Why Shopping for Furniture in a Store is a Great Option!

Are you ready to make your next big furniture purchase? With today’s technology it can be easy to buy furniture online. While this is very convenient and quickly accomplishes your task, it may not be the best option.

Furniture is a major purchase and will most likely be in your house for 10 to 20 years. Do you really want to buy it online without seeing it in person first? Online photo quality and colors have come a long way in the last 10 years, but I must admit that more often than not the piece of furniture is going to look different in your living room than it does online. I recommend looking online first for what you like, then finding the local store that carries it. Call and make sure they have it on the floor and then make the trip to go look at it!

Stains

Are you looking for a wood case that would look great in your bedroom, living room or dining room? Wood stains can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. It is a smart idea to see the wood in person if you are trying to match a piece with other furniture in your room.

Finishes

Consider is the feel of the wood. Some companies offer smoother finishes than others. A smooth finish can give off an expensive yet elegant look. Distressed wood is a popular choice, but companies distress their wood at different intensities so it depends on your preference. Online photos can make it difficult to see this so seeing the wood in person is the best option.

Drawers

The way drawers are installed in dressers, end tables, cocktail tables, china cabinets, buffets and consoles can vary greatly. Some companies have them on metal slides while others use a wooden track on the base. If you buy that piece online, how are you going to be able to tell how easily the drawer pulls out and in or if it locks before falling out? If you see the piece in person, you will have your answer and be able to make the best decision.

How does it feel?

Upholstered goods are an entirely different process for purchasing. If you buy the piece online you don’t get a chance to experience what it feels like when you sit in it. Everyone’s body is different in size, shape and weight, so sofas and chairs need to be made different to accommodate everyone.

Soft or Hard?

Cushions can be hard or soft so it’s important to sit on one before you make your purchase. If sofa cushions are too soft you can sometimes actually feel the wooden frame underneath you. Does that sound comfortable?

Deep or Short?

Sofa seats can be designed deep or short. When you sit normally on the sofa, don’t you want to make sure that your feet can touch the ground or that your legs aren’t hanging off too much and causing stress on your back? Sitting down and standing up can also be a difficult task to accomplish if the sofa is too deep and soft. We wouldn’t want anyone to fall trying so please go test it out! I highly recommend sitting in the sofa or chair at the store.

Custom Options

Another great reason to go to the stores is that the sales associate can give you all of the custom options for your piece. These options might include firm or soft cushions, custom fabric, nail head trim or adding a sleep sofa. That is what they are trained to do so let’s use it to our advantage.

Do you prefer to shop online or in the store? Do you agree with me on the importance of store shopping when it comes to choosing your furniture? Have you ever bought a piece of furniture online that turned out to be just awful? Tell us your story!

Exciting Room Themes for Little Girls

Looking for a fun and imaginative room theme for your daughter? Little girls are our princesses. Aren’t some of the themes getting old, redundant and boring? How about trying something different for your little girl, something she will love and be excited to show her friends? The trick to having a themed room? Don’t overdo the theme. It’s actually very simple – just mix up the theme with corresponding patterns and colors.

Butterflies

Does your little girl love visiting butterfly gardens? If so, why not give her a butterfly room of her dreams? Try finding butterfly patterns in “girly” colors such as purple, green and even light blue. If you choose to reflect the theme in the bedding, I recommend adding pillows in solid colors or simple prints.

To select a color for the walls, pick your little girl’s favorite color from the pattern on the bedding and hang a couple of corresponding prints on the walls. Try painting the furniture in the room white or use purple, green or blue shades found in the bedding. Painted wood furniture is always a great look for little girls. This is an opportunity for you to refinish some old furniture you might have laying around.

Finally, keep the lamps, accessories and stuff animals away from the butterfly theme. This will actually help add emphasis on what pieces in the bedroom are displaying the theme.

Flowers

How about flowers? If your little girl loves shades of pink, purple, yellow or green, this just might be the perfect theme! The best thing about flowers is that they come in different colors. Try to keep the color scheme to three colors and utilizing them in different shades.

Finding flower print bedding is usually quite easy so you may want to start there. Chose one color from the bedding and paint the walls the same color. Did you choose a dark color? If so, outline a couple of flowers in white. They will stand out nicely against the dark walls. If you chose a lighter color for the walls, I suggest a dark color from the bedding for the outlined flowers. This is a great and inexpensive way to carry out the theme throughout the room.

Hawaii

If you are looking for less of a “girly” theme, consider a Hawaiian look. A Hawaiian theme leaves plenty of room for creativity!

Start by choosing bright pink, blue and yellow for your color scheme. Paint the walls a light color and choose one wall for a bright, bold accent color! Try mounting a surf board to the wall to add an unique touch. Bring in the grass skirt, bamboo shades and chair for a fun addition to the space. Choose a Hawaiian flower pattern for the bedding. Pair this with solid colored pillows and use light stained wood furniture throughout the space.

Do you have another creative theme for your daughter’s room? Share your ideas and pictures!

Wood or Fabric Headboard? That is the Question!

Is it time for you to select a new headboard? Do you find yourself trying to decide between wood and fabric?

These are the main two choices available to us without making something creative ourselves to serve the function of a headboard.

Typically we find ourselves searching through furniture store after furniture store for a bedroom set. They come in matching pieces – headboard, dresser, nightstands and possibly even a chest of drawers. Wood headboards that match a bedroom suite can have a dramatic effect on your bedroom. Everything looks as if a professional picked it all out for you. All you have to do is coordinate the bedding.

But maybe you don’t have the money for the matching bedroom set. Or you already have a bedroom set but find yourself in need of a new bed size.

I recommend an upholstered headboard. You can use it over and over again with any furniture in a similar style. Upholstered headboards can even be reupholstered to match the new bedding you may get in the future!

Common upholstered headboards available today might be tufted with neutral fabric or leather, which would be perfect for a more traditional styled bedroom. Try sectioned off leather squares in the shape of a rectangle. This can be easily applied in a modern bedroom. Or you could keep it simple with a plain rectangle or curved top. This provides a great opportunity to coordinate fabric with your bedding.

When working with existing furniture or trying to throw together a guest bedroom, upholstered headboards can work wonders. Do you have an old chest of drawers, end table or dresser? When using an upholstered headboard, the sky is the limit. Nothing is required to match. This may be the perfect chance to strip the furniture and re-stain or paint it. Make all the miscellaneous pieces have matching finishes. What an eclectic looking room you will be able to create! I guarantee no one will have a room just like yours if you take this route.

What kind of headboard do you prefer? Have you ever created your own?

What Product Is Best To Care For Your Beautiful Wood China Cabinet?

Spring is definitely in the air! Aren’t we all happy to see it? I don’t know about in your area, but the days are becoming longer and the warmer weather always give me an extra boost of energy. This little boost kicks me into gear when it comes to working out, but it also affects my need, want and desire to clean my house!

So here is your furniture “Cleaning Care” tip for Spring. I wanted to pass on my experience I have learned over the years about caring for furniture.

I am sure that you love the smell of “fresh” lemon in your home, so I suggest you head to the grocery store and buy some lemons.

When it comes to polishing your furniture, I recommend polishing once a month unless your furniture receives heavy wear or you live in a dusty environment like I do. The more windows you open, the dustier it gets. Agreed? If so, more frequent polishing should be done.

For cleaning fingerprints and other household dirt and grime, a furniture cream will work best (I highly recommend Weiman’s wood furniture care products). For dusting and polishing, a clear oil polish will moisturize your furniture beautifully. You can also try some mineral oil! This is a great natural way to clean.

In 1941, the Weiman family started a new revolution of ‘clean’ by giving its customers a complementary bottle of special polish to preserve and protect fine wood furniture. First to the market and innovative at the time, Weiman wood polish was formulated to perfection and contained a distinctive blend of the finest emulsions, natural oils and nourishing wood cleaners and conditioners.

The Weiman brand has grown into an extensive collection of cleaning and polishing products. Weiman products enjoy top status among fine furniture restorers, interior decorators, leading museums, embassies, craftsmen and antique experts worldwide.

For those of you addicted to Pledge, did you know that Pledge and many other furniture polishes contain silicone, which is difficult to remove even with mineral spirits. It has a tendency to take the “shine” right out of your furniture. If you have a waxed top piece of furniture, it will make it streaky and gummy. You may not notice it right away, but it does happen over time.

I promise you will be thrilled with the conditioning and cleaning the Weiman products offer. Yes, it is more expensive, but caring for your furniture should be part of the investment to begin with. Get in with the Weiman’s and out with the Pledge.

So grab that old t-shirt you were going to throw away, or that cloth baby diaper you have, and get to it! (I also love using old mismatched socks for cleaning rags – put it right over your hand and you will be finished in no time!)

What are your favorite cleaning products to care for your fine wood?

Asian Influence or Is It Just Whimsy?

Another of the fun LZF lighting fixtures is called a mini Mikado, obviously from the operatic work of Gilbert and Sullivan. Like Gilbert and Sullivan’s s tongue-in-cheek operas, the mini Mikado is full of the fun and whimsy. What was most interesting about these fixtures is the ability to mix and match the colors. The banding on this fixture can be orange with the main body being a bright or soft yellow. It allows the fixtures to be the design “wow” of a room instead of the ho hum it provides light that we usually see.

Imagine these in your favorite sushi bar. The mini Mikado could even be used for way-finding, as the color could change to reflect that you were going into another area (not that I would expect our health care facilities to jump on board for anything this whimsical, but one could hope for something other than fluorescent fixtures at least in the medical offices).

Here is what is great about real wood veneers. The trees that are harvested come from agricultural plantations, which is typically a sustainable harvest (meaning that for what is harvested that year, a greater or equal amount must be available the next year’s harvest). By using veneer, the mini Mikado uses very thin sheets that are peeled from the timber.

The other material being used for these fixtures is reconstructed wood veneer. This means the wood for these veneers comes from different trees that grow rapidly and are harvested more frequently than other woods available. Many times these trees could not be used for furniture or flooring because of the softness of the wood.

After the veneers have been removed from the tree, they are dyed to the color of the species being replicated (cherry, walnut, etc.). The veneer sheets are then layered and pressed together to reform a “log.” The log is then re-sliced at different angles to form the new veneer.

This process utilizes sophisticated computer technology to visually see what pattern or texture will be manufactured before re-slicing the log back into veneer form. Because uniform sheets are created, it reduces waste. By reconstructing veneers, species that could become extinct can be replicated, creating eco-conscious alternatives.

Check out these fixtures. Can you think of some great places you would like to see them?

Who Knew You Could Use Wood Veneer for Lighting?

I go to lighting shows every year so I can keep up on what is new in the industry. LEDs have been the big news for a couple of years. The world has decided that the scientific end of lighting is important right now, so everyone has their calculators out and are figuring cost savings.

Not that I am against green or energy savings, but there is a great deal to be said for design. Creating beauty and fun while still keeping energy efficiency is my idea of good lighting design. Most of the changes have been in industrial and commercial spaces.

So imagine my surprise when I found these absolutely fab lighting fixtures. LZF is the manufacturer of these gems. The design that first caught my eye is ANFORA by Miguel Herranz. The line has three types of suspended fixture that range in size and weight from 20” x 20” x 36” and 8 pounds, the next size is 20” x 20” x 53” and weighs 16 pounds and the largest of them is 40” x 40” x 69” and weighs 66 pounds. They also have a floor lamp and a table lamp.

Now, I cannot tell you how many times I have fallen in love with a hanging fixture or table lamp only to find there is nothing else in the line to go with that single product. With this line, you can have a phenomenal foyer light and then have a couple of table lamps in your entertainment space and a floor lamp in the family room.

These fixtures are made from reconstructed and natural timber veneers. They create this glowing effect when on. The light peaks out through the twists and loops and the veneer becomes a glowing element of the design. Everything they have comes in eight different colors.

Standing back and watching people’s reactions was fun. Everyone wanted to touch them. Each line of fixtures LZF has are unique and would add punch in a residence or a corporate entryway, CEO office or could even be fun in a library along a separation wall.

Since I typically go to lighting shows yawning, there was no camera so please excuse the phone picture of the ANFORA table lamp. But I think you will get how absolutely cool this line is. Have you found a line of lighting fixtures that made a design statement?

How Does the Interior of a Grocery Store Affect Your Purchases?

Product placement, sale signs, prices slashed, end cap purchases…sounds like a trip to the grocery market! I like to think that I am a pretty good cook and over the years have definitely refined my senses of taste and smell when cooking – but, being an interior designer, I can never turn off my interior design eye. Therefore, I hate to admit, but I have become a grocery store snob. I like to think that I can be pretty thrifty and save money well, but when it comes to shopping for my groceries, I am having a hard time getting away from my fancy “wine aisle ready” grocery stores and produce markets.

So what is it about these stores, besides the fabulous produce, that gets customers to pay higher prices for the same groceries found at the local “mega shopping plex”? I mean, what really gets me to pay two dollars more for a bottle of olive oil? Same brand, same size bottle and I am still paying more! Here are a few keys into my interior design consumer mind:

The Ambiance: The overall lighting of the produce market is warmer, more natural and makes all the produce look more appealing than if sitting flooded with yellow tinted fluorescents. Not only that, but I think I look better. When I catch myself in the mirrored back of the lettuce stand, I even look more appealing in that light!

The Materials: The display stands, signage and flooring are made of more natural looking materials. It gives a psychological connection to the food being natural versus processed, even if I am buying bottled salad dressing that has preservatives in it. The use of exposed wood beams give a feel of “produce stand” that implies a straight off the farm attitude, even while in the city.

The Colors: The walls and ceiling feel more natural, once again, not competing with the food but working with it. By letting the food stand out as the pops of color, the bright peppers, bananas, green veggies (are you hungry yet?), they become the focus and you can’t help but want to take them home.

The Signage: By using more “creative” signage, like chalk boards in hand written text, the signage seems less intrusive and demanding. It is more…suggestive, as if to say “I think you should give this a try” instead of the mega stores methods that screams “cheap – buy – now!!!”

Check out this site about food market design if you’re interested in learning more.

How do you feel about smaller produce and family owned grocery stores? Do you prefer them over the mega-stores, even if you end up having to pay a little more? If so, what draws you to them – is it the design or something else?

Is Gray the New Beige?

For years, everything has been about beige in our homes. Beige walls, beige upholstery, beige bedding, pillows, wall art, etc, etc. Seriously, have we gotten sick of it yet? Could gray possibly be our way out of the sea of beige?

Gray has slowly been making its way into the interior’s scene for a couple years now. It’s a great neutral for traditional and modern environments. Gray is represented throughout nature, so it is only natural that it pairs well with many colors. It could be as simple as painting your walls gray and pairing it with colors that look well with it in the rest of your room. I would then try repeating it in a couple of accessories.

One color scheme that has been on the rise is gray with yellow, beige and cream. This can give a surprisingly relaxing feeling when paired together. I believe this is because of the cooling effect gray can have to relax you, then pairing it with a yellow has a way of cheering us up at the same time!

Gray can also work well in a monochromatic color scheme. A monochromatic color scheme uses various shades of the same color in darker, lighter, and grayer tones. When gray is the main color used in the room, often a white or neutral is used with it for the monochromatic effect. Try adding just a hint of color for a surprise pop.

Many printed upholstery fabrics have also begun to see gray in the patterns, so finding furniture to work within your color scheme should not be a problem. Accessories, such as bowls and vases, are also starting to show up in gray. Silver pairs nicely with gray, which can be found in many mirrors, picture frames and wall hangings.

Gray is starting to show up in residential materials as well, such as wood floorings, countertops, wallpaper and even carpeting. When looking at redoing an area, take all of this into consideration because if your home has been in the land of beige, then lots of work may be in order to make this color scheme work.

Do you think gray is the new beige? What are your favorite color schemes?

Summer Fun or Work on the Deck?

I am one of those fortunate to live on a lake. It means a lot of things to different people, but to me it means trying to find solutions that minimize the amount of maintenance work that must be done in the spring, summer and fall when I would much prefer to spend my leisure hours in, well, leisure. So, because the deck is looking awful AGAIN, I decided it was time to take another look at the costs and efforts of maintaining the cedar deck and maybe go for something new and different this year.

There are many costs to consider to maintain a cedar deck. Power washing the deck – $250.00. Restaining the deck at $30.00 a gallon for stain & sealer – $250.00. Replacement of boards (there are always 2-3 boards that need to be replaced each year). The cost of cedar boards is $1.12/lineal foot – $50.00. None of this includes my time and effort of running around town to get the stuff, removing the old boards, cutting and replacing, waiting for the power washed boards to dry before I can move on, etc. So I figure a week of time and effort.

I began my remodeling project by checking out all of the man made materials that will allow me to have fun without all of this work. Forgive me, but most of the stuff I looked at was not green. Not only that, most of what I looked at promised to be hotter than Hades if I stepped on it with bare feet.

Then I came across Novation Decking by Royal Outdoor Products and here is what I learned. The reason this system does not burn you feet or my grandchild’s hands, knees, or bottom is because it is made of cellular PVC. It is the cells in this material that prevent it from heating up. Because it is PVC, the deck resists scratching and is water repellent so the opportunity for it to rot or mold is nil. Unlike when you screw into wood and risk the possibility of the board cracking or breaking an edge off, this just simply won’t happen with this product. Even the ants aren’t going to be able to eat it up like my cedar boards. The color chosen for the finish will not fade for approximately 10 years and you can wash off anything spilled on the surface with a hose. The cost equals $8.00/lineal foot.

So what do you think – going green or low maintenance? Have you had any experience with Novation or another system?

Finding the Right Dining Table

Everyone has some form of “dining area” in their home. Whether it be a countertop in your kitchen with a bar stool or a 12’ dining table that seats 10, we all find a way to eat and perhaps be social in and around the topic of food. Traditionally the dining table has been the daily social meeting place for family and friends. Sometimes these tables serve as multifunctional gathering areas for homework, an additional mail sorting table, or laundry folding area to name a few.

Considering these other functions is just as important as selecting your style and the size of the table. Here is a rough idea of size to keep in mind when you begin shopping – a 35” x 70” table will generally seat six people, or maybe eight for a squeeze at Thanksgiving.

The location of the table legs can be an important aspect to watch for. Where are your legs going to be if the table is often seating eight? Will your guests have to hover around a table leg? Consider a pedestal table which provides stability and more leg space.

Often times wood is considered a popular selection for a dining table. It is durable, can be resistant to staining and heat resistant (ask those questions before purchasing). If the table has a wax coating, it may have difficulty resisting the pan of lasagna that you just pulled from the oven. Glass surfaces can look great, but their transparency can be awkward for diners, as you can see beyond your plate of food into the laps and legs of your guests below. Children often have a tendency to leave mucky finger prints on the underside of the table, making this a constant effort in your cleaning regimen.

When it comes to shape, rectangular seems to make the most sense, especially if you plan to move to a new home at some point. This shape will be likely fit in most rooms. Round and oval tables look great, but often times require a large room to have easy traffic flow to navigate around the table. I personally have always wanted a round dining table to seat 8-10. When I draw that into a plan, and factor in the chairs, the room needs to almost be twice the size in length and width. Maybe someday…

Check out Canadel’s dining collection. Customize table tops, legs and finishes to create your very own custom look! ( Just be prepared, the lead times are 12-14 weeks and it ships from Canada. Well worth the wait!)

What type of dining room table do you just melt for?

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