Tray ChicHold everything in style with trays...
Tray Chic
Hold everything in style with trays from the Essex collection, which was handcrafted by several artists.
The trays (about $92 each), made of lacquered wood, have decoupage designs. They can be used to hold food, beverages or collectibles. They also can display decorative perfume bottles on a vanity or be used solo as decorative art on a wall.
The Essex collection is available at the Laguna Colony Co., 384 Forest Ave., Laguna Beach. Call (714) 497-8919.
Essentials
Turning a house into a showplace is easy, but turning it into a home requires work.
In his book, “Zona Home: Essential Designs for Living,” interior design expert Louis Sagar shares several innovative strategies to blend comfort, style and practicality.
Sagar, who is also the owner of Zona Home stores, takes a common-sense approach to design. Key concepts in the book ($50, 208 pages, Harper Style/Harper Collins) include his principles for comfort and his use of natural materials to display, select and organize furnishings and personal possessions.
He conveys his techniques through more than 200 color photographs.
The book is divided into sections to make it easier to find solutions: how to plan the ideal home, how to make visual potpourri and how to enhance home technology.
Silver Spoons
Coffee, tea or hot chocolate somehow seem richer when you scoop in the sugar with the bru^lee spoon.
After soaking a sugar cube in your favorite liqueur, light the cube in the spoon. As the liqueur burns, the sugar melts into a liquid that can be stirred into your beverage.
The spoon is available through the Horchow catalog; call (800) 456-7000.