Ella Klara on Delaware Street

We have a new neighbor on the street: Ella Klara, a high end and chic tee shirt boutique. Limor Katz-Evans, a local designer creates beautiful and inspiring designs printed on ringspun cotton tees. Also available at her shop are printed canvas totes, scarves and jewelry. Limor's goal for her line is to put meaning behind the designs, to provide a message of self awareness that also speaks to her as a woman.





The wearable art is designed to elevate your thoughts. These are messages we can all incorporate into our daily lives: unconditional love, peace, listen. Come down and visit us in the River Market, and if you mention this blog post to Limor at Ella Klara, she will give you 10% off your purchase through the holidays.

DIFFA: Holidays By Design 2009

Last year was our first year participating in DIFFA'S Holidays by Design. We went simple and small, not really knowing what to expect. This year we knew better. Designers in Kansas City go all out to create holiday decor that is auctioned off to support the prevention of HIV and AIDS. From whimsical and campy to elegant and extravagant, the designs run the gamut. This year we decided to do something a little different. Instead of creating a wreath to hang on a door or the wall, we made a chandelier to hang from the ceiling; after all we are a furniture store!

Here is our chandelier along with some of the other beautiful creations made by local designers.

Setting the mood

Looking for a little ambiance or something shiny to spice things up at home for holiday entertaining? These mercury glass candle stick holders and chalice votive holders will do the trick. They make a lovely addition grouped on the dining table, buffet, or coffee table. Our silver sapling servers and salt and pepper shakers also seem appropriate for the season, as either a gift or for your own entertaining collection.

Enjoy the beauty in the people and things you love in your life!

LAFCO Candles at Urban Dwellings Design

A great new gift has arrived in the store! We are now carrying the luxurious House and Home Candle Collection by LAFCO New York. Each scent, named after a different room in the house is designed to compliment the ambiance and decor of each room.

The candles are clean burning 100% soy based wax housed in a hand blown glass vessel that you will surely keep after your candle has reached its 90 hour burn time. I know I will be keeping mine to use as a small flower vase.


The beautiful box they come in makes wrapping a non-issue. Check back soon, there are many more giftable items arriving for the holiday season!

What happens in High Point...part 2

As hinted in my previous post, I wanted to write about the fascinating people I was able to meet in High Point this time around. The highlight of my trip would be the very first night. My new partner in crime during market, Amy Jo Cosgrove (of Barbara Cosgrove Lamps), had graciously added me as her plus one to the House Beautiful party! I was beyond excited to attend and witness the happenings of a party where the guest list would include Stephen Drucker, Thomas O'Brien, Thom Felicia, Christopher Wilcox, Julian Chichester and many more design icons.

Among those I was lucky enough to meet and have a conversation with was Rob Jones. Rob started his own high end, to the trade, upholstered furniture line, R. Jones & Associates, at the early age of 19! Recently he has partnered with American Leather on some pieces, and I am eagerly awaiting the launch of his website to see more of his designs.

Another youngster getting into the furniture design biz is John Reeves. I briefly meet him at the House Beautiful party, and then again a few nights later at the Oly party. After talking to him more in depth the second night I learned of his furniture line, REEVESdesign, that has been extremely well received in the UK (his homeland) where Heal's-- London's premier home design store for modern and contemporary furniture, picked up his line with great success.


The next day I promptly went over to the Four Hands showroom where John was showcasing his line and fell in love with the pieces. This is definitely something I am keeping my eye on and hope to be able to introduce the line to Kansas Citians soon!

I loved the combo of the raw wood with the lacquered top on these Victoria side tables below.


John Reeves and I below, sitting on his gorgeous Louis four poster bed.

Below: Court and I in our costume hats at the Oly party.


On a more personal note, I was lucky enough to spend some much needed time with my dear friend Court Krippendorf. Court helped me open Urban Dwellings Design one year ago and it was always my hope that he would move to KC and we would run the store together--we make an incredibly fierce team! But alas, he won't leave his home state of Florida, where he works at Being, a furniture and design store with a similar aesthetic to ours.

For me, High Point is all about finding innovative designs that are unique enough to stand out but classic enough to stand the test of time. And of course, having a good time while on my mission is a must.

What happens in High Point...part 1

One of my favorite responsibilities of being a furniture store owner is traveling to the markets to see what fabulous new items I can bring back to the store. I especially love the High Point, NC market because of the intimacy created by it being held in such a small and secluded town. Most vendors host parties after market hours with food and drinks for buyers. As a buyer, you get to rub elbows with the creative master minds behind the product lines--which is a serious thrill for me! More on who I bumped in to this time around in part 2. For now I am going to share some of the highlights of the products I saw.

The Natural Curiosities team always puts together an amazing display in their booth. New framed pieces from their "macro collection" will be arriving in the store Dec-Jan.





The Barbara Cosgrove Lamps booth had a stunning display also. There were new pieces I had not yet seen that I am really thrilled about!

The new Hollywood Style Studio lights are so urban chic.

These new drum pendants are the perfect combination of sleek & rustic with the hammered polished nickle.

Oly introduced the new black cabinet you see here with birds on top. I loved this for a few reasons-the birds on top add an interesting and almost creepy element to an otherwise ordinary display cabinet. And if you have ever been to the store, you know that nature and birds are a big inspiration for us. The fact that the cabinet is called "Simone" (the name of my Brussels Griffon) is just a nice coincidence.

Oly was also glitzing things up with a new mirrored collection, including this chair with a mosaic mirror trim.

I ordered this sweet little loveseat from Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams in a beautiful natural linen. I just couldn't resist the sloping arm and camel back--so graceful!

More High Point Happenings to follow...

Habitat Shoes + Urban Dwellings Design = a whole lotta style

In an effort to do some cross promoting we have teamed up with our friends at Habitat Shoes. All of us girls at Urban Dwellings LOVE to shop at Habitat. And every time we wear their shoes we get compliments and end up sending people their way. Once we had sent a few customers in, Gina the store manager at Habitat came up with a great idea. We could each have a few products in each others stores in hopes to get people talking, possibly find a new place to shop or be reminded of a local store they have not been into in a while.

Right now at Urban Dwellings you can find these stunning BCBG ruffled booties with a mirrored heel.


As well as these "Blue Snake" heels by Loeffler Randall Ramona...they are hot!



At Habitat right now you can find this Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams white lacquered "Turner" side table with the gorgeous new Artichoke Lamp by Barbara Cosgrove Lamps.

Support your local businesses and check out the 3/50 project to learn more about how shopping locally helps our local economy.

Our new sign!

As we approach our 1 year anniversary at Urban Dwellings Design, we prepare ourselves for some exciting new endeavors that we are eager to share with you very soon. For now, we are celebrating the installation of our new outdoor sign. It has been in the works for MANY months--we ran into various complications along the way. Our tireless friend at Print Surfaces, Kathy, never got derailed and now we have our beautiful sign just the way we wanted it!

Exclusively Yours

In two prominent national design publications, the October issues featured a handful of the lines we carry here at Urban Dwellings Design. First to arrive in the mail: House Beautiful. Flip to page 48 and there is Mitchell Gold himself, lying on his Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams bed, divulging his bedside manner.


Next to arrive was Elle Decor, chalk full of featured stories and product mentions of our lines. In the article Organic Chemistry, Christopher Wilcox of Natural Curiosities speaks passionately about the lines beautiful nature study reproductions that have been hand tea stained, deckeled and then floated on linen mats and framed in California by master artisans.


A few more pages in reveals the write up of Oly's new Manhattan flagship store. This line produces striking pieces that have undeniable style and beauty, and are consistently seen in photo shoots featured in the national design publications every month.



So there you have it: if you are looking for high style and current designs in KC--you know where to come.

Jonathan Adler at Urban Dwellings Design!

We are so very excited to announce the addition of the Jonathan Adler line to the store! Our first shipment has arrived and the store seems to have a new cheer about it with Jonathan's vibrant colors and fresh designs gracing the showroom floor.

The Channing Desk finished in white laquer, sporting lucite knobs and polished nickle X legs, is stunning. This is soon to be our design consultation meeting desk! The Chippendale dining chair is stylish and comfortable, which is sort of our mantra here.


How fun and whimsical is the new Shelter Island chair with it's poppy orange cushions?!


Also new to the line, the Talitha Table linen collection. We stock the coasters and linen dinner napkins in every color (there are 5!). Also on hand are a few of the table runners from the collection with a great diamond pattern in grosgrain ribbon.


We agree with Mr. Adler: "Your home should make you happy" and these pieces are sure to do just that.

Oliveira Textiles

Thanks to Kelly LaPlante's genius website, The Green Grades-a website created to give "comprehensive reviews and evaluations of companies providing eco-furnishings", we are thrilled to have found Oliveira Textiles.
Founder, Dawn Oliveira, left her job of working with high-end fashion designers such as Liz Claiborne and Polo Ralph Lauren to launch Oliveira Textiles in 2007. Her goal was to provide fabrics that were free of toxins and chemicals harmful to the environment and our health. She is motivated by the simple desire to leave a healthy planet for our children.

All of the fabrics are either organic hemp or organic cotton with a waterbased dye, free of heavy metals. And all of the fabrics are absolutely beautiful.

The patterns are bold and organic forms in vibrant colors such as mystic blue, red coral and seaweed.
The patterns are obviously sea inspired, yet they do not have that typical "beach" theme or feeling to them at all-which we totally love.
Stop by the showroom to see the samples in person-we are anxious to start using them!

All photos provided by Oliveira Textiles, except the last one.

Beeline Home

While in NY a few weeks ago for the gift fair I got so much accomplished! My list of people and places to see was long. I had 3 new prospective vendors to meet with whose lines I am looking at as possibilities for carrying in the store, as well as seeing all our current vendors.

One of the lines is Beeline Home, a gorgeous new furniture collection founded by the incredibly talented Bunny Williams. In the introduction of the catalog (which is really a book-that is how high end this collection is!) Bunny explains how after practicing design for over 30 years the creation of her furniture collection was inspired by the challenge of finding pieces that make a room special. Each piece in her collection was either inspired by something she owns or loves.



Special indeed. The pieces are exquisite, the details are really lovely. Some of my favorite pieces are the Eglomise coffee table-the base is gilded iron with an inset, verre eglomise, (reverse gilt and painted glass). The pattern on top is Fortuny inspired on sea green ground.


After a brief introduction to Bunny Williams I took a peak into her office where my eye landed upon many beautiful objects, such as the Hourglass Table. It elegantly sits next to the T4 Chair and Ottoman. This table is one of my favorite pieces in the collection; the octagonal pedestal base of hand-applied reeded mahogany pieces finished in old gold patina, hosts a honed Tulung Agung stone top. So sexy and sophisticated, yet the reeded mahogany offers the natural organic look I am always drawn to.

There is no shortage of beautiful pieces like these in the Beeline collection. Stop by the store to browse through the catalogue. If you have been looking for that special piece to finish off a room, or to inspire the rest of the design, we may just be able to help you.

And stay tuned for other exciting news of new lines and product from my NY market trip!

A sneak peak

I have been helping a couple that has recently relocated to KC from NY. Their charming house in Fairway was in need of major cosmetic updating! From countertops to flooring, new paint colors and furniture-we did an overhaul on the house. It is almost complete, but I couldn't wait to share just a few tid bits of some of my favorite things we have done...

The above is a "before" picture of part of the kitchen: the cabinets, countertops, backsplash, appliances and wall color were a combination of dated colors and materials.

Now take a peak at the new kitchen: we were able to salvage the cabinets due to the genius of Jason Newton, owner of J.N.A. Painting & Fine Finishes. I gave him a tile sample and he matched the color and glaze of it brilliantly. Peter Crump of Urban Stone Concrete fabricated and installed the urban chic concrete countertops. And the shag green backsplash, is just shagalicious!
The home owner and I both agree..the kitchen is our favorite room right now.

And you know you have dream clients when you suggest a huge, tufted, green leather ottoman..and they say yes! Stay tuned for the full reveal.

Lets get cozy

Some welcomed new items arrived in the store yesterday...just in time for the colder weather that has blown our way.


Made of 93% alpaca and 7% wool, these throws from Dwell Studio are soft and stylish with a graphic pattern that is not overpowering. Drape over a chair, sofa or ottoman and add a nice layering effect to your living room, bedroom or study.

Special Order Sale at Urban Dwellings

It is time for another special order sale through Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams! They have coined this one "The Undeniable Value Event". Offering 20% off all upholstery and casegoods (which is rare-it is usually either one or the other at a time). Orders placed now will be here in time for the holidays-when we all have family visiting and want our home to looks its best!


Stop in the store to see what new offerings we have (there are lots!) and let us help you put together a comfortable, inviting and beautiful home for any occasion.