Sheffield Special Reports

Check out these Special Reports on interior design and decorating that have appeared previously in Sheffield's Designer Monthly.

• Earthly and Water Paradise - California Academy of Sciences
  For a glimpse of an earthly and watery paradise, take a stroll through the California Academy of Sciences and capture, in a few hours, a multitude of flora and fauna in their spectacular habitats. Amazonian rainforests, butterfly parks, swamplands, coral reefs, and starry space are just some of the vistas you will encounter in your stroll. The Academy is located in the heart of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park and was recently renovated by Italian architect, Renzo Piano.

• It's the Economy, Smarty
  To get a sense of the design forecast for 2011 in three different areas of the United States, we talked with three design companies, one each in Georgia, Nevada, and Washington, D.C. We asked the designers what they see in the offing for the coming year. You'll see there are some trends that seem to be holding true no matter what part of the country you're in, and there are other areas where the designers are seeing divergent desires in their clients.

• Eternal Greece
  One of the greatest gifts Greece gave to civilization was their classical style of architecture. Mention Greek architecture to anyone and images of columns and moldings pop up. Chances are, there's a Greek-style building in your town. The Greek classical style was born in the Golden Age of Greece—during the 5th century BC—and it's never disappeared.

• Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club Decorator Show House
  What do top designers Vincente Wolfe, Noel Jeffrey, and Jean Paul Gaultier have in common? They’re leading the way in this year’s Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club Decorator Show House, where interior designers get the coveted opportunity to show off their talents by designing a room of a grand mansion. But this year’s event was not the expected fait accompli, and it nearly failed to take place when a location for the Show House couldn’t be secured.

• Wharton and the Golden Age
  It was the golden age of society: debutante balls, hunting parties, afternoon teas, and country house weekends. It was the age of innocence. As a young heiress, Edith Wharton had it all: riches, an indulgent family, an approved suitor, and the means to make her dreams come true. One of those dreams was realized in the building of her home, a classical mansion called the Mount.

• Sarah Abramson
  There are some addictions that are undeniably bad for you, and then there are the addictions that add to your life, rather than detract from it. For Sarah Abramson, her addiction to jewelry-making not only gives her a natural high, but it also earns her a living. And she creates distinctive, beautiful works of wearable art by indulging in her passion.

 

• Check out Sheffield’s Newest Course: Jewelry Design
  This may not come as a huge surprise to most of you, but I’ll say it anyway. Here at the Sheffield School, we love creating courses for our students. We pride ourselves on creating courses that are as enjoyable as they are informative. And that is why we are thrilled to announce the launch of the newest course in the Sheffield School family, Jewelry Design: Beading & Wire Working.

 

• A Day with Designer Adele McGann
  It sounds like the plot for a classic Hollywood movie: beautiful woman meets cultured man on board the majestic QE 2, strikes up a conversation, and begins a life-changing relationship. Well, it almost happened that way. The woman was interior designer Adele McGann, and the man was royal portrait painter Richard Stone. There wasn’t a romance but it was a chance meeting that eventually would lead to a design commission for which many designers would give an arm and a leg.

• 2010 International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF)
  The interior design and furniture industry come together once a year in New York for the ICFF — International Contemporary Furniture Fair. Excitement and anticipation always run high, as both professionals and the public get the opportunity to view the latest trends in furniture, lighting, and accessories.
• Furnishing the Great Outdoors
  The first warm breeze wafts by and thoughts naturally lead to gardens, beaches, barbecues, and sunbathing...in short, the great outdoors. Summer is almost here and we look to our outdoor spaces for enjoyment and relaxation. For those lucky enough to have a backyard, terrace or balcony, this provides a wonderful opportunity to apply your design planning skills to the great outdoors.
• Materials from Mexico
  Wool. Iron. Clay. For centuries, people have been building and furnishing their homes out of these materials, creating everything from chapels in Europe to huts in China with these same basic materials. Though the specifics may change from region to region and time to time, the essentials remain the same, albeit with very different looks, and to some extent serving different purposes.
• 2010 New York Magazine's Wedding Event
  Kicking off the start of wedding season, the 2010 New York Weddings Event is one of the biggest and best of the year. Hosted (obviously) by the always chic and trendy New York Magazine, the event boasted a myriad of vendors ready to share their products, ideas, and insights with brides, grooms, and industry professionals — in short, as they say, anyone planning a wedding, now or in the future.
• 2010 Architectural Digest Home Design Show
  Every year, hundreds of people flock to New York to see the annual Architectural Digest Home Design Show and the latest furniture and accessories. Beautiful woodworking was in evidence throughout the exhibit but there were also some surprising use of unusual materials. Furniture and furnishings manufacturers from around the world along with students' designs make up a diverse and exciting exhibition.
• Materials from Mexico
  Wool. Iron. Clay. For centuries, people have been building and furnishing their homes out of these materials, creating everything from chapels in Europe to huts in China with these same basic materials. Though the specifics may change from region to region and time to time, the essentials remain the same, albeit with very different looks, and to some extent serving different purposes.
• Anniversary History of Sheffield. 1985-2010: 25 Years of Teaching Design and Decoration.
  Time flies-especially when you're teaching thousands of students how to design terrific rooms. It was twenty-five years ago that the Sheffield School of Interior Design enrolled its first student, and now the school has expanded to include courses in Wedding and Event Planning, and Feng Shui for Interior Design.
• Larger Than Life 80s!A Look Back with Sheffield Dean and interior designer, Tom Saxon.
  The 1980s, a decade of extravagance and excess, demanded life to be lived large, so large that shoulder pads were required to carry off the style. Big bold graphic design, new wave, punk, mergers and acquisitions, and dynastic soap operas sensationalized the era.
• Celebrating Preston Bailey's Celebrations
  There is no one more well-known in the world of event planning than Preston Bailey, whose gorgeous event designs are commissioned by some of the biggest names in Hollywood. So, needless to say, I jumped at the chance to attend the launch party for his newest book, Celebrations.
• Design Trends 2010
  As we strike out into the unknown territory of the new year and new decade, the trends in interior design reflect two of the biggest concerns preoccupying everyone: the economy and the environment.
• Holiday Gift Guide for the Designer
  Our holiday gift guide is hand-picked for the designer in you. These products are unique and created by artists and craftsmen who have design uppermost in their mind. Whether they're for your own home or for that special someone, these accessories will certainly stand out and elicit oohs and aahs when received.
• Holiday Event Planning
  A recent cold snap on the East Coast was a chilly preview of the impending winter — and a reminder to many that the holiday season is nearly upon us. To the surprise or chagrin of many shoppers, stores everywhere have already begun displaying seasonal merchandise and decorations, and the familiar scents of pine cones and fir are in the air.
• Contemporary vs Modern
  Walk into almost any home today and you see a jumble of styles. The labels of contemporary and modern are applied almost interchangeably but do they mean the same thing? In a word, no! To get to the heart of the matter, we have to travel back to the origins of modernism — all the way back to almost a century before — the 1920s.
• All-American Makeover
  We were the Kamikaze Decorators, and we were ready to rumble.My niece had just moved into her first apartment post-college, and my sister Rachel and I had to take action..
• Lighting as Art
  Man has always been attracted to fire — both for warmth and for illumination. Since the invention of light bulbs, light fixtures have largely replaced fire as a source of illumination.