Cool Hunting
Slated to open Spring 2009, the new W New York Downtown Hotel and Residences brings a number of media-worthy gems (a $2,000 per square foot pricetag, for example), but this stunning sink by Graft, the building's award-winning interior designers, is what caught our attention. Looking at the bathroom as "a place of purification, relaxation, revitalization and timelessness, "Graft came up with the 1 E "to sensually stage the poetry of water within the overall concept 'bath.'"

With gently sloping curves that look as much man-made as they look carved by glaciers, the designers clearly have mastered the impossibly sleek organic forms that define today's aesthetic. The sinks will be available for purchase outside the W Hotel and Residences as well. Contact Kanera for more info.
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by Tamara Warren It takes a fairytale to capture the imagination in Miami's over-blown hotel district. Hence, "Sleeping Beauty" stirs 4 December 2008 when the Mondrian South Beach Hotel Residences opens it doors. Conceived by Dutch designer Marcel Wanders, who nicknamed the property "Sleeping Beauty's castle," the one and two bedroom hotel residences overlook the Biscayne Bay, the Atlantic Ocean and the Miami skyline....
by Juliet Kinsman Cobbled and colonial but also contemporary and quirky, I recently had the chance to stay at the brand-new Douro Valley hotel, Quinta da Romaneira. From one look at the interior design it's clear that super-picky attention to detail is paramount. Thierry Teyssier, the creator of Quinta dos Sonhos (Romaneira's Portuguese name) considered every color, visualized every view, procured the highest spec...
Former entertainment lawyer-turned-lighting designer Michael McHale creates chandeliers that are as much about structure as they are shimmering crystal. Born from the seeds of a DIY project, Michael McHale Designs is drafting a new vision for the chandelier, utilizing such rough and ready materials as patinated brass pipes and fittings, refrigerator bulbs, and appliance tubing in concert with the finest crystal available. The effect...
Just in time for the holiday season, R 20th Century Gallery in lower Manhattan has launched their first show geared toward small-scale objects. Perhaps realizing that these tough financial times make the gifting of rare vintage furniture less likely, R will be offering a wide array of objects and accessories for an equally wide variety of pocket books. Prices range anywhere from $15 to $10,000...
NYC-based artists Markus Linnenbrink, Fred Tomaselli, Marilyn Minter and Phoebe Washburn collaborated with Artware Editions on an environmentally-sound (and avant-garde) alternative to the living Christmas tree. Each artist came up with a die-cut vinyl wall sticker of the life-sized trees that are the mainstay of the yuletide tradition and the results bear the mark of their creators. Tomaselli's tall and skinny version (above left)...
When I heard that Fredrik Larsson, owner of the Williamsburg boutique Scandinavian Grace, was opening an outpost in upstate New York, I had half a mind to take a day trip just to check it out. I still plan to but readers won't need to wait for my trip to view the interior (see more images after the jump). Located on Route 28 in...

