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lots of reader recs this week- summer’s coming so people are redecorating and traveling. if you have any feedback or tips for the following readers, feel free to share. thanks guys!

d*s reader erin is heading to china for vacation. she’ll be in beijing and shanghai- anyone have great design ideas for that area? (frida?)

colleen is looking for a great modern fireplace for her home. something not too space-agey but still sleek and modern. ideas below 2k would be awesome.

andree is looking for a chic, design-friendly b&b in the cape cod area, but may also be open to great stylish b&b’s in new hampshire, rhode island and maine. any ideas?

and last but not least, meredith is looking for a great upholstered chair: “Iâ€™m in the market for a new chair!! Something comfy, but clean (ie, not terribly overstuffed). I love the Grace Chair at Room and Board, but my couch is black and my floors are dark, so I think some color (and even pattern!) could be good. My price range on this is probably up to about $900 and Iâ€™m definitely looking for quality. Iâ€™m desperate for ideas! Thank you!!!”

If you’re looking at Cape Cod, I think Provincetown, Truro, or Wellfleet are the best towns. The Red Inn is a great place to stay in P-town, not cheap, but worth it. Book well in advance. If that’s not your speed (or price-point) look at other b&bs in the west end.

If you want a quieter side of the Cape, think about Brewster. Chillingsworth Restaurant (amazing food, wall paper that used to belong to Colette) has a B&B above the restaurant. And while Erin is in Beijing she should ask about the pearl market - it’s quite a find.

I’m pretty sure you can order furniture from Room & Board in almost any of the fabrics that they carry. They have quite a variety of colors and prints. The cost might be a little more, but it might be worth looking into.

Hey Everyone!

Thanks so much for the suggestions so far! Deepa, I actually went to sit on the chair and found it very comfortable, but I am also lured by the prospect of reupholstering. We actually have a vintage wing chair, but at this point don’t have enough financial flexibility to really go to town with it :( So we’ll just have to save that for another time, I suppose. Anonymous, I went to check out the other fabric options and am definitely intrigued…

thanks so much!!
Mer

choosing custom fabric at room and board or mitchell gold doesn’t neccessarily mean that the price will go up. The price depends on the grade of fabric and if the fabric you pick is of a lower/different grade than the display, it can be less expensive. Lower grade doesn’t always mean lower quality. Iwas pleasantly surprise my this when I ordered furniture form MG.

There’s tons to buy in China — and it’s not outrageously expensive either! Bring an extra suitcase.

For lots of shopping suggestions, I’d suggest a Luxe Guide — http://www. luxecityguides.com — for both Beijing and Shanghai. Their shopping sections are devoted to great design shops and other boutiques all around the each city. (Also lots of good sightseeing tips and restaurant suggestions as well.)

In Beijing, don’t miss:
*The 798 Art Warehouse district is full of great galleries, and an increasing amount of design stores as well.
*Terrific Sino-Scandinvian homewares company Chang & Biorck will let you come view their showroom if you make an appointment. http://www.changbiorck.com.
*Panjiayuan flea market (on weekends) is full of tons of great stuff, from very old, to mid-century to modern Asian.

In Shanghai, definitely do:
*Xintiandi shopping complex (Shanghai Trio and Simply Life are must-stops).
*Spin Ceramics — completely amazing; details at http://www.spinceramics.com.
*Lane 210 Taikang Lu (Taikang Lu Art District) — lots of little boutiques for clothing, art and homewares.

It’s just the tip of what’s available, but should be a good start. Definitely grab a Luxe Guide if you can (I think they’re still available at Flight 001 in NYC, or Simply Life in Xintiandi in Shanghai — or order from their online site if you’ve got a little time).

There are some great chairs at Storehouse. (http://www.storehouse.com) Check out the Cirque chair, the Clio chair, and the Dion chair. I actually own the Clio and Dion chairs and I love them! You can order any of them in custom fabrics.

meredith,
i agree with the storehouse comment… storehouse has some great chairs and over 50+ fabric options…

i also found some nice chairs at target online… todd oldham’s line for la-z-boy is being distributed by target…

anthropologie has some interesting furniture pieces…

jwh

I’d save my money and get the Gilda Armchair designed by Carlo Mollino and produced by Zanotta. In the link it is pictured in its original covering, green vinyl. If you could find an original, it would be a superior investment that will only appreciate with time (one sold in auction in 1999 for $40,000, but the new ones cost considerably less!).

I think it’s the perfect armchair: It’s very comfortable, the armrests are flat and slightly concave for arm placement and the back reclines in four positions thanks to the movable bar on the back. You can get it in Alcantara, Leather, etc. I have one in Alcantara and I loooooooooooove it. If I had it to do all over again, and I probably will, I might get it in leather though, since the covering is not removable for cleaning.

Otherwise I like Deepa’s suggestion: the e-bay auction/vintage chair, then reupholstering sounds like a very exciting project and one I might consider myself!!!

I was just in Room & Board today looking for the exact same chair! It’s so lovely, and I found it comfortable too. You can indeed order it in any fabric that they carry. The fabric they have it in is ‘grade 3′, so price will depend on which grade of fabric you choose.

The Grace chair at Room&Board is darling and I would agree with Nicole that it is comfortable too. We have friends who own it and they love it, it has a nice balance of scale, warmth and style. Room&Board’s fabric selection is pretty decent and over the past year or so, they have added more on the pattern side, hopefully one of those will work for you and add some pop to your living room. ps-the prices on the fabrics are not bad at all.

Also, check http://www.danishteakclassics.com for some antique pieces. They are out of Minneapolis, nice stuff.

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