Friday Desert Design District Walk

Hope that you can make it to our party in conjunction with the Desert Design District's Walk tomorrow (February 4) from 2-8PM. We'll be offering our home accessories at 30% off, and our Voluspa and Rosy Rings candle lines and diffusers will be 50% off!

In addtion, our neighbor, The Home Collection, will be reducing prices on home furnishings up to 60% off!

Stop in, have a drink and a snack, and say hi!

Bright Lights, Big City

I'm trying hard to find a replacement light fixture for our showroom (our brancholiere sold). It's not an easy task because I keep getting distracted from my task and am sucked into looking all all sorts of lamps that aren't chandeliers...

Four fun picks:

Recycled demijon jug lamps: Also known as carboys, demijohn jugs were used to brew wine, beer, etc. These jars are made from recycled glass and come in eight fabulous colors with cream or natural burlap oval drum shades. $490

Automotive rotor repurposed as rugged pendant. Perfect for funky island or bar illumination. Designed by Wendy Umanoff $600

A ceramic "Foo Dog" in turquoise sits on a black wooden base below a black pagoda shade. Choose left or right facing, or pair them up $400

The last set, I just liked the look. I have no idea where they came from or how much they were.

Albert and George Six Hour Sale Feb 4!

Albert and George will have a SIX HOUR SALE on Friday February 4 from 2pm-8pm. This event coordinates with the February Desert Design Walk.
All accessories will be 25% off!

All candles (Voluspa and Rosy Rings) will be 50% off!

During this event, if you purchase one of William Miller Design's ala carte designer packages (four hours of design consultation, $450), we will offer a $75 discount, making it a fantastic value at $375. For more details about this popular interior designer option, contact us at 760-770-9199.

(Additionally, many furnishings at the Home Collection will be marked down 40% for this amazing event.

We'll be giving items away each hour, and refreshments will be served...stop in and say hi!

Wildcat Territory Bedding

One of my favorite sources for bedding is Wildcat Territory Bedding. They have one of the most sophisticated lines available- and they look great in all sorts of homes. I'd call these semi-custom because they are made to order, and with their new "Cake" program, interior designers can reverse patterns within a specific type as well as order yardage for draperies or additional custom pillows. The lead time on these is generally a few short weeks, and the ultimate product retails for around $1200 for a complete Cal King set (but has the look of a $5000 set)! They are a fantastic value.

Bon Vivant: Palm Springs Interior Accessories

Ever love a place to death that's in your backyard, but you somehow forget to stop back? I can't believe it's been about three years since I was in Bon Vivant, in the Galleria in Palm Springs. This fantastic shop, owned by partners Patrick and James, has really wonderful art glass and ceramic. Even if you aren't in the mood to buy anything, it's certainly a wonderful place to pop into and enjoy the colorful lush eye candy glass accessories.

While most of these items will find a new residence in a Mid-Century Modern home in Palm Springs, most would be comfortable in the interior of a desert contemporary home as well. I
am guilty of buying here and placing in the country club communities of Bighorn and The Reserve. Every room needs a little history!

Today I picked up a little ceramic owl figurine- for under $20. The pricing in here is amazing- but you can also find some wonderful higher-priced ceramic or art glass pieces. Bon Vivant is a great treasure for interior designers in the Palm Springs area.

Their address is 457 North Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs.
Open Thursday- Monday 11-5PM

Thrifty! The Brick House Blog

One of my favorite blogs is The Brick House. She always has the greatest photos and love her purchases. She's just over the mountain from us in Hemet. I really enjoy reading her posts, and this morning is no exception. Love that she bought these great ottomans at Spaces in Cathedral City, right next to three of my other favorite haunts: Hedge, Colin Fisher, and HoM. These are centrally located so no matter if you are shopping for interior accessories or furnishings and coming from Palm Springs or Down Valley (Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, or La Quinta) it's fairly easy to get to.

Just this morning, I was recommending to a client who is worried about keeping her interior design budget down to check out these stores as well as The Estate Sale in Palm Springs. Aside from being a lot of fun to see what's available, the owners are fun to chat with and a lot of great interior design ideas are out there. The best part of it is that you get a great new interior design look for a lot less money

Desert Design Walk this Friday!

The newly formed Desert Design District will hold its first Design Walk on Friday from 4 to 8 p.m.

Its organizer, Steven Love Reed of interior design firm Egg & Dart Ltd., said the event is conceived as “a very grassroots, simplistic movement” to make contractors, interior designers and the homeowners they work for aware of the vendors here.

Many prospective customers go to more established design centers in Los Angeles or Orange County, unaware of the choices they have in the Coachella Valley.

Nearly all of the Design Walk participants are in Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, and Indio.

William Miller Design and Albert & George will be participating as well, offering a 25% discount to designers for the evening's event.

For homeowners, William Miller Design will be offering a special price on 4-hour consultations. Normally priced at $450, they will be offered at this Friday's event for $380.

Holiday Decor at Albert & George will be priced at a final closeout sale of 70% off for this Friday.

Brancholiere and Natural Wall Art

Organic shapes have so much visual interest, it's great to see them incorporated into unconventional objects for home decor.

Two of my favorites are the 'brancholiere' which has six bulbs in it and measures approx 36" H x 36" W. It's definitely a dramatic departure from the typical chandelier and can be decorated for holidays as well ($1850)

We also have a great circular wall hanging made by the artist Paul Schick. He's a fantastic artist that works with natural objects ($2700).

Both of these pieces would look fantastic in a home interior with a contemporary or traditional look. They are available at Albert & George home accessories, 70020 Highway 111, Rancho Mirage.

Cody Foster Trinket Boxes and Holiday Village

There was a time when practically every house with children had a set of these houses under the Christmas Tree with a train set running around it (mine included). In fact, I really miss setting up the whole "Christmas Village" under the tree. Some years it was very elaborate with a slot car set in addition to the trains (I'm very transpotation-oriented). I have been looking for just the right train set for under my Christmas Tree display. These Cody Foster homes are a wonderful start to a set- they have a hole in the back for placing a light so that the windows twinkle! A set of four are $65.

We also have these nifty retro gift boxes that are perfect for putting a very small (but expensive) gift or perfect for placesettings at a beautiful table. Prices for these range from $17-24.

Albert and George Opens in Rancho Mirage

Great photos that our fan Oliver took before our grand opening party- I sort of lost count at about 300 people, but let's say we had a HUGE turnout! Thanks so much for coming! We'll look forward to seeing you at our next event in January!

Fun Christmas Trees at Albert and George

We had so much fun choosing Christmas Trees for our new store, Albert & George!

I love the holidays, and putting up the tree- my sister and I used to drag our Christmas Tree out of the cubby hole at least twice a year and put it up in her room while we were unsupervised. There really is something amazing about those lights being in a tree that is still wonderful to look at.

I picked three trees from our store that I am absolutely crazy about...

The first is a red-flocked 3' tree- We had one up on our buffet for Thanksgiving at our house, and it really needed NO decorating. It looked absolutely fantastic with the thick, velvety red flocking ($140).

The second tree is a 3' silver glittered tree, sort of a minimalist/mid century modern/Jetson tree. It doesn't need any lights- it just sparkles constantly. Would be amazing as a centerpiece on a Christmas or New Year's Eve table...this one also comes in gold ($65).

The last one is a trio of trees that are somewhat untraditional- they are a wooden-framed tree silhouette in white glitter with red glass bulbs mounted in the central negative space. These are so much fun, and would be great on a mantle given their low profile ($75, set of three).

All of these are on sale now at Albert & George, located at 70020 Highway 111, Rancho Mirage, next to Bangkok Five. Albert & George is William Miller Design's new store that features home interior accessories, books, gifts, cards, and candles.

Voluspa & Fringe Studio @ Albert & George

Two really great lines that we will be carrying at our store, Albert & George. Voluspa candles, manufactured by Troy Arntsen in Southern California, has one of the most beautifully packaged line of candles available. We're going to have a full line of Voluspa gift boxes for the holidays, including Maison Rouge.

We also will have soaps and trays by Fringe Studios ( I love their printed glass trays with owls). Their gift sets feature a vivid print on a handblown glass tray.

Hope to see you all at our Grand Opening December 10 6-9 PM! RSVP to 760-770-9199.

Our store's address is 70020 Highway 111, Rancho Mirage, California 92270. We feature home accessories, home decor, gifts, books, cards, and candles, in addition to the Interior Design Services of William Miller Design.