If you spend any amount of time in home furnishing stores or gourmet coffee cafes then you have felt the latest trend in interior design. Possibly, you've enjoyed this phenomenon without knowing. White washed pine furniture sound familiar? Heavy linen upholstery and slip-covers ring a bell? The knotty pine communal farm tables have taken the U.S. by storm. Two companies were ahead of the trend, and actually helped create the trend. Restoration Hardware & Le Pain Quotidien.
The West coast lifestyle home furnishing haven - Restoration Hardware has reset the bar for interior designers from coast to coast. What once took tens of thousands of dollars to acquire items at auction all over Europe, can now be found for a few thousand dollars at a mall near you. If you haven't been to a mall recently, undoubtedly you have been besieged by catalogs the size of phone books from the newly rebranded RH.
Le Pain Quotidien also achieved success through furnishing - despite the fact that they don't sell furniture. That's right, this Belgian baker of daily bread, pastries, and brewers of delicious coffee has changed the way Americans spend time in cafes. What was once relegated to the Amish in Pennsylvania, has found it's way all over the United States. Get a little friendly at Le Pain Quotidien. The hazelnut spread will break any diet, and put a smile on your face. The cafes have become the organic feeling alternative to Starbucks for some.
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