DITRE SOFAS

The Ditre Italia range is divided into 6 product lines: Design, Modern and Classic sofas, leder, Convertible sofas and Upholstered Beds, offering a total of over 65 models. Ditre products represent “Made in Italy” designs that have a value in every detail of their models. The ditre ranges of sofas are stylish, classy yet comfortable for a luxury and stylish living.

Collin Sofa- Collin is a striking and versatile sofa that is elegantly provocative and aristocratic. They are available in fabric, microfiber and eco leather versions and have a gun metal finish in its bottom profile. Although this product appears to offer generous dimensions, it has a depth of only 98cm. It gives the home a modern a simple yet sometimes a provocative look. High class is expressed with a touch of irony and is ideal for new dandies and the latest generation of aristocrats. A round footstool and an armchair complete the range.

FOSTER I- A simple product that has been given an elegant appeal, eco-chic, namely, country-rebel style. This sofa has various crafted shapes, proportions and details in fine materials. Metal feet is available in three finishes namely, chrome, chrome nickel or oxidized iron. It also has an eco leather trim between the cushions in fabric or fabric between the cushions in leather. 

MIDJ CHAIRS

MIDJ, an Italian luxury furniture and home decor brand synonymous to excellent design with great functionality offers stylish, proportionate colorful, comfortable, beautiful and everlasting designs in chairs, armchairs and stools. Their creations are simple example of innovation and vitality perfect for luxury living. MIDJ has a brand reputation for its aesthetic appeal, technological properties and functionality.

The Soffio chair of MIDJ has steel frame and is upholstered in leather or leather fiber regenerated. The chair breath adapts to different solutions for modern living, vacation or offices. Breath is nice, very comfortable, ergonomic, characterized by opening the back which allows for comfortable use.

Portfonio is another beautiful, elegant, small and convenient chair of MIDJ. Its structure is in chrome or painted white. The seats are of leather, faux leather or fabric. It is best suitable for residential and contract.

Calligaris Extendable Table

Calligaris extendable tables are sleek and stylish in design with clean lines that suits best for modern home furniture. It is designed in such a way that each end of the table can be extended independently and can accommodate an entire family comfortable. Thus it works for both, nuclear and joint family.

These dining tables are available in rectangular, oval and round shape. They are available in various materials such as wood, glass, metal, ceramic etc. Beautiful craftsmanship with extraordinary designs and contrasting materials are used to make these extendable tables. Such is the Parentesi extendable table that is made up of two contrasting material- its top is made from wood with strong metal which gives it a minimalistic look. This wooden extendable table has two removable side extensions that can be individually removed and can accommodate 12 people comfortably.

Another such design is the Moving extendable dining table which comes with an automatic extending mechanism and safety lock with legs following the length of the table when extended. Wood or metal is used for the legs which remain in the corner thus giving comfort to everyone who is seated. Their top is available in glass and ceramic in two colors and the rest is available in six different colors.

Various other designs are available with different materials and colors that suits perfect for an urban home.

Recent trends in the workplace environment to be focussed on workplace as an area of innovation:

§  Make way for the incredible shrinking workstation
Individual workstation square footage is being slashed dramatically—in some cases, to less than half the traditional size—in part to allow organizations to devote more space for meetings and informal interaction

§  Say goodbye to high partitions, hello to open office
Workstations are not only shrinking, they are becoming more open. Partitions are either being junked completely, or their height is being lowered to foster greater employee interaction. Some organizations are even getting rid of private offices, or at least reducing their number significantly

§  Manage noise and privacy
An open office environment has one major drawback: lack of acoustical privacy. With office workers sitting together more snugly, and smaller partitions (or none at all) separating them, noise levels can raise, sometimes making it harder to concentrate. Therefore employees should keep in mind that being loud is not a good idea in an Open Office lay out

§  Program in more team rooms, not necessarily more conference rooms.
Conference rooms appear oversized especially when you have three or four people meeting in 10- or 12-seat rooms. That wasted space is money not spent well. Better to offer team rooms of varying capacity for groups of different size.

§  Allow for an appropriate amount of flexible space.
Many traditional procedures and tasks are becoming obsolete; new high-tech operations have to be generated from scratch. As work groups grow and shrink in response, the workspace may need to be adjusted accordingly

Tips to keep the house cool this summer

As the summer heat swells up, we can only blame the scorching heat on the global warming effect, deforestation, pollution and the like.  The heat will be raising the bars up, up, and away in the coming weeks. It is time to get a handle on making your home feel cooler. Here are some interesting tips to keep your home cool this summer.

Paint it a cool color. No, it has nothing to do with the "hot" design colors for the season. One can paint their room with a formulated reflective paint or just colour it white in order to keep the roof and the ceilings cool during summer.  According to a survey the color green makes you feel up to ten degrees cooler than in a room of any other color.  I’ll also recommend going with more of a blue based green, since blue has soothing affects as well. Also use white everywhere. White helps refract light, which means that the heat bounces off and goes back into the atmosphere. White blinds and white draperies will all help with this.  White because it makes things crisp and fresh looking. Soft pastels with bright hues will help create colourful summer equilibrium. Artwork and accent cushions are ways to create vibrancy in a room.

Dress Up the windows: Its summer time & ditch those transparent curtains that allow the sunlight to peek in to your house. Install solid shades or curtains over the windows in the room that are capable of blocking out all the sunlight. One can also opt for honeycomb shades, plantation shutters or drapes in a cool blue or green with a triple-lining.  Honeycomb shades and plantation shutters help to prevent heat from entering into the homes through the windows. Draperies can be used in combination with some shades. Alternatively, a window film can also be used on the glass panel to block heat. They are also an easy solution to have a cooler home. Use light coloured blinds or window shades as they tend to be more effective, since they reflect the heat back outside. Keep the windows covered whenever there is direct sunlight entering the room.

Close everything. Closing the drapes and blinds during the afternoon hours would be a wise option. Whether the air conditioner is on or off, keep windows and doors shut if the temperature outside is more than normal temperature. Whenever the outside air is hotter than the inside air, opening a window invites heat to creep in. During the hours from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m., the Earth is exposed to the most direct sunlight, causing the atmosphere to heat up and radiate heat. Closing drapes and blinds during these hours will help to deflect some of the sunlight from the room you wish to cool.

Relaxing fabrics for home: Fabrics like cotton and linen are most summer friendly and popular. Sheer curtains and blinds add a breezy and summer feel to a home. For soft furnishings, use of linen cottons and fabrics that breathe in neutral tones or even diluted coloured tones is highly recommended and one can opt for shades like white, off whites, mint green, light brown, light blue, coral etc. With the right combination of colors and fabrics in curtains, blinds etc, you can make your house look cooler and also increase its fashion statement.

Plant shade trees: Exercise your green thumb by planting shade trees around the house.  Plant trees or shrubs to shade air conditioning units, but not block the airflow. A unit operating in the shade uses less electricity. Casting shadows on the south western exposure of the home using large deciduous trees, like oaks, sycamores and elms. These trees are ideal for the summer as they have large-shaped leaves to block out the heat. Another effective idea is to grow some climbing vines over the hottest part of your house. Vines also add beauty to the home when grown on wires kept at a little distance from the wall. This will allow them to take a beautiful shape on the wall.

Fix bamboo chicks – Kitchen is the hottest region of your home during summers while cooking or baking, therefore it becomes important to keep it cool. You can simply prevent the sun's heat from getting inside the kitchen by just hanging bamboo blinds on the outside of the window to keep the kitchen temperature cool. The best part is that bamboo blinds or chicks last for really long and block the heat to large extent. No wonder these chicks, the oldest means to keep the house cool still remain a favoured choice of many. Chicks are now available in various colours and designs to suit your needs and the décor of your house.

Usage of efficient lights:  Nobody loves to have those sharp illuminating incandescent bulbs in summers. Therefore, swap the bulbs with compact fluorescents all over your home as CFLs can emit up to 75 percent less heat. It will help you save an ample amount of electricity and money for buying bulbs. The usage of bulbs results in the production of excessive heat in the room as they use four times more electricity than other lights.

Natural ventilation: Make most out of your window by letting your room breathe in the fresh air at night. Open the windows during the late hours of the day. Ventilate your home on cooler days or at night to reduce any hot air that has snuck indoors. Open windows in all rooms of the house and place window fans facing out on the downwind side of your home. Make sure all interior doors are open to keep the air moving. Various apartments in India have balconies and elaborate terraces and corridors, keeping your doors and windows open at night will result in cooling your home in a natural way. Also ventilating your rooms at night is a healthy habit.

Use Appliances Wisely: Give your appliances the afternoon off. Use dryers and dishwashers that generate heat into the room at a later time in the evening. Air dry your dishes instead of using the dishwasher's heater. Also it’s advisable to update your insulation from time to time to avoid unnecessary heating. Many newer homes are required to follow certain thickness codes for insulation, but older designs may need an update. Replacing insulation in older homes will definitely reduce the heat indoors.

Install ceiling fans in the room and make sure they are on when your air conditioner is running. A ceiling fan can be a great investment for your home. This one appliance can make a room feel 6 or 7 degrees cooler, and even the most power-hungry fan in less cost for a month to use if you keep it for 12 hours a day.  Also set up a fan in the room itself, like a standing fan, to continue the circulation at the bottom level of the room.  

How to decorate a bare wall using scrap (material we generally discard)

Decorating one’s bare wall using scrap can be very interesting and for some very personal too. Displaying a rotating exhibit of one’s favorite postcards, prints and pictures is something most of us do. However, to make it more interesting one can also hang shoe box lids covered in fabric. Fabrics these days come in fun patterns and one can decide their interior design look instantly. From creating a modern touch to traditional, fabrics open a whole new world for us to play with. Color themes on bare walls is also something that can add to the interiors of any space. Foam letters, spray paint, scrap book paper, and mis-matched frames are a few other options. Mis-matched frames can be used to create family trees on bare walls too. Further, fabric remnants, canvases and a staple gun are all you need to create an affordable artwork. Infact with canvases, you can either put stickers or tape in different styles to create your own piece and hang it on your bare wall. Putting up a bulletin with a few notes from loved ones is also something that will make it more personal for you.

Fantoni at Studio Creo

The company, the beating heart of the Group, is located in Osoppo in the province of Udine. Fantoni is a successful industrial entity on the international market of in the production of office furniture, chipboard and MDF panels.

From the self-production of energy to the development of new materials, from the ergonomic research to sustainable design, from the production of glues and resins to cultural promotion the circuit is constantly renewed as we keep our eye on an unchanging goal: people and their health and comfort.

The Fantoni collection at Studio Creo consists of office systems, accoustic panelling, radiant systems, coverings & boards/laminates.

Founded in 1882 by Achille Fantoni, the company grew from a craftshop to an industrial firm in the 1920s. The formal evolution of furniture production in those years reflects the budding concept of "industrial design"; an insistence on stylistic precision and the development of Fantoni's own thoughts about liveability and function opened the company's doors to large-scale jobs offered by the government and the international markets.

In 1974 Fantoni earned a permanent place in the history of furniture making, when its "Serie 45°"-designed by architects Gino Valle and Herbert Ohl-was displayed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The company's move to its new headquarters in Osoppo, designed by Gino Valle, and its pioneering introduction of MDF panels in 1979 were major turning points for the company's growth and the definition of the Fantoni Group.

Since 1980, when Novolegno was founded, Fantoni has been busily acquiring interests and expanding into new markets. Fantoni's commitment to research and total design-based at the Fantoni Research Centre since its creation in 1996-won it the Industrial Design Association's Compasso d'Oro alla Carriera in 1998. Now run by Marco Fantoni and his sons Giovanni and Paolo, the group has six companies and over 1,200 employees.

Fantoni has been the connoisseurs of wood since 1882. Ever since, a culture of design, cutting-edge technologies and the verticalization of processes has guided Fantoni's growth.

For more information, log on to www.fantoni.it.