Moroso has just unveiled their new lounge act by my favorite furniture designer, Patricia Urquiola. It’s called Antibodi. The collection consists of 2 designs, a lounge chair and a multi-colored sort of club chair with matching ottoman. According to Moroso, Urquiola’s design is derived from a “cellular genesis” of petals sewn together. But it really reminds me of the cootie catchers we used to make in middle school. Speaking of which, I’ve gotta run because I’ve got to do my son’s homework. Of course, I mean help him of course. Tah.

I almost got to use this really cool tile on a commercial project. But the client rejected it. Probably because she wasn’t smoking enough… grass! Or maybe because she was. Whatever. This is my feeble attempt to segue into my topic at hand - ceramic tiles with photographic grass images. This really cool product is made by Imagine Tile. They make all kinds of tiles with elements from nature like in the image above, done with ceramic “rocks”. They have another line with more urban themes, like asphalt. Anyway, I like it. You should check it out. Ixnay on the outfit in the dressing room.

Solution dyed fabrics are becoming very popular what with all the babyboomers heading south suddenly finding themselves in deperate need of fabrics that won’t fade in the sun or become covered with mold. Check out Perennials Fabrics. They offer a great line of fabrics that don’t look like all the others. I especially like their new Aquaria line. The collection offers an extensive line of trims, which are hard to find in the indoor/outdoor world. Best of all, you can clean up unsightly spills with Formula 409! Designers can order samples on-line, a feature I wish were more widely available. Arghhh! Clients can order by emailing me.

I’ll bet if someone conducted a poll, they’d discover that people visit museums far more often than their own living rooms. In fact, living rooms belong in museums next to the dinosaurs. Art is great. But, no matter what kind of museum you’re in, whether its MOMA or the oddly alluring Mutter Museum, it’s the gift shop everyone really wants to see.

I was thinking about this the other day and was suddenly inspired. Since everyone loves a gift shop and will come up with any excuse to visit one, why not turn living rooms into gift shops? Reclaim unused square footage you’re already paying for, and make extra money and new friends all at the same time. I envision people on a lonely Saturday afternoon wandering down the street visiting all the local living rooms.

So how to you make your gift shop a destination? The competition could become vicious. There are lots of gift shops already out there. Once you’ve gone through all the junk in your closets and sold everything as vintage you’ve got to come up with new. I suggest some kick-ass t-shirts. Check out Custom Ink, an on-line t-shirt shop to create your own shirts with your own slogan. How about 201 Park St. - We’re Parallel? Get it - park? Maybe not. Next, a set of plastic place mats with various scenes of your home. Of course you need several styles of magnets - always a big seller. Time to get creative with plush toy versions of your family. Don’t forget the pets. Your family motto carved in wood? The ideas are endless. And best of all, to pass the time between customers you can move the TV back into the living room where it started out in the first place.

When it comes to interior design there’s really only one thing you have to know (all that time and money on design school). CHOOSE THE PAINT LAST. Paint stores have color matching systems that can match any color from any thing. And they don’t need much of whatever that thing is. The little flower on your wallpaper? Done! Your favorite pair of Manolo’s? So done. A leaf from your backyard? Duh! Done.

My point is it’s much harder to find fabrics, carpeting, and furnishings to match a paint color than the other way around. There’s nothing wrong with using a color you love as a starting point so long as you don’t paint it on the wall right off the bat. Trust me, you will cry dark tears of woe when you realize that the blue on the wall is too green compared to all the fabrics you like and the perfect sofa you just found on sale.