home design stylist at John Lewis, agrees. People are abandoning trends, and turning towards what pleases them. Demand for his design advice has never been higher: before the pandemic, Law was meeting a couple of customers a week; since April, when John Lewis launched its home design service remotely, he has been seeing two or three customers online a day, dispensing advice from his colourful, exquisitely styled flat in Wakefield.

First, Law encourages customers to step away from their room. I look at colours with them, ask them what theyre drawn to, and help them nail a palette that suits them, he says. What they come up with can be a revelation they will often say, oh, I have a lot of that in my wardrobe.

During the first lockdown, people were most interested in how to turn their living rooms into warmer, more interesting spaces, Law says. People were staring at their walls, and often finding them too bare. I had a lot of conversations about how to create a gallery wall [of pictures]. Today, in lockdown 2021, they are investing in weighted blankets and candles, to aid sleep and ward off winter.

Beyond figuring out what we like, are there universal truths about decor that make us happier? Yes, Ogundehin says, but most of it is intuitive. Views of nature, daylight, green space either through a garden or indoor plants have all been proven to lower blood pressure. Rounded forms are more nurturing. And texture is hugely important. I surround myself with knitted throws and natural materials.

There is science to suport these design choices. There is a lot of evidence that natural environments parks, trees are great healers, says Dr Eleanor Ratcliffe, lecturer in environmental psychology at the University of Surrey, who specialises in restorative environments. You can recreate this effect inside through plants and greenery, she says. Looking at the sorts of shapes you find in nature, known as biophilic design, can have a calming effect. Fractal, repeated elements, such as you might find on a coiled fern, are easily processed [by our brains]. So get wallpapering.

Ratcliffes studies have also shown that people have strong attachments to places that remind them of happy times, so personalising our spaces with objects that carry those positive associations a shell from a beach that reminds us of a good holiday, say can increase our feelings of happiness. That becomes even more important as our homes have morphed into offices, she says, with all the ugly ephemera that goes with that. This is something Hall has discovered, too. Ive always loved displaying things from my trips. It feels even more important now we cant travel, he says. I suppose I see my favourite objects almost as talismans: they bring me comfort and joy, particularly when storms are raging outside.

There is less scientific evidence that colour has an impact on our wellbeing, Ratcliffe says, but there is a lot of perceived wisdom: that blue is cold, orange is warm, yellow is uplifting. Colour is simply a personal choice, says Hall, who is known for his bold use of it. His home a rented cottage in Gloucestershire features a mustard yellow dining room, an olive living room and a pale pink guest bedroom. We just painted it our favourite colours, he says. He finds pale colours calming and yellow is, well, sunny: the egg-yolk hallway of his London flat makes me smile every time I come home.

Materials have a huge impact on how we feel, says Ben Channon, a director at wellbeing design consultancy Ekkist, and author of Happy By Design: A Guide To Architecture And Mental Wellbeing. Natural materials can enhance our wellbeing, he adds. Studies have shown that the aroma of timber causes heart rates to come down. Another experiment found that people in a timber-lined room had lower stress levels than those in a white-painted room. I think we forget that materials some paints, sealants, vinyl flooring release harmful chemicals, which were breathing in. Were so conscious of, say, what goes into our food, but less so our homes. We have a lot of catching up to do.

Ekkist designed a concept house, Ori, intended as a template for how a home can boost wellbeing. The results arent rocket science: there is plenty of natural light, outdoor space and open-plan living for social interaction. The latter is hugely important to our wellbeing, Channon says. But you need to be able to retreat to your own corner, too. Channon suffered periods of anxiety during his 20s: I was living in a shared house with lots of other people so it was sociable, but I had little personal space. It was gloomy, too, as we never drew the curtains. A home designed to increase wellbeing addresses these things, he says. You maximise light, put the bedrooms on the quieter side, insulate against noise; studies have shown that loud, irregular noises lead to higher levels of stress hormones.

If our homes are to help us heal, to bring us joy, they should be a retreat from the outside world, Ogundehin says.

But we should draw the line at turning them into sterile, sanitised spaces, as a reaction to the pandemic: They should be nurturing. If we cant touch anything out there, we have to be able to touch things at home.

In the past year, proximity to death has reminded us that this is our only life, Ogundehin says. So if you want to paint a wall bright yellow, then do it. We need to wake up and start living.

BBC Twos Interior Design Masters, with Michelle Ogundehin, is on now.

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'Forget trends do what makes you feel good': how to style a happy home - The Guardian