British designer, Matthew Hilton has designed tables and seating for De La Espada. They make their debut this weekend at the ICFF show in New York. Matthew’s Fin Chair is my favorite of his new designs.

De La Espada builds furniture for Autobahn as well as designs under their own name. Their finish is as smooth as silk.  

I scooted over to The College for Creative Studies this afternoon for a sneak peek at their annual Student Show, which gets underway tonight. CCS is a fine art school located in Detroit. It’s one of the best in the country. The industrial design department is known internationally as one of the best in the world.

The juried show is open for two weeks and most of the art is up for sale, with proceeds going directly to the students.

The show begins tonight. Early admission (your chance to get the best stuff) is at 5:00 PM. General admission is $50 and opens at 7:00 PM. You can buy tickets at the door. After tonight the show is free. You can purchase art throughout the event. Art is picked up when the show ends.

This year, you can charge your purchases. Otherwise, bring checks - you’ll need one for each purchase.

You know the old saying “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”? (Sure you do, especially if you’ve seen “The Shining”.) Well, that old saw applies to design, too. After all, too much of one thing can make your room seem a little like a retail showroom or an all-decorated at once hotel. So, what do you do?

One solution is to mix diametrically opposed styles. (It’s not the only solution, of course, but it’s worth keeping in mind). Here’s what I mean. Look at some of the more modern pieces I’ve written about. Now imagine them on something “primitive” like these fabulous Tibetan rugs from Tufenkian Carpets.

This one is called “Crocodile”, obviously enough.

This one is called “Fish”, for equally obvious reasons.

Finally, a more “contemporary” style called “Inlay”

Mixing styles isn’t a novel idea, by any means. But I think it may be one of the best ways to express your individuality. After all, you’re not one-dimensional. Why should your home be, too?

Here are a couple of questions for you, dear readers. I think ‘modern’ and ‘primitive’ go great together. A) Do you? B) If you agree, why do you think these two styles go together so well?

Misterarthur would love this Cantina bird feeder from Essey. It looks like it could keep the squirrels away.

You can find it at Zwello, where it retails for $180.

I’m loving this settee from Spanish designer, Jaime Hayon. Showtime is manufactured by BD Barcelona.

It’s actually a double version of Hayon’s even more fabulous Showtime chair (a previous chair of the day), which he originally designed for Camper.

You can find Showtime via Minima.