Here's to a greener and brighter 2009!

I'm throwing a New Year's party at the new home tonight and will take pictures of the dining table, appetizers, drinks, decorations and much more to share.

Enjoy the evening and have fun!

-Danny Seo

Okay, looks spooky and Halloween-ish, but I promise you it's not.  

I stayed at one of my favorite hotels in NYC recently—The Bowery Hotel—and decided to get a quick workout in the new hotel gym they just created.  Down a long corridor, I just loved how they tiled the whole thing in brown and green ceramic tile in a very intricate pattern.   It didn't feel closed in at all…but "age" appropriate for the hotel.

The large factory windows in the gym had a small garden of bamboo plants right in between the windows and brick wall of the neighboring building.    I am thinking of converting the open garage at my house into an enclosed gym by installing factory style windows, hand stamped concrete floors with radiant heating and floor to ceiling glass windows in the back overlooking the ravine.   Maybe a small (controlled) grove of bamboo would be nice, too.

And an overall look at the gym.     The large vintage Oriental rug added a sense of warmth to the room.   I don't think a home gym needs to be clinical, cold or ultra modern.   Vintage mirrors, tarnished silver trays and an old rug can warm up the space with super modern equipment.

Well, it's pretty exciting and fun to announce that my Simmons Natural Care by Danny Seo line of green mattresses are now available in New York City at Bed, Bath and Beyond.    It's actually the only Bed, Bath and Beyond in the country to sell mattresses and it's the only NYC store to carry the Natural Care line.   

I stopped by the store recently to say hello to the sales associates and thought I'd share some pics.   Up above are the two models of Natural Care—plush and firm—on the sales floor.

It's a little surreal to see my picture making a bed in a store selling beds.   I remember this photo shoot we did down in Georgia at one of the most beautiful places I've ever been called Serenbe.   It's so interesting to see ideas go for concept, to photo shoot, to headboard in store.  

Also at Bed Bath and Beyond, they had a whole "Green" section selling eco food and cleaning products, too.   Look at this row of green cleaners!    I see lots of Method products here:  The dryer sheets, shower spray, all purpose wipes, laundry detergent, wood cleaner, Go Naked dish soap…goes on and on…

And a reusable tote bag with the name of the eco market:  Verdi.    Green!  

And a look outside of the "store within a store" at Bed Bath and Beyond.

Spending time in this store makes me wonder when the NYC store for JCPenney will be ready and open.  I can't wait for that to happen in 2009.   It'll be a really exciting day!

A few months ago, I spent a week putting together samples of different vintage fabrics, swatches and antiques as "inspiration" for an upcoming home collection I'm designing.  More on the home collection later…

One shop in Pennsylvania I love to visit is an old general store where you can still find vintage feed bags for sale for about $1 a piece.   I decided to buy a whole stack and have some pillows made, where they shuffled back and forth between meetings as an "idea" for a product line.    But now that the inspiration stage is over, I decided to pull them out of the prop closet and decorate with them.

I absolutely love the Morton's salt bag pillow up top.   It's so soft and worn and the pillow insert inside makes it all cushy and great to curl up with.

And I took a larger feed bag and just used the very graphic rooster part to make a smaller throw pillow.   I love the extra wide edging on it…gives it a clean, handmade touch that somehow works.

I have lots more feedbag pillows left in "case" form in need of inserts.   I could go nuts and just have a million of these pillows around the house, but I think for now, these two will do.    Maybe I'll give some away on the blog down the road… could be fun!

Here's an adorable photo of my niece in front of a gingerbread house at the Ritz Carlton outside Washington, DC.    Merry Christmas!    Hope you're having a relaxing, wonderful and joyous day.   Remember to save all the gift boxes and recycle the gift wrap!  

Here's to a greener, brighter and better 2009.

-Danny Seo