James Kenneth Berry had two passions in life: family and patio furniture.

Nearly three decades ago, he combined the two when he opened Berry Patio Furniture in Broward County.

Berry, whose business flourished from a small pipe furniture shop into a popular Davie store that sells high-end patio furniture, died of colon and lung cancer Sunday at his Davie home. He was 71. Read more…

The Portland Museum of Art’s new exhibition pairs architects with furniture makers.

Opening on Saturday, “Getting Personal: Maine Architects Design Furniture” features 15 pieces, many built by Maine artisans.

The exhibit follows the furniture from napkin sketches to final products of wood, concrete and steel.
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wo departments are collaborating to use technology to change the future of architecture.

The departments of architecture and computer science and engineering started working together five years ago in the Immersive Design Research Program in Walter Library’s Digital Technology Center. Read more…

The concept of the house is ventilation and having air moving through it at all times,” said Jaliya Ratnayake, Chartered Architect explaining his design. Located in Battaramulla, only high walls can be seen to the outside but once within the courtyards and large open window spaces has given this home the open feel of the tropics.

The main entrance leads directly in to a small garden through which is the main lobby, “so that visitors will not walk right in to the house but have a small reception,” he explained. An inner glimpse of the house is obtained from a passageway common to the service entrance as well as the guest bedroom, leads to the main house. The central courtyard is adjoined by a small pond on one side and connects the house to the outside.
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Consorzio Nuovi Mercati, a body of Federlegno-Arredo, the Italian Federation of furniture and furnishing manufacturers is introducing to the demanding visitors of the Gulf area a selection of leading Italian companies producing home, contract, office, bathroom furniture as well as lighting appliances all featuring the aesthetics and functionality that have contributed to the success of “Made in Italy” on international markets.

FontanaArte, Gervasoni, Matteograssi, Paola Lenti, Regia, Rexite, Tonon are some of the member companies which joined the successfull “Middle East Project 2007″ organised by Consorzio Nuovi Mercati and displayed in Qatar last April at Qatar International Exhibition Centre (QIEC) and Bahrain in the most important furniture and furnishing exhibition.
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In a move to diversify, Clearwater based architectural firm, Design Styles, Inc. has announced that it is continuing to grow its services into the commercial arena.

“We will continue to develop the residential architectural designs that our firm is already so well known for” said Peter Fertig, AAIA, partner of Design Styles, “we have diversified our commercial architectural services to better serve the growing needs of our clients.”
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On a recent trip to Portugal, I purchased large garden pots to use in my family room. My sister thinks I’m crazy to put outside pots inside. I like the look - what do you think? We spend so much of our time in our family room looking out over our gardens but I’m not sure how to spruce up our deck. How do we make our outdoor space more appealing? Is it realistic to think we can have a beautiful sitting space outside? Sally in Annapolis Read more…

New York — Welcome to the bamboo boom. Forget forlorn images of pandas foraging for breakfast in the remote wilds of China. No one has to look far to find bamboo these days.

As one of nature’s fastest-growing plants, it’s a favorite in the renewable resource ratings, held to be beneficial to the environment. It’s so versatile its stalks can be pressed into boards for tough wooden flooring or crushed to produce fiber for super-comfy clothing, bedding and towels.
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Improving your office space? To increase productivity, consider:

Light. Natural light helps productivity. Try to not block windows, and consider keeping windows in public spaces rather than private offices. If there are no windows in the office, introduce different kinds of lighting, such as table lamps or desk lights, to brighten or soften the space.

Open space. Views make people feel less closed in, which makes them happier and more productive. A desk facing out into a room can make a person feel less claustrophobic.
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Bathroom storage has evolved from over-the-toilet shelves to today’s sophisticated furniture pieces with pullout drawers and removable trays.

It’s a response to a common dilemma facing homeowners with new or newly remodeled bathrooms: How to provide bathroom storage without sacrificing style.

“In contemporary bathrooms with the sink mounted to the wall, there’s no place to put anything, said Kurt Schnakenberg, vice president of sales for Chicago Brass, a wholesale dealer in Highwood. “It looks great, but living (with) that bath doesn’t work because you can’t perform your daily activities in there.” Read more…