Modern Dining Room
best modern dining room
Modern Dining Room
best modern dining room
Monday, February 28, 2011
Modern Dining Rooms
Modern Dining Room
They're inside too! After gushing over Pampaexport's great outdoor prods, I happened upon their great indoor furnishings.
Modern Dining Room
They're inside too! After gushing over Pampaexport's great outdoor prods, I happened upon their great indoor furnishings.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Designing with Glass, spectacular, amazing, and elegant...
Glass is everywhere and looking better then ever
Today I would like to focus on some design ideas.. I know a lot of you probably have already seen the use of glass mini tile throughout many kitchens and bathrooms but looking through the web I have found so many more usage for them I didn't really know about and I am wondering if a lot of people do because even when I have walked into lets say a Home Depot, Lowe's, design stores, most usage and placement on these items is in the bathroom and kitchen...
Bathrooms
Kitchens
Well looking through the web has completely changed my mind and I actually now believe, without over doing it, that there are many more beautiful ideas with glass then I ever thought possible.. I have seen walls, foyers, fire places, entire room walls done with these tiles and the look is not only spectacular, but amazing and rich in color. They come in many colors, shapes, and sizes and yes are not on the cheap end of the scale but when you consider that they really never have to be replaced, like paint and wallpaper, and are very long lasting, the value becomes much higher in these once shunned and ignored glass tiles.
From entire home walls, to foyers, to bedroom walls, to just about anywhere people find a place where they need an accent color, wall, or just a simple splash to add some life to their rooms that are otherwise a single light earth tone or a single dark color that simply needs something to create a room... or feeling.. These tiles are showing just about anywhere you can possibly think of and the price due to stiff competition from markets overseas and increased capacity due to demand has actually gone way down from the once mighty "only for rich people" price and stigma they had when introduced.
Entire Kitchen Walls instead of just countertops
Accent Color walls to brighten just about any room
I myself see a very bright future for what once was considered a rich man's dream tile or simply way to expensive for most people in the country or for that matter the world. There are many places that now sell these far below what Home Depot and Lowes and others like them sell them at but always remember their price guarantee.. Look these items up on the internet and find them and when you go to Home Depot or Lowes take them a copy and as they promise, they will match the price and there you to can now have a wall, a room, or a complete bathroom or kitchen done in these spectacular tiles.
Sample Tiles.. The one on the left is absolutely amazing!!!
The picture shows what I feel to be one of the best usages of these glass tiles I have seen so far. Elegant, minimal in style, and very modern and contemporary vibe producing wall. Looking at them you know the rest of the house is stunning.
a stunning fireplace glass wall..
And lastly I have to mention metallic tiles, once so expensive I would not even look, the price has definitely come way down and many are taking the opportunity to install them.. But more on that in a future blog...
Today I would like to focus on some design ideas.. I know a lot of you probably have already seen the use of glass mini tile throughout many kitchens and bathrooms but looking through the web I have found so many more usage for them I didn't really know about and I am wondering if a lot of people do because even when I have walked into lets say a Home Depot, Lowe's, design stores, most usage and placement on these items is in the bathroom and kitchen...
Bathrooms
Kitchens
Well looking through the web has completely changed my mind and I actually now believe, without over doing it, that there are many more beautiful ideas with glass then I ever thought possible.. I have seen walls, foyers, fire places, entire room walls done with these tiles and the look is not only spectacular, but amazing and rich in color. They come in many colors, shapes, and sizes and yes are not on the cheap end of the scale but when you consider that they really never have to be replaced, like paint and wallpaper, and are very long lasting, the value becomes much higher in these once shunned and ignored glass tiles.
From entire home walls, to foyers, to bedroom walls, to just about anywhere people find a place where they need an accent color, wall, or just a simple splash to add some life to their rooms that are otherwise a single light earth tone or a single dark color that simply needs something to create a room... or feeling.. These tiles are showing just about anywhere you can possibly think of and the price due to stiff competition from markets overseas and increased capacity due to demand has actually gone way down from the once mighty "only for rich people" price and stigma they had when introduced.
Entire Kitchen Walls instead of just countertops
Accent Color walls to brighten just about any room
I myself see a very bright future for what once was considered a rich man's dream tile or simply way to expensive for most people in the country or for that matter the world. There are many places that now sell these far below what Home Depot and Lowes and others like them sell them at but always remember their price guarantee.. Look these items up on the internet and find them and when you go to Home Depot or Lowes take them a copy and as they promise, they will match the price and there you to can now have a wall, a room, or a complete bathroom or kitchen done in these spectacular tiles.
Sample Tiles.. The one on the left is absolutely amazing!!!
The picture shows what I feel to be one of the best usages of these glass tiles I have seen so far. Elegant, minimal in style, and very modern and contemporary vibe producing wall. Looking at them you know the rest of the house is stunning.
a stunning fireplace glass wall..And lastly I have to mention metallic tiles, once so expensive I would not even look, the price has definitely come way down and many are taking the opportunity to install them.. But more on that in a future blog...
Monday Music - Underneath The Radar...
Music is SO important to the happiness of my home. :)
Now most Monday mornings when the working week looms I'll try to post a fave song or some music I'm listening to at the moment to provide some musical motivation.
So my little groovers......... here's today's installment!
*****************************
Gawd I love '80s music. Just LOVE it!
Here's Underworld with their biggest hit 'Underneath The Radar', from 1988.
Enjoy.
And don't forget, if you're looking for more great music, Bec over at Memory Garden often has a lovely song to listen to on Mondays as well!
And, as always when thinking of our 'Musical Must Haves' section...
Ask yourself: 'Do I L.O.V.E music?'
Which leads to: 'Have I got enough of it in my home and in my life?'
Because: Good interior design caters to ALL our senses, not just our eyes.... that's why I call it 'Atmospheric Design' instead!
Linda. xox
******
The Original Musical Must Have:
******
bedroom colors
best bedroom design - bedroom colors
Bedroom with many color variations have now been developed with the designer to produce a comfortable bed for you, make you feel comfortable and calm. bedroom colors can produce special style and comfort for you.
Bedroom color ideas
Color bedrooms with a blend of color often have problems, but bold colors can make your bedroom life ambience while featuring wall color to produce an atmosphere of calm in the heart.
Bedroom wall color
Bedroom wall color offers you the idea of color made up a variety of options that can make your bedroom into interesting, unique and the main one is convenience. bedroom colors as what you want like a romantic atmosphere, quiet or pleasant for you. please you choose to suit your desires.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
My old costa Job.... (magazine article about me has a link below)
My old job at Costa Farms, LLC
Today I am going to talk about my old job at Costa Farms, LLC. and my role as director of specialty products within the company.. The main department I ran was the orchid department, and I did so from a 7 million dollar glass greenhouse capable of holding 1.7 million orchids inside.
When I first took over the departments, boy were they in bad shape, making no money, plants dying everywhere and credits were through the roof. Big vendors like Walmart, Publix, HD PBS, Florida, BJ's wouldn't even look at us..The department was in shambles. ..
It was not an easy task but within a year we had our books under control, our orchids were the best in the country, and the old establishment was begging for our orchids. WE got Publix, BJ's, HD, Florida and the NE sector, Sams stayed on, Walmart came back, who insisted we ship orchids in a 28 degree truck with their perishable goods.. Impossible.. Or was it.. We found out by using heat packs, like the ones they use for tropical fish work great and of course an insulated box and timed to the tee travel to the store for you see the heat packs expire. By the begining of 2010 we were the best orchid department in the country, had the highest efficiency, and were the best run,.. We were the envy of everyone..
It was around 2 years we met with another company United Orchids Plus corporation out of New York that all of this began, for you see all the credit of having better orchids and quality beyond anything imaginable should go to them, and of course me for always being there with them and showing with respect and understanding how things were done to turn a profit.. You see they have the closest family and ownership on the planet.. Everyone in their family is super sweet and actually are the only thing I really miss from my old job.
For you see with growth comes a lot of responsibility. We would have hit 20 million in sales last year as we got the largest orders from Walmart- 77,000 units, Sams, 35,000 units, Lowes, 60,000 units for the mother's day period.. Publix 16,000 mini orchids, a product I myself introduced to the consumer and little it became an overnight sensation..
From 10,000 units sold the first year to 250,000 units sold last year, at least that was my estimate.. For you see I left in August 2010 not because I wanted to but for other reasons better left out of this blog. I left behind, friends, people I considered family, and most important the people in my department that I grew attached to and I always took care of.. For you working for me, meant shade, a nice working environment, (you could eat off the floors) and employee area which was the envy of the company, and of course a 7 million air conditioned greenhouse, for the extreme heat in Florida. We worked double shifts during Mother's Day and Valentines day to keep up the demand and the huge spike in existing customer orders. By double shifting I mean working from 6-3 one shift and 3-11 another.. A huge success..
Why you might ask because at time and 1/2 overtime kills the department and the people in it, fr you see working so many hours would tire anyone and efficiency goes down the drain after lunch.. so by having two shifts we made sure we had fresh people to work all the time.. except me of course, I was always there since I lived on the second floor of this greenhouse in a beautiful apartment built upstairs.
By the time season was over we had had the most successful Valentines - Mother's day ever for the company, had made a lot of money and were envy of the entire orchid community. Realize that every vendor has special pots, tags, varieties of orchids, colors, and all of this has to be ready in a three week window since the product must get to the stores 2-3 weeks before the holidays. I have composed a series of pictures for all of you to better understand this concept because frankly I really don' t think any of you can imagine what a greenhouse with a million orchids in bloom looks like all different colors, multi spiking, and shipping every minute.
Pictures of the Orchids...
Walmart Order about to ship
HD Florida Order about to ship
BJ's and Costco orders - ALWAYS wanted yellow flowers
The Greenhouse and Apt upstairs
My Office:
And so ends my story about the last chapter in my life. Now begining a new with Avant Garde I welcome all of you to my daily blog and product listings and offerings.. Please visit my store at www.aghomegoods.com... I wish you all happy shopping and a great rest of your
weekend..
Alex Calzadilla
- Ag home goods
