Firm fabricates furnishings filled with fire
“The primeval need for close contact with fire lingers on in the soul of man.” Planika Decor
Las Vegas designers feel blessed to have the World Market Center in our own backyard. Along with the convenience of purchasing designer furniture year-round from the Las Vegas Design Center, which is located in both of the World Market buildings, it is handy to attend the biannual furniture market that takes place every January and July.
During this enormous show, the World Market showrooms and pavilions and a convention venue become packed with vendors and buyers from around the world. As a designer, I find it educational to get a peak at new items, styles and colors that will be flooding our local retail market in the coming year.
Before I tell you what I was intrigued with at this winter’s market, I would like to thank a couple of local decorators who directed me to this captivating vendor. While standing around a small cocktail table by the MGM Grand’s pool, one of the many receptions we attended during the show, my husband and I met Avis Bata ,from Las Vegas, along with her friend and business partner, Joanie Ayers, from St. George, Utah. So, in place of someone asking me a “Dear Designer” question this month, I found myself asking them.
DEAR DESIGNER(S): Have you found anything interesting and new at the show this year? — Cindy.
I was delighted with their quick response and reference to a brochure about fire installed in furniture. I hoped that the weather outside (around 42 degrees that night) didn’t influence my intrigue of this product.
Once I went to view the products myself, I knew it was much more than the cold night that ignited my fascination. I love the warm glow of a flickering fire in a well-designed room. The way this manufacturer creates furniture and accessories that can hold fire is ingenious. Immediately, I began picturing these ambient pieces in my clients’ homes. I want to share with you a little about Planika, the manufacturer of these interesting new items of fire.
Planika is an Australian-European company that has successfully brought a smokeless fire to contemporary interiors without using chimneys or difficult installations. The fire burns on a fuel called Fanola. Fanola is a biologically pure plant-derived product. It doesn’t emit odor when it burns. There is no smoke, soot or ash.
According to the company, “Only water vapor and CO2 are emitted in proportions similar to those contained in the air exhaled by humans.”
These fire-housing products can be used in homes, apartments and offices.
Planika’s line of products is diversified. Its Architects line includes contemporary, smokeless fireplaces that are installed in front of or into a wall in place of a traditional fireplace. There is no need for a chimney, maintenance is low and the installation is said to be easy. The fire can be controlled by remote control.
Planika’s furniture line is called Concept. In it, you will find various coffee tables with fire that are suitable for indoor and outdoor use. The Ambience line includes fire boxes that look like pictures hanging on the wall (as shown in the photo at left), wall sconces that house a flame and small glass cylinders that sit on the floor. These cylinders and coffee tables can be moved around your room at any time.
This state-of-the-art technology allows consumers to bring the warm glow of a fireplace into a home in a new way. It delivers a hypnotizing fire, a warm glow and an ambient feel with an unexpected modern twist.
To see more of Planika’s innovative products and/or to find a local retailer, visit www.planikadecor.com.
Cindy Payne is a certified interior designer with more than 25 years of experience, a member of the American Society of Interior Designs, as well as a licensed contractor. E-mail questions to her at deardesigner@projectdesigninteriors.com or send them to her at Project Design Interiors, 2620 S. Maryland Parkway, Suite 189, Las Vegas, NV 89109. She can be reached online at www.projectdesign interiors.com.
