We applaud whenever home goods companies inject some GREEN into their products, and that's the case with Swiss manufacturer Laufen. Their Mimo Collection features scratch-resistant surfaces that are made from recycled materials. We also found that reading their online literature was great for a quick out-loud (albeit unintentional) laugh. You usually don't see a bathroom described as "vital and vibrant - oozing intelligence, wit and integrity."

Well, one might describe the Mimo Collection, with its tinge of GREEN, as intelligent, including WaterSense certified toilets that use less water per flush. The black, white, and pink color schemes are certainly witty. And we can't say enough about the floating, wall-mounted fixtures that look so elegant and leave more washable floor surface. And in keeping with smaller house and room footprints, Mimo fixtures and furnishings include scaled-down sinks, toilets, vanities, and bathtubs; these make good choices for the smaller powder room and half bath.



Q. What are Some of the Worst Home Design Mistakes?

Irwin Weiner ASID & Nicola Chernicoff, our Design2Share video hosts, talk about the worst home and construction design mistakes and how to avoid them in this video. How many of these "pet hates" are in your house right now, and how can you solve them? 

Q: What Value Does A Fireplace Add To A Home?

Fireplaces are fantastic focal points for the rooms in any home, but what are the secrets for using a fireplace to add value to your home? Irwin and Nicola, our New York designer co-hosts, love the fireplace and share their advice and common sense tips with you on making your fireplace addition really count. In this episode you will learn the do's and don'ts for placing plasma TVs above the fireplace, which room gives you the best resale value for fireplace additions, the fuel gel fireplace trend (easy, inexpensive, and stylish), using decorative mantels and other fireplace surround materials to tie in with your room's color scheme, and the romance of coal and woodburning fireplaces (particularly if you love chimney sweeps)!

Q: What Should I Consider When Decorating My Half Bath?

You would freak out if you knew how many years the average person spends using the toilet. It's not a pretty fact, but it's a fact that your toilet can be in a very beautiful room (and that's what counts in the end)! Nicola Chernicoff and Irwin Weiner take you onsite to a powder room and in this episode they will cover the resale value of adding half baths to your floor plan, what elements make up a typical powder room as opposed to a bathroom, how to add whimsy and style to bathroom decor, the latest trends and appliances to make this room greener and higher functioning, the early days of bathrooms (and we're talking sitting on stone, people!), the glam days of powder rooms, Irwin's pet peeves about bathrooms (and other outrageous bathroom humor), and a special tip about quiet, energy-saving toilets.

Q: What Are The Trends In Master Bedroom Design?

Decorating is a moving target. Trends come and go, and even how we use the master bedroom is evolving. In this Design2Share Q&A episode, Nicola and Irwin delve into the latest trends in decorating and kitting-out your inner sanctum. You will learn about the his-and-her wave that's sweeping closet space and bathrooms (and even extending to separate bedrooms), alternative ways to decorate the master suite, amenities and those little extras that will turn your bedroom suite into a relaxing haven, TV tips to keep the tube hidden when you're not watching, the hot electric bed movement, remote controls to do everything except brush your teeth, Irwin's recommendation for laundering pillow cases, and our favorite tip of all (hint: you can sell your iron)!

Q: What Can Make My Dining Room Special?

 Formal sit-down meals have been supplanted by today's casual, on-the-go lifestyles. But the dining room should never become the dinosaur of your home's floorplan. Take back the dining room and use it every day! Join us as Irwin and Nicola talk about turning your dining room into a special multi-purpose room. This Design2Share Q&A episode will cover the versatility of your dining space to accommodate everything from simple suppers to holiday feasts, ideas for turning dining areas into more family-friendly spaces, tips for tables, how to flex up on your seating space, how the wealthy historically set up their dining rooms, rules of thumb for dining room seating, ways to decorate and light your dining room, and style tips that will elevate your dining room from ordinary to stunning!

Q: Can I Use My Collections When I Decorate?

If you're like many people, you like to collect odd things like old photos, paperweights, Hummels, or imported beer cans. Now that you've done the packrat thing, we see no reason not to incorporate these treasures into your decorating scheme. Nicola and Irwin, our Design2Share co-hosts, take you inside a home proudly displaying collectibles to cover a few decorating basics: how to use collections to express your personality, how to entertain with collections, using flea markets and eBay to add and subtract to your collections, how to group collections for best display, and how collections can enhance your home's color scheme and style. Irwin also waxes poetic about collectible insects, so don't miss the buzz!