Lookiloos » Looki What I Found

Iomoi Uses Modern Lucite to Spiff Up Cocktail Hour

sheila — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:27:04 +0000

Looking for a thoroughly modern way to show a little personality during happy hour? Combining lucite and a extensive array of modern retro designs, Iomoi transforms afternoon cocktails for good.

A long time favorite of mine, Iomoi is an online stationary store that creates “timeless classics with a modern twist”, where your membership allows you to create and download your own luxury stationery.

Building on their success, they introduced a line of home accessories you can customize as easily as notes cards. For example, these ice buckets can be customized to feature something as classic as your initials in a retro font or esconced in a modern take on plaid for $68.00.You can also crate custom lucite serving trays (approx. $100) and coasters – both paper and glass (ranging from $26 for 1 to $215 for 12).

With the possibility of elegant french patterns or modern monkeys with umbrellas holding your martini glasses, happy hour may never be the same.

Ticket Give-away for Los Gatos Historic Home Tour

julia@lookiloos — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:50:05 +0000

Like this house? Wanna see inside? Lookiloos has a pair of tickets to get you in! This house is one of seven on the Los Gatos Historic Homes Tour on Saturday and Sunday (Nov. 7-8). The tour promises to show off great examples of Victorian architecture, as well as an unusual Hawaiian-inspired house, an old hunting lodge and, as a bonus, a new Provence-inspired farmhouse.

The tour benefits the Museums of Los Gatos, providing the operating revenue to keep their doors open for the next year. So if you don’t win this pair, buy a pair for yourself and a friend. (See below for contest rules.)

Here are a few sketches of the tour highlights:

The Queen Ann Cottage

Queen Anne Cottage

A charming Queen Anne Cottage, built in 1893, and fully restored by the current owners. Once the home of a Los Gatos grocer, the home features an unusual five-sided wrap-around front porch. Inside, you’ll see original windows, wainscoting, transoms and chandeliers.

Victorian Hunting Lodge

Victorian Hunting Lodge

This home was built in 1884 as a Victorian hunting lodge and summer home. The current owners restored the home, and with antique treasures from their travels in Botswana, embraced the hunting theme.

A Hawaiian Plantation Home

Hawaiian Plantation Home

This house was designed in 1912 after a Hawaiian plantation home to reflect the original owners’ fascination with Hawaii. The new owners kept the facade, but updated the rest of the home inside.

To win two tickets to the tour — worth $35 a piece — please leave a comment here or at the Lookiloos Facebook page and we will draw a name randomly on Thursday, Nov. 5. Please leave a valid email address so we can contact you with details on where to pick up tickets.

If you don’t win, but still want to support the Museums of Los Gatos and see these homes, tickets may be purchased at the Art Museum, 4 Tait Avenue in Los Gatos. You may also purchase tickets on line at www.museumsoflosgatos.org or call 408 375-7386.

UPDATE: The winner of the tickets is Michelle Bogdan! Congratulations. We know you will have a great time and hope to see you there.

(Photographs by Mert Carpenter)

One Kings Lane – Secret Club for Designer Decor Discounts

sheila — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 04:01:46 +0000

Do you love designer home decor, but we don’t love having to pay top dollar? We found the One Kings Lane site and are enamored by the beauties that can be found at a fraction of the cost. For example, this gorgeous console table is designed by Maria Yee. Every item in her collection is handcrafted with sophisticated joinery techniques, handed down through the ages and refined for a modern manufacturing environment, with no nails or screws marring the integrity of the raw materials. She is a pioneer in socially responsible luxury furniture. The console retails for $2260 and you can get for more than 50% off!

This invite only site gives you access to deals that you can not get anywhere else. Discounts vary weekly from furniture to table cloths to pottery. Wondering how you get an invite? Sign up here and your gals at Lookiloos will hook you up!

Halloween Finds on Willow Glen’s Lincoln Avenue

sheila — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:29:41 +0000

While the kids go door-to-door looking for candy or chocolate bars, Lookiloos tend to keep an eye out for great Halloween decorations. Trimmings for this holiday often ranges from gory to campy, yet a discerning eye strikes the balance of both. Here are a few finds celebrating Dia De las Muertos and Halloween from San Jose’s Lincoln Avenue in the Willow Glen Neighborhood.

Photos taken by Sheila Dowd at Fleurish and Domus.

Rose Garden Home Tour Recap

sheila — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:22:01 +0000

As expected the Rose Garden Home Tour was a grand success complete with a width breadth of architectural styles, great furniture and breath taking vignettes and floral arrangements. The little touches throughout the tour made all the difference.

Personally, I would find myself pretty happy living in any one of these heavenly abodes! Over the next few weeks, we’ll be posting more extensive photos of each home and a video of home tour attendees favorite spots and finds! Here is a peak of some highlights along the way.

Luxury Backyard Tents Redefine Outdoor Relaxation

sheila — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:51:42 +0000

Growing up on the East Coast, I distinctly remember my aunt having a clumsy screened tent that she put around the patio table. It was far from luxury and did not add any ambiance, but we could eat outdoors and be mosquito free. Gypsy Faire Tents are luxurious garden & event tents that give the term “backyard tent” a whole new meaning.

These custom designed handmade cotton fabric tents or umbrellas are gorgeous. Like something out of Arabian Nights, these tents simply transport you and our guests to a magical & exotic destination right in your own backyard. Tents range in size from 10×10 to as big as the imagination lends -setting the stage for your own outdoor retreat or the shelter to house a whimsical wedding fit for a queen.

The Gypsy Faire Tents certainly are not my aunt’s tent!

Retail Pricing – $3995 and up

Website: www.gypsyfairetents.com

Photos courtesy of World Market Center Las Vegas.

Los Altos: Cottage Green Holds Paris-style Flea Market

julia@lookiloos — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:45:13 +0000

I first heard of Cottage Green in Los Altos from our friend Rebecca Sweet, the landscape designer whose husband restored their “haunted shed” into a charming cottage. She had purchased a couple of trellises made of branches that she hung on her wall for ornamentation. Loved them!

So when I had a chance, I popped in over the weekend to take a look at this lovely little home and garden shop — and it will have a big sale in the backyard this weekend, Sept. 18-19. It is, indeed a cottage, built in 1915, across from what is now the Safeway on First Street.

Through the gate, the front yard is filled with funky garden sculptures. Inside is an eclectic mix of vintage, modern and antique. Owner Sylvia Gray says she is nothing if not eclectic and likes to mix it all up. She puts together tansu chests with new pottery, a whimsical hummingbird tray on an old mantel.

There’s lot of rustic, too, from Dutch chairs to French wine baskets, along with Victorian ceiling tiles used as wall art. Sylvia has a hold storage room full of treasures she promises to sell out back this weekend. Sounds like some bargains to be had!

Find it at:
Cottage Green
145 1st Street
Los Altos, CA 94022

Luxury Patio Furniture By Skyline Design Furniture

sheila — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 07:30:00 +0000

Summer is winding down, but living in California lounging pool side is almost a year round activity. While my personal lounge chair comes from the Crate & Barrel catalog, like most lookiloos, I can’t help but wonder what high end designers have in store this season.

A few of my favorites come from Sky Line Designs, which have been designing luxury outdoor furniture in Asia and Europe for almost a decade. What makes them stand out above other outdoor beauties? The collections are weaved with synthetic fibers that are boldly revolutionizing
design. They have created chemical and UV resistant, all-weather proof, high-tensile strength furniture that is safe for the environment and 100% recyclable.

Yes, you can be ultra hip and green too!

You can find a distributor near you here.

Free “Off the Fence Housing Seminar” August 5th

sheila — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 04:30:00 +0000

This is a departure from our normal type of "find" here at Lookiloos. But we were so excited to share the news – Lookiloos in collaboration with the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, the SCCAOR, Greenbelt Alliance and other organizations including MetLife Home Loans and The 88 highrise condominiums is hosting a free housing seminar.

I'm not a real estate expert, but I know a good deal and love looking at houses! I'll be leading a discussion about how to find the "perfect house/neighborhood". Second-half presenter Quincy Virgilio, president of the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors, will outline current home-price trends and mortgage-rates data.

The free “Off the Fence” Housing Seminar will be held Wednesday, Aug. 5 at noon at the San Jose Airport Holiday Inn, 1740 N. First St., San Jose, both for in-person attendance and for individuals who can dial up via the web. Register at www.svlg.net or http://eaptechnical.weebly.com/event-info.html.

Hope to see you there!

CSN Stores Table Lamps Giveaway!

desiree — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 21:35:00 +0000

I love getting good email. The kind that puts a smile on your face and makes your day. Well, I got one of those and I get to share it with all of you Lookiloos. CSN Stores is offering us, not one but two of these modern Cyndel Table Lamps in brushed nickel for a giveaway. It's a fabulous giveaway if I say so myself.

I hadn't heard about CSN before but I certainly won't forget them! As I was virtually wandering around the different shops, I came across a futons section. Now this brought back memories of a dorm room or that first apartment kinda furniture. I was surprised by how futons have grown up. I love the new modern lines and the sleek black leather. These futons sure don't feel like the frumpy one I owned years ago.

There are so many options with CSN. So grab your beverage of choice and peruse the 200 different online shops. The beautiful modern lamps at the top are valued at $297. How cool is that? Leave a comment and we will draw a name on Friday, July 31, 2009. Good luck!