The year is rolling along and we are certainly keeping busy. We completed 4 conventions and have been working on a new website design. We also just celebrated our 3 year anniversary. To celebrate, we decided to add some new offerings to the Viesso lineup.

We added our first pet furniture product to our website and showroom. Cats, along with small children, are the largest enemy of keeping new furniture in perfect condition. These little Cat Cubes, with a cat door in them, are covered with uber durable sisal which won’t be damaged by cat scratching. A modern, fun way to incorporate pet friendly furnishings into your home.

Our dining tables that were added recently are doing well. People seem to be appreciating the sleek design and all bamboo look and feel. One of them is featured as the main table in a new show on Planet Green.

We are even adding a new section to our website called Freshly Picked. Instead of customizing our products, you can now see as-is versions that we really like and purchase them right there. This will help us feature new designs and custom options, and let people buy pieces without customizing the hell out of them.

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

As many people know, the MTV show The Real World has been placing young people in homes that are way above their normal lifestyle for years. In these decadent homes lies furniture from all over the design spectrum. The latest season, taking place in LA, recently aired. We worked with the design team to create three beds and a large sectional for the house, so its been fun to see glimpses of these pieces on TV as of late.

The home, finally focusing on Green practices and materials and spreading a general sense of awareness, has a certain environmental flair this year. The residents are their usual partying selves, which makes for a good test of the quality of our furniture. Beds will be fallen on, and sofas flopped onto. So far, as expected, the seven strangers seem to be enjoying our furniture as well as the rest of their elaborate home, and nothing has been damaged. Except maybe the reputations of the people on the show.

Viesso recently added a few new products to our line. All made from bamboo and available in several different stains, these items make great additions to our Green custom offerings.

A dining table, made with a layered look, comes in an array of sizes. The surface can be made with an optional trough that is great for storage of candles or other dining accessories.

To house your media components or anything else you may want to put on a shelf, we added a custom multilevel storage unit. It comes with sliding doors, and can be made to whatever size you need to maximize the functionality of your space.

Small bamboo trays were added as well. When entertaining, it is always a good idea to have a surface to set drinks or food on. These accomplish that with style, and have handles for easy moving.

In the world of upholstered goods, two new sofa models are on the way.

And so ends another year in the life of Viesso. 2007 was a year of product expansion and increasing media exposure. It was filled with many new custom options for our consumers, as well as high profile houses that we were involved with: MTV, Wired Homes, etc. As 2008 takes off we look forward to even more product launches including desks, dining tables, and media centers. We also look forward to finally expanding into SF and NY, two cities that could use the Green, custom combination that Viesso provides. Much to do this year.

Until we have more to announce or discuss, I thought we’d offer up some tips of design trends for 2008. These were found on Curbly.com (submitted by Carmen M. Natschke of The Decorating Diva). Enjoy, and we’ll talk again soon.

Home Design Style with a Conscience - it’s all about eco-friendly design, products and implementation - focus on organic, natural, recycled and re-purposed products. In the past eco-friendly or Green design could be summed up in three words: ugly, dowdy and boring. That isn’t the case anymore. Eco-friendly design has met stylish interpretation proving that earth friendly decor can at the same time be elegant, beautiful and exciting as well as Green.

Contrast Makes The Difference - high contrast color combinations such as robin egg blue set against dark cocoa or white and black. Contrasting textures like smooth against rough such as man-made steel juxtaposed with the roughness of natural shell or wood against steel. Add a touch of the unexpected to your decor by pairing up accessories or furnishings of mixed media - a soft chenille sofa dressed with a rough textured horsehair or zebra pillow or velvet against metal.

It’s All About the X - The “X’ is everywhere in furniture and accessory design. It was spotted at Highpoint, the European Shows and has been slowly making itself available in furniture and decor stores.

Multi-Purpose Furniture and Accessories - Beautiful design is simply not enough for today’s discerning home decor shoppers, they want utility driven, multi-purpose furniture and decorative accessories that will make their everyday life easier, less hectic and more organized.

Leather with a Feminine Touch - Leather is still a hot trend however this year expect to see the softer side of leather, furniture in smaller scale, earthy golden warm tones such as caramel, cappuccino, cocoa and cinnamon as well as what are considered more “traditional” feminine colors ranging from pastel pinks to robin egg blue with contrasting accent colors of dark chocolate.

Understated Luxe - 2008 is all about “whispering” luxury and elegance via your home decor, furnishings and accessories.

All Shades of White - from the purest whites to the softest ivories, the white color family will be seen everywhere from walls to sofas to lamps to picture frames.

Really Big Furniture and Accessories - it’s all about design drama, over-sized lamps, chandeliers, florals, mirrors, decorative accessories and other design elements.

Cool Metals - gray tone metals such as silver, pewter, brushed nickel, aluminum, steel, charcoal and platinum.

Zen at Home - we want peace at home and furnishing your home with design elements that make you feel at peace and grounded are the keys to achieving a home sanctuary.

It has been a very busy summer for Viesso, the main reason why there has been a lack of blog posting as of late. All is well, we’re adding a new bed model soon along with a new rug company and two new sofa models. All with the hope that people can furnish as much of the homes as possible with our custom furniture…the more options the better, right?

Viesso is participating in another large project, this time through Wired magazine. The WIRED LivingHome was designed by Ray Kappe, FAIA. “This $4 million home in an exclusive L.A. enclave allows luxury and the environment to live together in harmony”. Here is a link:

www.wired.com/wiredlivinghome

You can take tours of this home, which will feature among many other things a sectional sofa and two chairs made by yours truly. Well, not me personally, but Viesso. Each is filled with organic latex and covered with Green fabrics.

We’re looking forward to a busy holiday season to take us into 2008, where many new and exciting things await (nice rhyme).