The art world and home decor have been circling each other for a while now–first famous designers, from fashionistas to architects started designing items like toasters (Michael Graves for Target) to sponges (Betsey Johnson for 3M); then artists began to make furniture in limited editions and sell them through galleries. The logical next step is home stores that look like art galleries, a trend that began in New York with Murray Moss’s eponymous emporium in Soho, and has spread across the country.

You’d think in rougher economic times going upscale wouldn’t be the smartest business decision, but as the Los Angeles Times points out (in a recent piece that covers local examples like Twentieth and Limn), a little pretension–some storeowners have taken to calling themselves “curators” and furniture displays “installations”–and the better prices that go with it can be a survival strategy in a downturn. –Paul O’Donnell

Technorati Tags: art, gallery, furniture home decor, design, Betsey Johnson, Michael Graves

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Here’s a decorating problem that’s really, I admit, a personal problem: I desire chairs I can’t afford and develop irrational attachments to ones I don’t need. For instance, after shopping for months for a coffee table to go in the glaring empty space in my living room, I’ve given up. I decided to get a couple of drum-shaped thingys, maybe from Pier 1 (though I wish I could afford a few of these Stone Stools designed by Marcel Wanders for Kartell or a Marga cube from Box Furniture.)

But when I get to Ikea in search of a simple rattan blob that might fit the bill, I end up enthralled with their langourous, almost comically spare woven rockers, like the Gullholmen chair, above. They are made from banana fibers, which are completely sustainable, and plus, a great conversation starter to distract guests … as they  dismayedly look around for somewhere to place their drink. –Paul O’Donnell

Technorati Tags: coffee table, rattan, chairs, living room

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Nothing on the home design scene is more amazing or pleasurable than watching the comeback of wallpaper. Hip, artistically relevant, technologically driven: these aren’t words we ever thought we’d connect with the fusty world of wallpaper. Yet boutique fabric and paper firms like Britain’s Timorous Beasties (whose patterns include oddly sexy butterflies and bees) or Twenty2 , based in Brooklyn, the capital of hipster design, are producing papers that have nothing to do with grandmom’s vegetables-and-daisy prints. Meanwhile venerable old houses like Cole & Son are reviving and updating old damask patterns. At the same time, new, easier ways of applying wallpaper have put innovative metallic vinyls and 3D weaves in reach of those who’d rather (or can only afford to) paste it up themselves.  The result is nothing short of a wallpaper revolution.

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Hi! It’s me, Erika. Perhaps you’ve noticed that there are a lot of fresh faces on GlamNest. As I mentioned earlier, we at Glam have been busy expanding the lifestyle content so that you will be able to find much more of what you love in our new sections.

And with all of the new editorial comes more behind-the-scenes work for me, which is why you will find me contributing on a less frequent basis. But you should also note that GlamNest, now dedicated to home & design, and GlamDish, which is all about food, drink, and entertaining, are being manned by some exceptionally talented people with loads of experience and expertise in the subjects at hand.

I will continue to contribute on a somewhat regular basis, and will also begin blogging on my personal sites, TheRealDealGuide and LastMinutePartyGirl, when I have the chance. (That’s probably at least a month away.)

Meanwhile, I really want to thank you for continuing to read this blog. Writing it has been one of the highlights of the past year–second only to knowing that you are reading it. I look forward to inserting my two cents a lot once I get out from under launch details.

While you’re here, why not check out the new GlamLiving sections? You’ll find fantastic content in the following sections:
Food & Drink
Home & Design
Travel & Leisure

Erika Lenkert

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This is an exciting week! Soon GlamNest will divide in two, with GlamNest solely dedicated to home and design and a new blog featuring all things food and drink.

Kicking off our new daily dose of design is our wonderful contributor Paul O’Donnell. Paul was previously at House & Garden and the guy knows his stuff.

Check back later today for his first post, and visit again this week for a link to our new food blog GlamDish.

Erika Lenkert

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