NO MORE NOISE
To put the quietus on the Upper East Side apartment we show here, New York designer Glenn Lawson ( www.glennlawson.com) lavished it with such beautiful fabrics you might never guess his ulterior motive. To absorb sounds through the common wall, he hung a palace-sized tapestry floor-to-ceiling over a felt backing and triple-layered the window treatment to muffle street and stray noises. There's a pull-down shade under tortoise-shell bamboo blinds under full silk curtains that are, in turn, lined and interlined.
The wall-to-wall carpeting, padded dining chairs and table skirted to the floor are other hush-hush elements the designer that help the family enjoy meals in relative peace and quiet.
Q: I am looking for a way to incorporate my design tastes with my boyfriend's when we move in together. I've had several apartments on my own and have accumulated a lot of furniture and personal items. He is moving out on his own for the first time and wants to bring beer-themed neon lights and a mega-wide screen TV with him. My style (hip, IKEA-like with bright colors and fabrics) isn't too girly and my boyfriend likes most of my stuff. The problem is, I hate his stuff! I want him to feel like it is his home, too. Do we need to totally redecorate together?
A: No, but get ready to get used to sharing things a lot more important than bad beer signs and big TVs.
Two routes around this design dilemma might lead you to domestic bliss:
- Give him a room of his own so he can enjoy his guy things without comment. There's a reason we call a den a den; it's man's natural habitat.
- Or bite your lip and find ways to integrate enough of his stuff into the overall theme to let him feel at home here.
If you take the second, harder route, promise to write back and tell us how it's going in six months or so. That's about how long it takes the acclimation process to bury offending possessions, both his and hers.
FOLLOW YOUR NOSE
Smell seems to be the new dimension in interior decorating, and we don't mean just aromatherapy. "Odor artists" are at work, codifying different smells and people's reaction to, say, the scent of money (wearing it improved business performance, they claim). The New York Times reports that Norwegian odor artist Sissel Tolaas has even created "Swedish" smells for the likes of Volvo, IKEA, and H & M. Well, who ever put up a faux Christmas tree without longing for a spritz of evergreen?
Visitors to the Tower of London come nose-to-nose with authentic 13th century aromas like the burned-out fireplace in the recently restored bedroom of Edward I and Queen Eleanor. It's part of the take-you-there-in-every-sense movement in many museums today. When Historic Royal Palaces charity took over the Tower (and four other London-area landmarks), they spent close to $4 million on "interpretive programs" that let modern visitors feel closer to the monarchs and buildings that have shaped England's history. ( www.historicroyalpalaces.com).
Those ancient wood smoke aromas were the work of smell experts at Dale Air Co. of Lancaster. (Dale also conjured the fragrance of T-rex's swamp for the British Museum of Natural History - his breath was deemed too gamey to inflict on visitors.)
Following your nose home, you may soon be able to instill such aromas as "wash day," "old inn," "trophy room," or "mahogany" in your own rooms. Not all scents are for sale to the public, but the menu's fun to read ( www.daleair.com).
Comments (0)
Greater Paramus News and Lifestyle Magazine
http://www.paramuspost.com/article.php/20061208182327678