Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility January 2016 – SOCO & The OC Mix

OC Register: See smart toilets, furniture for small spaces and other 2016 home design trends

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The smart toilets in the Pirch home showroom automatically lift their lids as shoppers approach. A touch of a pad can heat a cold seat, turn on a built-in bidet or even stream music – through a toilet’s speakers.

The gee-whiz stuff at nearby Cisco Home is old, but re-purposed. A grain sifter has become a giant light shade. A conveyer belt and a brake rotor were turned into tables.

High-tech and artisanal may be at opposite ends of the home design spectrum, but both are trendy for 2016.

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OC Register: Pantone’s Color(s) of 2016 raise eyebrows

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Pantone’s annual Color of the Year announcement is a curious mix of fashion, social statement and zeitgeist barometer. This year, there’s a lot of debate about what it’s trying to tell us.

Near the end of each year, the New Jersey-based company, known in the manufacturing world for its large proprietary color palette, announces a color that a panel of experts predicts will be popular during the following 12 months.

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Chef Stephane Treand of ST Patisserie gets a mention in LA Times

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As a child in France who listened to American bands like the Eagles, which gained popularity with songs like “Hotel California,” Stephane Treand longed to live in the state someday.

Ten years ago, he got his chance, and since then he has done many things for the Orange County culinary scene.

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LCA Wine called “Good Education” by LA Times

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Kelsey Fernandez was in a rut. The Fullerton man had been a bartender for years but wanted to work in a fine-dining restaurant that served good wine.

After getting hired at the Old Vine Cafe in Costa Mesa in October 2010, his new bosses gave him a suggestion: Take Wine and Spirits Education Trust, or WSET, classes with master sommelier Peter Neptune.

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