Decor Girl

Wow, wow, wow, and WOW times 100, is the shortest way to explain the interior design products and inspiration we found during BlogTour Cologne by Modenus.  My eyes hurt.  My camera finger hurts.  Thanks to good shoes, my feet never hurt.  It literally was like taking in a year full of new information in 3.5 days.  The mental stimulation has left me sleepless with ideas.  A full artist’s palette of colors ran throughout the show in kitchens, appliances, furniture, fabrics, lighting and accessories.  These felt items offered some of the most saturated examples of pure color.  Single lever faucets were all the rage, but none offered more stylish finishes than Blanco.  Chrome still rules.

While there was not a major section of lighting on its own, lighting stole the show for me.  We took just as many pictures of lighting which were only for booth decor.   LEDs are the new home workhorse.  Whether inside a cabinet, under a counter, inside an appliance or part of a stand alone light fixture… there is no getting away from LED lighting in the home. The shelves in this refrigerator by Miele have LEDs which emit light through the glass shelf to light the entire unit.  So smart!  This is not yet available in the USA, however if you make your interest maybe we can talk them into it.

I’m not sure if this is an example of trying to ride the coattails of the Les Miserables craze or what, but patchwork either way (furniture or rug) is just not pretty. Am I sensing a theme here?   These drapery panels offer a loose interpretation of Downton Abbey period textiles.    Fortunately I see no sign of ruffles coming back in drapery.  Just say “no” to the Bedouin Bordello/ Nightclub look.  Texture and color play nice together but the nightclub look has no place in the modern home.  FYI: I’ve got some more pics along this same theme… nasty. In all honesty I wouldn’t call this kitchen bad.  The graphic nature is really quite cool.  But, will it play well in a home?  Not so sure.  In a commercial environment where it might fit a thematic vibe, it could be very hip.  The unfortunate fact about visiting an overseas show is, not every item is or will be available in the United States.  Damn over-reaching rules and regulations.  Seriously, this is often the main reason we miss out on some awesome appliances or lighting.  There are some very cool things which will not cross our shores in the near future. This undercabinet water filtration system by Grohe called Grohe Blue, will be the subject of a future post.   How would you like to get ice cold drinking water (flat or sparkling) from your regular kitchen faucet?

Stay tuned there is lots more to come from my overseas adventure.