At Thingz, we know that planning your living room space is always an exercise of creativity, aesthetics and practicality. There are hard and fast rules to guide you, but at the same time, you have to make yourself aware of the changing trends in home furnishing if you want a home that is stylishly up-to-date.  We feel fortunate that many our our client use our complimentary interior design services to help space plan and select fabric because we absolutely love it!

In the case of The Frank Lloyd Wright Spire, the Arizona State Capitol’s loss is clearly Scottsdale’s gain. Designed in 1954, the Spire was way ahead of its time, which is actually very characteristic of many of Frank Lloyd Wright’s designs. Rejected for being too radical in the ’50s, the awe-inspiring structurefinally materialized in 2004 at his old office at the Taliesin West Promenade. More than half a century later, the Spire remains very much avant-garde, a testament to Wright’s imagination and artistry.  And as it’s location is just mile or two from our Scottsdale showroom, the Thingz Scottsdale team gets the opportunity to see it often!

If you have been to Thingz then you already know.  Expect the unexpected!  We recently created a bed and headboard in our Scottsdale showroom out of a wonderful new, customizable fabric panel.  Why you ask?  Because we can of course!  In truth, many people find it better to go for a bed without an attached headboard. An existing headboard is somewhat limiting. A headboard, after all, goes beyond its function of retaining your pillows and bed linens. Many headboards have become the focal point in a bedroom. They are there to offer drama, beauty, and function. Using our customizable wall panel system, you can do so many things with your headboard. You can style up a bare wall. You can pad it with upholstered cushions to have something soft to lean against when you sit up. You can even add a shelf for books and knickknacks or a hidden compartment for keeping important stuff safe. In any of these cases, it would be smart to maximize the presence of a headboard to highlight your sleeping quarters.

It is not wrong to want nice things for your home or office. And of course at Thingz we believe that a beautiful, well decorated home is an essential right!  But in today’s environment, it is certainly considered environmentally conscientious to be aware of how something was made, of what it is made and where the materials originates before you acquire and enjoy it. After all, you wouldn’t want to be part of a system that includes things such as child labor, deforestation, and illegal mining … right?

If there’s any chair that would motivate you to work, whether at home or at the office, the Aeron Chair from Herman Miller would be it. It is the very epitome of a modern chair, a symbol of the dot-com bubble back in the ’90s. That it continues to dominate in the world of contemporary office chairs speaks of its classic appeal.  It oozes coolness in appearance; it is ridiculously ergonomic; and it is 94% recyclable. If you still doubt the epic greatness of this chair, go and visit the Museum of Modern Art where the Aeron Chair has lodged itself in its permanent collection.

[caption id="attachment_342" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Seat Belt Dining Chair - Purple"][/caption]

The great thing about contemporary furniture is that there are practically no limits. The era is not defined by specific elements. The more unique, more innovative, or more unheard of something is, the better. In fact, unlikely materials and original forms that are successfully combined make great cutting edge designs. Take for instance the Seat Belt Dining Chair from Thingz. It is a very unusual product made of a steel and wood frame interwoven with lengths of cotton seat belts. The end result actually looks very fluid and sexy, without the merest hint of the industrial or mechanical flavor that the words “seat belt” would normally suggest.

Home entertainment has come a long way since the television first became a household staple. As technology simplifies – or complicates, depending on the way you look at it – entertainment media, you have to keep pace with it to accommodate whatever upgrade it comes up with and allow the easy inclusion of new products in your home.

Check out this fabulous shot of the Celebri chandelier taken from the June 2010 issue of Phoenix Home & Garden magazine.  The Celebri is elegant and makes a statement at the same time — just the way we think contemporary lighting should!

I recently saw a magazine spread featuring one of our client’s homes.  It is always a thrill when we see some of great contemporary furniture and lighting from Thingz in a magazine!  It is especially thrilling when the house is as beautiful as this one.  We will likely feature a spread of this home once we secure some photos from the owner but until then I thought that instead we would discuss the projects brilliant architect Bing Hu.

It’s that time again!  Each spring and fall we make room for the newest styles and latest colors by holding our most popular event of the year — the Thingz Semi-Annual Floor Model Sale!