Cooler Colors

For all things kitchen, culinary and cuisine related, Coolors if full of amazing kitchen decorating ideas, based on their collection of must-have colored kitchen appliances that no modern home can do without. Specializing in colored refrigerators, household furnishings, panels and customizations for the interior, take a cue from Coolors and you’ll soon be the envy of all your friends. No longer is the refrigerator a utilitarian, uninteresting fixture. With Coolors’ silk screening process, the fridge becomes a unique work of art, featuring images and colors to suit your individual sense of style. Converting your favorite vacation photo into a work of art by one of their masters, you now can ornament your appliances and take them from drab to fab. And you’re bound only by your imagination – choose a coordinating color for the range hood, or a complementary pattern to finish your panels, resulting in a unified and original look. For more kitchen decorating ideas and to check out these cool, colored kitchen appliances, visit Coolors

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Fun and Funky Bathrooms

Colorboards is a range of gorgeous custom glass furniture from Keuco. The stunning, personalised glass bathroom designs make the very best of pure color. Colorboards allow you to select a color theme that will create an ambience of your desire… whether you’d like your bathroom to be a place of tranquillity or invigoration. Made of 10mm thick safety glass, Colorboards tailor-made furniture is painted on the back (so the brilliance of the color will never fade). Various wall-mounted solutions are available and include smart details that can be built into the custom glass furniture. Why not include a towel holder, an inbuilt soap foam dispenser or a dispenser of cosmetic tissues in your design? A matching light/mirror is also an option. Keuco, a German company, offers a range of exciting bathroom concepts to explore.
More colorful bathroom furniture sets here, from Lasa Idea.

There’s something wonderful about the chunky, rounded lines of the new funky bathrooms from Cosmogres. Refreshingly different and fun bathroom themes, Unica enamelled ceramic furniture has a childlike playfulness. Created by Sabrina Selli, this design is once seen, never forgotten! The matching toilet and bidet pop out of the wall like bubbles, and come in wall-mounted or floor-standing versions. The basin sits comfortably on a simple wall-mounted shelf. The finishing touch is, of course, the lovely ceramic daisy on the wall - which can be colored by request. Bring the Unica bathroom collection home and turn your bathroom into a fun, funky oasis. By Cosmogres.-via

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Displays for HDTV

While working from home is always appealing, devoting precious space to a home office isn't. Gruber Schlager solves this dilemma with the TV-Office wall unit, a flexible design that combines a TV unit and a compact office space. The free-standing design rotates on a single metal leg, making it simple to instantly transform the room. One side of the wall unit features a fold down desktop, perfect for setting up portable workstations and laptops. The other side displays your HDTV.

Ideas so useful you’ll wonder how you lived without them – the Hollywood and Dolce Vita Plasma LCD TV Console Stands are from Cattelan Italia, and designed by Paolo Cattelan. These days, we have so many options when it comes to displaying TVs that are lighter and thinner than ever before. It makes sense to exploit their portability with the Dolce Vita and Hollywood Plasma TV Stands, structures made of stainless steel that offer adjust-ability in the height of the TV from 32H to 71H. You’ll avoid straining your neck, viewing the TV in comfort wherever you are sitting. Not only this, the stable TV stands have a strong visual presence, including a handy glass shelf under the TV to store other electronic products. The Dolce Vita stand can accommodate TVs up to 32” wide, whereas the Hollywood Plasma TV Stand is made for a bigger TV, accommodating up to a 42” wide Plasma TV. Buy the Dolce Vita for USD $1,468 or the Hollywood for USD $1,573 at Spacify.-via

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Sensual Future of Bathing

High-style bath furniture

Another bath trend is to bring the look of furniture into the bath for a clean, uncluttered atmosphere. Lacava’s Aquaplane vanities exemplify the trend with a two-drawer cabinet with a Wenge finish beneath a broad basin.

Cost: Cabinet $990 to $1,190; basin $490; medicine cabinet $835 to $980.

Waterproof media center

Some people retreat to their home spas to shut out the world. Others want to bring it in. Make the bath your operations center with the visiPad media station, which gives you access to e-mail, SMS, Internet, telephone, radio, CDs and DVDs. Control the unit with a remote or use the splash-protected touch-screen. Made by Visiomatic, the German maker of integrated electronic home control and entertainment systems, the visiPad is offered in a range of screen sizes, from 10 inches to 46 inches across.

Cost: The complete system about $4,225

Take off the chill

In the quest to make the bath into a cozy haven, homeowners are installing small, direct-vent natural gas or propane fireplaces. For example, Canadian manufacturer Napoleon reports that any of its direct-vent gas fireplaces can be used in a bathroom. This model, the Torch, measures just 12 inches across and has a shallow firebox that fits nicely between 2-by-6-inch wall studs. It puts out about 6,000 BTUs.

Cost: Suggested retail price starts at $1,608

Japanese influence

Diamond Spas' Bennett reports a trend toward individual expression in bathrooms. “The shift I see is in aquatic personalization. People are looking for something unique, handcrafted quality and beauty, a bath made by artisans rather than mass-produced, a bath that was made exclusively for them.” City apartment and loft dwellers often choose small, deep Japanese soaking baths that provide a space-saving vertical soak rather than horizontal, she says. This circular, one-person tub, 42 inches around by 35 inches deep, has a bench seat.

Cost: $15,284.

Luxury tubs

“Soaking tub” is a term used a lot for luxury tubs. “Designs vary from a smaller bath with a deeper depth, such as a Japanese soaker, to a large rectangular bath with a body forming contoured bottom,” says Stephanie Bennett of Diamond Spas, a Colorado company that crafts custom stainless steel and copper tubs to buyers’ specifications. The tub pictured here is a contemporary, oval, full-skirted soaking bath designed for two: 42 inches wide by 72 inches long by 24 inches deep. It has a midcontoured bottom with a sloping reclined area at each end for relaxing face-to-face conversation.

Cost: $16,982.

Glowing basins

Translucent scratch- and heat-resistant epoxy resin is used in a new line of Toto Luminist sinks and tubs that can be lit from beneath to give bathrooms an otherworldy glow. Water temperature is digitally controlled by a knob on the surface of the sink or tub. A light indicator panel uses color to read water temperature: blue is cold; light purple indicates 93.2 degrees F; dark purple is 100.4 degrees and red is very hot — 107.6 degrees.

Cost: Neorest II Luminist lavatory with integrated sensor faucet $6,200; Neorest II Luminist soaking tub with integrated sensor bath faucet, $17,500.

Hidden tank

Toto was emphasizing water and energy conservation in its plumbing products long before “green” was cool. The newly released Aquia high-efficiency toilet has its tank hidden in the wall for a sleek, minimalist look that the Japanese plumbing manufacturer says was inspired by the lines in nature. The bowl is glazed with a material that helps keep grime from building up. The dual flushing system lets the user choose to use a smaller or larger amount of water used: 1.6 gallons per flush for full flush or 0.9 gallons for the light flush.

Cost: roughly $350 for the toilet and $660 for the concealed tank carrier.

TV and warm towels

The Aquavision Towel Rail TV combines two essentials of the bath of the future: warm towels and entertainment. When you’re not watching the waterproof 17-inch LCD television, it is a mirror.

Cost: $4,000 and up.

Waterproof TV

See that picture on the bathroom mirror? It’s a waterproof, 17-inch wide-screen TV by the British company Aquavision. With the television turned on, the screen is visible from nearly 180 degrees, meaning that you can see it from just about everywhere in the room. The television can be installed above a bathtub or inside a shower or sauna, remaining clear and dry — not foggy, says Aquavision. HDTV is an option, and six screen sizes range from 10 inches to 40 inches.

Cost: about $4,250

High-tech performance

The Ondus bath system by German plumbing company Grohe blends organic form with high-tech performance and puts digital control of faucets, tub and shower in the user’s hands. Bathers can preset water temperature and flow rate. Engineering attention has been spent to mimic the flow of natural phenomena like waterfalls and falling rain. Here is the Ondus digital sink faucet (left), the AquaFountain shower system with both wall-mounted and hand-held showers (center) and, in the background, a floor-mounted bath filler, each with customizable, precision controls.

Cost: faucet, $4,199; AquaFountain shower system, $7,999; floor-mounted tub filler, $6,300

Tan while you shower

When is a shower more than just a shower? In this case, when it gives you a tan and improves your complexion while you’re washing up. ProSun’s SunShower unit lets you incorporate a tanning unit, including five 400-watt lamps, reflectors and a double UV filter, into a shower. The 8-inch-thick unit can be added to a pre-existing shower enclosure or installed during new construction. Crave more? You can add high-intensity LED infrared light, said to stimulate the skin’s production of collagen and elastin. Units are framed in aluminum, brass or chrome — or in oil-rubbed bronze, to match your skin.

Cost: $10,900 to $17,995.

Space-age steam shower

While the future is mysterious, one thing’s a given: There will be stress. The newest bath products emphasize in-home spa features, making it possible to relieve stress thoroughly and in privacy. LineaAqua’s Apollo steam shower looks like a personal space capsule: The built-in reclined seat could be an astronaut’s anti-gravity chair. The blue-tinted safety glass and teak accents add to the futuristic look. You set the unit’s controls to manage the electronic temperature and steam generator or just lean back and use a remote to direct six adjustable massaging body sprays and a foot massage feature. Dim the unit’s mood lighting and crank up the audio speaker (the shower has a built-in FM radio and AUX connections for integrating your own sound system).

Cost: $24,400

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Jill Crawford Designs

Feature Designer
Jill Crawford
Los Angeles, CA


In the photo above Jill's client wanted a "hotel spa" feeling for their residential bathroom. The shower was made with a door to the outside so clients could go from the pool directly into the shower. Custom walnut cabinets and Carrara marble counters were added. Sinks and fixtures-Purist by Kohler. Nulco sconces. French limestone floors. Mirrors are set flush with the glass mosaic tiles and are the same width as the sinks and cabinets below. Mosaic tiles are a custom blend from Susan Jablon mosaics

This mural was based on a tree outside the kitchen window where birds like to perch and sing. Also, the house is located in a canyon in the Hollywood Hills that is in the flight path of the annual Monarch butterfly migration, so once a year there are thousands of butterflies passing by. Custom walnut cabinets and Carrara marble counters were added as a finishing touch.

Custom-designed mohair headboard. Linen drapes, grasscloth wallpaper. The nightstands are 1960s vintage, found in a thrift shop and lacquered white, given new hardware. Rugs are Icelandic sheepskin. Lamps from CB2, bedspread from Williams-Sonoma Home, bed pillows are African Springbok (center) and Key Maze fabric by Beacon Hill. Chair is vintage by Milo Baughman

Much more traditional than Jill's usual style, but one of her favorite rooms. Very budget-minded redo, she recovered clients' chairs, added chocolate paint, chair rail moulding and wallpaper below, new drapes, light fixture and table. Painted existing built-in china cabinet, added new cornice to cabinet to make it more elegant and proportional.

This is Jill's own living room. The octagons are a painted mural of her own design, not wallpaper. The only newly made things in the room are the custom white leather chairs (not visible in this view) and the rug, which is Kashmiri goat fur. Pretty much everything else in the room is vintage: sofa reupholstered in lemon velvet, owl coffee table, teal Paul McCobb stools, olive burl credenza by Mastercraft, end tables, lamp, Milo Baughman chrome chairs, artwork, op-art needlepoint pillow on left, Blenko glass decanters and most of the white ceramic animals (except horse on credenza by Jonathan Adler.) The Happy needlepoint pillow on right is also from Jonathan Adler (I love the tongue-in-cheek vibe). Even the taxidermied crow and peacock are vintage. 2 things Jill often does in her work is to play with scale (the octagons are 4' across) and add something with a little edge. Jill states, " I love this room because I find it impossible not to feel happy sitting in it"!

Another budget redo. The house had a living room and den completely open to one another and her client wanted to use the living room while the teenage kids watched TV in the den, so she made over the living room and added the studded doors with clerestory windows to seal off the den. The screen in the foreground was added to give a little sense of arrival, as the front door opens directly into the living room.

This room was actually done for a TV makeover show (2 days, $2000 budget) and each room had a theme--in this case, it was based on the friendship of the homeowner and the guest, who used to go to discos all the time back in the day. So Jill did a 70s-style mural, added a custom-designed bar (with a chandelier made from champagne glasses), designed the yellow coffee table with the chrome racing stripe, and re-did the doors on the existing credenza to match the bar. (Luckily her client already had a fantastic sofa-- just making new pillows from vintage scarves and Marimekko fabrics added the final touch)

This is Nicholini's restaurant at the Conrad Hotel in Hong Kong. (Conrad is the 5-star division of Hilton hotels.) Nicholini's is considered one of the best Italian restaurants in Hong Kong. For the redo, Jill designed the leaf lighting at the ceiling, and the lit columns (each line is a row of glass abstract butterfly shapes with backlighting). She also added custom carpeting, and all new furniture, drapery and wall treatments. Jill partnered with Texeira Design to achieve this exotic and romantic atmosphere for the ultimate in fine dining.

Bar 1912 is a new addition to the famous Beverly Hills hotel, home of the Polo Lounge. The hotel owners wanted to create a new hangout that would update their image and attract a hipper celebrity crowd, but of course still wanted it to feel as if it belonged in the classic hotel. Working with Texeira Design, Jill tore out an existing boardroom and suite to create the bar and an outdoor patio area. Virtually everything is custom: rug, walnut and onyx bar, furnishings, artwork, plaster relief wall behind the bar. Forbes magazine named this one of the top 10 hotel bars in the world.

Jill Crawford is a Los Angeles-based interior designer and graphic artist. Over the past 10 years, Jill’s passionate pursuit of interior design has resulted in noteworthy achievements in spaces from homes to hotels, pads to post-production facilities. Her singular style is derived from a fine arts degree from Barnard College in New York City and an unusual career path that began with producing award-winning news programs for National Public Radio. Yearning for a more visual medium to work in, Jill moved on to Lucasfilm/Industrial Light & Magic in northern California. With her unique style and reputation as a perfectionist already emerging, she pursued the challenges of set construction and art direction for film and television. But it was the interior spaces of the urban landscape that became her ultimate calling. Solicited for residential, commercial and 5-star hotel projects all over the United States and Asia, including the new Ritz-Carlton Denver, the remodel of the Conrad Hotel in Hong Kong, the nightclub Deep in New York, and Bar 1912 at the Beverly Hills Hotel, which was named one of the world’s 10 best bars by Forbes magazine. Jill’s talent for interiors was soon noticed by television producers at the Style network, where she became the lead designer for the the home makeover program “Guess Who’s Coming to Decorate.” Jill currently resides in Sherman Oaks with her husband and Weimaraner.

CUSTOM WALL MURALS:

Jill's current specialty is large-scale graphic design for walls. Each wall is a piece of custom installation art, personalized and tailored to each individual client and space. Walls may be painted, texturized, applied vinyl, embedded with objects, silver-leafed or a combination of the above. Works are also available on canvas for clients who would like to take their murals with them when they move.

It has been my pleasure introducting you to Jill Crawford and her unique and elegant style of designing.

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Ceremic Dividers

Surprising, versatile and ultra-modern, the Ceramic Wall from Naxos redefines the use of ceramics in the home. Ceramic walls can assign purpose to space; they can add interest; they can divide and establish boundaries. Sculptural and smooth, the Naxos X-wall is an ideal addition to a modern, open-plan interior. Living in a loft, yet wanting a way to discern the bathing area from the sleeping quarters? A ceramic wall is the perfect solution, adding an element of privacy without interrupting the space with a solid wall. The touchable, gleaming surfaces of the ceramic pieces imply a work of art that actually functions to enhance the convenience and order of your daily routine. To enjoy a ceramic wall in the context of your home, make contact with Naxos, a Fincibec company-via

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The Neiman Touch

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