Showing posts with label furniture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label furniture. Show all posts

08 July 2016

How To Choose The Right Bar Stools For Your Kitchen Counter or Island

A bar stool to a kitchen area is like a fine glass of wine to a Friday night - an addition that can only make things better and inject a vibrant feel to your home. As wonderful and versatile as they are, choosing the right set is only a matter of taste and the style that already prevails your space. The most important factors to consider are material and style.

Material

Wood
Nowadays, most wooden bar stools are made of hard rubber-wood due to its durability, but there are other wood materials that are also appealing. There’s also rattan, wicker and teak wood, although they might not be as sturdy. Fortunately, wooden bar stools are generally quite easy to maintain and clean.


Metal
Stainless steel is by far one of most strong and resistant materials for kitchen bar stools. If you are one of those people that want to buy a  kitchen bar stools set once and have a piece of mind for a long time, this is the material you are looking for. Make sure that the stools you get feature at least 80% of steel as a part of their construction. If you want something lighter than steel, aluminium could seal the deal by offering similar quality, low maintenance and contemporary design. Metal kitchen bar stools easy to disinfect with a quick wipe down.

Upholstery                          
These bar stools are the mightiest tool if you want to match your interior just right because they come in an endless array of covers, be it leather, linen, faux suede or vinyl. They can easily become a part of the seamless blend you are aiming to achieve. People also love these due to the comfort they provide with the convenient padding for the back and as an addition, many of these kitchen bar stools feature a footrest as well. One minor disadvantage is the fact that they are not as easy to clean and you will have to be very careful not to spill something on the upholstered surface.

Plastic
If you’re all about easy maintenance, this material can surely offer that, but with so many amazing choices of material that come with more sturdiness and class, plastic is regarded as probably the last one you should opt for, if you want your interior to speak volumes about your taste, that is.


Recycled materials
If the process of choosing the perfect type of material is to receive an extra pair of wings, that can undoubtedly be achieved with a sustainability factor. If you want to excel at both - helping our planet and decorating your home, this is a great way to do it and you can find all of the aforementioned types in the form of their recycled counterparts, except for upholstered.

Style

Futuristic
Simple, straight, strong, new age – these are the qualities you should look for if you’re after a futuristic feel. The best material choice for this style is by all means steel. Make sure that the chairs you choose are easy to assemble and feature PVC seats. This style simply pours that modern vibe into the area and with minimal effort you'll be able to pull off a very cool futuristic style.

Traditional
If you can imagine yourself sitting on one of your bar stools, hands wrapped around a warm mug, a quiet jazz song playing in the background, then wooden bar stools from top to bottom might be right up your alley. Just make sure that the rest of your décor can respond to this vintage challenge because you wouldn't want it to look as if you've kidnapped the stools from a retro times and now you are desperately trying to adapt them to your modern design.

Middle Earth
Being unable to choose between traditional and modern is actually a pleasant design symptom. It can allow you to have the best of both worlds in a very unique way. Talk about a style that defies classification. This style can be best achieved by opting for a set of bar stools that feature black metal frame and wood. The wooden part will add to the traditional appeal, whilst the black metal frame will speak of futuristic simplicity, easy maintenance and a keen eye for elegance.












13 November 2014

Antiques belong in the kitchen too!

via
Modern appliances, the latest recipe, seasonal spices… staying current is important when it comes to cuisine and your cooking space. And in 2014, your kitchen is often a place that contains just as much programming and electronics as your car or TV room.  But let’s not forget the comfort and class of tradition - the sturdy, burgeoning design of homewares past, or your love for your great grandmother’s recipes. Incorporating antiques into your kitchen is an easy and effective way to bring time-honored heart and design to your favorite room. The internet boasts opportunities for buying timeless antiques at great value, so here are a few ideas to help get your wheels spinning:

Use antique vases as storage
While vases are traditionally regarded as flower holders, they have countless other uses if you put your mind to it. You can give a new life to a beautiful antique vase by using it to store your favorite utensils and kitchen gadgets. It’s a convenient, unique way to show off your love for old treasures.

via
Accent with antique furniture
Accenting with antique and/or mismatching chairs and table sets can benefit the overall ambience of your kitchen. Incorporating different antique chairs or accenting a corner with an old desk or cabinet for a work space gives off a homey, well-rounded feel. This works especially well in rustic-themed kitchens, but can also be complementary to more bold, modern designs.

Install antique fixtures for a dramatic effect
Finding the perfect antique can do wonders for the lighting and overall mood in your kitchen. While there are many great options for antique lighting online as is, sometimes old pieces need a bit of love and refurbishment. Here are some tips for modifying lighting and fixtures on your own.

Dine with antique dishes and ceramics
Mismatched dish sets offer an eccentric, aesthetic way to dine, and antique ceramics are a great window into the cultural values and delicacies of the past. Search for charming antique dishware online, or refurbish some old family heirlooms for a unique and personalized dining collection.

01 November 2014

Butcher block surfaces from ButcherBlockCo.com

When I was a kid, we used to buy our meat from a butcher. As in a real, live butcher who worked in an actual butcher shop. This was not by any means a charcuterie and concepts like grass fed and free range weren't even imagined yet. What it was an honest-to-goodness butcher shop and I remember it smelling like a combination of blood and the heavy paper everything came wrapped in.

I was fascinated by the place and what fascinated me most was the table-sized butcher block where just about everything was cut. It looked a lot like this one.

Buy this table here!

Those days are gone of course --killed off by a combination of changing consumer tastes and proliferation of grocery stores.

Though the traditional butcher shop may be well on its way to extinction,  those butcher block tables are still made by the John Boos Company and here's one they call the AB.


Here's the AA


I took those images from the ButcherBlockCo.com's website. ButcherBlockCo.com is a small firm in Phoenix that specializes in butcher block tables and counters from the John Boos Company. John Boos has been making wood tops and counters since 1887 and they are the gold standard of what a butcher block surface ought to be.

I've always known the reputation of John Boos but until recently, ButcherBlockCo.com was unknown to me. That changed with the arrival of this.


That is a scale replica of a John Boos AA and in my photo it's being used as intended. Namely, as a cheeseboard. My Mini Boos Butcher Block came with a rosewood handled cheese hatchet by Boska. Needless to say, I love this thing. It works as advertised, people can't look at it and not comment and it reminds me of that butcher shop a long time ago. That's what we call a win.

But ButcherBlockCo.com is more than just a purveyor of novelty cheese boards. They sell, direct to consumers, the full range of John Boos products and they do something else I've never seen offered on a website before. You can price and order your own John Boos butcher block counters. Seriously, there's a calculator built into the website. Not only that, they offer free shipping on any order over $75.

So if you're in the market for butcher block counters, tables, islands, cutting boards, kitchen carts, work tables or anything else the John Boos Company makes, look no further. ButcherBlockCo.com has you covered. Check out their website, find them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter too.

25 September 2014

Choosing the right recliner for you


There’s no shortage of riser recliner chairs on offer these days. In fact, there’s now a dizzying array of these products to choose from, which can make deciding which versions to buy difficult. However, as long as you know what to look for, you should end up with the ideal riser recliner for you.

To help you along the way, took a look at this brief guide.

 Comfort and ease of use

Of course, you’ll want your new seating to look the part, but the first issues you should consider when perusing your options are comfort and ease of use. After all, if you get a product that ticks both of these boxes, you stand to significantly enhance your quality of life.

To avoid disappointment, you should make sure that the chair you buy is a suitable height, width and depth. Also, bear in mind that the item must be able to fit within the space you have in mind, and you’ll need to make sure that there’s enough space around the seat for you to be able to get into and out of it comfortably.

Take care to find out how simple each chair is to use as well. You don’t want to be fiddling around with complicated systems or searching for awkward levers. The best products boast simple controls, allowing you to rise and recline with total ease.

In addition, consider how far from the wall you will need to place your chair in order to recline on it. Some products can be positioned within a few inches of walls and this can make arranging lounge furniture much easier.

Massage functions

All riser recliners make sitting down and getting up easier. However, some of these products also offer massage functions. The very best of these systems can provide effective relief from a range of medical conditions, including back pain, arthritis, sciatica, hip pain, varicose veins, night cramps, poor blood circulation, spinal disorders and water retention. They can also speed up recovery after certain sporting injuries and they can help to reduce feelings of stress and anxiety.

Even if you don’t have any of these health problems, the technology enables you to enjoy on-demand massages. At the press of a button, you can relax and unwind in the comfort of your living room.

Style

There is no need to compromise on style simply because you’re after practical seating. As long as you know where to look, you can take your pick from an array of attractive chairs that perfectly complement your decor. It’s worth paying close attention to this issue. After all, you might have your riser recliner for many years, so it’s important that you like its appearance.

General quality

Last but by no means least, consider the general quality of the products available. Certain chairs look great at first glance, but quickly lose their appeal once they start malfunctioning or coming apart at the seams. Remember, these items are supposed to make your life easier and more enjoyable. They should not be a source of stress.

Luckily, it’s now easy to find excellent quality riser recliners that exude class and that function perfectly. For example, the products on offer at www.adjustablebeds.co.uk come in a range of styles and fabrics and they boast a number of impressive features. Their Cyclo-Therapy massage system offers the ultimate therapeutic massage and they benefit from Easy Reach technology, meaning you can position them close to your walls.

As long as you consider all these factors when you’re searching for a riser recliner, you can rest assured you’ll be thrilled with the results.

08 September 2014

Enhance the aesthetics of your bedroom with a contemporary, sliding wardobe


A bedroom looks best when it has less furniture and more space to walk around freely. Apart from the necessary things, there should not be anything in the bedroom. However, in a typical house, you will never find such an ideal bedroom. There will be closets, wardrobes and whatnot, making the bedroom as much like a store room as anything else. Wouldn't it be nice if you could actually find the secret of getting the ideal bedroom in your house?


Well, the secret is a sliding wardrobe. So what exactly is a sliding wardrobe? These are wardrobes that have sliding doors to create more space in the bedroom. If you have seen a traditional wardrobe, you would have noticed the swinging closet doors that often created an obstruction and needed more space to make way for the whole door to be opened. But with innovation and new style, the sliding wardrobes have become very popular among families especially, because they can keep all their clothes in one place.

Types of sliding wardrobes

With the introduction of sliding wardrobes, various experiments were done with their design and style and ultimately three different types of sliding wardrobes were introduced. The following are the three types of sliding wardrobes that are swarming the market these days:

  • Glass-type sliding wardrobes - These wardrobes blend well with any bedroom and if there is a theme for the bedroom, then there's nothing like it. If you go to an interior designer, this is probably the first thing that he or she will suggest you to buy. If you want to add a unique style to the doors, then choose from the smoked glass panels - they look gorgeous on these wardrobes. However, while choosing the glass do ensure that you choose Plexiglass and not some other glass. Plexiglass is known for its durability and would suit the wardrobe to perfection.
  • Mirrored sliding wardrobes - These wardrobes are made of glass materials and have a reflective film on the back of the glass panel. The whole concept of this wardrobe is very smart as the big mirrors are crafted to act like sliding doors. It makes the wardrobe look so much bigger due to its reflective nature and the craftsmen that designed this feature did nothing extraordinary, but simply replaced a few parts with glass and played with the reflection; as simple as that.
  • Wooden sliding wardrobes - These are the most common type of sliding wardrobes that you will find in the market. These are simple, yet elegant and are made of dense wood such as teak, mahogany and maple. Unlike other sliding wardrobes, you will find a lot of designs in this one. The doors can have an additional touch of beauty with crafted wooden panels or louvered closet panels. But, it all depends on the manufacturer whether he can put these innovations in his work or not.

Sliding wardrobes are available for online order as well since the reputed names like SKON Design have marked their presence online. Depending on the colour theme of your room you can browse the internet and order the best sliding wardrobe. Suppose you have a white theme for your bedroom, and you happen to live in Dublin. Simply, go online and search with white sliding wardrobe in Dublin and you will find the names of the companies who have the wardrobe with the specification you just gave. Searching on the internet helps you see the entire structure of the wardrobe very easily, and you also get to compare the price with other online stores providing the same thing. Sliding wardrobes have immense benefits, and it is the latest trend in the market. It would be wise to select this wardrobe if you are looking to buy a new one.  

23 May 2014

Transforming the dining room with chair cushions

via Decoist
It’s often the smallest of changes that get noticed. This is especially true in a dining room, where an entire room is otherwise based on few pieces of dining room furniture. The accents, accessories, and decorations all go a long way to change the feel of the room.

Chair cushions are often ignored and viewed as tacky, but they definitely have their place when done right. Chair cushions are not just the typical tie-knot cushions that hook to the seat and the back of the chair. Sometimes they just come in the form of padding for the seat. This works especially well with metal chairs, but it can be pulled off even if the chair is wooden, wicker, etc.

Right now you’re probably clueless as to how you can make this look stylish. Take a look on Pinterest to get an idea on the different chair cushion looks. This may help with understanding how dining chairs can have cushioning without seeming tacky. Of course, there are a few ‘bad’ designs in the bunch but that’s to be expected. You want to think of a way to incorporate cushions to your dining chairs while adding, not taking away, style and flare to the room.

How to Incorporate Dining Chair Cushions

You will have to use your imagination a bit to figure out what the best look would be for your particular dining set. It will depend on a number of factors such as the color, material, and even the tone of paint on your walls.

Complementary Chair Cushions

Of course, your dining room will already be stylishly themed. This gives you an advantage as you merely have to find a complementary color, such as the color of your wall paint, to use as the basis for the chair cushions. This allows you to maintain the current theme while adding an extra layer of depth to the room’s design. It also adds comfort for your family and guests.

Eccentric, Eye Grabbing Chair Cushions

You don’t always have to keep things calm. You can use the chair cushions as a way to capture attention in your dining room. This is a very good choice if you have a strong white them. The chair cushions can then be any color and have any pattern and they will get noticed. This doesn't take away from the theme of the room, but it can help set the tone.

Reupholstered Chair Cushions

Sometimes what’s holding back a dining room isn't the furniture, but the upholstering. Dining tables can be refinished and transformed to something incredible. The same can be accomplished with dining chairs by reupholstering their cushions. If you have chairs with cushions, it’s a good idea to consider whether reupholstering may improve the look of the chairs and the room as a whole. You can learn how to reupholster a dining chair online too, it’s not difficult at all!

What’s best for Your Dining Room?

This is a change that needs to be looked at on an individual basis. Take a look at your dining room and get a feel for what would work. You can then start looking online for ideas at websites that offer DIY chair cushion designs. This is a better idea than just buying pre-fabricated chair cushions as you have full control over the design of the cushions.

You don’t have to worry about making these changes either. You can print off the design and put it on your chair to get an idea for how it will blend with the room. When it’s on fabric, it’ll just look nicer. You can even find a short list of designs that catch your interest and compare them the same way before making your final decision.

22 May 2014

Making your house a home

via

Finding a new house to call your own can be, in one, simple word: challenging. Whether you’re moving to a new city, or just to a new neighbourhood, you want to be able to find a great place that you can grow in and add your own, personal touches to truly make your house a home. Finding your unique style and vision for your new home can be intimidating, but you will find yourself attracted to some pieces more than others, and this will help shape your niche.

If you’re still not sure what your ‘niche’ may be, or just starting at the first step of figuring out your ideal home décor, then check out some great suggestions on how to find your style below:

Find Your Colour

Think of the colours, stains, and finishes that really catch your eye, and which ones don’t really ‘tickle your fancy’. Some people prefer pine over oak, and nobody will hold that against you because it’s your home and you’re allowed to be picky. So, don’t feel pressured to settle on a colour or stain that you don’t really like but feel obliged to select because it goes with what’s already in your house, or that it is popular.

An example of a unique piece would be the Rustic Wooden Cabinet from Uniche Interior Furnishings, made out of pine with a soft, antique-looking stain to create a rustic look. You’ll want to find something that goes with almost everything, in case you decide to paint or move the item to another room.

Consider the Trends

Considering the current, and even past, trends is a crucial step in deciding which colours, stains, and finishes you like; if you are a big fan of the distressed look, then a piece with a rustic or antique look to it may just be the right furnishing to catch your eye. This could be a conversation piece, like Uniche’s Rustic Wooden Cabinet, or it could be something a bit smaller and less of a statement item.

As the rustic and antique trends have enjoyed a long life and are almost positive that they will never go out of style, there are also current fads that may not have the same effect and appeal in a few years that they have now. Home fads can echo life-spans of fads within the clothing and fashion world, so you might want to consider your style and tastes when it comes to fashion, too; are there certain articles of clothing that you won’t buy because you know that they are part of a short-lived fad? This kind of discretion can help you when picking out furniture and other home accessories.

Let There Be Light!

Lighting is a luxury that we often take for granted, but it is essential to fill our homes with bright, energizing, light to help us feel right at home. There are so many lampshades, lamps, fixtures - you name it – that are available to include in your new house, and, while finding lighting may seem like a breeze, it actually can be quite daunting.

You’ll want to ask yourself the following questions before shopping around for the perfect light fixture:

  • Which colour or finish do I want?
  • What style do I want?
  • Hanging, mounted, or standing?
  • What kind of light do I want? (e.g. white, yellow, or fluorescent)
  • Where am I going to put it?

Look for something special and different, as long as it fits within your own vision and sense of style. An example from Uniche Interior Furnishings is The Jali, a unique take on the traditional hanging lamp featuring hand-blown glass and antique-style chainmail without a strictly medieval theme. Light fixtures can also double as conversation pieces, and help to set the tone for any kitchen, dining room, or other room that you have big plans for.

Your home is your safe place and where you can express your personality and tastes through different pieces that really capture your own, personal style and preferences. Adding vintage, rustic, antique, or any other kinds of home furniture and fittings to help you express yourself can make all the difference between arriving at your house and truly coming home.

25 January 2014

The silence of the lamps

Pardon the bad pun but if you keep reading it'll make sense.

Four years ago, I wrote a blog post about an Italian furniture studio I'd found on Twitter called CLAB4design. CLAB's still plugging away in Breschia and my now-friend Umberto Dattola's still at the helm and he's still creating beautiful work.

Umberto and I have kept in touch over the years and recently, he sent me some photos of his new collection of floor lamps.


In Italian, they're called Lampada Silente. That's Silent Lamp in English. In any language, they're simple, sculptural and absolutely beautiful.


He carves each of these lamps by himself, by hand.


The shades are made from thin sheets of poplar.


And the bases are made from linden.


The lamps are finished with an oil finish and the wood's left its natural color.


Each lamp is 190cm tall and can hold a standard lightbulb.


Silence Lamps are readily available in the EU and you can find out more information about EU sales on Umberto's website. Unfortunately, North Americans, Australians and the rest of the world are out of luck since CLAB4design doesn't have a distributor outside of the EU.

That wouldn't take much to remedy however. If you're interested in carrying the Silence Lamp or any of Umberto's other offerings, let me know and I'll put you in touch with him.

04 December 2013

Old techniques, new furniture



My friend Patrick Shilling is a master woodworker in Bethnal Green, London. Over the years he's carved out a niche for himself as a creator of exquisite, one of a kind interiors. Here are some examples of his work.




Never one to sit still, Patricks's been turning his hand to fine furniture and over the years has perfected a technique that uses an adze and a saw on English oak. The texture carved onto these pieces is done entirely by hand and that's something that's utterly unique in the world.


The finishes he's developed for this line mimic the appearance of stone, leather and charred timber but the attention to detail he employs never lets you lose sight of the fact that his pieces are made entirely of oak.


His passion for and love of his craft shine through this entire collection and I invite you to take a look through the gallery on his website. Whether it's a wardrobe, a table, a room divider, a larder or any of the pieces in this collection, all of it's breathtaking.


If you're interested in Patrick's work, you can contact him through his website. He's also looking for dealers in the UK, the EU, The US and anywhere else in the world you might be. So if furniture's your thing, drop him a line.


It's an easy cliche to fall back on the idea that no one makes high quality furniture by hand anymore and people like Patrick Shilling are living proof that the cliche's simply not true.

03 December 2013

This beautiful table is for sale


This is what I call craftsmanship.

That joinery is in the center of a table designed and built by my friend Kevin Fitzpatrick. Kevin's a master furniture maker by any measure and I'm regularly awed by the work that he does. However, this table stands out. It's also for sale.


This table's made from reclaimed barn timbers and floor boards. The wood was milled 200 years ago from old-growth Pennsylvania white pine. All of the old growth forest in this part of Pennsylvania is gone now and the last of it was cut down at around the time the boards used in this table were milled.

As a more or less rural Pennsylvanian now, I see old barns, mills and tobacco sheds so regularly it's easy not to notice them. I make it a point to keep an eye out for them though, and they tend to figure into my my photography when I'm documenting farm life and local agriculture.


Many of these old structures are still in use although some of them get torn down from time to time to make room for more modern agricultural operations. That's a somewhat sad turn of events, however none of the stone or timber used in those old buildings goes to waste. Lumber reclaimers stand in line to buy up whole barns that are slated for demolition.

That ancient wood gets reused as flooring, siding and in the case of my friend Kevin's table, furniture.


When Kevin built this table, he took an old barn's structural timbers and used them as the legs and supports. The table top is made from the floor boards of the same barn.

Though the finished surfaces have kept the rustic appearance of barnwood, the table's engineering is beyond precise. Through a combination of complex joinery and pegs, there are no nails, screws or glue holding the table together. It's all beautiful wood on wood locked in a precision embrace.

The top of the table is made from three floorboards and there's a quarter inch gap between each board. The rough hewn edges made a close fit impossible. Further, the gaps allowed Kevin to showcase the wear patterns and natural distressing already present in the wood. All told, the table top measures 60 inches wide by 35-1/2 inches deep. The table top is an inch and three quarters thick.


The table stands 34 inches tall and the legs are three inches thick. This is a substantial piece of furniture and I can see it used as a display table in a retail setting just as easily as I can imagine it in someone's home.


Kevin's asked me to broker the sale of this piece as a test to gauge what interest there is out there for his kind of wood working. He has other pieces completed and many more in the works. The cost for this table is $2500 plus the cost of shipping, so if you're interested, let me know.


Dealer inquiries are welcome too and I'm offering a designer discount. Tables of this vintage and quality can sell for upwards of $6000 and at $2500, this one won't last very long.

So again, if you're interested let me know. We're open to other offers too so don't let the price tag frighten you off.

20 June 2013

Shabby Chic -- a history of style and decor

The term “Shabby Chic” was initially coined by The World Of Interiors magazine back in the 1980s, but first became really popular in The US in the 1990s, when there was a surge in decorating styles, especially in cultural metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Furniture that takes on the description of shabby chic is usually designed to feel like it has been through the ages, and been painted and repainted to give it a natural layered look. Often an item will be painted, before having parts of it rubbed or sanded away to display the underlying wood or base coats. This process is known as “distressing” a piece of furniture’s finish.


There are multiple opinions on what shabby chic items should really be in the furniture world. Some purists believe that real shabby chic items should be naturally old pieces of furniture that have been handed down from person to person, and can often be found in auctions or car boot sales. In the world of shabby chic, a scratch or imperfection on a chair or table is seen as something of a bonus instead of a problem that needs to be repaired.


A great example of how shabby chic’s popularity grew in the late 90s onwards, is when it became the main focus of a famous episode of Friends called “The One With The Apothecary Table” which originally aired in 2000. The storyline of the episode surrounds Rachel attempting to imitate the shabby style décor look in her flat by visiting Pottery Barn and purchasing a couple of items of furniture. Her housemate Phoebe detests the idea of the store so Rachel lies and tells her she just picked the furniture up from a flea market. Phoebe eventually finds out the items are new and goes on to fall in love with more furniture at Pottery Barn. This episode nicely demonstrates the irony of the shabby chic design philosophy – even though shabby chic furniture looks old and unique, it can still be mass produced.


Shabby chic can be wonderful for those on a budget, as well as for those who have young children or animals, who may not be as kind to your furniture as you would hope. You can beautifully imitate a rustic country home feel and give your interior décor an antique and vintage feel. You can find lots of shabby chic items at flea markets and also online. In fact, there are some gorgeous shabby chic inspired furniture and home accessories from Sylvester Oxford.

01 November 2012

Cool table!

One of my brothers just sent me a link to this table.


My initial reaction was, "Oh man, I hate round dining tables." Then I watched this video.


Holy smokes!

What's featured here is the Capstan Table by DB Fletcher in Dorset, UK. Though it's not cheap by any means, they're produced in a limited quantity and retail for anywhere between $25 and $50,000, it's just fascinating to watch one in action.

27 July 2012

Thomas Moser offers a vacation idea to end all vacations

Eclipse dining by Thos. Moser
The Thos. Moser company makes exquisite furniture by hand. I've written about them repeatedly in the past and the more I see fine furniture, the more convinced I am that my lede sentence is as true a sentence as I can compose. If it's possible for furniture to be lyrical, Moser's is that and more.

The Eclipse dining table

Moser's offerings aren't just pretty and poetic, they're the perfect marriage of form and function. Joinery is ornament; the promise of comfort and longevity whisper in the background. If it's possible for furniture to achieve timelessness, this furniture does.

The Eclipse dining chair

The people who appreciate fine woodworking tend to be fanatical about the creations that pour out of the Moser workshop in Maine. Thomas Moser's cabinetmakers still do things the hard way and the results speak for themselves. Ever since 2007, the Tomas Moser company has offered a program for its buyers that sounds like an armchair woodworkers fantasy come true.

The Customer in Residence program

Meet the Thos. Moser Customer in Residence program.

The Customer in Residence program they offer is a one-week apprenticeship in the Moser workshop during which fine furniture customers can work alongside a master cabinetmaker. These lucky customers will build the heirloom that will some day grace their homes. I'm solid in my belief that everything someone owns should tell a story. Now just imagine having a group of friends over for dinner and while everyone's sitting and enjoying a meal, starting a story that begins with "I helped to build this table during a week I spent in Maine..."

Thomas Moser offers the Customer in Residence program eight times per year and they've been conducting these working vacations since 2007. For people who can't take a whole week, there are now weekend programs available too.

Space is limited as I'm sure you can imagine and while working on an eventual heirloom, "apprentices" stay in the nearby Harraseeket Inn in Freeport, ME. Fine dinners every night allow participants to get to know the Moser family and the week wraps up with a signing ceremony. During that ceremony, the piece a participant helped create gets signed by the participant, the master cabinetmaker and Thomas Moser himself. Talk about furniture with a story to tell after all that. My head spins at the very idea.

You can find more information about Moser's Customer in Residence programs on the Thos. Moser website. There's contact information there too in case you're interested in attending or if you'd like more details about the program. If you'd like to read a first hand account, a writer named Dawn Klinginsmith wrote about her Customer in Residence experience for the Chicago Tribune last year.

It's easy to fall into the belief that craftsmanship is dead and Thomas Moser's Customer in Residence program proves yet again that it isn't.

17 July 2012

Happy anniversary Thos. Moser


Thos. Moser is celebrating their 40th anniversary as fine furniture makers and when I say fine I mean it.


To celebrate, Moser's offering 21 desirable pieces from their collection at discounts of 10 to 20%. You can see the available pieces by following this link to Thos. Moser's website. When you're ready to buy some new dining chairs, a rocker, a bench, some stools or a table, enter the promo code JUL12 to get the discount.


But hurry, there are only five days left. This promotion will end on July 22.


Any time I hear someone whining about how nobody builds furniture with any kind of craftsmanship anymore, I point them to Thos. Moser's website to disprove that uninformed opinion. Moser makes exquisite wooden furniture and even if you're not buying anything right now, perusing their website will renew your faith in US furniture makers.

11 March 2012

Anthroplogie continues to offend

I walked past an Anthropologie store in New Orleans this week and was mortified to see their store windows decked out in some bad reproductions of Mark Rothko's work and they were calling it and their new collection as "Abstract Expressionism."

I can sense that Rothko would have been mortified by not only his being classified as an Abstract Expressionist, let alone being the pivot point of a marketing ploy to sell overpriced, unattractive crap. Rothko was a Russian emigre whose family fled the last gasps of the Czarist pograms as the Bolsheviks conducted a bloody coup over the Romanov autocracy. He and his family barely escaped Russia with their clothes on their backs.

The Rothko family was fortunate to escape while they could and so they ended up in New York and then later moved onto the Pacific Northwest.

The Rothkos (nee Rothkowitz) family suffered mightily. They were poor but they managed to keep it together despite their circumstances. By all accounts, Mark Rothko was brilliant and he ended up at Yale.

In the 1930s he started to paint, and his subjects shifted from the Cubist/ Primitivist styles of his contemporaries to something utterly new. By the time the 1950s rolled around he was breaking new ground with a perspective that came to be called "multiforms." These multiforms were in essence individual photons of light, the smallest part of an artistic vision. Take a look at these paintings and imagine what he was looking at when he painted them.





That imagining is the whole point of Rothko's work. It makes me want to look at the parts that make up everything. No one had ever painted that way before and he pioneered the very thought of a pixel. He was painting in the 1950s something many of us take for granted now.

So what does any of this have to do with Anthropologie? Nothing, that's what. How do the get from this great, thoughtful art to this thing?




This sofa's offensive because it's hideous for starters. It's doubly offensive for its $3200 price tag. What makes it trebly offensive is Anthropologie's attempts to sell this crap off the back of Mark Rothko.

Don't buy into it. An ugly sofa is an ugly sofa, despite the marketing hoo-hah that surrounds it. There is nothing about a sofa with that price tag that harkens back to anything but bad taste. Enough, enough, enough.

I have no problem with $3200 sofas, provided they're well made and look like something other than a trail of cat sick. But asking people to spend that kind of money on a piece of furniture that's purposefully ugly and is being hawked by using one of the greatest minds of the 20th Century is just plain wrong.

What do you think? Would a sofa that looks like this and with this kind of back story ever figure into your home?