Candella Artificial Flames

Every night at sunset, you can find me flitting around the house dimming sconces, switching one lamp on and others off, and – of course – lighting candles in all corners of the room.  My evening can only begin after the appropriate lighting has been created to suit my mood.

As a designer, and someone who is visually inspired by my surroundings, I’ve always respected lighting and its power to set a tone and create a specific energy.  Perhaps this appreciation for lighting was born in me as a small child during our family’s annual visit to Disneyland, and especially to the Haunted Mansion, where whimsical ghosts dressed in ball gowns and tails are found dancing around a haunted ballroom, chandeliers are covered in wax drippings a hundred years old, and dark and eerie rooms are lit only by quivering candlelight.

Disney's Haunted Mansion

So, it could hardly be more exciting for me to discover the new company, Candella, a visionary start-up that owns the exclusive worldwide rights to the artificial flame technology originally developed for Disney’s Haunted Mansion.  Based in the UK and the US, Candella has successfully commercialized Disney’s inimitable battery-powered flame technology for business and personal use by designing the first realistic faux flame.

Normally, I make it a rule to steer clear of anything artificial (flavors, boobs, plants, people), but Candella’s flame flickers and oscillates as if it were alive, thereby creating the charming and enchanting ambiance that, until now, could only be produced by a real flame.

Beyond being brilliant and elegant, Candella’s artificial flames are low-maintenance (powered by rechargeable batteries), clean (don’t put out dirty smoke) and safe (no open flames to catch on fire).  The applications are plentiful and I expect that interior designers will soon be “burning the midnight oil” decorating all types of spaces with this innovative product.  Think: bars, restaurants, outdoors, hotels, spas, yoga studios, and anywhere else an open flame is too dangerous.

One thing is for sure, you’ll find Candella votives by the dozen in my home as soon as I can get my little hands on them.

I can hardly believe it but autumn has officially arrived.  All the usual yet ever amazing seasonal changes will occur.  The leaves will fade and fall.  The air will become crisp and waft a new fragrance combining ground roots, cinnamon and tobacco.  The sun will ease off and allow the moon to work longer hours.  Our farmer’s markets will boast root vegetables and rich, warming spices.  We will be reacquainted with our loyal wardrobe that has been patiently waiting to come out and play, and we will begin to spend more time at home cozying up next to the fireplace.

It seems you can find tips everywhere on how to transition your wardrobe, make-up and diet to welcome this special season but I fear our homes might be feeling a little neglected.  Being that our surroundings have the power to influence and inspire your mood, I’ve laid out a few ways that, with just a few tweeks and only a few dollars, you can make your home more Fall friendly.  Here’s to a creative, charming and cozy autumn!

ACCESSORY ALTERATIONS
Sometime just re-styling your existing décor is all you need to autumn-ize your home.  Start by bringing in fall flowers, leaves and twigs.  Textured fabrics scream autumn, so switch out the light and airy for rich and substantial.  Drape metal and plastic furniture with fabrics to warm them up, and think about adding a hat rack, umbrella stand and boot bin to your entryway.

For an autumn transition with more impact, below are some design ideas that pack a powerful punch.

Throw Pillows are an inexpensive way to bring autumn to your couch and bed.  Swap out bright colors and smooth, silky pillows with new covers made of velvet, wool, felt, shearling, mohair, leather and bulky knits.  By simply buying new covers and using the same pillows, inter-seasonal storage is a breeze and the expense is minimal.

Rugs – If you have the budget and storage space, consider going all the way by completely changing out your area rugs with plush pile weaves designed with warm colors.  Even if you don’t have the extra cash, you can get the same updated feeling by simply swapping rugs from one room to another as the seasons change.  Another way to go is to layer several small rugs of different patterns and piles in opportune spots.

Window Treatments – By swapping out your light colored and shear summer drapes with warm tones and textured fabrics you can turn any room into a place worthy of lounging.

Blankets – We all snuggle up in them during the fall and they are a permanent fixture on the couch, so choose your colors and fabrics according to the season.  For fall, opt for rich shades and a luxurious hand.  This is a great place to bring in cable knits, faux fur and even animal prints if you dare.

Bathing Room – Give your bathroom a total makeover by simply swapping your towels and bath mats for darker shades.  Changing a linen shower curtain to a heavier canvass or waffle knit in a richer tone will warm up the space with impact.  Odds are you’ll be spending more time soaking in the tub on those chilly autumn nights, so add plenty of textured and colored votives to add life and warmth to an otherwise cold room made of porcelain and tile.

Sleeping Room – Bring out your flannel sheets and replace your crisp white duvet cover with something that invites you to snuggle up for a long winter’s nap.  Maybe add a knobby throw at the foot of the bed for that extra layer of texture.

LIGHT IT UP
Lighting is perhaps the most important element to a home and it has an amazing power to influence and create moody ambiance.  To add designer worthy depth, accent each room with a variety of light sources with different qualities.

Think up-lighting in corners, sconces on the walls, interesting lamps on tables combined with floor lights that throw a blanket of light.

Dimming bulbs are an absolute must as they enable you to control the room’s atmosphere, and therefore the mood, throughout the day.

And of course, fall requires the romantic flickering of candles.

PLAY WITH COLOR
Though it requires a bit of work, paint can make a light and summery room instantly warm and cozy.  If the thought of taping and painting a full wall is daunting, opt instead to paint large canvasses, available at any art store, and hang them wherever a touch of color is needed.  You can always paint over them when spring comes or simply replace them altogether.

I was quite happy to discover that The New York Times did a spread about an apartment that I regularly admire.  It stands across from my gym (Equinox, where you get a good view of the rooftop home while hunched over the evil Butt Blaster machine) in the West Village.  The apartment graces the top of a building who’s ground floor is occupied by Tea and Sympathy, a wee little English restaurant and grocery shoppe.

The wall of white paned glass stands proudly above the manic energy of New York life, and it is there that the current tenant finds peace in her 350 sq ft home.

Needless to say, it’s a sad reality that makes it the norm to pay on average $41 per sq ft for a rental apartment in Manhattan.  So, it speaks volumes for the magnetism of the City that millions of smart, ambitious, upwardly mobile people with good taste will happily cram themselves into a cubbyhole and call it home.

Chez Moi | Le Gendarme

I did it for 9 years.  Though we bounced between newer buildings in Chelsea for a few years, it was the former police building in the West Village, Le Gendarme, that welcomed us home for the long haul.  It is said that our apartment was in fact one of the holding cells when the building was an active police station.

I’m not sure what it says about my personality that it is in a cell that I chose to spend some of my best years in NYC, but the space boasted high ceilings and a loft that we loaded full with storage.  I even kept all my pots, pans, tupperware, and shoes up there since these was no room for it all in the actual living space.  Perhaps the best feature of the apartment was the planted outdoor space that we and our 2 dogs shared with 6 humans, 4 cats and a bunny.

Apparently our strange apartment, rich with character, had more admirers than just our friends as Apartment Therapy featured our tiny space on their website.  I still wish I had been able to clean up and stage the place a little before the photo shoot – there’s crap everywhere, but having our curious place documented has already proven to be a fun thing to have for posterity.

Just for sentimental and historic purposes, I dug up another fun article published in 1987 , also by The New York Times, that talks about our police precinct home and the proposed development of the area, the Far West Village.  New York is such an amazing city in that it is constantly evolving and moving forward while holding tightly to its unique history with respect and deserved arrogance.

Early morning scene on the way to my studio|showroom

For me it was also fun to see the Meatpacking District mentioned in this archaic article.  In the late 80’s it was still the neighborhood where meat was in fact butchered and packed.  Today, only two plants still exist and the rest of the neighborhood has been taken over by luxury retail and designer showrooms.  Laura Dahl and Wifebeader even called the Meatpacking District home.

Every morning I would dodge cow carcases dangling by hooks as they were hauled into the packing plant.  Again, I know it may sound strange, but the vision of friendly butchers sporting full mustaches, dressed in their bloodied whites and smelling the scent of flesh mixed with cleaning solution and City dirt is one truly awesome way to begin a day.

No one really knows where the next decade will take the City.  But, it is most fair to say that wherever that is, the people responsible for making its heart beat will be living in tiny apartments, and they will be loving it.

P.S.  Keep an eye out for Apartment Therapy’s follow-up book to their successful Real Homes, Real People, Hundreds of Design Solutions where you can catch a glimpse of our Los Angeles home.  I’ve been told its release date is late ‘09, early ‘10 and it will be titled something to the effect of Smart, Small Spaces.