Boston Design Blog

Cosmopolitan Bath & Kitchen Grand Opening in Sudbury, MA

On Friday and Saturday, March 12 and March 13, 2010, Cosmopolitan Bath & Kitchen (formerly Porcelain & Brass and now under the new ownership of Suzanne Porter and Jeanne Lapidas) will be holding a Grand Opening from 10AM - 4PM.

Visit the beautiful new showroom for light refreshments and a look at what's new in bathroom design. Also, meet designers Jody Trail and Sarah McGuire, who are offering Décor Kit to help clients get their bathroom designs right the first time.

For those of you in the design trade, a special evening event is planned on Thursday, March 11th from 4-7PM. Mingle with representatives from Grohe, Valli and Valli, Toto, Dornbracht, Franke, Villeroy & Boch, Hansgrohe and more to learn about new products and green initiatives while enjoying light hor d'oeuvres.

All attendees will be eligible to enter a raffle for a Toto Toilet.

Cosmopolitan Bath & Kitchen
88 Boston Post Road
Sudbury, MA 01776
(978) 443-7465
www.cosmopolitanbath.com

Service, Creativity and Quality at Silk Road Weaves

Barbara Jacobs discusses the advantages of Silk Road Weaves:

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Three Little Words can make all the difference: Service, Creativity, Quality!

I know that you have a multitude of companies to select from when you are looking for a unique artistic solution to provide the perfect accent that completes your design vision.

Enjoy these advantages when you work with Silk Road Weaves:

  * Highly personalized service
  * As the owner and designer, I'm the person you'll communicate with
    directly about all your design questions from technical and
    production issues to aesthetic considerations, and how to to
    combine them for the best results.
  * Unique approach to color + design based on over 20 years as a
    color consultant and surface designer, focusing on supportive
    color design
  * I'll help you customize any of the designs in my current
    collections
  * Create a bespoke design "beyond custom..." that can include--in
    addition to my personal artistic inspirations for your project
  * Motifs from your clients' special interests and favorite motifs as
    well as the other design elements included in your project

Keen on Green: Divine Kitchens Opens Green Kitchen Studio in Westborough Showroom

Westborough, MA -- Kitchens and baths, with their wide array of components – cabinets, countertops, appliances, plumbing fixtures, lighting, paint – may actually offer homeowners the greatest green potential of any rooms in the home when remodeling. To showcase this concept and educate consumers about how to go green in the kitchen, award-winning design/build firm Divine Kitchens has built a green kitchen studio in their Westborough showroom.

“Everyone is talking green,” said Certified Kitchen Designer Mariette Barsoum, owner of Divine Kitchens in Westborough. “Lots of companies pay lip service to green initiatives, so homeowners and builders need to do their homework. Divine Kitchens has made educating ourselves and our customers about green kitchen and bath design a top priority.”

According to Barsoum, who won two Contractor of the Year awards from the National Association of Remodeling Industries in 2007, 2008 and 2009, and a Best of Boston Home distinction in 2008 and 2009, the new Green Kitchen Studio incorporates cabinets from Holiday Kitchens, an environmentally responsible cabinet maker in Wisconsin.

The Boston Design Green Guide is Now Online!

Check out Boston Design's Green Guide, with tips on easy ways to making your home more green and reducing your carbon footprint by using sustainable products. Read advice and information from experts in the high end home market.

Living a more "green" lifestyle can improve your health, increase energy efficiency and help save the planet.

www.bostondesignguide.com/green-guide

Green expo features Silk Road Weaves with GoodWeave photo exhibition “Faces of Freedom”*

If you are traveling to Washington DC in early October, be sure to visit the Green Expo at the DC Convention Center, on October 10th to 11th, where you will see some wonderful new “Green” products. The Green Festival, organized by Global Exchange and Green America, is a two-day expo and festival celebrating sustainably made products. Attended by tens of thousands of socially and environmentally conscious consumers, the Green Festival is the largest event of its kind in the world.

Barbara Jacobs of Barbara Jacobs Color and Design discusses her part in this event: "As a member of Rugmark / GoodWeave, my rug FLORA / Herbal Toss (see photo) has been selected to accompany the GoodWeave documentary photography exhibition "Faces of Freedom", on display in the Fair Trade Pavilion.

"This 5’ x 7’ handknotted wool and silk area rug, my original design from Silk Road Weaves - collections and custom - is just one of the many custom rugs we’re having woven in Nepal for our clients.

"I’m particularly proud to be a member of GoodWeave, ensuring that all from Silk Road Weaves are independently certified as child-labor-free. The fees Silk Road Weaves pays to be a part of GoodWeave ensure that random, surprise inspections take place on our weaving looms and help fund rehabilitation and education for former child weavers. When you purchase a rug from Silk Road Weaves that carries the GoodWeave label, you can take pride in knowing that your rug is beautiful, inside out. To learn more visit www.goodweave.org .

"The exhibit rug from Silk Road Weaves, FLORA / Herbal Toss, is made entirely by hand from start to finish of Himalayan wool with silk. The rug will be available for purchase at the expo.

"Find out more about Silk Road Weaves and see the fully customizable collections at www.silkroadweaves.com.
Find out what makes Silk Road Weaves rugs “Green” www.integralcolor.com/silk-road-weaves/green-rug-faqs

"From you, to the weavers in Nepal, it’s all about enriching lives through The Human Connection. That's just one reason I love what I do!"

North Shore Architectural Firm Olson Lewis Dioli & Doktor Congratulates Three Staff Members on Becoming LEED Accredited Professionals

Olson Lewis Dioli & Doktor Architects’ three new LEED Accredited Professionals (l to r): Christopher T. Doktor AIA, Michele R. Brooks, Henry L. Miller. Photo courtesy of Terri Unger Photography.

July 17, 2009 – Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA: In a time when fiscal restraint, energy conservation and environmental responsibility are at the forefront of many school, business and homeowner’s considerations, Olson Lewis Dioli & Doktor Architects (OLD&D) is making the same commitment. Three staff members recently became LEED Accredited Professionals (AP): Principal Christopher T. Doktor, AIA; Senior Interior Associate Michele R. Brooks; and Intern Architect Henry L. Miller. This accreditation is a continuation of the firm’s professional practices and commitment to sustainability and conservation.

Why does OLD&D care about LEED accreditation? In part, it is the right thing to do. It is also a responsibility when offering advice to clients.

Awareness and use of green-building principles allow architects and designers to help their clients to act as stewards of natural resources. Says Principal Chris Doktor: “Green design is essential to the way our clients conduct business and live their lives. Becoming LEED-accredited is one more way to provide creative and conscientious building and design solutions.” In other words, it is simply an extension of the firm’s practices and values.

Join Thomas Buckborough at Kitchen Outfitters in Acton, MA on April 16th

Passionate about cooking and your kitchen?

Come to Kitchen Outfitters in Acton for a free discussion with a Designer who loves to cook!  An open talk based on your interests with examples shared and ideas explored.  Bring questions about your kitchen. 

Some items to be discussed:

- Green Kitchen Renovations - things to consider
- Kitchen Design - today's hearth of the home
- Short-term Kitchen improvements on the cheap....
- Kitchen Organization

Host: Designer, Thomas Buckborough CKD, CR

Drawings to win a free consultation with the Designer or an All-Clad 10" Stainless Steel Fry Pan, valued at $99.95.

Cost: Free! No registration required.
Date: Thursday, April 16, 2009
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Kitchen Outfitters, 342 Great Road, Acton, MA

In 2009 The Greenest Color for Your Floor is Not “To Dye For”

 

Medfield, MA - Boston area colorist and rug designer Barbara Jacobs/Silk Road Weaves introduces the Simply Natural Collection. Taking “Green” one step further, Jacobs creates a new group of designs featuring richly textural variations of luminous dimensions in a range of undyed colors.  Hallmarks of the new collection are bold or low-contrast textures and subtle neutrals that are earthy and softly shimmering.  The new works are easily customized for shape and size and, as with all collections from Silk Road Weaves, custom fiber combinations are possible, and personalized service is a specialty.

States Jacobs, a member of RUGMARK—the organization working to end child labor in the carpet industry— “All of our rugs are Green, in the sense that they are made of sustainable materials—and ‘human green’ in the sense that there is no child labor used and the weaving companies I work with are pro-active in the social aspects of their company.  While I am always intrigued by and focused on color, I’m particularly excited about the potential for creativity that exists within the framework of the more limited—but very beautiful—range of undyed colors that comprise this new collection. I’m starting with a very minimalist approach but additional designs will continue to unfold.

I’m using wool and silk, of course, but there are a number of other fibers that offer intriguing texture and design possibilities that will be great in many settings from informal to opulent. This can even be a wonderful alternative for people who feel they have sensitivity to wool, who may have not been able to find interesting custom carpets until now.”