RATTAN CHAIRS shaped like space pods. Tables formed by placing sheets of glass on waves of wood. Furniture by Filipino designer Kenneth Cobonpue inspires tropical fantasies. With sustainable materials like coconut, he creates futuristic-yet-inviting pieces, sold at Muléh (1831 14th St. NW). He launches a new collection May 17 at New York's International Contemporary Furniture Fair.

Continue Reading "Q&A: Furniture Designer Kenneth Cobonpue" »

BARACK OBAMA and Hillary Clinton keep reminding us that the United States is shedding manufacturing jobs faster than a speeding steam engine.

But what factories and farms have left behind — weathered wooden carts, steely drafting lamps, battered sign letters that might've once spelled out "Allentown Smoldering" — isn't going anywhere. Industrial detritus, with its colorful past and patina-ed present, now does time in lofts, interior design magazines and shops.

This might mean an old metal glove-making mold used as sculpture or an iron window grate morphed into a fire screen. At Penn Quarter's Rocket Bar, a wooden factory machine-mold even frames a mirror behind the beer taps. "It weighs 300 pounds. It's not for the faint of heart," says Jeff Dawson, co-owner of Bedrock Management, which runs the bar. Other Machine Age reminders there: rocket ship art made of vintage vacuum cleaners.

"Part of the appeal is that these are things that weren't originally intended to be used in the home," says Anna Kahoe, co-owner of U Street's Goodwood, which traffics in glass jars from long-shuttered apothecaries and wooden cabinets that held crop seeds decades ago. "They're infused with human energy, since someone once touched them on a daily basis."

Continue Reading "Factory Direction: Industrial Homes" »

THE REFRESH'N DRYER TOWEL ($13, Refreshn.net) sounds absurd at first. You dampen it and toss it in the dryer with garments that are wrinkled and linty and maybe a bit smelly but don't need a full wash, and they come out fresh and clean via the power of steam and magical towel fibers.

What's astonishing is that it works exactly as described. Clothes pulled from the laundry basket and subjected to the Refresh'n process came out soft, unwrinkled and clean-smelling, good for at least two more wearings.

THE WRANGLING WITH THE broker is over, the contracts are signed and the bank loan has finally gone through. Hurrah! You have your own rad pad. Now how to make it purdy? Lure some good buddies over for a painting party with the promise of food and camaraderie — and perhaps a promise of future household favors. But how does one throw a successful bash without making too much of a splash?

First off, Logan Hardware co-owner Gina Schaefer recommends assigning one guest per wall. "You don't want them running into each other," she says. "Also, people tend to get bored fairly quickly." Even if pals brag about their no-mess painting prowess, take the time to cover furniture with drop cloths, remove outlet covers and tape around windowsills and baseboards before they arrive. It's also worth springing for one roller and tray per person, says Schaefer — that way, there's less of a chance of stray paint drops hitting the floor.

Spring is ideal, as windows and doors can be left open for cross-ventilation, getting rid of fumes and speeding up drying. Start early enough in the day (noonish, perhaps) to let each coat dry before sunlight runs scarce. Since that can take one to two hours, take a lunch break and order pizza. "By the time everyone is done goofing off and cleaning up, it would be OK to start again." Save blasting Bon Jovi tunes and brew for later, though — if people aren't seasoned painters, loud music "might throw off their concentration." And while a cooler of Coors might be tempting, Schaefer learned the hard way when a friend had a few too many: "Our white blinds ended up with blue polka dots."

Photo by iStockphoto

YOU KNOW HOW in EyeOpeners (Page 2 of Express), there are frequent stories of overturned trucks that make towns smell like pickles/eggs/juice/etc.? Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day's new scent is as if this truck were full of rhubarb and overturned in your kitchen.

We tried the counter top spray, which proved powerful enough to dissolve a stubborn mystery stain on the floor, possibly by suffocating it.

PICK UP "REAL SIMPLE" magazine or flip on the Food Network and ultra-contemporary, Flash Gordon-quick entertaining ideas appear faster than you can say "Rachael Ray." Sure, foam appetizers and locavore lunches are hip, but sometimes looking to the past, not the future, makes for a more welcoming, warm party. Donna Reed, June Cleaver and Grandma: Can we please see your recipe card boxes?

In the days before Evite and Trader Joe's microwaveable crab cakes, folks entertained in grand — and sometimes goofy — style. Think finger bowls on the table, gin fizzes in highball glasses and Beef Wellington on the menu. And while you may not want to resurrect Great-Aunt Ethel's recipe for Eggs in Aspic, partying like Lucy and Ricky (or F. Scott and Zelda) can be both retro and scrumptious.

"Dinner parties are a lost art," says chef Gillian Clark of Colorado Kitchen (5515 Colorado Ave. NW), whose homey Brightwood Park restaurant puts new twists on throwback dishes like fried chicken and pineapple upside-down cake.

For a fete that would rival a Kennedy-era White House dinner, start by digging through vintage cookbooks or visiting sites like Retro-housewife.com for how-tos on elegant chocolate soufflés and lobster thermidor. Or go for kitschy comfort foods like meatloaf or that pu-pu platter fave, crab rangoon dumplings. "Visit the library or used bookstore for books," says Bonnie Slotnick, owner of an antique cookbook shop bearing her name in New York City. "They can take you on a little trip. Look for one that speaks to you."

Continue Reading "Rewind the Times: Retro Cocktails, Decor and Food" »

WHEN TLC'S "TRADING SPACES" went to a no-host format back in 2005, many viewers reacted like homeowners on the show who'd seen their basements made over with black walls and disco balls. But as the seminal redo fest returns for Season 6 (Saturday at 10 p.m.), popular emcee Paige Davis is back, paintbrush in hand and perky personality intact. We caught up with her about her own home and what to expect on the show.

» EXPRESS: What's the scariest thing about being back on "Trading Spaces"?
» DAVIS: That no one will watch! No, really, there's nothing that scares me.

» EXPRESS: What will viewers find different about Season 6?
» DAVIS: They've hit on a way to update it. Now our homeowners have real reasons to trade spaces. One example is these two moms whose daughters were best friends when they were young. Now these kids are 13, and they've grown apart. So, they redo each other's family rooms in the hope that the girls will bond.

» EXPRESS: Does being on the show make you look at your own place differently?
» DAVIS: I'm not afraid to try new things. I don't go into a store and pick the floor model. I'm braver with color. I used to be tamer.

Continue Reading "Space Invader: TLC's Paige Davis" »

THOSE NEON-HUED POTS from Le Creuset or Mario Batali that Santa brought cook so well! But they get so darn hot, and plopping them down on a dowdy old potholder shows disrespect for the kitchen gods.

Give cookwares a hipper place to rest with Branch Home's felted wool trivets ($22). Four-piece sets of interlocking fabric rings come in combos of either tangerine and orange or brown and blue.

Family lore says that my great-grandmother Kitty Ann worked as a cook for a rich farm family in the 1890s. Her boss had three sons, one of whom always took the largest piece of whatever she served. Annoyed, Kitty Ann whipped up some apple dumplings, making one turnover much larger than the others and filling it with dried beans. The greedy brother grabbed it, bit in, and broke a tooth.

When Mom told me this tale as a kid, she probably meant it as a lesson about gluttony or work ethics. But Kitty Ann knew what many cooks and party throwers know: Few can resist dough wrapped around a squishy filling. "They're labor-intensive, so people associate them with happy times," says Laura Schenone, author of "The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken" ($27, Norton), which tracks her quest for her great-grandmother's pasta secrets.

Every wheat-eating culture boasts a turnover, from Chinese shu mai (pork dumplings) to Latin American empanadas. "They're comfort food. You can't go wrong with dishes starring potatoes and bread," says Kera Carpenter, chef/owner of Petworth's W Domku (821 Upshur St. NW; 202-722-7475), which dishes out Polish pierogi and Czech potato dumplings.
Carpenter and other fans of plump pockets admit a dumplings party involves elbow grease and practice. "Have one person who knows what they're doing," says Brian Yarvin, author of "A World of Dumplings: Filled Dumplings, Pockets and Little Pies From Around the Globe" ($22, Countryman). "Kneading and rolling isn't that awesome a task."

If you don't have a pal with dumpling skills, study Ukrainian vareniki or Lebanese fatayer techniques via a book or class. L'Academie de Cuisine offers many classes about dumplings; Taiwanese chef Rebekah Lin Jewell (Artofchinesecooking.com) teaches dim sum workshops.

The tools are basic: rolling pins to flatten dough, Asian dumpling crimpers to close up pies ($5, Surlatable.com) and bamboo steamers or frying pans for cooking 'em. For ravioli, a pasta machine is handy.

Letting guests in on the process is an ice-breaker and time-saver. "Look at it as a fun project," says Schenone. Set up an assembly line with one person rolling out dough, someone else stuffing pies and another guest boiling or frying.

Continue Reading "Styles: From Pierogi to Empanadas, Dumplings Rate High" »

DO MORE PUSH UPS! Eat less chocolate! Why do New Year's resolutions always focus on bods, not abodes?

In this bleak season, promising to make your surroundings brighter, lighter or more organized might be easier and more enjoyable than joining Gold's Gym (again). It's a good time to do away with last year's castoffs and get your pad in shape.

"I vow to never to buy another bird piece," says decor blogger Design Sponge, aka Grace Bonney.

David Dennis, owner of U Street shop RCKNDY swears he's going to embrace wallpaper. "It's great on just one wall," he says. And us? We'll be nibbling bonbons on a new loveseat, not a chair-and-a-half — that's so 2007.

1) LET OLD MEET NEW
Sure, Grandpa's dark wood dresser looks funeral-home stodgy in a room of Charles Dickens-era furniture. But put something vintage with something au courant, "and it warms up your whole house," says Amy Rutherford, pictured above, owner of Red Barn Mercantile (113 S. Columbus St.; 703-838-0355), a new Old Town Alexandria shop that blends weathered pieces, such as an early 20th-century warehouse dolly-cum-table ($1,250) and presidential portraits ($25 each), with crisp, contemporary stuff like linen-upholstered sofas ($5,118). Other ideas: Pair metal Ikea chairs with an old farm table with peeling paint or hang a Pop Arty portrait over a carved Victorian bed. "Just try to keep the lines clean," says Rutherford.

2) GET ART SMARTS
You got the note about how uncool Picasso posters are if you aren't a junior in college, right? But if putting "real" paintings or prints up sounds expensive or intimidating, take a crash course in affordable art. "It's the icing on the cake, but people are funny about it," says Daren Miller, owner of Adams Morgan decor den And Beige (1781 Florida Ave. NW; 202-234-1557). He recommends decking walls with non-trad pieces like the framed, vintage wallpaper fragments ($500) or birch bark baskets ($20-$25) he hawks at his store. Design blogger Grace Bonney champions the ultra-affordable prints ($20-$60) of animals and whimsical figures by Etsy.com artists like Matte Stephens and Ashley G. "Buy a series and put them in Ikea frames to make a gallery wall," she says.

Continue Reading "Nest Intentions: Refresh Your Place in 2008" »