INSPIRATION TO REALITY
LuxeHome™ Experts Discuss How to Turn Ideas into Reality
CHICAGO (June 11, 2007) — Ever wonder how to make a kitchen feel like the living room, with pieces of furniture collected over time working as pantries and countertops? Or how to make a bathroom evoke feelings of being in a five-star spa? Or how color could bring new energy to a room? Learn how we can create a base of both beauty and wear with poured in place Terrazzo flooring and precast Terrazzo countertops. Hear exactly how it’s done from some of the best in the business. The ones who create those spas we long for and the kitchens we desire.
LuxeHome™, the world’s largest collection of luxury boutiques for home building and renovation, has lined up its expert resources to offer creative innovations in kitchen, bath, tile and color during NeoCon® World’s Trade Fair, June 11-13, 2007 at The Merchandise Mart. De Giulio kitchen design, Kohler, Farrow & Ball, Terrazzo & Marble – some of the biggest names in luxury products – will be inspiring attendees with their knowledge and creativity. Whether designing for residential, commercial, or hospitality, these four seminars hosted by LuxeHome crossover into all sectors and will be intriguing to anyone in the industry. Following is a summary of offerings during NeoCon World’s Trade Fair. Please note, seminars are open to the trade only.
“From Inspiration to Realization: Designing a Product Line for the International Market”
Mick De Giulio, president, de Giulio kitchen design
Monday, June 11
11 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Guests will have the opportunity to hear how a product concept becomes an internationally marketed line. Mick De Giulio, a leader in kitchen design who perfectly melds modern and classic features into his distinctive and functional kitchens, speaks about the creation of BeauxArts Collection, collaboration between De Giulio and cabinet manufacturer SieMatic. Representing an evolution in kitchen design, BeauxArts integrates various styles, materials and colors to harmoniously bring seemingly contradictory elements into a distinctive and very personal design. The core of the collection is simplicity, with clean lines and classical proportions. It is free of extraneous ornamentation, and, as De Giulio describes, provides a foundation and clean background that allows for the integration of a client’s personal style and various mixed elements or collectibles that are now such a part of many of today’s best kitchen designs. Integral to the product is the concept of compositional design – looking at areas of the kitchen as individual segments that are distinctive on their own (with their own materials, surfaces, and hardware), but work beautifully in combination together.
“How Color Can Transform Your Home”
Sarah Cole, sales & marketing Director, Farrow & Ball
Tuesday, June 12
9:30-10:30 a.m.
Sarah Cole from Farrow & Ball, Europe’s number one master paint and wallpaper manufacturer, discusses color’s impact on emotions and energy, and shows how color can achieve striking
results, create settings, change the perceived shape of a room, interact with light and more. See
the latest trends in color and design from the foremost paint company that uses the finest raw materials to reach unsurpassed levels of flatness and depth of color. The superiority of Farrow &
Ball paints is due to both quality control and pigmentation, which is why it is a favorite among design professionals who love the paints for their unique color palette, depth of color, great coverage and wide choice of finishes. Farrow & Ball paints contain up to 30 percent more pigment than standard paints and pigment saturation is the key for the rich color that makes the critical difference in a successful interior.
“The Renaissance of Terrazzo”
Brad Meyer, CSI, national sales manager Terrazzo & Marble Supply
Tuesday, June 12
2:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Terrazzo flooring systems have existed for centuries, dating back to the Roman times. Marble chips, byproducts of exquisite sculptures, were mixed with cement and ground to a polished finish to create the original terrazzo flooring system. This enduring mixture is still used today in high-traffic buildings, but with a few modern modifications. And as the country becomes increasingly aware of the environment and the need to preserve our natural resources, Terrazzo is a popular candidate for green buildings and is seeing a surge in usage. This seminar explores the evolution of classic sand cushion terrazzo to epoxy terrazzo systems, as well as ways to make terrazzo systems meet LEED requirements. Terrazzo & Marble Supply is represented by Chicago Tile Institute in the Design Resource Center.
“Hospitality Influences Residential Bathroom Design”
Jean Kolb, director Wellness Business and Product Development, Kohler Co., Kohler, WI
Lynn Schrage, marketing manager, The Kohler Store, Chicago, IL
Marshall Williams, hospitality manager, Kohler Co., Atlanta, GA
Wednesday, June 13
1-2 p.m.
Making guests feel at home has long been a strategy of the hospitality industry and now consumers are asking design professionals to incorporate these features into their homes. This presentation, given by Kohler executives, discusses the products, materials and treatments used by the hospitality and spa industry and how to translate them into residential designs. Kohler, a premier name in the bath industry, has long sourced products for leading hotels and spas across the country and operates its own AAA-Five Diamond resort hotel, Destination Kohler, in Kohler, WI.
Seminars are $55 per person and open to trade only. Registration is available onsite. Interior designers will receive 0.1 CEU and architects 1 LU. Register onsite. For a complete schedule of events, visit merchandisemart.com/neocon.
ABOUT LUXEHOME
LuxeHome boasts more than 100,000 square feet of space with 30 boutiques that feature the finest kitchen and bath products from the most recognized and respected manufacturers worldwide. Open to the public, as well as interior designers, architects and custom builders, LuxeHome displays the widest selection of products to fit all lifestyles, from modern European to classic American to traditional English. In addition to the extensive lineup of manufacturers, each boutique offers knowledgeable designers who are available to assist with all phases of each design project. LuxeHome's boutiques are open for shopping Monday through Saturday. For more information on LuxeHome visit www.merchandisemart.com/luxehome.
ABOUT NEOCON
NeoCon World’s Trade Fair is the contract furnishings industry’s premier event and North America’s largest conference and exhibition for interior design and facilities management. Thousands of the latest and greatest interiors products from more than 1,200 exhibiting companies and permanent showrooms will be on display in more than 1.2 million square feet of exhibit space. Throughout the three-day show, trade professionals will discover state-of-the-art concepts for office, health care, hospitality, residential, institutional and government environments, all under one roof on 10 floors of the landmark Merchandise Mart.
For more information about NeoCon World’s Trade Fair 2006 at The Merchandise Mart, please visit www.merchandisemart.com/neocon or call 800.677.6278 (MART). Dial 312.527.7600 if calling from outside the United States.
NeoCon World’s Trade Fair is a registered trademark of Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. (MMPI).
Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. (MMPI) is a trade show and property management firm, specializing in managing buildings devoted to wholesale showrooms and commercial office space. MMPI produces more than 300 trade shows, market events and conferences each year.
MMPI manages The Merchandise Mart and 350 West Mart Center in Chicago; Market Square, the Suites at Market Square, Hamilton Market, Plaza Suites, Furniture Plaza and the National Furniture Mart in High Point, N.C.; the Architects & Designers Building and 7 W New York in New York; the Boston Design Center in Boston; the L.A. Mart in Los Angeles; and the Washington Design Center and Federal Center Southwest in Washington D.C.
Vornado Realty Trust, owners of MMPI, based in New York City, is a fully integrated equity real estate investment trust. Vornado’s common shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and are traded under the symbol VNO.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Maura Bruton
Public Relations Director
Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc.
Phone: 312.527.7555
E-mail: mbruton@mmart.com
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