About Alexander Calzadilla

Alexander Calzadilla is a Cuban male originally from Philadelphia, who has happily called Miami his home since moving here at the age of 15. He attended Southwest Sr. High School and Florida International University, ultimately receiving his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration. While in college, he began working as a paralegal for the Law Offices of Jeffrey E. Reichenbacher, a position he kept for seven years after graduation. He subsequently worked at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius Associates before landing at Costa Nursery. After distinguishing himself with many accomplishments, he was promoted to the position of Director of Specialty Products, which included the orchid, bonsai and lucky bamboo departments. When Alex was first put in charge of the three departments, they ranked near the bottom. By the time he left Costa after seven years, Alex had transformed the floundering departments into unqualified successes, posting record earnings, sales and profitability. In 2008 Alex was named the Costa Employee of the Year. Alex now puts his formidable prowess as a businessman into his newest venture, Avant-Garde Home Furnishings, LLC, serving as Managing Partner.

About Avant-Garde

We offer home furnishings and decor for every area of your home,both inside and out, always striving to bring you the most current design elements being used by today's top designers, at a fraction of their retail cost. Whether you are completely redecorating an area of your home, looking for the perfect accent piece to finish off an existing room, shopping for a unique gift, or simply "window shopping" to get design ideas, Avant-Garde is the place to go for everything modern & contemporary for your home.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

THE EVOLUTION OF STAIRCASES

STAIRCASES OF TODAY

KEEP GETTING, SMALLER AND SMALLER

Today I am writing about staircases and the way in which we have been remodeling them in recent years. Long gone are the wooden staircases of yesterday and they have been replaced with the modern, contemporary sometimes looking top scary to even climb them minimal idea of staircases. From floating glass to floating pieces of wood with no rail you stop and wonder how do you get up without falling. Regardless today's staircases have become focal points of our design style and in many cases beciome the main most modern item in our homes. Take a look at these designs, and then the last design is one my friend and Partner Edward Saunders came up with for his home. It looks so incredibly different that the entire house has a different feel, look, and vibe to it.

Fancy Staircase Treatments

Whether whimsical or precise, traditional or state-of-the-arts, staircases add significant interior architecture value to an abode. This collection demonstrates all of the above. They brilliantly blossom with color. They demonstrate the family-oriented character of the home’s owners. They take our breath away, and they lend a sense of stability or mystery.
So many staircases seem matter of fact, or at least blasé. Others bear no railings and seemingly no security measure for those with height concerns, but staircases can be designed to fit any style.
Most of today’s posts demonstrate that contemporary doesn’t automatically mean monochromatic. Nor is it entirely linear. Today there are far more choices including elegant yet tight curves, labyrinthine hand-rail sculptures, warm lines, and near invisibility.

They may be narrow but the contrast between steep colorful twists and stark white walls makes a compelling experience.

Take a journey through psychedelic lyrics or along a ‘yellow brick road.’

Parents and kids can enjoy this young-at-heart staircase. These seem fine wood, glass, with a heavy railing. Afterall the entire purpose of a staircase is to actually make it from one floor to the next not die trying.

These staircases do not seem safe, secure, or even a good idea to me

Floating through images of Mexican architect Luis Barragán stunning, classic works. I personally would be afraid of any staircase called floating not to mention they do not seem secure to me but the ones on top, the little wood pieces that appear to stick out of the wall with no railing, well that is just asking for an accident to happen.

Create multiple uses or an eclectic aesthetic.

Contrast horizontal texture with the vertical nature of the stairs.

Sculptured balustrades and rails lend another layer of aesthetics. These staircases are beautiful and to me mean totally new ideas and concepts. If you want to make a staircase stick out, this is the way to go..

Perhaps an art that harkens back to the work of Dalí? To me this is not anything more then an attempt to copy a style that is better left to the experts.

So many possibilities and so many staircases I simply find repulsive.. and yet others I find stunning. Look at the picture below, so you can see the one my friend and I came up with.