Moving Day has arrived...

  TIME TO MOVE

    Today I will finally be helping my friend move. He has been undergoing this long process for a long time and now its finally here and time for him to move on to bigger and better things.. In case you are wondering, his name is David Wright, and the first section to this post or part can be found below on one of my previous blogs..
   Lets see how it goes and as I said in my previous blog posting, I am sure he will become a much better person business wise as a result of this move and he will go on to great things.. Stay tuned for news and information, and of course updates...

News on Avant-Garde Home Furnishings...

News on Avant-Garde Home Furnishings new items...

   I would like to introduce our new bedding line of products just recently posted on our website. I invite all of you to please take a look and let me know how you feel, what you think, and any other comments that you feel are honest, sincere, and needed. All feedback, positive, negative, or neutral is welcomed.. and greatly appreciated...

Some Examples of the new line of bedding and closets...

Choosing Green Office Furniture Can Be Cost Effective

Many people shopping for new office furniture today are commonly looking to go green. However, the inexperienced shopper often finds themselves believing that GREENGUARD Certified office furniture will cost them more out of pocket. This is incorrect in several ways.

In today's market GREENGUARD office furniture includes everything from conference desks to reception stations. Finding GREENGUARD Certified furniture can be quite simple if you know the manufacturers to look for. Sites like ours, OfficeAnything.com, offer a host of products from industry leading manufacturers, who pride themselves on paving the way for the green office products movement. Companies like Mayline Office Furniture, Global Total Office, and Safco offer hundreds of quality Green office products. Furthermore, these items are just like any other, with one huge exception! They have passed GREENGUARD Certification tests to be considered environmentally friendly. Products such as these can and will improve your indoor air quality significantly.

Basically what I'm getting at is that there is literally no extra charge to have a piece of green office furniture. The manufacturer has taken the time to have the items certified, makes the necessary changes in the products production, and provides the certified item at no additional cost! That being said, there is really no reason not to go green wherever possible. Now, I'm not saying that there aren't companies out there up-charging for green products. However, most do not. Finding a quality dealer that provides furniture from the companies stated above will go a long way. It will save you money and help you, help everyone! Considering that we have proven green office furniture costs the same as non-green, why wouldn't you help reduce our environmental footprint, and improve our air at the same time. To me, it's a no-brainer.

Tips to Decorate Kitchen in Apartment

The key to successfully decorating a kitchen in a studio apartment is to create a space that flows with the rest of the room, rather than one that tries to separate itself from the apartment. Decorating small spaces can be a challenging prospect for any resident. Focus on scale, color and storage in the kitchen space to achieve a cohesive look.
     
Scale
Studio apartments, by nature, are small spaces, while most kitchens tend to hold a lot of things, from food to kitchen gadgets. Kitchen furniture, like dining tables, chairs and storage units, tend to be large. A smaller round table with chairs that tuck easily underneath will be less jarring in the space than a full-size dining set, according to the Oh My Apartment section of the Apartment Ratings website. Keep accessories on top of counters on the smaller side to prevent the space from appearing cluttered.
     
Color
Color can add personality to a studio apartment kitchen and prevent it from looking too utilitarian. Base the kitchen's color scheme on colors from other accessories in the apartment, such as a large piece of art or decorative curtains the living area. Choose table linens, dishes and storage containers in these colors. Stick to bright and light colors, which will infuse energy into the kitchen space. Colors like yellow, bright blues, orange and red make the space feel happy. Dark colors and furniture may make the space feel smaller.
     
Mirrors
Hang a mirror in the dining area to help the kitchen appear larger, suggests House Beautiful. Mirrors reflect light, giving the room a feeling of added space. Mirrors, especially those with ornate frames, also add a decorative touch to the room. Avoid hanging mirrors with heavy, dark frames.
     
Vertical Storage
Storage is a major issue in studio apartments, especially in the kitchen, so maximize your vertical space. If kitchen cabinets do not reach the ceiling, use the space above the kitchen cabinets as storage, adding wine bottles, serving dishes and colorful containers. Choose items that are pretty and appropriate to be put on display. Also consider converting a small area into a pantry or adding shelving in a nearby hallway. Suspend a pot rack from the ceiling for your cookware.
     
Unexpected Storage
Use other areas in your studio apartment for creative kitchen storage. The experts at This Old House recommend adding wine racks below a coffee table, for example. Use a bookshelf as a false wall to separate the kitchen space from the rest of the room and serve as a storage unit for cookbooks, dishes, glasses and even pots of home-grown herbs.

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...

Monday Music - Underneath The Radar...

This is where it all began (personally one of my fave articles ever!!).

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!

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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:

Where Did The Music Go? - Alternatively Titled Hugh Grant and I Have Something In Common With Our Bottoms!

******

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

New Marlins baseball stadium, downtown Miami

I wanted to share my pictures of the new baseball stadium going up in downtown Miami for the Marlins.. Great architecture, design, and implementation... An amazing structure

Newly installed closed roofing structure and columns

New Parking garages and other support offices

The new stadium taking shape as the rounded edges are
clearly visible as are the box seats

Apple iPhone's best copy yet....

Copyrights, China, and the rest of the world

    I am dedicating today's blog to China, who copy everything we have and in some cases add features we have been asking for a very long time.. Let me clear things up. I am talking about the iPhone 4 and copies sold out of China. Most are crap, cheap, imitation garbage but some models come so close to to the real thing you can't tell the real from the fake apart unless you really look hard..
     I am reviewing the latest version of the iPhone 4 to come out of China and its a real good copy. Its the best copy I have ever seen. First its has built in memeory, built in battery, same charger style as the iphone, comes in a box with serial numbers and marked iPhone 4. This new version unlike all previous imitations also has Apple's built in Captitive screen, which is what allows the real phone to be so fast in reflexes of your finger movements. This copy also comes unlocked and is ready to go out of the box. It literally is amazing..
     Oh yea those extra features I mentioned.. It comes with pre-set themes in which the entire phone changes, icons, directories, menu, etc.. Its fully operational, about the same speed as the real iPhone, works with any GSM carrier, both domestic and international, has about the same capabilities as the real phone, and has OS (china made) 4.2.1 that allows you to create folders and multi tasking features.
     Soon we will be buying everything from China. Apple already buys and manufactures including assembly in China.. They only load the OS here is the United States. Can't say I blame them since if it were done in China everyone would be walking around with cheap imitation, yet real iPhones and Apple would go under.. NOT LIKELY..
    Apple is still king when it comes to technology and products and they are the leader in everything that they do..

Chinese iPhone Search Page

Chinese iPhone Picture Exterior 1

Chinese iPhone Picture Exterior 3

Chinese iPhone accesories detail

Chinese iPhone Calculator

Different Themes Selection

Like I said the best copy yet