Exceptional Antique Auction is planned for May 21

What is being appropriately billed as an Exceptional Antique Auction has been planned for Saturday, May 21, by Fontaine’s Auction Gallery, in the firm’s spacious showroom at 1485 West Housatonic Street in Pittsfield. Offered will be over 500 lots of antique furniture, vintage lighting, fine art, decorative accessories, clocks, estate jewelry, watches and more.

   “We’re calling it an exceptional auction because the merchandise truly is exceptional,” said John Fontaine of Fontaine’s Auction Gallery. “These lots have been culled from better estates and collections in Massachusetts and beyond, resulting in a tremendous opportunity for people looking to redecorate, purchase investment-grade antiques or add to their collections.”

   Folks unable to make it to the event may bid online through LiveAuctioneers.com (which they can access by logging on to the Fontaine’s website, www.FontainesAuction.net). Phone and absentee bids will also be accepted. Previews will be held on Thursday, May 19, from 10-5; Friday, May 20, from 10-5; and Saturday, May 21, from 9 a.m. until the start of sale, at 11 a.m.

   Period furniture pieces are certain to juice up the crowd, beginning with a 12-piece R.J. Horner figural carved dining set,  the best such set Fontaine's has offered in its 40-year history. The set is complete and has the excellent original finish. Next is a Wooten extra grade three-hinge cabinet secretary (76 inches tall, 44 inches wide). The piece boasts a highly carved gallery with burled panels, ebonized trim and incising. Also sold will be a large figural umbrella stand depicting an almost lifesize carved dog seated beside a rustic carved tree stump (33 inches tall).

   Several other pieces by the renowned craftsman R.J. Horner will be sold, to include a winged griffin oak corner china cabinet with a mirrored back and triple curved glass front; an oak three-door Atlas bookcase with large figural carvings of muscular men on the sides; and a figural carved mahogany two-part hall tree with an open carved cherub crest over a beveled mirror.

   The name Tiffany will be chanted frequently throughout the day. Tiffany lamps will include a dichroic swirling lemon leaf table lamp with 18-inch geometric shade and heavily mottled background glass; a turtleback desk lamp with a fine bronze base and leafy platform; and a nice student lamp with a fine bronze base and beaded and coiled rope twist embellishment.

   Other Tiffany pieces will include a great bronze inkwell with the fine figure of a crab, its claws reaching forward, pinching the coiled handles of the inkwell pot mounted with an oyster shell; a six-arm chandelier with 88 Tiffany iridescent glass prisms hanging from the bronze fixture; a cypriote glass vase, 7 inches tall, with a textured surface; and a favrile quilted green and opalescent bowl with 12-inch rim.

   From the vintage clocks category comes two examples of note: an E. Howard #81 oak grandfather clock boasting a silvered chapter ring with black movement and Graham’s dead-beat escapement; and a Gilbert #12 oak standing regulator with black open moon hands.

15 easy decor tips!

Home in need of a spruce up? A design expert shares his decor-savvy.
1. When hanging art over a mantle or console, measure the vertical space, and hang objects closer to the mantle or console rather than in the exact middle of the space. This will lend a more human scale to the grouping.

2. When considering a floor plan, start by placing your furniture in the middle of the room and work toward the walls. You'll get a more exciting result.

3. Be sure to keep your floor plan to scale and be realistic as to what will fit. Don't ask your room or furniture to do more than is possible. This will eliminate unpleasant surprises during installation as well as give the room better traffic flow.

4. Antique porcelain and books give integrity to a room. Group sets of books and porcelains together to give a more luxurious feel.

5. Use multiple light sources - table lamps, floor lamps, art lights, sconces, chandeliers - for illumination. This gives it a more flattering glow.

6. Visually broaden a room by painting the ceiling darker than the walls.

7. Bring balance to any space by using equal amounts of warm and cool colours.

8. Add more texture by layering accessories of different materials, such as leather, wood, porcelain, silver, tole, lacquer, and crystal.

9. Use antiques with strong colours, and mix them at will. As the colour ages, it acquires a certain patina that makes it work well with a range of other hues. A new piece in the same colour, however, will often clash.

10. Before hanging a mirror on a wall, consider what it will be reflecting and make sure that the object is interesting.

11. When entering a rectangular-shaped room from the corner of one end, bear in mind that the focal point is the opposite corner rather than the centre of the room.

12. Lower a chandelier to make it appear larger.

13. If you are hanging a grouping of art or objects above a piece of furniture with a distinct shape, such as a camel-back sofa, allow the grouping to follow the shape of the furniture rather than hanging it in a straight line.

14. Electrical cords that cannot be hidden, such as those on table lamps, will be less noticeable if they are pulled straight down and tacked to the top of the skirting.

15. For ease in hanging a group of objects, measure the wall space and designate an area of the same dimensions on the floor. Place the objects within this template and make any desired changes before transferring the grouping to the wall. This is especially important when hanging objects on paneling, or walls that have special paint finishes. 

Lamps and chandeliers online store

lamplo.com, online store of lamps and chandeliers for home and office, updated its design.

In the new version of the "Light of Your House" website the directory of more than 10 thousand items presented as a series of subdirectories in which product items are grouped based on the type, purpose and direction of the design.

The online store presents models of lamps, spots, floor lamps and table lamps from 16 leading manufacturers, among them you’ll find MASSIVE, Belgian company, and such Italian factories as Arte Lamp and Lightstar.

Reference:

"Light of Your House" (lamplo.com) – is the wholesale and retail sale store of lighting products from the leading European manufacturers.

Consider the basics when giving your basement a makeover

Outside of homes in the older sections of Reno, not many houses in the Truckee Meadows are built over basements, but if you have one or you have a walk-out or daylight basement, you either have some extra living space or a dark, dank, damp storage pit.

If it's the latter, that underappreciated basement could be more.

If that's the case, consider first things first before diving into an underground decorating project.

Before you even splash a coat of paint on the walls, make sure the space is usable -- legally.

"The first thing to consider in order to make your basement legal, you must have egress other than the stairs," said Steve Stegmeir, a master trade specialist for plumbing at the Home Depot in Spanish Springs.

That means there must be more than one way out of the basement in case of an emergency.

It can be a window, for instance. And that's easy enough to install, even with a concrete or cinder block foundation, Stegmeir said.

Then there's the problem of water or dampness.

Basements "are dank and damp," Stegmeir said. "There are products, such as UGL paint, a system that waterproofs cinder block and concrete.

"Ideally, first make sure the concrete is sealed from the outside to keep from trapping water inside the concrete," he said.

If the outside ground slopes toward the house, build it up so water does not run down toward the house. Then use the paint on the interior walls.

"You can leave it at that or put sheet rock over the top," he said.

UGL is actually paint, but it's difficult to tint and is designed mainly to cover cinder blocks because it expands and fills in cracks, Stegmeir said. Consider applying it as a sealer, then paint over it with a color.

With flooring for a basement or a walk-out basement, Stegmeir said tile adheres well to a concrete basement floor.

"You do not have to do multiple steps. You do not have to put stuff on a subfloor for tile floors," he said. "There's no middle step as far as underlayment."

The only flooring material to avoid in a basement is wood, Stegmeir said, because moisture in the floor can cause the wood eventually to buckle. Read directions on laminate flooring, he said, but because it's a floating floor system, it can be installed right over the concrete.

Helpful tips

Stegmeir provided several other tips to consider before starting a basement makeover:

» Concrete walls need specialty anchors for shelf brackets. By using furring strips -- 1-by-2-inch strips attached to the concrete -- sheet rock walls can be installed over the concrete. Then, items can be hung on walls as on any sheet rock wall, but "remember you have only 3/4 inch of space, so if you put in a 2-inch nail, it'll hit concrete," Stegmeir said.

» Basement ceilings often are exposed floor joists where wiring and plumbing run. If the ceiling is to be covered with sheet rock, make sure to determine the placement of any ceiling lighting first, "so you do not have to cut it open again," Stegmeir said. "If (the ceiling) is already covered, you'll have to go into it" to install ceiling lighting.

"If it is not a finished basement, you might not want to try to make a living space, but a game room or a study," he said.

Once the basics are considered, think about what use to make of this part of the home that's usually relegated to storage or utility status.

"The place can be transformed into a luxurious hangout," said Maryann Decker of Designing Women Interiors in Sparks.

Decker agreed that protecting the space from dampness is the most important primary consideration.

"Second, select flooring. If it's concrete, you can select to paint the floor and use area rugs to give warmth, or tile, laminate or wall-to-wall carpeting," Decker said.

Consider turning the area into a game room with a pool or poker table, a pinball machine or video game.

"It also could be used as a home bar/theater/child's play area," Decker said, "an extra closet for summer-winter clothing for the family to free up space in bedroom closets, an exercise room with wall mirrors to open up and lighten the space. ... Wall mount a TV or (make) a wine cellar.

"Or have the whole area painted with a Tuscan/Italian scene," Decker said. "It will make you feel like you have escaped and gone to the wine country."

Basement spaces usually have lower ceilings and limited views, said Sheri Kovac of Kovac Design in Reno. Generally, there's one window set high on a wall and the view outside the room is a staircase.

To make the room more interesting, Kovac likes to drape an entire wall to add texture and warmth and to hide doors that lead into such areas as laundry rooms.

Before wallpapering, apply "blank stock" to the wall to keep the grooves of wood paneling or cinder blocks from showing through the final wallpaper.

Also consider just painting the walls or even leaving the cinder block showing and hanging carved-frame pictures or mirrors for an "industrial chic" look, Kovac said.

Kovac suggested keeping color palettes monochromatic -- variations on one color, or analogous -- colors that are next to each other on the color wheel such as blue-green-yellow. Then soften their values when enveloping the space.

In daylight or walk-out basements, create a walk-off area with porcelain tile at the entryway, Kovac said. These tiles can extend outdoors for a continuous feel.

Terrys Fabrics' lamps can transform your home

Lighting is one of the most cost effective ways to complete a new look and Terrys Fabrics can help you to transform your home for less has a fantastic range to suit all budgets.

Column - Duckegg Blue (also available in three other colours). Priced at £17.60 (48cm)
A stylish ceramic table lamp featuring a distinctive column base with coordinating shade.

Divo - Taupe (also available in one other colour). Priced at £21.90 (39cm)
A ceramic lamp with coordinating shade featuring a stylish metallic glaze in taupe and bronze.

Twist - Chrome. Priced at £51.60 (59cm)
A pewter lamp featuring a stacked ceramic ball design complete with black cotton shade.

Timor - Chocolate. Priced at £48.20 (59cm)
An oval ceramic lamp with a brushed chocolate lined paint finish with coordinating shade.

Ripple - Cream (also available in three other colours). Priced at £31.20 (54cm)
A large oval lamp featuring an unusual raised ripple effect base with coordinating tapered oval lampshade.

Imani - Green (also available in two other colours). Priced at £14.20 (37cm)
Features a raised edge base with coordinating lampshade.

Mischa - Bronze (also available in one other colour). Priced at £39.70 (47cm)
A ceramic lamp featuring a metallic reflective glaze detailing in brown and bronze with matching lampshade.

Classic Urn - Cream. Priced at £44.80 (67cm)
A traditional ceramic lamp with soft pleated matching shade.

Garcia - Antique Brass. Priced at £41.40 (76cm).
Floor lamp also available priced at £92.40 (170cm).
Features an elegant curved base design with coordinating lampshade.

Nelson - Pewter (also available in one other colour). Priced at £26.02 (49cm).
Floor lamp also available - £54.83 (159cm).
Features a stylish pewter finish with matching lampshade.

Gubi to re-launch Greta Grossman’s lamp designs

The lamp designs include the Grasshopper floor lamp, Cobra floor and table lamps.

The Grasshopper floor lamp is known as the most famous design of Greta Grossman. Designed in 1947, the lamp’s tubular steel tripod stand is tilted backward and the elongated aluminum conical shade is mounted onto a flexible arm, making the light directional with minimal glare.

Gubi’s new Grasshopper lamp has retained most of the elements of the original design. It is available in five colours including anthracite grey, warm grey, blue-grey, jet-black and vintage red.

Grossman’s classic Cobra lamp takes its name from the shape of the oval shade, which is reminiscent of a Cobra’s neck or hood. Cobra won the Good Design Award in 1950 and was subsequently exhibited at the Good Design Show at the Museum of Modern Art. The Cobra’s tubular flexible arm can be bent in all directions while the shade can be rotated through 360º. The base is covered in powder-coated aluminum and weighted with cast-iron ballast.

Gubi is re-launching the Cobra design in both tabletop and floor lamp versions in three original colours including anthracite grey, jet black and warm grey.

The lamps will be available in mid-2011 from Gubi website and selected retailers throughout the Europe.

Outdoor lighting comes of age

Coloured lights, illuminated furniture and subtle fixtures designed to blend with nature will be popular this year, according to design professionals.

Workman expects to see the use of colour increase, and “I don’t mean Christmas lights,” she said. Landscapers are starting to incorporate subtle red, blue and pink lights into their work, she said.

Colour is particularly appropriate if you are planning a party, Rossbund added. It’s “a fun way to change things up,” she said.

Some homeowners are adding a bright pop of colour with light-up patio furniture, Robert said. The battery-powered chairs and tables are available in a variety of colours.

International designers like Modoluce and Neoz have created lines of plastic tables and chairs that are lit from within.

Avanzini has a line of wood furniture made with glowing light strips. It helps create a lounge look that Robert thinks will be popular this summer.

“With the rise of staycations, we will see a lot of designs adopting a real bar-type lounge attitude, with perhaps more extravagant and festive pieces,” she said.

Moonlight USA sells decorative outdoor illuminated globes, which can glow white like the moon or cast light in a rainbow of colours. The company also makes a tabletop for the globes. The clear acrylic disc has a cut-out centre that allows it to rest on top of the globe so it can function as a table.

“The colour is very robust,” said owner Anke Kondek. “It’s a wow effect.”

Homeowners wanting to light a more natural setting may go for a softer, more layered look, said Beth Webb, an interior designer in Atlanta. She favours the custom copper-and-wood pieces made by The Outdoor Lights in Cumming, Ga.

Company president Chris Wakefield has created lights that cast a warm glow around fire pits, dining areas or outdoor living rooms. Some of his more popular items include punctured copper cylinders that create a firefly effect, stamped copper lanterns and illuminated, artificial birdhouses. The lanterns can hang from a shepherd’s hook or a tree branch.

Before buying lights for reading, lounging or dining, the professionals recommend making sure that pathways and steps are properly lit for safety.

“You want light to help you navigate spaces near or around steps,” said Jeff Dross, director of education and industry trends for Kichler Lighting.

He and the other experts warned against making outdoor spaces too bright. They suggest using subtle light that is aimed toward the ground wherever possible.

“For most tasks you only need low light,” Dross said. “Avoid that glare. Glare forces you to think you need more light than you do.”

Wood Table Lamps Enhance Style

What makes wood table lamps perfect for a given space? The color of the lamp base can be a huge selection point, but remarkably enough; there are other design details that are also important in terms of choosing the best lamp to enhance a room. Selection should take into consideration the four elements of interior lighting design - Ambient Lighting, Task Lighting, Accent Lighting, and Décor Style.

In the daytime, much of the ambient lighting (also referred to as general lighting) generally comes from the light entering through the windows. Table lamps work well filling out some dark spots in the room. In the evening, these lamps are an excellent source of ambient lighting assuming that there is some transparency to the shade.

Task lighting is also an important aspect of lighting selection when one needs to focus light on a particular object in order to enhance vision. Lamps can be used to light a specific area as is the case for a desk lamp or bedside lamp. Table lamps actually provide both ambient lighting and task lighting.

Accent lighting in reference to table lamps refers to lighting that brings light to a specific location in the room such as on a buffet table, a foyer table, or other area where the intent is to bring attention to a certain area. Table lamps with lower wattage bulbs or opaque shades provide a good source of accent lighting.

Lamps are not typically the piece of furniture that a room is designed around. Yet, they are an important accessory piece to tie the entire design together and compliment the style of the room. Wood table lamps come in a variety of styles and finishes and are good at bringing warmth to a room. If the room is has bright colors, a painted wood lamp or dark wood lamp may be more suitable. If the room is more muted and subtle in its design, a lamp in a lighter shade may be more appropriate.

Two new Pedrera lamps to be launched in 2011

The two new lamps include a slim, elongated pendant ANA, designed by Corsini in collaboration with Joaquim Ruiz Millet; and a smaller table lamp ABC, designed by Ruiz Millet as a tribute to Corsini. The lamps feature the same perforations etched on the original floor lamp as their source of inspiration.

The two new Pedrera lamps will complement the first four Pedrera pieces launched in mid-2010. They feature understated elegance, distinctive style and meticulous craftsmanship to bring life and character to any interior space.

Both new Pedrera lamps are available in three colours - black, white and red. In addition, the new table lamp is available in blue colour.

In 1955 Barba Corsini renovated the loft space within Antonio Gaudi's famous building ‘La Pedrera’ in Barcelona, transforming it from a simple laundry room and storage area into 13 modern duplex apartments. Corsini used a series of parabolic arcs to create individual rooms and provide an illusion of space and height.

Vaulted ceilings of the house provided inspiration for the base of both table and lamps. For the lampshades, it was the form of Gaudi’s cylindrical chimneys that studded the rooftop above the attic apartments. With their sleek, perforated appearance, the chimneys are clearly echoed in the Pedrera lamp design.

Contemporary Table Lamps

Lamps do more for your home than simply provide light. They can enhance a room's décor, create a mood, or simply add grace and beauty to any room in your home. Today's contemporary table lamps run the gambit from highly functional to the most exquisite decorative lighting you can imagine. There are so many different styles to choose from in contemporary table lamps that making a decision on which lamp to buy may be more difficult than your think. To make that decision a little simpler here are a few tips on what to consider when choosing decorative lighting for your home.

Function, Atmosphere Or Both

Depending on where you use your contemporary table lamp you may need a lamp that is highly functional such as a curved neck lamp on the stand next to a favorite reading chair. In other cases, you may want a lamp that creates more of an atmosphere such as soft romantic glow in the bedroom while at other times you may need a lamp that serves both purposes at once. Knowing what purpose you want your contemporary table lamp to serve will help you to look for the right lamp for the purpose you need.

Look For a Lamp that enhances your room's décor

As well as having a lamp that suits a set purpose your contemporary table lamp should also fit your room's décor. For example, a gorgeous driftwood lamp may be perfect for that beach house a room with an ocean style décor but will simply detract from the overall effect of an ultra modern living room. While a beautiful bauble chrome lamp may look perfect and even add a touch of chic drama to a modern living room, it will look out of place in a country style kitchen or Victorian dining room. So, make sure when you choose a contemporary table lamp that it going to enhance your décor and not detract from it.