Aquademie Here I come | Hansgrohe USA Headquarters

I am headed to "Aquademie" 

I can’t help but be excited...

Next week I will be traveling to Hansgrohe's U.S. location just north of Atlanta in Alpharetta, Georgia.  Hansgrohe's US facility is home to a state of the art interactive product center “Aquademie”, Showerworld and a world class manufacturing facility.

Hansgrohe USA Headquarters (photo via hansgrohe-usa.com)

A view of Schitach via wikipedia.com

Originating in Schitach, Germany, a small town in Germany's Black forest, Hansgrohe has been a leader in innovation and trends in bathroom solutions since 1901.  

Hansgrohe factory 1909 (photo via hansgrohe-usa.com)

Founder Otto Johannes, known as Hans Grohe, was a true pioneer of his time.  The invention of the first handshower in 1928,  is just one of the many inventions and innovations in the over 100 year Hansgrohe history.

 

Otto Johannes, known as Hans Grohe (photo via hansgrohe-usa.com)

To learn more you can click here to find Hansgrohe’s innovation history – milestones in craftsmanship. 

I am looking forward to learning all there is to know about Hansgrohe during the two days I will spend at the Aquademie training facility in Alpharetta, Georgia.

Aquademie Training Center (photo via hansgrohe-usa.com)

In addition to the face to face training with Hansgrohe experts I will be touring their manufacturing facility.  I am confident that this up close and personal experience is sure to be informative and will most certainly demonstrate the luxury, quality, design innovation and attention to detail that Hansgrohe is known for.

Hansgrohe production (photo via hansgrohe-usa.com)

I think I am most exited about the opportunity to personally test out the Hansgrohe and Axor luxury shower products in their famous Showerworld.

Axor Display at Aqaudemie Training Center (photo via honsgrohe-usa.com)

Located within the Aquademie training facility, Hansgrohe's Showerworld is a luxury shower testing area with more than thirty of their shower products set up and ready to try out.

Showerworld Hansgrohe USA (photo via hansgrohe-usa.com)

What better way to learn and understand the Hansgrohe brand than to give it a little test drive... so a big thank you in advance to Hansgrohe for providing me with this opportunity, it is sure to be educational and enjoyable!  

Small Change, Big Result - Bathroom Renovation

Are you thinking about remodeling your kitchen or maybe your bathroom.  You don't always have to knock down a wall, you can make a change by simple changing the cabinetry color.  Like this example we resurfaced the cabinetry and finished them in white.  This simple change created a whole new look and feel to this space. 

Living with Sculpture

Gone are the days of just the same ole same ole bathroom fixtures.  We spend a good portion of time in our bathroom and more and more the bathroom is becoming a space that represents and reflects the essence and style of a homeowner.  Less utilitarian, a more sophisticated and stylish environment that welcomes you as you begin your day and greets you as you walk thru life in your home.  So what if your bathroom fixtures were more like works of art? Sculptures even?  Well Hansgrohe has done exactly that and their Axor Starck Organic Collection truly is like living with sculpture!

A new, sensual water experience combined with a powerful, sculptural design: Axor Starck Organic is stripped of anything unnecessary and completely harmonious in its design concept. The intelligent operating concept revolutionises the use of water and is also economical to use. The organic minimalist collection integrates quite naturally into a variety of bathroom environments.

As an official BlogTour Cologne Sponsor I will have an opportunity to see and learn first hand, during my visit to IMM Cologne Furniture Fair, how this collection was created.

Photo credit ~ Hansgrohe US

From Drab to Fab ~ A Stylish Bathroom

This recent vanity installation features custom cabinetry that we designed with inset mirror drawer fronts, hand~carved solid wood appliques and furniture fitted moldings.  A stunning transformation, more pictures and details to follow. 

My Home, My Time2Design ~Guest Bathroom Towels

I have never been a fan of wall hung towel bars, you know the ones I mean. Everyone has the towel bar in their bathrooms that have the "just to look pretty" towels. You know who you are, and I have to admit I have been guilty of this myself in the past.

In my guest bathroom, in an effort to end this nonsense and to create a place for towels to hang when I have guests, I found this great towel rack that hangs from the hinges of the door. Space for four towels and gets them out of sight.

Bathrooms Transformed

The Bathroom Experience - Brizo's Sensori Shower

click the play button to view

Here is an look at Brizo's Sensori Custom Shower.  When we design your bathroom we will make the most of your space and help you to find the products that best meet your needs.  The Brizo Sensori Custom Shower is a great example of how to make your bathroom an experience.

Brizo, the faucet brand for the fashion forward, will be paying all my travel expenses for a trip to New York to see its newest products and attend an exclusive design-focused event during Fashion Week. I am looking forward to sharing with you all I experience and learn on my trip.

Headed To Fashion Week....

Wow.....

I am so excited and thrilled to be one of 19 designers invited by Brizo to attend Fashion Week next month.  They're flying us to New York and covering our travel expenses.  I am honored and thrilled to be a part of this event.  I look forward to learning valuable inside knowledge of the Brizo Brand and product line as it relates to fashion/design style and market placement. 

I look forward to becoming more familiar with the Brizo product line as it relates to my design style and my client’s needs and I welcome the opportunity of developing a long term relationship with the brand. 

The most exciting part to me is the common appreciation and direct correlation to design and fashion.  I have felt very strongly and have always said there is a direct relationship and correlation to a person's individual style as it pertains to their fashion sense. Hence there is a very similar relationship to interior design and fashion design.  For me personally I have always had a great appreciation for fashion design and it is probably one of the many reasons I personally became involved in interior design.  I live and breathe design, and for as long as I can remember I have always had an admiration for great design. 

As a young person growing up I was always more interested in getting the current issue of vogue than I was concerned about anything else.  I remember spending hours and hours looking through the current Vogue issue, admiring the amazing design and observing the current trends.  As I look back I realize I was always meant to be a part of the design industry and Interior Design was the natural path for me to take.  I am from the core of my being inspired by great design as it relates to fashion and home.  And for me there is a direct relationship and connection of the two.  Fashion and style directly influences home interiors. 

I am so excited to be a part of this event and so appreciative of this opportunity to be able to experience a small park of fashion week in New York City This truely allows me to make a mark off experiencing fashion week from my bucket list in 2011.   I feel honored to be invited to attend and I am so looking forward to each and every moment I will experience. 

DESIGN TERMS | DEFINITIONS | Design

DESIGN

VERB designed past and participle /de-sign-ing present participle /de-signs 3rd person present singular

1. transitive and intransitive verb create detailed plan of something: to make a detailed plan of the form or structure of something, emphasizing features such as its appearance, convenience, and efficient functioning.

2. transitive and intransitive verb plan and make something: to plan and make something in a skillful or artistic way.  3. transitive verb intend something for particular use: to intend something for a particular purpose.  4. transitive verb invent something: to contrive, devise, or plan something.

NOUN de-signs plural 

1. picture of something's form and structure: a drawing or other graphical representation of something that shows how it is to function or be made. 

2. way something is made: the way in which something is planned and made.  3. decorative pattern: a pattern or shape, sometimes repeated, used for decoration.  4. process of designing: the process, techniques, or art of designing things.  5. intention: an underlying sense of purpose or planning ( formal )

DESIGN TERMS | DEFINITIONS | Blueprint

Blueprint

A copy of a drawing done to scale showing the room or a number of rooms, dimensions and configuration of floor space for each level or story of the interior of the proposed building. 

After the machine copies the drawing onto the special paper, the paper is blue, hence the term blueprint. 2) In engineering, a line drawing showing the physical characteristics of a part.