Stunning Buildings With Whole Trees

This would have been the ultimate house as a kid.

From the NY Times, an unmilled tree can hold 50% more weight than the largest piece of lumber milled from the same tree. The more whole wood is used in place of steel, the less carbon is pumped into the air. By peeling smaller weed trees out of a crowded forest stand, the remaining trees get bigger and healthier. The small diameter trees are useful for rafters and framing. The large trees that were downed by wind or disease make for excellent columns and beams. This low cost, energy efficient structure is from the vision of World Tree Architecture and Construction. Whole Trees can keep construction costs as low as $100 per square foot. There is much to admire about this fantastically, brilliant idea.

I would have actually been excited to go to school every day if that was the bed I woke up from.

This energy efficient building gets the inherent energy benefits of the unmilled wood along with solar panel technology.

Lots of natural light gives this house an sense of nature indoors.

We Did It!

Top Five Reasons To Conquer a Half-Marathon:

#5: It's a good excuse to skip the parties and get to bed early!

#4: The bags full of free swag!

#3: Holiday pounds? Not you!


#2: The awe of family and friends. "You ran how many miles?!"


#1: The satisfaction and pride you get from crossing that finish line faster than you predicted!

You may have guessed by now that I did some running this weekend. Cynthetica and I travelled West to San Antonio for the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon and Half-Marathon and we had a blast! There were some pre-race nerves, but we did better than we expected with a time of 2 hours, 29 minutes and 7 seconds. Considering this was the longest run I'd ever attempted, I was pretty pleased! The highlight of the course for me (aside from the finish line) had to be one spectator's "inspiring" sign spied around mile 8: "Don't stop now...Finishing is your only damn option." How true.

Metropolitan Home Is Now Homeless.

Met Home's next issue will be it's last.

It's a sad day for modern home design enthusiasts. Metropolitan Home will be closing it's door by year end. The December 2009 issue will be the last for the venerable shelter magazine after 28 years in publication. Everyone that currently has a subscription to Met Home will now receive Elle Decor instead.

Metropolitan Home is joining a growing list of defunct home decor magazines with Domino, House and Garden, and O at Home all closing it's doors in the past 18 months. With the tough housing market, struggling home furnishings industry, and bad economy, shelter magazines are facing dwindling ad revenues.

Hopefully as retail sales rebounds this Holiday season and beyond, we'll be able to keep reading current shelter magazines, and new shelter magazines will emerge in these opportunistic times.

Wake Up Call

I've been having a hard time waking up lately. Maybe it's because there's nothing interesting to look at the second my eyes open. On my nightstand: two pairs of eyeglasses (for before-bed TV watching by my husband and I), a midcentury-modern white lamp, remote control, and a snoozefest of an alarm clock I've had since college. Time for an upgrade? Yes, please.

I've been eyeing this Wood LED Clock since it came into our store. The time shines through a super-thin veneer of wood. Maybe it's time I made it mine?

The simplicity of the Aura Clock appeals to my need to keep things looking clean (I try, at least), but the pop of orange on the inside of the rim appeals to my desire for something interesting.

Daily Candy recently mentioned this Emily Clock. I like the practicality of it. I mean, who enjoys craning their neck to see the time in the middle of the night? Luckily, it's stylish as well. Because a practical clock means nothing to me if it's ugly.

Of all of the clocks, the Clocky is probably the one I need the most. The only caveat: my dog might attack it the second it rolls on the floor. She goes nuts for noisy things!

New Gifts In Time For Christmas!

Christmas is right around the corner! It's that time of year where our customers go crazy for some of our fun gifts. We just uploaded a lot of new products just in time for the holiday season. Check out some of our favorites:

Drink your triple grande, non-fat latte with a shot of espresso in eco-friendly style. It's cheaper at High Fashion Home than here.

I Am Not A Paper Cup - $17

We all wish we could be a little bit taller. Well, here is an extra 9 inches in a portable, easy to carry form. Easy Fold Step Stool - $14

Here is a modern day Christmas tree where you can share memories of all your loved ones.
Fotofalls Floor Standing - $69

Everyone loves baking during the holidays. Who is a better assistant than everyone's favorite 80's arcade game?
Hot Heads Pac-Man - $14.95

I can only solve half of the problems. But it's nice to look smart when you bring over guests.
Pop Quiz Clock - $32

Face your fears with the shower curtain that screams, "I love you."
Psycho Shower Curtain - $16

Not sure if you can get by airport security with this. It's cool rain protection that can double as a self defense weapon.
Samurai Umbrella - $28

I've Been So Distant...

A thousand apologies for my extended absence! I promise I have a good reason. The powers-that-be at work seem to think I'm worthy of more responsibilities. So, for the past two weeks, I've been learning the ropes of a new position. Now that I'm getting a grip on it, I can take a moment to post something new! What better to pull me away from the paperwork than Stella McCartney's much talked about collection for Gap?

There are some really amazing standout pieces (see below), but most of the pieces are incredibly wearable like the sweaters and leggings.

Is the Band Jacket an ode to her uber-famous father? And I love, love, love the Flower Applique Dress!

Give this tutu to the little princess in your life. I know of a few nieces who would love this kind of thing!

High Point Furniture Market - Fall 2009

We came. We saw. We conquered....in a Volkswagen Beetle.

Our team swept through the furniture capitol of the world in style. We saw tons of great stuff. High Fashion Home is going to be pushing the envelope once again with some of our furniture selections. At the same time, we were able to find a ton of value products out in the market. So expect to see more unique, chic furnishings at affordable prices in the coming months.

Here is a breakdown of some of our favorites from market:

This great Room & Board Roadster chair may have run it's course there, but it's new to us. We'll retail it for around $1299 in a black, full grain leather.

Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams introduced this beautiful, retro chair in a nice vinyl.

Yes, the Chester Sofa is now available in leather!

Love the damask patterned, linen. The exposed wood finish is classic, Barbara Barry-like furniture.

Classic wing back chair in a eye-catching pink velvet.

Fun accent chairs in a Versace-like fabric.

Cool armchair in a high quality, cloud blue velvet.

Lee Industries is bringing customization to new heights. A show-stopping 84" headboard. (For a frame of reference, the lady on the left is 5'8" tall.)

We can never have enough Buddha statues.

This skirted, camel back, nailheaded sofa brings a lot of look at $1499.

Bernhardt managed to introduced more timeless frames at great prices.

I love every piece in this setting. The double nailhead treatment on the headboard is well done.

Beautiful wood chair from Martha Stewart.

This huge, roll arm sectional with top grain leather is going to retail for under $3600.

This clean, top grain leather sectional will retail under $2000. That's just ridiculous.

Very similar to our best selling Jefferson Bed, except this will be orderable in tons of fabric in twin, full, queen, and king sizes.

Very similar to Crate and Barrel's Archer Bed, except it will retail for $100 less.

Now this is a bed program. Your can order 4 different headboards with customizable height, welt, nailhead, and tufting options with no upcharge. Order it in over 50 fabrics at one price. Queen headboard only will be $1049.

We are bringing in Candice Olson's furniture collection. This gorgeous solid wood bed, with antiqued mirrors will retail around $1799.

Love the herringbone pattern on the wood. Our coffee table will be in a warm, walnut finish.

Here's the end table with the logo symbolizing that the woods are from sustainable sources.

Mirror accents pieces are the craze. There are over 4 wood finishes that you can order this piece in.

This glamorous end table with the fluted, solid wood drawers is shown in chic, white hardware.

'Tis The Season For Snuggling...

Photo via Real Simple, throws from Sacco Carpet

...with a warm faux fur throw! Warm up your living room chairs with a couple of well-placed fuzzy throws. It's the elusive fashionable and functional feat. Always a winner!