Monthly Archives: January 2021

Melissa Gerstle | Designing Dream-Worthy Outdoor Spaces to Change the Way We Live and Connect

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This week on The Fireside Chat™ Podcast, we’re thrilled to share Ryan Bloom’s conversation with landscape designer Melissa Gerstle, live from the gardens of the Kips Bay Dallas Show House.

Trained as a landscape architect and inspired by the restorative properties of nature, Melissa’s design approach is based on the principle that a beautiful and functional outdoor space can change the way we live and connect. Her passion for creating peaceful and visually inspiring gardens stems from her belief that exquisite outdoor spaces that foster connections and conversations is essential to allowing us to perform in all other parts of our lives. Her landscape design studio, based in Dallas, and serving clients across the country, offers a full range of design services, from landscape consulting and planting designs, to full-scale outdoor living environments, including pools, fountains, fire features and furnishings.

Melissa shared her unconventional journey to landscape design, and what it means to work in the ever-changing playing field of nature. She described her unique approach to design, specifically as it relates to the current context of the pandemic, as the backyard becomes our sanctuary. She discussed the Kips Bay Dallas Show House, where she alongside 26 of the nation’s top designers have come together to reimagine Texas-style in one beautiful home. She spoke with Ryan Bloom from the “Magari Garden,” which she designed. Inspired by the Italian word magari, meaning a strong wish or desire, Melissa designed the grounds to showcase all that is possible and dream-worthy in an outdoor space.

The Fireside Chat™ podcast is hosted by Ryan Bloom, Co-Founder and President of Urban Bonfire. If you enjoyed it and love great design as much as we do, please subscribe. Follow us on Instagram @UrbanBonfire or join the conversation on Linked In. To find out more, please visit https://urbanbonfire.com.
Melissa Gerstle Design – https://www.melissagerstledesign.com/
#UrbanBonfire #YourKitchenOutdoors #MelissaGerstle #LandscapeArchitecture #KipsBayDallas

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Ashley Moore | Finding Inspiration and Crafting Design as Big as The Great State of Texas

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Ashley Moore always had a love for interior design, but it wasn’t until that spark reignited later in her life that she realized she could turn her passion into a career. After retiring from teaching to raise her family, Ashley remodeled her own home. Inspired by her mother’s ability to create warm and welcoming spaces, Ashley dreamed of creating a home for her own family just like the one she had grown up in. Not long after, friends and family started reaching out for advice with their own projects and remodels, and Ashley quickly realized that design was her true calling. Moore House Interiors was founded in 2015, and Ashley and her team have since worked on an array of projects, varying in size and scale in the Greater Houston area, Texas Hill Country, and beyond. Ashley is known and beloved for her signature take on the modern farmhouse style, which integrates a mix of vintage and new, high and low pieces, with a focus on timeless over trend.

In this episode of the Fireside Chat™, Ashley Moore shares her story of growing up in Texas and how design was a creative outlet throughout her childhood. She expresses her commitment to creating well-loved, intentional spaces for real life, where family and friends are always welcome, while striking the perfect balance between comfort and style. Finally, she shares her thoughts on the pandemic’s impact on the design industry, and her vision for the future of indoor and outdoor design.

The Fireside Chat™ podcast is hosted by Ryan Bloom, Co-Founder and President of Urban Bonfire. If you enjoyed it and love great design as much as we do, please subscribe. Follow us on Instagram @UrbanBonfire or join the conversation on Linked In. To find out more, please visit https://urbanbonfire.com.
Moore House Interiors – https://www.moorehouseinteriors.com/
#UrbanBonfire #YourKitchenOutdoors #MooreHouseInteriors #Design #Texas #ModernFarmhouse

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Felipe Londono | This Miami Based Company Brings Glam to Outdoor Living in True South Florida Style

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With over 15 years of experience and nearly 3000 completed outdoor projects in South Florida, Luxapatio is one of the leaders in the outdoor living and entertaining industry. Following the footsteps of iconic brands like Restoration Hardware, their impressive 35,000 square feet indoor/outdoor showroom in Miami, Florida is an immersive outdoor living experience where retail meets lifestyle. The showroom is a true testament to their belief that today’s customer still wants to see, touch and feel products in order to visualize their own outdoor living space. Luxapatio’s experts take tremendous pride in their work and are passionate about activating outdoor spaces that bring family and friends together and help create lasting memories.

Ryan Bloom had the pleasure of speaking with Felipe Londono, Director of Sales and Marketing at Luxapatio. Felipe shared Luxapatio’s refreshing philosophy on the outdoors and the importance of a rich retail experience for the customer. He explained how he focuses on design, functionality and usage of the space when working with his clients. He shared the story of how his parents, his brother and him have grown Luxapatio since 2005 from a 2000 square foot warehouse into one of the finest outdoor showrooms with stunning merchandising, incredible products and unparalleled expertise.
This episode of The Fireside Chat™ podcast is hosted by Ryan Bloom, Co-Founder and President of Urban Bonfire. If you enjoyed it and love great design as much as we do, please subscribe. Follow us on Instagram @UrbanBonfire or join the conversation on Linked In. To find out more, please visit https://urbanbonfire.com.
Luxapatio – https://www.luxapatio.com/
#UrbanBonfire #YourKitchenOutdoors #Luxapatio #OutdoorKitchen #Miami #Florida

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Domos Coliving | Building Communities for the Way People Live in the 21st Century

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Daniel Alexander co-founded Domos Coliving with one goal in mind: build high quality, affordable housing into the housing supply within the country’s urban and economic cores, and thereby breathe new life into under-served communities. The development firm has a proven track record of reimagining residential housing, with Daniel Alexander’s and co-founder Derrick Barber’s combined experience of over 30 years, investments in over 10,000+ units owned and managed to-date, and management of a $550M+ portfolio. At the core of Domos’ vision is the concept of co-living, where community living areas such as kitchens, living rooms, bathrooms and outdoor spaces are shared by tenants, thereby adapting community-living to today’s modern urban environments.

Richard Loring is the Director of Design and Construction at Domos, and is an award-winning developer with a longstanding history of working with many of the most forward-thinking architecture firms. Today, Loring leads the latest Los Angeles Domos project in Hancock Park. This project involves the reconfiguration of a classic 1930s building at 410 North Rossmore to bring it to current city codes and invigorate living spaces, while preserving the building’s authentic exterior. The plans include the addition of at least three new floors to the building, including co-living suites.

In this episode of The Fireside Chat™ podcast, Ryan Bloom spoke with Daniel Alexander and Richard Loring about their philosophy on new mixed use multi-family real estate projects and the need for space and experiences that go around them, especially in the context of their latest project in Hancock Park, Los Angeles. They discussed the new opportunities for creative outdoor space activation offered by co-living. Finally, they touched on how the pandemic has shown different ways of living, working and interacting professionally.
This episode of The Fireside Chat™ podcast is hosted by Ryan Bloom, Co-Founder and President of Urban Bonfire. If you enjoyed it and love great design as much as we do, please subscribe. Follow us on Instagram @UrbanBonfire or join the conversation on Linked In. To find out more, please visit https://urbanbonfire.com.
Domos Coliving – https://domoscoliving.com/
410 North Rossmore Project – https://www.410rossmore.com/

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