I recently come across Norema, which is a Norwegian designer and manufacturer of kitchen cabinetry. I wanted to talk about them for a bit because they have a lot of wonderful kitchen designs that are ideally suited for this entire concept of kitchen as an integral part of Great Rooms.

Designed objects are a lot like children; we tend to ooh and aah over the newest one, but if the parents have done their job right, all of them are worthy citizens. Certainly, this is true of the design output from Bongio, which is a company that was born in Alzo di Pella in 1936 in Northern Italy.

Capitalism greases the wheels that run the machine that benefits us all, but it must be regulated. “I think the story of Enron exposes the major flaw in capitalism, which is the crude belief that raw self interest, left un-tethered, will always result in the best possible social good. It’s not so.”

Omvivo’s latest slogan is “Created by Mother Nature, designed by Omvivo” because they’re now using natural stone that comes from India, Italy, and Egypt. It’s part of Omvivo’s initiative to help consumers move from trash to class.