FurnitureWorksBlog

Buying and caring for leather furniture

2011-11-08T09:51:00.000-08:00

“What’s on that sofa?”

“Hide.”

“What?”

“Hide. Hide. A cow’s outside.”

“Why, I’m not scared of a cow.”

OK, it is a stupid joke but I’ve always like it.

Where it comes from: All leather is a by-product of the meat and dairy industry. No animal died just to make your sofa. There’s a valid concern that it supports an industry that can be cruel to animals (by making it more economically viable) but it is not a direct cause of that industry. On the other hand, it is flexible, durable, ages well (I’ve seen 100 year old usable leather) and sustainable. Although the tanning process can be environmentally hazardous (especially if they use the traditional chromium process), it is changing significantly and need not be.
Since WWII, and the shortage of vegetable tannins, many skins are converted to leather with synthetic polymers, like Novolac or Neradol. These are variations of the same thermosetting resins used to created pool balls or circuit boards.

All leather is expensive (at least compared to other fabrics) so the industry has several methods it uses to keep down the costs. First, pretty much all leather is split. So it is possible to get full-grain leather, where the hair has been removed & it is buffed to remove some of the natural markings, but it is pretty uncommon and uncommonly expensive.

Top-grain leather is, not surprisingly, the outside of the skin and so it has a few more marks and scratches (barbed wire fences, etc.) which gives it a more rustic look. Split leather is the name for the underside of the skin and sometime more than one split can be obtained from a hide. If you see a suede that’s fuzzy on both sides, it is one of the middle layers.

Most leather is stained or dyed which helps provide a uniform color and hides the differences in the material/skin.

How it is used: So much for the product, on to the application. To keep costs down, there are some variations in leather furniture. There’s leather match or leather mate furniture, where it is leather on the seat and back (the parts you use) but vinyl on the sides. My experience is that leather and vinyl are colored in different ways and in time the colors shift and the two can start to look different from each other, so I’m not very fond of this type of furniture.

Then there is bi-cast (or bycast), where the leather gets a coating of vinyl (polyurethane) over the top. This gives the leather an extra shine, probably some extra durability and sometimes manufacturers can get by with stretching the leather a little thinner (or using a thinner split). At home, I’ve got a bi-cast loveseat that I’ve had for 10 years, so it doesn’t necessarily mean less durability.

Lastly, there’s bonded leather. This is a collection of leather scraps and fibers which are affixed to a coating of vinyl. Sometimes the vinyl is stamped with a pattern, to make it look more like a natural hide. It actually sounds worse than it is. The industry was concerned at first that bonded leather wouldn’t hold up and that customers would feel some differences between bonded leather and “real” leather. Turns out that sales of bonded leather have soared (maybe because it is so much cheaper) and there haven’t been any/many complaints about the durability of the product. It does tend to be a little more environmentally friendly in production.

Bottom line: You should know what you’re getting. It is OK to get any one of these products as long as it isn’t advertised as something it isn’t. My experience is that the manufacturing process is so good these days that it can be very difficult to tell the difference. I even have a hard time telling whether the product is vinyl or leather, because the quality of the vinyl products have improved so much.

Pros/Cons: As I’ve mentioned, nothing wears like leather. Although cat claws are sharp enough to scratch it, none of my dog’s claws have done any damage to mine. As it wears, it gets a more comfortable, broken-in look, unlike more traditional fabrics that just get worn out. On the other hand, some folks find leather to be cold when they first sit down on it. It is pretty impervious to the environment of the house but I have seen leather furniture that was set close to a fireplace (or wood stove) that let the leather dry out too much & it began to crack.

Care: Wash it with a soft soap like a glycerin-based soap, a saddle soap or Dr. Bronner’s to keep it clean. It is possible for body oils to stain leather and there have been some reports that bonded leather is especially liable to this problem. A paste of equal parts of cream of tartar and lemon juice have been recommended as a cleaner, just wash it off afterwards and dry it.

How to buy a sofa (or loveseat or chair)

2011-10-18T14:44:00.000-07:00

Buying a new sofa is a significant, although rarely life changing, event. A good sofa will cost you anywhere between one and three months worth of groceries and should last you five to fifteen years, depending on how many kids & dogs you have. That puts it significantly below a refrigerator and slightly above a washing machine with a lifespan slightly less than either. It is worth thinking about, but not worth losing sleep over.

Design: Unless you’ve got a big picture window, a fireplace, or a replica of the sculpture of David, the sofa is usually the biggest object in the living room and hence a visual focus. That means you want to pick something either compatible with the rest of your décor or something that you can build the rest of the room around. I’m not one who likes everything in the room to match (I think a room is more inviting if there are disparate elements in it) but I like to tie the pieces of the room together somehow. That can be through color, by matching the style of the arms, the color of the legs or the basic shape of the sofa. Or you may just find a sofa that’s really, really comfortable. Lots of folks concentrate on color but I also think that’s the easiest element to play with. You can always paint walls, add throw pillows or a rug, or accent pieces to bring out colors or shift focus.

If the room is empty, I recommend laying down newspapers in the room the size of the sofa, it’ll give you a chance to see what the room looks like with a new, big, object in it. If you’re really detail oriented, you might want to use an online room planner.

Comfort: There’s some old research that says Americans watch up to 4 hours of TV a day. Assuming you’re sitting on the sofa while you’re doing it, you want to be sure that it is comfortable. Does the back provide enough support? Is there the right distance between hip & knee (the seat)? I generally prefer a firmer cushion believing that, like me, everything gets softer with time. If you’re trying out a sofa, you should sit on it just like you would at home & probably sit for a little while to see if it stays comfortable.

Style: A rolled arm is a more traditional look and sofas with a modified (smaller) rolled arm are still quite common. I’m seeing more wedge or straight arms on sofas these days. That’s probably a call-back to the popular retro style but it also saves a bit of space in the room. A big rolled arm will take up an extra foot of space for the sofa.

Fabric: Although there are still the fabrics made from natural materials (linen, cotton and wool), most fabrics are now man-made (synthetic) products because these are cheaper, less likely to stain and easier to clean. The most popular of these is microfiber (or ultrasuede), a fiber less than 1 denier per filament (i.e. 1 gram per 9 meters). Cotton, on the other hand, might run between 50 & 2000 deniers. This suede-like feel makes them feel soft and cozy, although some folks don’t like the way you can leave a pattern in the fabric. I’m seeing greater variety in fabrics now with the same microfibers being rewoven so they don’t have the suede look & feel. These fabrics are nearly stain proof. As an example, my niece has 3 children under 6 and a dog and white microfiber sofa…and it is still white. Even the most resistant stains, like ink, can be removed with rubbing alcohol. Many fabrics will be tagged with how they are to be cleaned, i.e. water or with a solvent. As always, it is a good idea to test in an hidden area before you use a new product on your new sofa.

Outgassing: With the recent discussions of “sick building syndrome” and even some studies indicating increased incidence of leukemia and lymphoma from prolonged exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), it is worth a moment to talk about outgassing (or offgassing) from new furniture. Although there’s some man-made products in your new furniture (and probably a new-furniture smell), it releases far less VOCs than particle board (formaldehyde) or carpeting. If you are particularly chemical sensitive, but still want a new sofa, you can try airing the sofa out (putting it in the garage?) for a week before moving it into the house. Of course, never buy something that makes you sick.

The cushions: Most cushions are just a big block of foam covered by the upholstery fabric. Foam is measured in density (i.e. pounds of material in a 1x1x1 foot block). Frankly, I never see anything other than 1.8 density foam, although I’m sure there are others about. I’ve seen one piece of furniture using the new “memory” foam. Occasionally, although rarely, the cushions will actually have innersprings just like a mattress. Not surprisingly, this raises the cost and increases the durability.

The back: The back might be separate pillows, attached pillows or solidly part of the sofa. If there’s a pillow back, especially if it is attached, I like for there to be zippers underneath so they can be restuffed if they begin to sag. Lots of folks sit with their arm across the back of the sofa and this’ll compress the pillow back with time. The pillow back gives a more relaxed, comfy…and less formal…look.

The frame: Only in the very cheapest of sofas, have I seen a frame made out of presswood. Many frames use plywood but an equal number use solid wood. Because of the expense, very few sofas will use a hardwood (like oak) for the frame. This is just another cost savings measure. If the sofa squeaks when you sit down, don’t buy it. It means the joints in the frame are loose and rubbing together.

Seat support: There are 4 types. Flexsteel is unique in having a curved piece of steel provide the support. The cheapest sofas will use webbing like patio furniture. The most common use a sinuous wire, a heavy gauge steel shaped into a series of curves that’s fastened at the front and rear of the sofa frame. My opinion is that in time the steel loses tensile strength and can sag and that because there’s only 2 connections, if one lets go, you lose the whole support. Sometimes the wires will be cross connected to give them more resilience. Best is the old 8-way hand tied springs where the support is springs, just like in your mattress, with cords across the top to hold them down to the same height. However, this is very rare in medium priced sofas. Again, this is really only important so that you know what you’re getting.

Sides: I like to tap the outsides of the arms of the sofa. The really cheap manufacturers just pull the fabric down and staple it, nothing behind the fabric. Next up, some guys will use cardboard. I prefer it when they use quarter-inch plywood because it adds to the strength of the frame.

The wrap-up: Think of buying a sofa like getting a haircut. You want a good one. You want to look good. But even a terrible one doesn’t last forever and it is better than not having one at all. And nobody ever stopped being friends with someone (or cut them out of their will) because of a bad sofa or bad haircut.

As always, these are just my opinions based on 9 years experience in moving 15,000 pieces of furniture. I may change my mind next week.

It isn't all about me

2011-09-30T13:16:00.000-07:00

OK, sometimes I wish it were. I want to be Miss Merry Sunshine to all my customers. I want to greet everyone with a rosy smile and a “how do you do”. But, like everyone else, sometimes I have a bad day.

Furniture Works, because we carry just about every kind of home furnishing ever made, has lots of variety and, because prices are pretty reasonable, there’s lots of change in what we have. That means that lots of people come by to see what we have, essentially idea shopping. So I say hello and, after I’ve let them roam around a little, usually ask them what they’re looking for. Often, I get a “I’ll know it when I see it” or a “I’m just browsing”.

OK, I’ll be blunt. I find this incredibly frustrating. Not just because I put in a lot of hours during the week and I haven’t just browsed in a store for about 5 years but because I know that there’s far more home furnishings out there in the world than a customer can possibly see. Walking around Furniture Works to get an idea of what’s available is like clothing shopping. There’s far more clothing available (or home furnishings available) than you can see just walking around a single store. And I know about consignments (or things we’ve bought) that are coming in, or items that we can order, or even things that other stores carry. So the frustration isn’t just from Not Making A Sale, it is that I don’t even get the opportunity to help. And that’s really all I want to do. I want to be able to help.

Well, maybe it is a little more than that. For me, there’re lots of criteria that goes into making a good purchase for my home. I want to know that the quality of manufacturing is good. I want to know the piece is durable. And those are things that I can’t tell just from browsing, just from looking at something.

I’m also not truly convinced that folks really “know it when they see it”. Sure, not everyone can say “I’m looking for a burgundy leather couch with upright arms, pillow back, no more than 7 foot long but I’d consider a microsuede in the same dimensions.” And maybe “know it when I see it” is a reflection of flexibility, of a willingness to consider alternatives. But I don’t want my customers to suffer from buyer’s remorse, to be swayed by the whim of the moment, to by something they happen to like on Tuesday (and hate on Wednesday). Or, from my perspective, hate it on Tuesday when they’re in the store but might love if they thought about it a little more.

So some of the frustration is that I’m busy thinking all the time about what to put in the store, should it be this chest of drawers or that chest of drawers. What is it that my customers want? And when I get an indifferent attitude, I get (you guessed it) frustrated.

Of course, when you’re six foot five inches tall and well over 300 lbs., being pouty and pushy can be more than a little over the top. I don’t mean to say that I don’t need you, care about you, respect you or aren’t glad that you’re there. I really do. No, I mean it. I really do. It just gets hard to show it sometimes.

So, how can you help me to be nicer (as if you really cared, and there’s no reason for you to)? Just give us a chance to help. You don’t have to buy something, but talk with us. We know stuff about furniture and the process of articulating your needs and wants (sometimes you should be able to get stuff just because you want it, not because you need it), can help clarify that it exactly meets your goals…and mine.

Oak

2011-09-23T10:18:00.000-07:00

Oak was one of the first hardwoods used for furniture making and was the wood of choice for Gothic furniture and wainscoting in the Middle Ages. It remained popular throughout the seventeenth century until walnut began to supersede its use in the early 18^th century. The debating chamber of the House of Commons in London is made from oak.

Oak’s popularity was (and is) probably because it grows so abundantly both in Europe (and in the United States). Although there’s over 600 species of the genus Quercus, it is the red (Q. rubra a.k.a. borealis) and white oak (Q. alba) most commonly used for furniture. White oak has longer rays and is more durable and was traditionally more commonly used in ship building, including the classic man-of-war ships of England. This is because the white oak has membranous growth called tyloses that plugs the pores of the heartwood, making it impenetrable to liquid, unlike red oak. Red oak was also used in railroad ties, wagon wheels and flooring.

There are also less common furniture oaks, particularly in English furniture, such as the Riger, Pippy, Burr and Bog oaks. By the way, the French oaks (Quercus Robur, Quercus petraea) are considered preferable for making wine barrels (they’re charred before use) because they give a less violent bouquet to the flavor than American oaks, although American oaks have better texture and resistance to aging.

Oak has the advantage of being very strong although it takes a long time to cure and has a tendency to warp (some species more than others). Despite the coarse grain, it takes stain evenly, unlike the blotchiness of maple or birch. Because the pores are open, oak has a rough feel to it and often it is given a sealer coat to fill in the pores before the finish is applied.

One of the more interesting ways that oak is used is when it is cut quartersawn. This is a way to show the well defined medullary rays which run from the center of the tree outward. First, the log is cut into quarters, then cut on the diagonal across each quarter. Gustav Stickley, the father of the Arts and Crafts movement, said "The quartersawing method of cutting...renders quartersawn oak structurally stronger, also finer in grain, and, as shown before, less liable to warp and check than when sawn in any other way." He was so fond of quartersawn oak that if he had to make a post, he would take 4 pieces of quartersawn wood and put them together so you could see the medullary rays on all 4 sides of the post.

Quartersawing, in my opinion the far more attractive way to cut boards, is rarely used because it is less efficient way to use the tree.

Although not as wildly popular in furniture as it was a few years ago, oak is still popular in Amish, Mission, Prairie and Arts and Crafts style furniture.

To care for oak furniture, as for any good quality wood, maintaining an even humidity is important (because the wood expands and contracts with the moisture in the air) so it should never be placed directly in front of a wood burning stove or radiator. An ideal, by the way is 25 to 35 percent (although I don’t know anyone who actually measures this). You can clean up your spills with a mild soap and water but be sure to dry them completely. Give it a good paste wax once a year and dust it often because the grit in the dust can mar the finish.

Cherry

2011-08-11T16:42:00.001-07:00

One of the most beautiful of woods for furniture, cherry has long been a mainstay of furniture makers. Cherry has a straight grain, and an almost unparalleled warmth that increases and darkens as the wood is exposed to sunlight. Many folks think cherry is red, since so often any red-stained wood is referred to as cherry, but cherry in its freshly-cut stage is tan. It only develops its true coloration with time and exposure, usually 4 to 6 months. Even then, it never really turns red but rather a burnished color. The sapwood (the outer wood of the tree) is nearly white. It is the heartwood that has the beautiful color.

Although cherry has been used for both food and wood for thousands of years (Pliny distinguishes between plums and cherries), in North American it is the species Prunus Serotina (black cherry) that is usually used in cabinet making. The black cherry grows all along the Eastern half of the US and the Western coast of Mexico. Although there are lots of species of Prunus (it includes almonds, apricots, peaches and plums), the black cherry was probably chosen because it grows to considerable size, up to 100 feet tall. The trees can be harvested after 35 to 40 years of growth. Fruiting trees are now grown on dwarf root stock to make it easier to pick the fruit.

Natural cherry wood may have small black flecks in from where tiny amounts of sap are stored…sometimes called a pitch pocket. You’ll see the same thing in pine furniture. This is natural and should not be considered a flaw. You can buy cherry without these flecks, but you can expect it to cost twice as much.

Cherry wood is pricey. You can buy boards of it online 5 ¾” wide x 1 ¾” thick for $1.49 a linear inch (July 2011 prices). Despite the price, its popularity is undiminished and it is a national favorite in surveys for a favorite for bedroom furniture with more people preferring cherry than any other type of wood.

Unfortunately, as I’ve already alluded to, many furniture manufacturers and wholesalers will take a cheaper grade of wood, stain it red & call it “cherry”. It just ain’t so. When I was going to college, I had a friend who was an art student. She once spray painted a bag of garbage silver and called it “All That Glitters Is Not Gold”. I don’t mean to imply that these other woods labeled “cherry” are garbage, I just want you to get cherry furniture if you want cherry furniture. There’s a Brazilian cherry wood, also called Jatoba, that makes a beautiful flooring but it is the Hymenaea courbaril, so it isn’t a true cherry at all.

As for a preferred finish, personally I recommend a clear, satin finish to let the beauty of the wood show through and to allow the natural aging to occur. Some will give a red “cherry” finish, but I think this obscures the beauty of the wood. The only disadvantage of a clear finish is that, as noted, pieces of furniture may darken unevenly and so finding another piece that will match exactly what you have may be difficult. As for ongoing care, as with any quality wood furniture, I recommend a good paste wax once a year and regular dusting.

In part, my personal fondness for cherry stems from a family history. My great uncle Joe Magnuson (the son of Swedish immigrants who settled in Wisconsin) used his 48” circular saw to rough cut some cherry boards from a tree growing on his farm back in the 1940’s. When he passed away, my father got those boards, which in turn, he passed on to me. I’ve still got those boards in my garage. I had a craftsman use them to build the kitchen island in my home and I’m still hoping to someday have the skills myself to turn them into something they deserve to be.

Mahogany

2011-07-20T09:09:00.001-07:00

Mahogany is a dark-colored hardwood, popular with American furniture makers, particularly in the eighteenth- and nineteenth centuries. These woods are native to the Americas and from the genus Swietenia (from the family Meliaceae). The wood was popular because the grain is generally straight, has good workability and resists rot. Because of this latter feature, it was popular in boat construction. One nice feature is that it produces a deep, warm tone when used in guitar making. The Martin D-18 and Gibson Les Paul use mahogany.

All mahogany grown in its native locations are now protected and listed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora or CITES although these trees have been introduced to Asia and it is now grown in India, Fiji, Bangladesh and Belize.

Any reference to “genuine mahogany” will be from this genus although any reference to “true mahogany” may mean any tree from the 15 related species, including Khaya (African mahogany) and Toona (Chinese mahogany). Lauan (sometimes spelled “luan”) is Philippine mahogany from the genus Shorea. These are a medium density wood but not a true mahogany (they just resemble it in color and grain) and are often used in plywood. By the way, how these terms get used (“Mexican mahogany”, “mahogany”, Lauan”, etc.) are specified by the Federal Trade Commission.

A recent online forum asked whether mahogany was sustainably harvested and my reply was an ambivalent “maybe”. Based on my limited travels in Central America, I would assume that that any of the introduced Swietenia genus in Asia (and, of course, from Central America) would be sustainably harvested but that because so many different species can be labeled mahogany it really isn’t possible to say whether the wood in any particular piece of furniture was indeed sustainably harvested.

Before Castro took power, the US used to get its mahogany from Cuba and essentially took it all, basically leaving none behind, although in the intervening decades some of the mahogany has regrown. After we could no longer get Cuban mahogany, we began importing the wood from the Dominican Republic and Belize. These latter mahoganies are a different species and the grain of the wood often looks a little different. I usually think of the “ribboning” pattern in mahogany as unique to Cuban mahogany so the pattern in the wood can be used to help date furniture.

As for purchasing furniture that says it is made from mahogany, it probably is from one of the aforementioned species. Furniture wholesalers and retailers commonly label furniture “cherry” when it is any kind of wood stained with a reddish finish (which isn’t the color cherry starts out in) but I don’t know of anyone labeling a piece as being of mahogany that really isn’t made out of that wood (especially since the labeling is controlled by the FTC).

Even in the heyday of mahogany furniture, it was still a pretty expensive wood and much of the mahogany furniture I see (usually in bedroom pieces) is a veneer over some other type of wood. Personally, I do not consider this a detriment or detraction from the value of the piece. My position is that many of the hardwoods (walnut, etc.) have always been so expensive that they have frequently been used for veneers. If well cared for, they should still last the life of the piece of furniture.

Picking colors - a few tools

2011-07-08T11:20:00.000-07:00

"Imagination is more important than knowledge." - Albert Einstein

I've always loved this quote, maybe because I've usually a bit short on both.

My wife has a new office. One of the more time consuming parts of the decorating was choosing the color scheme and paints for the interior and exterior for the building. "What do think?", she'd say with a fistful of paint swatches in her hand, "Do you like THIS combination?" How about THIS one?"

Here's a few tools to make this process easier, or at least give you a few new ideas. If you like the big picture, about how colors affect our sense of taste, appetite, medications, vision and emotions, I really like the Color Matters website. It can get you thinking about the effect of the colors and not just picking what you think looks good together (although that's OK too). If nothing else, it can tell you if you're color blind. Another good site about color theory is worqx.com because it also talks about the importance of contracts, shades, tints and hues.

As an aside, if you find you're really getting into this, you can take a look at the e-book "The Dimensions of Colour" by David Briggs. But be warned, he calls his forward "colour made difficult".

But how about something more practical? Sometimes it is helpful to look at what other people like. Color Schemer has oodles of samples in their gallery. I haven't used their software, but I love all the different combinations that are available in the gallery and please note that the gallery is searchable by keyword like "ocean" or "bamboo".

The traditional tool for picking colors is a color wheel, showing the spectrum of colors (red at one end, violet at the other) in circular form and has been around since the eighteenth century with the credit usually going to Sir Isaac Newton. Here's an example, although it is more geared towards web design colors than choosing paints and home decor. The really cool part about the color wheel is that it lets you play with the relationship between different colors.

OK, time to get playing. There are 3 basic ways to ways to choose compatible colors in a color scheme. You can go monochromatic, choosing different hues and shades of the same color (it isn't really as boring as it sounds). You can compliment, choose colors opposite each other on a color wheel (for instance, blue & yellow). This usually gives you one warm color and one cool color. Lastly, there's the triad, essentially overlaying a triangle on the wheel. You can see the effects on the Color Scheme Designer but since this tool is again made for creating web pages, you'll probably find the colors brighter than what you'll really want for your home but it does easily show the differences between these 3 techniques. If you want to see how these different techniques play out in actual home decor, HGTV has some pictures of different rooms using these techniques.

Lastly, you are always welcome to use the real, physical, pick-it-up-and-play-with-it color wheel we have at Furniture Works. Or you can just pick out whatever color you like. Hey, it's your home, I wouldn't tell you what to do (except to recommend you put more furniture from Furniture Works in it).

What's new (6/22/11)

2011-06-22T10:52:00.000-07:00

I took a look at the last date on this blog and realized I’ve been remiss in keeping it up to date. A few things have changed and a few remain the same. For those who don’t know, we happily do special orders from our vendors. We’re proud of using vendors from the Pacific Northwest. We do this in part because we want to support businesses in our area (and keep our shipping costs low) but it also means that it doesn’t take long (usually about a week) for any special orders to arrive. We always have catalogues at the store and we can provide you with these wholesalers websites where you can see their entire inventory (and the sizes of their furniture) in case you’re looking for a special piece that we don’t have in stock. Even though our store has about 6000 square feet, there’s only so much that can fit & this is an easy way to see what else is easily available.

The Las Vegas Market is the premier wholesale furniture market in the West and their big show is coming up the beginning of August. My wife, Kim, and friend and employee, Cathy, will be attending. This show is so big that they have Bill Clinton as their opening night speaker. 3 million square feet of home furnishings. They’ll be looking for new vendors, new designs and new bargains.

We’ll be making some improvements to the physical store in the next few months. Puget Sound Energy has a great rebate program on installing more energy efficient lighting and we’ll be replacing (and moving) our T12 florescent lights with T8s. The advantages will be lower energy use and longer life for the bulbs. For you, as a customer, is that they’ll all be full-spectrum bulbs so the lighting will not only be more even and brighter but it will be more like natural light so the color rendition of fabrics and colors will be more true.

As funding permits, we hope to reface the outside and inside the store too. It is important to us to show off the furnishings in the best possible way, not just to increase sales (which, of course, we want to do) but also so that you can get the best sense of what the furniture will look like in your own home.
With so many different pieces of furniture, it can sometimes be difficult to decide what it is that you really want. Please remember that we have a dozen or so books on furniture design and home decorating in our store and you’re always welcome to take a chair (we’ve got many) and spend some time looking at different styles and designs.

Start Planning for a Dream Kitchen on a Budget

2011-03-10T21:06:00.000-08:00

There's no lack of ideas when it comes to designing the perfect kitchen. In fact, there's often more information and advice out there than homeowners can handle and it is important to learn how to navigate the superfluous information and bookmark information that is relevant to your requirements.

One way to find new kitchen ideas is to look over design magazines and websites like this one. Cut out pictures or print out web pages with kitchen projects that you like and think will work in your home. Get a large bulletin board and start tacking your favorite ideas on the board so you can compare them side-by-side.

At this stage, many experts recommend that homeowners start working with a professional kitchen designer as they begin to form their ideas. That's because kitchens can be the toughest room in the house to renovate, thanks to their special needs for utilities and safety.

What's more, a professional kitchen designer knows about such things as the "work triangle," the configuration that makes sure the kitchen can function at peak efficiency. Kitchen designers also keep on top of the latest styles, materials and trends, such as the current "green movement" for kitchens that are environmentally friendly.

After all, a stunning kitchen is more than oak cabinets and granite countertops. A truly spectacular kitchen literally cooks as well as it looks, and that takes careful planning and a willingness to compromise when necessary.

For example, certain kitchen plans may be stylish and sophisticated, but they won't work well with the space you have available in your home. That's when a professional kitchen design can help you look at adjusting work spaces, storage plans and even ideas for cabinets to make your dream more realistic.

Another key step is to understand the "work triangle", both what it is and how it functions. Miss this essential decision and you might as well have left the kitchen alone for all the good it will do you. Instead, make sure that you position the work stations for storage, preparation and cooking correctly, and you'll have no complaints from the cook that the kitchen doesn't work right.

Even with a large area for a kitchen, space is always a consideration. These days bars and islands are very popular in kitchens, but they require major amounts of space, not only for themselves but the traffic areas around them. Where you place them and how much working space these amenities have can be crucial to a kitchen design.

On the other hand, small kitchens always have the issue of not enough space. Typically homeowners think the solution to this problem is to extend the kitchen, but is not always necessary and it is often unaffordable. Instead, think about how to organize a small space better so that it functions at top efficiency, and you may come to love the coziness and convenience of a small kitchen.

Finally, a good kitchen design needs a good sense of materials as well as blueprints. Today there are more options for types of materials, surfaces and colors than ever before. Kitchen lighting, flooring, wall coverings and finishing touches all combine to make a humdrum kitchen space into a spectacular heart of the home.

March is coming

2011-02-28T09:29:00.000-08:00

We're just wrapping up February, so I thought I'd share a few comments about what is happening, new or changing at Furniture Works. I hope you had a chance to see Friday's Olympian and their All About Homes pullout. I was thrilled to have a couple of articles on home decorating published (along with a very small ad).

The late season snows (will it ever stop?) have impeded my getting my truck out to pick up some more used furniture (although consignments continue to come in) but I expect to get a couple of truck loads by the end of this week.

Unfortunately, the motherboard in my home PC went kaput so I'm behind in getting the website updated but will be updating the website to show some new pictures of what we currently have in stock and I'll get that done in the next day or so.

I'm also putting together an order of furniture from Acme . This is a new wholesaler for us and we're excited about getting some items on the floor that won't be available from any other furniture stores in the area. If you visit their site & see something you like, let us know. We're always interested in what people want and we can easily append them to our next order.

As always, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. We like to help.

I hate sales

2011-01-26T09:55:00.000-08:00

It seems strange to say, because one of my favorite things is to save money. On the other hand, I'm in a business where sales are a regular event (Presidents Day, Vice Presidents Day, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Step Child Day). My rule of thumb is that no one sells something unless they can make a profit on it. So, if a company can offer me the item on sale last week (and make a profit), then they should be able to give me the same price this week.

We're having a sale. 50% off on selected items. From February 1 through the 14th. Furniture Works is having its annual sale. So how do I reconcile my opinions above with having a sale? I'll be blunt. Sometimes I buy something that doesn't sell (at least not as soon as I want it to). That means I've invested money in it, but it is still sitting on the floor. So the purpose of our sale is for me to get back some the money I paid for the item so I can go out and buy something that will sell better. My intent is to make most of my money back (yes, I'll be losing money on some of these items), so you'll find some greate pieces in this group.

It is a great opportunity for you and I hope you take advantage of it. Just don't expect me to be happy about it.

Irrational buying

2011-01-05T14:47:00.000-08:00

I'm in the midst of reading Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely. One of the things I like about it is that his opinions grew out of his own research (I've a preference for analytical and objective information).

He points out several ways that make other-than-rational decisions, for instance, we tend to value more highly the things that cost more. He doesn't say this is a "bad thing" as long as we're aware of what we are doing.

As a store owner, I frequently hear "I'll know it when I see it" or "It has to jump out at me". This is, of course, incredibly difficult for me because it means there's nothing I can do to help, no way that I can assist the customer. I'm not *just* trying to sell something, I want people to pick something that they'll be happy with for a long time. When people buy on a whim, I can't help with that decision making process. Of course, I'm also grateful that folks came to look in Furniture Works, that they think they'll find something here that will "jump out at them".

I, myself, rarely go shopping unless I've done my research and have a pretty good idea of what I want. Am I wrong? Can you tell by looking whether it is the right piece of furniture for you? Or are you better off accessing your needs and choosing the piece that you think will satisfy them? What do you think?

Laminate Flooring Makes an Excellent Budget Choice

2010-12-20T08:04:00.000-08:00

Homeowners on a budget work hard to get the most for their money. Thankfully today's varieties of laminate flooring are just what the decorator ordered for a beautiful home that doesn't break the bank.

Laminates are among flooring materials that are less expensive yet stunning and durable, along with being easy to maintain. Laminate flooring comes in an endless variety of colors and patterns and can serve well in virtually any room in the house.

For example, practically everyone would love to have a genuine hardwood floor in his or her house, but the cost is prohibitive for many on a budget. Here's where laminate flooring comes to the rescue! This less costly alternative to wood is made today to precise standards so that the floor looks and behaves like real wood, but at a fraction of the cost. Laminates come in grain colors and patterns that at first glance look exactly like real wood and install with the same "lock and click" mechanism as wood planks. In fact, some visitors will suspect you're holding out on them if you tell them your beautiful new floor isn't wood but laminate.

There are also laminates that resemble tile and stone floors as well, a real boon for those who'd like to have a natural stone floor but can't manage the expense. Once again, laminates can solve this dilemma and be much easier to maintain than tile and stone.

With all the excellent options available in laminate flooring, it's hard for a homeowner to choose the product that's ideal for his or her needs. Here's where it's good to consult a knowledgeable flooring retailer.

Among the things to ask when shopping for flooring is about warranties with the product. This is particularly important for homeowners who plan to install the floor themselves. The fine print may hold some special conditions that could invalidate the warranty in the case of do-it-yourself installation, so be sure to go over it with a salesperson.

Once the warranty discussion is out of the way, start your selection by considering how much traffic the flooring will endure. Don't make the mistake of buying cheap laminate just because it's cheap, because thin laminate flooring in high-traffic areas will wear out quickly. You'll be buying new floor again before your savings account will cover it all!

Instead, think about how the room is used and who uses it. Make sure that the flooring can stand up to the wear and tear it will endure before deciding on details like color and pattern. Think also about how long you intend to live in the house. Balance the flooring's durability with the expected length of your residency, and you'll have an excellent guide to the quality and price of flooring to consider.

If the flooring will go in the kitchen or bathrooms, be sure to choose from types of laminate that are treated to resist water and moisture. These treatments should extend beyond the surface to the edges of the flooring, whether rolls or tiles. That way you can be sure that the flooring will stand up to its environment.

Planning ahead with these practical considerations will almost guarantee a laminate floor that's durable, beautiful and reasonably priced.

What's the story?

2010-12-15T16:56:00.000-08:00

I've been reading "Made to Stick" by Chip & Dan Heath. They begin with the question, why do we remember some stories (like an urban legend) but forget others (like a company's mission statement). They credit 6 principles: simplicity, unexpectedness, concreteness, credibility, emotions and stories.

This, of course, makes me think about Furniture Works. What's our story? So far (and you can correct me if I'm wrong), I think our story is that we shop the same way you do. We want items that are of good quality, affordable prices and interesting to look at. If we can, we want to support recycle and reuse. We're part of this community too and we want to do good for others while doing well. Does that stick with you? Does that ring true for you? Is that interesting enough? Let me know what you think.

Now That You’re On Your Own …

2010-11-15T14:15:00.000-08:00

In the words of poet John Donne, “No man is an island, entire of itself.” For the majority of people who end up living on their own for one reason or another, it can be a lonely life. Whether the cause is divorce, the end of a long-term relationship, or one’s children simply flying the nest, finding oneself alone can have devastating effects.

One way to relieve the misery is to tidy up and sort out your immediate surroundings. Restoring material order can go a long way towards restoring order in your emotional life. The key, of course, to having to adapt to a new life without the person you once loved is having a positive attitude and being willing to try to move on with life. But a change of scenery and a sense of order can definitely help.

If the person passed away, you need to find a happy medium where you can keep his or her belongings in a respectful manner but at the same time your home does not stay mired in the past as if he or she is about to walk in at any moment. Although you may want to keep things that way at the very beginning as part of mourning your loss, after a while you should try to find a way to build your future even though this may be very hard. For example, you could devote a corner of your living room or bedroom to photographs of your loved one and his or her favorite keepsakes and pictures. But you should fold away clothing and personal items so that you do not have to keep being constantly reminded of your loss. You do not have to part with these items as they may be very precious to you for a very long time. But you can box them and store them inside a loft or cupboard that you have assigned especially for this purpose.

If, on the other hand, you have just gone through a painful divorce, you may find that the best thing is to put away and throw out as many reminders of that part of your life as possible. Of course, if you have children, it is imperative to let them keep photos of their other parent for their sake. No matter how upset and angry you may feel, your ex is still a part of your children’s history. Therefore, the best solution here is to let your children hang up pictures in their own rooms, but to remove them from the living room and your bedroom. Let them keep various items and compile photo albums for themselves, but clear everything else out of your personal area.

Once you have tidied up and sorted out, you may feel like painting the walls or changing the laminate flooring to carpet flooring just to give yourself a feeling of newness and moving on. This is a very healthy part of the process. It will make you feel more independent and positive about the road ahead. And hopefully things will start to get much better soon.

Something Old, Something New …

2010-11-09T14:43:00.001-08:00

Congratulations!!!! You have just got married or you have just decided to set up home with the person you love. But now that you have found the place where you will begin your new life together, you want to start furnishing it.

As you don’t have the resources that your parents started off with, you are not going to begin your life with the kind of home that they have spent many years to achieve. No three-story town house for you at this point in your life. You are starting off in a one-bedroom studio apartment downtown.

So how are you going to furnish your first apartment?

Well, to paraphrase the traditional saying about a new bride: “Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.”

If you are looking for something old, you can find some great bargains at stores selling gently used furniture. Reconditioned second-hand furniture will lower your initial costs, give you what you need, and if you are blessed with a good combination of common sense and luck, you will find some great stuff. Your apartment can end up looking very good at a low cost.

If you are getting married, you might be best advised to send your guests a wedding list of the things that you need. This way, you can build up a color scheme if you want: “2 sets of powder blue bath towels, 1 blue bathmat, 1 blue shower curtain.” Although not all of your needs will be provided for, at least your gifts can work for you and will help you build up your new home. And isn’t that the ultimate purpose of any gift?

When it comes to major appliances, such as a refrigerator and washing machine, you can sometimes find good ones that are second hand. But if you don’t find anything, consider “borrowing,” or hiring them. Find out if such a service exists in your town, and you can hire your first refrigerator until you are financially able to buy one.

Once you have purchased your main household items, you might want to complete the look of your home by buying some cute accessories. Once again, decorating your home and making it look unique does not have to break the bank or take up too much space. If you like natural-looking ornaments, think about decorating your breakfront and sideboards with pine cones. These create a country look and always smell great. Similarly, for wall decorations, how about some pressed flowers? For the floors, add an area rug. An oval rug, for example, is not majorly expensive and it can add to the coziness of any room.

If you enjoy sewing, you may want to make your own throw pillows for the sofa. Decorate these with embroidered patterns. You can create your own designs.

Furnishing and decorating your first home does not have to be too expensive. All you need is a little creativity, common sense, and good taste. That first studio apartment does not need to look like a palace, but for you it will be your very own castle.

The advantages of second-hand furniture

2010-10-25T16:47:00.000-07:00

I'm sure it is no surprise that I support second-hand furniture, but here's what an author from houseofarearugs.com thinks about it:

In today’s pampered, designer world, where packaging is everything, we probably always visualized that the home that we would one day own would contain only the best brands. When dreaming of our ideal living room, we imagined ourselves going to a furniture store and picking out those items that looked the most elegant and would be the most in tune with the image that we would want our home to have.

However, when many responsible couples decide to set up home together, they sit down and make a list of the things they need and the resources that they have available. These include their income from their jobs and whatever savings they may have. At this point, this is where reality bites and it becomes apparent that in order to live among our means, many of our ultimate designer dreams have to be shelved for the meantime.

In real terms, most young couples start out either in rented accommodation or by purchasing a small apartment. Most new furniture is way too expensive for many young couples, and therefore many young families begin by furnishing their new homes with gently used items. As time goes on and the family becomes more stable, savings can be put away and gradually, over time, once you have the means at your disposal, you can start to realize your designer dreams.

Using second-hand furniture does, believe it or not, have additional advantages, apart from being less expensive:
- Some pieces can be quite original and distinctive and look even better than the things you will find on display at your local furniture store.
- You may well find that certain items are better made and of higher quality than newer items. This is because in the past, many things were built to last. In today’s throwaway society, when something gets a little worn or damaged we are expected to throw it out and buy a new one.
- If you have young children, you will find that a lot of your furniture will get damaged as they grow up, simply from wear and tear and also because children will not learn to have true respect for property until they reach a certain age. For this reason, for example, you are better off with a second-hand sofa until you are sure that your kids will no longer jump on it. It is preferable for an old sofa to get wrecked rather than an expensive designer leather model.

One important caveat when it comes to purchasing gently used furniture is to check its quality very well. You don’t want to buy anyone else’s garbage. Therefore, only buy from a reputable vendor who may have fixed it and reconditioned it.

Of course, not everything needs to be second hand in your home. Add some new accessories, such as pretty area rugs, nice throw pillows, and cute wall hangings to add to the look.

So when your visitors compliment you on your beautiful antique mahogany breakfront, which is enhanced by a floral area rug and velvet drapes, you can smile. No one has to know that you purchased the breakfront and drapes from a second-hand store – unless you want to encourage your friends to decorate their homes in the same elegant manner!

Jazzing up a small bathroom

2010-10-19T16:39:00.000-07:00

One of the most important rooms in your house is your bathroom. While more well-to-do people boast several bathrooms – one attached to their bedroom, one for guests, and one in the more public area of their house, if you are living in a small apartment the chances are that you have just one bathroom. And it is probably very small.

Of course, the most important thing about the bathroom is that it has everything that you need – a toilet, bath with a showering facility, and a sink. But that is not enough. Even if the bathroom has all of these utilities, if it is very small and looks dingy, it is not a very pleasant place to be in. This is a shame, as showering and bathing is supposed to be a pleasurable, refreshing activity rather than a miserable chore.

So how can you jazz up your small bathroom and make it into a comfortable, pleasant place?

First of all, take a look to see if there is any mold between the tiles or along the sides of the bath. If there is, then you should take some time to get the correct kind of solvent and remove it.

If this is your own apartment, consider painting the walls with waterproof bathroom paint. It is best to find a light color that is relaxing. White, cream, magnolia, peach, yellow, or pale blue are all good colors, as these will attract light but not be too glaring. Then take a look at the tiles. If you don’t have time or the know-how to replace them (or the landlord wouldn’t let you), consider adding some cute adhesive waterproof stickers to them to brighten up the overall design.

What’s the story with ventilation? If the window is too small, consider fitting a small ventilator fan to add to the airiness inside the room.

Find some cute, inexpensive accessories. A new bathroom cabinet may look good on the wall opposite the bath. You don’t need to invest a fortune in this. Even a second-hand one that is gently used may be enough to cheer up the room. It will also be a good place to put all of your soaps and shampoos, making the sides of the bath look less cluttered.

What about an area rug? A cute oval area rug may add the right cozy touch to your bathroom. Find one made from a waterproof, easily washed fabric that will endure the stresses and strains of being used on a bathroom floor, which is often wet and exposed to a lot of traffic.

Cute soap holders, anyone? You could match the color and design with the toilet roll dispenser and toothbrush holder. You could also color coordinate the towels in the bathroom with the walls and the tiles, as well as with the shower curtain and the area rug. A specific theme, such as colorful fish, the sea, or the beach, would definitely brighten up even the smallest bathroom.

Brightening your small bathroom really doesn’t need much time or effort. Just a little imagination and your small bathroom will look great!

This article brought to you by http://www.houseofarearugs.com and you can find my articles (originally published in The Olympian) at http://olyfurnitureworks.com/furniturecare.html.

a little insight (for me)

2010-10-13T12:32:00.000-07:00

My wife & I were at Westfield Mall this last weekend to see a movie and afterwards she wanted a little time to shop. Since there is almost nothing at the mall that I can use (or fits me or interests me), I got to looking at the store layouts and how they brand and market their products. There’s always something that I can learn from the Big Boys to use at Furniture Works. The first thing I noticed was the similarity of the efforts. Most stores show a clean, sparse and urban look to them. At first, I was disappointed. I thought how sad that everyone should aspire to exactly the same image. Then I got to looking at the people themselves and I brightened up. The customers (you & I) come in much more interesting variety and styles than the stores were pushing. This tells me that folks are really spending some quality time in the decisions they make about how they want to dress and present themselves (assuming, of course, that unlike me, folks weren’t just wearing whatever clean clothes they had).

This gave me the optimistic push that the world is really a much more interesting place than the limited view that marketers make for their customers. There’s plenty of room for each of us to be ourselves…and ourselves don’t have to be like everyone else. Variety may be more than the spice of life, it may be what makes life worth living.

Decorating Your Home for Your First Anniversary

2010-10-10T17:13:00.000-07:00

Here's some more decorating advice, courtesy of the folks at houseofarearugs.com:

It’s going to be your first anniversary soon. Congratulations! This means that you have been living in your first home together for a whole year. Maybe you have something special planned, such as a surprise vacation, a night at the theater, or a celebratory meal at a restaurant. But how about giving yourself and your partner another great gift and decorating your home especially in honor of this first year?

By now, you have probably obtained your first furniture and your home is starting to feel a little more stable. But there are probably some improvements that you could now allow yourselves as an anniversary gift.

Look around at the furniture you have. Is it what you want, or could you now allow yourselves something a little better? Is there something you still need but haven’t yet bought, such as a good dining table? If that is the case, maybe this is the time to scout the reputable second-hand stores for a solid piece of reconditioned furniture.

And how about some nice accessories? As it’s your anniversary, you may want to give your home a more romantic touch, such as some scented candles. You don’t even need to buy these. It is quite easy to make them yourself. If you have decided to have a romantic meal at home, these could provide the centerpiece for the table. You also might want to find candles with a particularly sensuous fragrance for the bedroom.

Take a look at the floor – maybe buy a good area rug in celebration of your first year together. There’s nothing like a soft wool flokati rug to add a little sensuality and luxury to any room.

And what about the walls? For your first anniversary night, maybe put up some framed photos of the two of you. You could make this a surprise, and before your partner gets home, put up some special enlarged photos of the two of you as a couple. If you are married, you may want to put up some enlarged photos from your wedding on the walls.

Another romantic touch is lace. Decorate the table with a lace tablecloth, and you may want to drape some lace on the sideboards and over the sofa. You could also add a lace bedspread to the bedroom. Lace goes with anything and always looks beautiful.

Sprinkle some rose petals in some strategic places around the apartment, such as on the bed, on the dining table, or on the sofa. This also adds a special romantic touch.

Some of these changes don’t have to only be for the night of your anniversary. While you would not, for example, leave rose petals lying around or light scented candles all the time, as we said above your first anniversary is the ideal time to upgrade your home and your furniture. This is how you build the future of your home.

Take the romance of this night into your continued relationship for the rest of your lives and enjoy your new home.

How to turn a slum into a palace

2010-10-04T09:26:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who stopped by on Arts Walk. Here's another article from the folks at House of Area Rugs.com.

How to Turn a Slum Into a Palace

Ok, so you and your partner needed to find a new home to start off your life together. As both of you are still studying, you are currently not working, you are only paid a low wage at this point in your life, or property prices are through the roof where you are living, you ended up with a smaller, scruffier place than you would have liked. The apartment is small, it’s old, and it looks rather dingy.

So how can you turn your slum into the palace that you always wanted to live in with the person that you love?

First of all, a lot of what we do is affected by our attitude of mind, and if you keep a positive attitude you may soon find that what at first seemed like a hopeless old dump is in fact a pleasant place to live in.

Secondly, apart from being positive and optimistic (which will also do wonders for your relationship with your partner) you can also do certain things that will indeed improve the quality of your life.

Here are some ideas for cheering up a small, miserable apartment (whether it’s yours or rented, though you may have to clear some of these ideas with your landlord):

- Clean, clean, and clean again. Make the place as spotless as possible before you move in. Once you have removed the mold from the bathroom, for example, the place will look much better already. If you have the funds, you may even consider hiring a professional cleaning service as a one-off.
- A coat of paint covers a multitude of misery. Find good-quality paint in light, bright colors, such as cream, magnolia, or peach that will add light to the rooms and cheer them up.
- Change some of the fixtures and fittings. This does not need to be too expensive, but a set of bright, new faucets will make any bathroom look better. New handles on dingy kitchen cabinets can change the look of your kitchen and make it look like new.
- Change the lighting. An elegant fluorescent light fitting can make the room look much brighter and also add a touch of class to what was previously a very dingy room.
- Buy some good area rugs. A good, soft flokati rug in the bedroom adds a touch of luxury, and a floral rug in the living room will make it look much more cheerful.
- Put up some nice pictures. These can even hide stains on the walls and will make the place look a lot better.
- New curtains can make a room look more sophisticated. There is nothing like a set of new drapes on a French window to make a living room look far more classy.

None of these changes involve major cost or effort, but they can change the look of your apartment immeasurably. A few nice touches and a positive attitude can definitely turn the slum that you landed up with into the palace that you always wanted!

Arts Walk tonight

2010-10-01T20:05:00.001-07:00

We're featuring 3 fiber artists for Arts Walk. If you missed them on Friday, stop by on Saturday (10-6) to see their work.

How to Decorate Your Kitchen Without Annoying the Landlord

2010-09-21T17:06:00.000-07:00

Many young families start off in rented apartments. In fact, in some countries there is more of a rental culture than buying because property has become so expensive. Depending on your own personal situation, there are various advantages and disadvantages to renting or buying a home, and each couple has to weigh up their considerations before making a decision either way.

One of the disadvantages of living in a property that is not yours, however, is that you are not always able to decorate it the way you want. Some landlords will not even allow you to knock a nail in the wall to add a picture. Others may be somewhat more flexible, but they still have their parameters as essentially this is their property and they prefer to keep it a certain way.

When looking at an apartment, whether for purchase or rental, one of the first places that you will go is the kitchen. If you are renting, this is even more important as you can’t change too much in the kitchen as it is not your property. Therefore, you are much more limited in your choices when it comes to home decorating.

So how can we advise you on decorating your kitchen without annoying your landlord?

In this case, the trick of making the kitchen look good is to use accessories and small items that are not permanent and can be taken with you when you move on to the next place.

- Make sure that the cupboards are always clean, and if the doors are hanging off, it is your landlord’s responsibility to fix them.
- Arrange your utensils and dishes in a creative way. A colorful spice rack, stocked with herbs and spices, always looks good in any kitchen.
- Go for washable rugs, such as acrylic area rugs, which will keep the floor looking clean.
- Hang up tea towels and put down area rugs that match the overall colors of the kitchen. Hence, if the color scheme of the kitchen is cream and brown, put down a matching rug and towels.
- Atmosphere in a kitchen is everything. Try some scented candles to keep kitchen smells at bay and add a pleasant feeling while you are cooking. If you are not one to bake bread every day, you might want to light an apple-scented candle to add to the homey atmosphere that you want to create.
- If certain items of furniture are missing in the kitchen, such as a lack of cupboard space, or kitchen chairs, consider buying some cheap used items. These won’t break the bank, and you can either leave them as a gift for your landlord (if he wants them), or you can take them with you to the next place.

Making these few easy changes can make all the difference to the kitchen in your apartment. It might not be your apartment, but it will feel a lot more like home if it has some of your creativity in it.

Some more online decorating ideas

2010-09-10T16:06:00.000-07:00

I always enjoy reading well written articles on home decorating and design and I'd like to recommend a couple of new sites for you at:

namatesolar.com

and

minitosh.net

Building Your Baby’s Room on a Budget

2010-09-10T15:57:00.000-07:00

Here's some more decorating advice from the folks at http://houseofarearugs.com:

It’s your first home, and you are about to have your first baby. You are living in a fairly small apartment, so you don’t have too much space. Where are you going to put your baby to sleep, and what are the most essential items that you will need?

First of all, if your apartment is really small and you don’t have an extra bedroom, you can start off by putting your baby to sleep in your bedroom with you. If you are nursing your baby, you will anyway want him or her to be close to you so that you will have easy access in the middle of the night. However, you should also be aware that as your baby grows older, there will eventually be a need to move him or her out after a while, so you should start looking for a larger apartment.

In the meantime, if your baby is going to start off sleeping in with you, you need to find a space in your bedroom to put a crib. A newborn baby will be contented enough to sleep in a small layette, which is about the size of a drawer, but bear in mind that as he grows up he will need a wider crib that gives him room to roll over in his sleep. In this case, it would probably be better not to bother buying a changing table, as that would take up too much space. Instead, use a changing mat that you can put onto your bed for diapering. If you have enough room in your bedroom, purchase a little cabinet for storing the baby’s clothes, diapers, wipes, blankets, and other needs. If this is not possible, then you should clear out some space in your own cupboard to accommodate your little one’s needs.

When you move Junior into his or her own room, again, if you do not have much space to hand, keep to the basics. These are:

- Crib

- A cabinet or cupboard for the baby’s clothing, bedding, diapers, etc.

- A box for the baby’s toys

- An area rug for the baby to play on. This should be soft and brightly colored. Depending on the color scheme of the room, you could either buy a standard kids’ rug or a blue or red rug just because these are bright.

- A mobile hung from the ceiling above the baby’s cot

Other items are not so necessary and may take up too much space, no matter how tempting they look in the catalogues. You also do not need to buy first-hand, brand new items. You could, for example, buy a gently used wooden cabinet and crib. However, make sure to buy a new mattress, as studies have shown a connection between old mattresses and instances of SIDS. Everything else, though, can be second hand.

Having a new baby should be a cause of joy, not a reason to go bankrupt. Plan carefully and buy the things that you need, and you will be sure to provide your baby with a very good start.

Whew!

2010-09-02T18:16:00.001-07:00

Let's see: Brought in a new sofa, a coffee table and a sofa table. Delivered a sofa. Brought in a tea cart, sewing table, 3 dining chairs, queen/full bed, 2 nightstands, bookcase, dresser. Tomorrow I'll be bringing in a hutch, barrister bookshelves, cherry dining table & a display cabinet and delivering a TV stand. I'm headed for a nap!

How to Decorate a Small Living Room

2010-08-25T15:09:00.000-07:00

Here's another article from the folks at http://www.houseofarearugs.com:

Congratulations! You have just purchased your first home. As it is the first home that you have ever owned, it is probably not very big. Chances are that it is either a small apartment or a bungalow. In smaller homes, you do not have a large area at your disposal, so you would want to find a way to make things look good even within a small amount of space.

The first thing to remember is: don’t buy too much furniture. Too many chairs, coffee tables, and ornamental vases can make even the largest living room look crowded and cramped, bearing more of a resemblance to a junkyard than to a home. So: only purchase the items that you specifically need. For most people, these include:

- A sofa
- One or two easy chairs
- A table
- A bookcase, breakfront, or sideboard on which you will place your TV, books, and stereo

If you have a small living room, this is probably more than enough for your needs.

To give an illusion of space, paint the walls a light color, such as white, magnolia, or cream. This makes the room look and feel much larger.

Consider putting a large mirror on one wall. This can also “grow” any room significantly.

Keep the room very tidy. If you don’t have any clutter or excess papers lying around, you will surely feel that you have more room to maneuver. Remember that even if a room is very large, if it is messy it can feel terribly cramped.

The floor should ideally be made from varnished wood or white marble floor tiling. This also adds space and airiness. On top, place a beautiful area rug – maybe a floral rug to add to the overall design.

Don’t clutter the walls with too many pictures. But, having said that, find one or two scenes or wall decorations that add a little variety, rather than having completely plain walls.

Regarding the actual furniture in your living room, this does not need to be brand-new or “up to the minute”. Gently used, reconditioned furniture can look very good, and it costs so much less than newer items. In fact, a good second-hand piece can look more original, interesting, and distinctive than some of the more fashionable items that you would find in every other living room.

Lighting is also important. It should not be too bright, as this would be too glaring, but it also should not be too subdued as you would not want the room to look too dingy either. Another important tip to save on general expenses is to fit fluorescent bulbs, as these do not use too much electricity and they can last much longer than regular electric bulbs. These days, fluorescents do not need to be ugly strip lights. They come in all sorts of shapes and fittings and can make your living room look quite elegant.

Furnishing a small living room really does not have to be too difficult. With good taste, creativity, and some good ideas, your living room can look as elegant and classy as any other, larger home.

a thousand words (or more)

2010-08-22T20:20:00.001-07:00

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I thought I'd show pictures of pieces we got in this week. There's lots more book cases, end tables and great drop leaf table (that takes up almost NO room).

Shopping for second hand furniture

2010-08-17T17:14:00.000-07:00

Here's another article from www.houseofarearugs.com. The only other thing I'd add is that by shopping from a local business, you know they're going to be there if you any issues or concerns. Used items are not always flawless, so you need to shop with someone you trust to tell you the truth.

The Dos and Don’ts of Secondhand Furniture

If you are interested in refurbishing your home, but you don’t have a large budget at your fingertips, don’t despair. To have a beautiful home with elegant furniture, you don’t actually have to buy everything new. For many people, the best option is to purchase second-hand furniture, and if you know where to look and how to be cautious, you can walk away with some very good buys.

One of the main things to be careful about is whether or not you are getting rid of your own garbage only to take on someone else’s. For that reason, the first thing you need to do is check out what you are interested in buying very carefully. If you are interested, for example, in buying a second-hand cupboard, make sure to check all of the doors to make sure that they open and close smoothly and that the hinges work properly. Is the wood scratched? Are the shelves properly fitted? Do they have all of their dibbles and screws? And what about the door handles?

Where are you getting your second-hand furniture from? You can always find offers on various email lists, in the classified sections of local newspapers, or from ads placed on notice-boards in stores, churches, or bus stops. When you find what you need, the first question to ask is why the seller is getting rid of the item in the first place. Does the ad say that the item is in need of repair? If you are not careful, you could end up spending so much money on getting it repaired that you would have been better off buying a new one in the first place.

One source of good bargains is a moving sale. If a family is immigrating to another country, the furniture that they are selling off is not necessarily in bad condition. The reason that it is being sold is that it’s not worth transporting it abroad rather than because it is defective.

Stores selling reconditioned furniture are also a good option. The furniture that is sold is cheaper than brand new, and because it has been reconditioned, any scratches and defects have been fixed. Many families buy tables, chairs, and even appliances such as refrigerators from such stores.

Once you have bought your secondhand furniture, you may want to brighten up the look of the room further by treating yourself to some new curtains and rugs. These kinds of furnishings are relatively inexpensive even when purchased first hand. The right kind of area rug can make all the difference to a room. For instance, any one of the shaped area rugs that you can buy can put the finishing touches on your living room, no matter what the furniture looks like or where it comes from, and solid area rugs can complement the color scheme in any room.

The secret of buying good secondhand furniture is therefore knowing how to recognize a good purchase and adding tasteful furnishings to it. You might not end up with the designer furniture that you always dreamed of, but if you are smart in your purchases you will still have a beautiful home.

Decorating with area rugs

2010-08-13T15:07:00.000-07:00

The following article was provided by the kind folks at www.HouseOfAreaRugs.com:

The Beauty of Keeping It Simple

Have you ever walked into someone’s home and wondered if you have entered a furniture store by mistake? There are coffee tables and chairs all over the place and whenever you turn round you are bumping into antique vases and little cabinets. Your host smiles at you and says, “As I told you the other day, I’m a real collector! Don’t you think my latest acquisitions are beautiful?!”

Of course, it’s very hard to know what to say in this situation as you would rather not embarrass your host. And the truth is that if you were to look at each item, they probably are beautiful. They may also be valuable antiques that a real collector would love to buy. The problem with your friend’s collection is that he has overstuffed his living room with it.

When decorating your home, it is important to be aware that quantity does not always equal beauty, style, or good taste. In fact, if anything, simple is beautiful.

Have you ever noticed that when you have an unused ledge, table, or shelf, it gets full of clutter almost straight away, illustrating the scientific principle that there is no such thing as a total vacuum? Therefore, if you really have no use for that extra coffee table or set of shelves – get rid of it!!! Only buy the items of furniture that you actually need – enough bookshelves for the books you have and maybe an extra shelf or two at most for the books you intend to buy, a dining table that you will eat from, only one sideboard for your candlesticks and other ornaments, a TV cabinet that also has room for your video and collection of DVDs and CDs, and that’s it!

The room will not look bare if it is not stuffed with furniture. Leave a large area of floor space and cover it with a beautiful area rug. Area rugs come in a variety of colors and designs – from floral rugs to shag rugs. Find the right color that fits in with the décor of the furniture, curtains, and wallpaper, and you will have a stunning living room!

By doing this, your children will definitely thank you as they will have enough room to play, will not be banging their little heads on corners of excess coffee tables, and will absolutely adore the soft rug.

When you keep things simple and your living room is spacious and airy, this also adds to the light in your home. An overstuffed living room, by contrast, looks dingy and can even appear far smaller than it is. It doesn’t matter how elegant or expensive the clutter is, overcrowding a room with excess furniture clearly belittles its beauty, which is a shame and is the total opposite of the effect that you are trying to achieve. On the other hand, if you have a small living room, keeping the actual furniture to a minimum actually gives a feeling of space and can appear to add to its area.

For this reason, it is definitely fair to say that simple really does equal beautiful.

lots of new upholstered furniture coming in

2010-08-04T15:38:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow afternoon I should be receiving a leather loveseat, a pub table with stools, 2 microfiber sofas & a microfiber loveseat. We'll have them out on the floor for you within the next couple of days.

more pictures

2010-07-27T15:26:00.000-07:00

I've just updated the website with another 60 photos of our furniture. You can see them at http://olyfurnitureworks.com/furnitureworkspics/index.html. I'm going to try to post weekly photos of what's new. The best stuff sells fast, so the pics may not be up to date (but at least they're recent).

tough week

2010-07-21T13:11:00.001-07:00

It has been a tough week. The hard drive crashed so I'm having to rebuild almost everything. Fortunately, we've got paper copies of our transactions but if we're moving a bit slowly this week, please be patient.

On the plus side, we got some great bamboo pieces (bookshelf, coffee tables, etc.) that would be perfect for a sunroom or a covered patio. Got a used 4 (yes, 4, it is really long) used white sofa in.

so long, Dad

2010-07-10T17:26:00.000-07:00

On a personal note, my father was run over by a van on July 4th. He went out with fireworks. I'm back in Wisconsin again. The funeral was very nice, upbeat as he would have wanted it.

My endless thanks to my staff and I've heard the heat has been unbearable. My special thanks to anyone who has come into our un-airconditioned store...especially those who bought something. :-)

I'm back...

2010-06-30T16:44:00.000-07:00

Denise & Cathy did a great job while I was gone. I don't know whether to be happy or to be disappointed that they could do so well without me. Iowa was hot & muggy with thunderstorms almost every day but Kim's family reunion went very well and everyone had a great time.

Got a tweedy sleeper sofa and a student desk in and a nice 30's bookcase. I'll be looking at more stuff late this afternoon.

vaca

2010-06-16T14:40:00.001-07:00

Off Saturday until the 1st (wife's family reunion in Iowa) although Cathy & Denise will do an admirable job in my absence. I'm trying to stockpile a bit so there's still plenty of stuff to sell. Got a leather sofa coming in tomorrow and a chest of drawers, a futon, a little table on Friday & a small desk.

a working Wednesday

2010-06-09T15:00:00.000-07:00

Working the store today and trying to pick out my favorite piece of furniture. I think it is the bar I brought in Monday. Lockable and it even has the glassware.

another truckload today

2010-05-21T19:20:00.000-07:00

Got several new pieces in from Porter (http://porterinternationaldesigns.com) yesterday, including the loveseat and chair to match what you see in the picture. Also 2 more dining tables and another sofa. The most interesting stuff is the truckload of used furniture we brought in today. All of it mid-50's to mid-60's including several dressers, a hutch, a couple of small bookcases, a small desk, etc. Perhaps the most interesting thing is that they all came from a house built in the mid-1930's as a kit from Sears & Roebuck. It had a stone fireplace in it. The stone was quarried from Tenino and was the leftovers from one or another building project around town. Thanks for visiting...

stuff that came in today

2010-05-12T16:08:00.000-07:00

Whew, consignments keep coming in. Today we got: 2 tables with chairs, a drop-leaf table, a 3-drawer nightstand, a console table, a library table, a side chair, 2 desks, 1 floor lamp, 2 table lamps, a sliding/rocker chair & ottoman and a magazine rack. I'm not sure where to put it all, so somebody come & buy some it.

Girls Night Out

2010-05-01T09:18:00.000-07:00

GNO is this Thursday. Sponsored by the ODA, women can buy a goody bag ($10 in advance, $15 on Thursday) and it comes with stuff & coupons. Shop all day and if you buy something you'll get entered into the raffle at 8pm. Furniture Works will have free massages (thanks, Wayne!) from 6-8pm, refreshments all day, a coupon worth 20% off your purchase & reusable grocery bag giveway to the 1st 25 GNO visitors. There's a far better description of all this at http://downtownolympia.com/about/girlsnightout/.

Arts Walk this weekend

2010-04-19T19:40:00.000-07:00

Been busy baking cookies (oatmeal & chocolate chip) for Arts Walk this weekend. We'll stay open Friday until everyone wanders downtown for late night activities and on Saturday we'll probably close when the parade starts. Good fun for all!

Thurston Green Business

2010-04-06T17:02:00.000-07:00

Just got notice today that Furniture Works will receive recognition as a Thurston Green Business from the Chamber of Commerce. Recognition ceremony is April 14th at St. Martin's Worthington Center. I'll be at the store instead.

Got the pictures updated if you want to see what's new. Getting in some new sofas, etc. next week.

Yippee - It is a GOOD March

2010-03-30T17:00:00.000-07:00

My thanks to everyone! This was our best March in 8 years in business! I celebrate tomorrow by paying bills!

Farmers Market opens April 1! My birthday is April 2.

What's not new?

2010-03-23T18:20:00.000-07:00

In the used furniture, I picked up (literally, I had to go get it) a sofa, 3 chairs, a little desk and a TV cabinet today. Just corresponded with someone about an Asian buffet, a rug and some coffee and end tables, I expect to get those in on Friday. Here's a picture of the buffet.

prices going up

2010-03-16T10:51:00.001-07:00

As you may know, we've been delighted with the selection and prices we've gotten from Porter International. Unfortunately, shipping prices have gone up recently and when we re-order these pieces, they're going to cost a little more. If you've seen one you liked, you should be sure to grab it while the price stays low.

thanks for noticing

2010-03-09T19:50:00.000-08:00

Had someone in the store today that said they read my blog. Many thanks. Gee, I'll try to be more consistent about posting here. I was up to Tacoma on Monday picking up some more furniture, including a new sofa that's 15% off the usual price. As always, if I save money, you do too & we've priced it accordingly.

2 truck loads

2010-02-25T19:30:00.000-08:00

Whew, I'm bushed tonight. Loaded up (and unloaded) 2 truckloads of consignment furniture today. All lovely stuff. The dining table and hutch were originally purchased for $3K. Got 2 queen beds, marble topped dresser, 2 marble topped nightstands, another nightstand, a glass topped dining table & 4 wrought iron chairs...in addition to the dining set mentioned above. Time for a soak in the tub...

coat hooks

2010-02-17T16:41:00.001-08:00

Got a shipment this week of the cutest coat/hat hooks. Iguanas, dogs, dragonflies, antiquey cast iron, quite a batch.

we got Art

2010-02-10T13:22:00.000-08:00

Yep, that's a capital A because we picked up 74 pieces of art this week. With that many, they have to have a great price and many are as cheap as $5 each...that's with frame & glass. Wadda deal...

more stuff & a sale

2010-01-31T09:08:00.000-08:00

Whew, it's been a crazy couple of days. Over the last 2 days, we've brought in 4 truck loads of furniture so the place is jam packed with cool stuff. I'm going to try & get the pictures on the site updated later today.

We're holding our once-a-year big sale from February 1 through the 6th. That's up to 75% off on selected items. Yep, we're even selling stuff below our cost.

got my order from Winsome

2010-01-20T15:58:00.000-08:00

My regulars know that I like the furniture from Winsome Wood. They're local (in Woodinville) and it is very nice to find some sold wood furniture in these days of cheap, presswood junk. I've picked up some bookcases (which can be VERY difficult to find) and about a dozen other pieces.

Happy New Year

2010-01-06T13:20:00.001-08:00

...and all that jazz. Kim & I had a nice time at First Night in Tacoma. A special treat was the opportunity to see & hear Pearl Django. At FW, I got the new computer installed (finally!) and we're rolling again...

Got 2 new sofas arriving in a couple of days.

Hope this is a prosperous and healthy year for everyone.

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-23T15:07:00.000-08:00

There are many different holidays this time of year...Kwanzaa, Hanukah, Christmas, Solstice but what they all share is the opportunity to celebrate the joys of family and friends, of gift giving and sharing with others, of seeing each day begin to get just a little bit longer.

Denise, Cathy & I want to wish each of you the best of the season. Take some time to enjoy yourself and a little time to share with others. Happy Holidays!

new stuff/open houses

2009-12-12T13:50:00.000-08:00

Busman's holiday for me this week. First, I was down to Portland for an open house at Porter International Designs . I picked up some great pieces including some phenomenally cheap new recliners and a couple of the click-clack sofas (that make into beds). Then it was off to Tacoma for Emerald Home Furnishing's open house. They'll be putting aside some closeouts that I'll try to pick up next week. I won't know for sure what I'll be getting, but I can guarantee the prices will be good.

Happy holidays to all.

It is that time of year we are all reminded of the truly important things in life and I'd be remiss if I didn't acknowledge my thanks to each and every customer. You're what keeps Furniture Works going....thanks....

2009-11-13T17:15:00.000-08:00

The Antique Vintage Association of Olympia and the Greater South Sound will be holding their annual Holiday Sale from Nov 14-22. All 22 shops will be hosting different specials and discounts.

We invite everyone to visit our lovely shops and see how beautiful old antiques, vintage and home decor items can brighten any room.

We look forward to welcoming you to our shops.

Dates are Nov 14-22, 2009.

We look forward to seeing you in some old familiar places.
Happy Holiday

another truckload

2009-11-09T15:16:00.000-08:00

Just back from Up North with a truckload of used furniture. This week I got a table & 6 chairs, shabby chic table with 2 chairs (nice vine pattern on the table), glass topped coffee table & 2 end tables, a couple small chests of drawers and nice vintage vanity/desk with bakelite handles.

today's stuff

2009-11-02T19:51:00.000-08:00

I was down in Portland (picking up new furniture at Porter International and celebrating Halloween with Kim's niece Mindi) but I understand it was surprisingly large turnout for Halloween downtown. I'm looking forward to this getting bigger & better every year.

Got most of the new stuff unwrapped & on the floor. From a sale up North, I picked up a great Chinese cabinet with mother of pearl inlay. Gotta see it to believe it.

Halloween

2009-10-30T09:17:00.001-07:00

We're delighted to participate in the downtown Halloween celebration. Treats for the kids from 1-4pm. Find the pirate hat and you're part of a drawing for lots of give-aways. More details at http://www.everydayolympia.com/halloween/

what should I get?

2009-10-23T18:00:00.000-07:00

I really like the furniture from my new wholesaler, Porter International, but I'm not sure which pieces to put in the store. If you get a minute, take a look and tell me what you like.

Oct 18

2009-10-18T12:43:00.000-07:00

Kim & I went up the peninsula yesterday to an auction. We both were flabbergasted at just how beautiful the trees (and bushes, etc.) have been in a riot of color. Brought back some vases, an entertainment center, a Danish modern bookcase, a brass valet and a couple of other items, so this morning was spent getting everything unloaded and out and on the floor for sale.

It was a good sales day yesterday, so I want to thank everyone who stopped by with a special thanks to everyone who bought something.

Winsome order in

2009-10-06T19:49:00.000-07:00

Just got a shipment of new book cases, tables, etc. from Winsome Wood in Woodinville. Nice pieces and most are solid wood, an uncommon thing in this day & age. Another plus, Winsome has begun "drop shipping", i.e. selling individual items and shipping them directly to your home. They are still a wholesale company, so you'll want to contact us if you see a particular piece you like but we'd be happy to do a special order for you.

Here's a picture of one of the bookcases...

Big Leaf Studio

2009-09-29T16:29:00.000-07:00

I was sitting at the Rebuilding Together Thurston County (www.rebuildingtogethertc.org) table at the Home Show at St. Martins a couple of weeks ago and bumped into Dale Matz. Dale makes some of the most wonderful hand-crafted furniture. He's had his stuff at Furniture Works during previous Arts Walks. If you see anything at http://www.bigleafstudio.com/index.htm that you like, we'd be happy to put you in touch with Dale.

Portland etc.

2009-09-24T15:45:00.000-07:00

Hi - Got the pictures updated, including one of a fabulous solid oak bedroom set (queen bed, 2 night stands (with drink holders), dresser and mirror and a chest of drawers (includes a jewelry tray)). This one is a gem.

I'm off tomorrow for Portland to pick up some more new furniture, returning Saturday.

Hope to see you soon....

Sept 13 and 14

2009-09-14T17:57:00.000-07:00

13th - Kim (my wife) is canning peaches and salsa (both red & green). I'm more or less taking the day off, attacking moles in yard, planting 125 tulip bulbs and picking the last of the sweet corn.

14th - Back to "real" work. Drove up north & picked up a truckload of stuff we got at an auction, including a great teak 60's bedroom set (bed, dresser, 2 nightstands) so the place is pretty full right now. By the way, here's a picture of the leather sofa I from Porter International. I've got the matching chair, too.

new pics

2009-08-28T14:12:00.000-07:00

Hi all - Got the latest batch of pictures uploaded.

Also, it is blackberry season. I made jam this week.

Deco piece

2009-08-25T13:55:00.000-07:00

Picked up another nice German Deco cabinet this last weekend, similar to the one I had a couple of weeks ago but a little wider. It's on the floor now.

On a personal note, Kim & I had a terrific time wine tasting at the Olympic Merchant on 4th Ave. They do a tasting most Sunday afternoons. There's more info about the company at http://www.yelp.com/biz/olympic-wine-merchant-olympia.

some energy saving tips around the house

2009-08-11T15:24:00.000-07:00

Just came across this site & wanted to share it with you....

http://dailyhomerenotips.com/energy-conservation/

got a truckload

2009-08-03T18:04:00.000-07:00

Just back from Portland with a truck load of new, great, furniture. Got the sofa, loveseat & chair in the leather & the sofa & chair in the red upholstery plus lots more.

what's happening around August 1

2009-07-31T20:36:00.000-07:00

Picked up a red loveseat, a bookcase, a desk and display cabinet today, all used. I'm heading down to Portland to pick up some new pieces from a wholesaler there. Hope you've been staying cool...there's no air conditioner at the store but with all the fans running, it has been 20 degrees cooler than outside. Here's a few more tips and quotes:

When choosing a vacuum, don’t look at amps (which is how much power it draws from the wall) but instead look at the airflow in cubic feet per minute (CFM).

“Spaghetti can be eaten most successfully if you inhale it like a vacuum cleaner.”
-Sophia Loren

Don't leave linens folded up in a closet or packed away for extended periods of time because the fabric will deteriorate along the creases.

“Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.”
-Samuel Ullman

Use steel wool on stainless steel, nylon pads on ceramic or acrylic sinks.

“No person who can read is ever successful at cleaning out an attic.”
-Ann Landers

Never mix ammonia based cleaners with chlorine based cleaners. The ammonia releases the chlorine as a toxic (and dangerous) gas.

“Few tasks are more like the torture of Sisyphus than housework, with its endless repetition: the clean becomes soiled, the soiled is made clean, over and over, day after day”
-Simone de Beauvoir

tips & quips

2009-06-28T12:24:00.000-07:00

Lighter fluid will clean stubborn stains from porcelain sinks and bathtubs. Kerosene can remove rust stains from tile. Remember they’re both flammable (and bad for septic tanks).

“If you rest, you rust.”
-Helen Hayes

Marble, although stone, is porous. Clean it with a damp chamois to avoid streaks and wax it with a clear wax once a year. Use coasters under glasses.

“Write injuries in sand, kindnesses in marble.”
-Persian proverb

Teflon pans should not be heated above 450 degrees. At that temperature, it begins to emit the fluorocarbons into the air.

“Teflon brain – nothing sticks.”
-Lily Tomlin

tips & quotes

2009-06-08T15:26:00.000-07:00

Store your broom with the bristles up. It’ll keep the bristles from bending and the broom will last longer and work better.

“A new broom sweeps clean, but an old broom knows the corners.”

-Irish proverb

If the tips of the broom become bent (and are of natural materials), you can soak the bristles in a bucket of water and straighten them by hand. Use heavy scissors to trim off the errant bristles.

“My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance”

-Author unknown

new Asian pieces

2009-05-27T19:03:00.000-07:00

Hi - Got some great Asian pieces this week from a woman who lived for a time in Okinawa: several porcelain elephant plant stands, a tansu, a couple of chaise lounges. Also picked up 7 original oil paintings today, all modern abstract works. It is worth taking a look!

Great Arts Walk & sofas

2009-05-04T18:22:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to everyone who came by during Arts Walk....my homemade cookies are all gone. We had a good (if very long) day on Friday and spectacular weather, unfortunately not quite so nice for the Procession of Species parade on Saturday.

I've updated the pictures on the website & just brought in 5 more used sofas, so we're pretty full of good stuff right now.

April 2009 Arts Walk

2009-04-24T09:31:00.000-07:00

We're all very much looking forward to Arts Walk this weekend. We've got a woodworker, a painter, a photographer, an art class from Ridgleline Middle School all showing their work. As a special treat, the Planetary People will be playing reggae from 6-8 on Friday night.

And, if that's not enough, we'll have a drawing for a home decor object, some special discounts for Friday and Saturday and I baked home-made cookies (oatmeal/raisin & chocolate chip).

See you there...

Arts Walk

2009-04-11T20:00:00.000-07:00

Won't be long now, kids. I got the balloons & the ad to put in the window. April 24th & 25th. We've got a painter, a photographer, a woodworker, a kid's art class and, on Friday night from 6 to 8, the reggae band Planetary People will be playing. Pencil it in...

end of Olympian column

2009-03-24T18:16:00.000-07:00

Just heard from Dusti Demarest, editor of the Living (and Home & Garden) section of The Olympian. Due to the loss of a feature writer (and decreased revenue from home ads), the Home & Garden section will be folding (or rolled together with one from the News Tribune). That means an end to the forum for my articles. I've written a farewell article that should appear in the next couple of weeks. All my older articles are available at http://olyfurnitureworks.com/furniturecare.html.

On the furniture front, got a great selection of sofas in right now.

new stuff

2009-02-22T17:33:00.001-08:00

Hi -

Got 3 new sofas last week and expect more about the middle of the week. Got a wonderful vanity with a granite top in too, just put it on the floor today. Also getting about a dozen new wood pieces in from Winsome Wood in Woodinville. Nice thing about them is they're mostly all solid wood (none of that presswood junk).

Just a reminder, we keep a Wish Book so if we don't have it...we'll look for it.

Thx....

deer, trees and dirt

2009-02-13T08:35:00.000-08:00

I clipped a deer the other night on my drive home. She got up OK and ran off (and no damage to my vehicle) but I caution you about driving, particularly at dusk.

Met the new (2 months in job) urban forester for the city of Olympia yesterday, Stacey Ray. There's an application to get free trees for your neighborhood at http://www.ci.olympia.wa.us/cityservices/urbanforest/UF+Info.htm and the plan the city has for adding and maintaining downtown trees can be found there too. May 1 is Arbor Day and the city is planning on some (as yet to be developed) plans to celebrate.

Members of the Olympia Downtown Association are meeting in front of the old Griswolds on Sunday at 10am for a 2 hour cleanup of downtown, for anyone interested in participating. Bring your own tools.

Today is the deadline for registering for Arts Walk. At Furniture Works, we'll have a photographer, a painter and a woodworker and we're working on having a reggae band perform. I'll try to keep you updated.

Just ordered a bunch of new stuff. The search for affordable new furniture is more work than it used to be, but I've got 3 sofas, a set (matching sofa, loveseat and chair), a sectional and about a dozen pieces of woodwork (bookshelves, etc.) coming in next week.

Holiday Hours

2008-12-22T19:32:00.000-08:00

Sorry, I've gotten a little behind here in the blog. Just a quick note, this horrible weather has forced occasional changes in our hours. We're keeping the usual hours (Tues-Fri 12:30-6, Sat 10-6 & Sun 10-4) but we've been closing around 4pm so we can get home before dark. We'll be closed Christmas Eve & Christmas Day. New Year's Eve we'll close at 4pm and we'll be closed on New Years Day. Hope this doesn't create an inconvenience for you...and that everyone has managed to stay safe & warm during this winter storm. Kim & I lost a tree in our backyard at home but fortunately it fell well away from the house.

By the way, come the new year, we'll be open 7 days a week...Mondays 12:30-6.

smalls

2008-11-18T10:38:00.000-08:00

It was a bang-up weekend and my thanks to everyone who bought something. We just got in a bunch of smaller items (3 cut-glass candle holders, 7 cast iron toys, etc.) and the gift-giving season is almost upon us. We got the tree up and a few holiday decorations strewn about. If you're looking for a unique gift, consider a recycled one. We also have a good selection of art right now.

If you're looking for an unusual side dish for Thanksgiving, here's a recommendation. Steam brussel sprouts and red radishes together. Season with some salt, pepper and a little lemon juice and lemon zest to brighten the flavors. Serve hot. The green and red colors together are lovely.

Mark your calendars for Sunday, November 30, from noon to 5. Gingerbread competition at the Urban Onion, wagon rides for the kids, Santa photos from noon-2:30, free cocoa & hot cider at 1st Christian Church 1-2:30, Masterworks Choral Ensemble same hours, Bagpipers at 3:45 and the tree lighting ceremony at 4:45pm.

2008-11-03T18:40:00.000-08:00

Whew! Another month gone and we're going into the tunnel of winter, rain & short days. All the consignment checks have been written and we're ready to do it again. I should have a couple more sofas arriving this week and a girl's bedroom set. By the way, while you're on the website, visit the furniture care page. You'll see the article that will appear in next Saturday's Olympian Home & Garden section. Thanks all!

Fall Arts Walk

2008-10-07T15:08:00.001-07:00

Arts Walk was great fun (if a bit tiring) and we had between 150-200 people visit Furniture Works which was great considering the awful weather. Here's something on a few of the artists who showed their work.

Dale Matz, of Big Leaf Studio, builds furniture with a passion. He has a passion towards detail and design, but more importantly about the beauty of the wood. With years of experience building custom furniture and cabinetry, he is able to design and deliver functional, as well as artistically interesting pieces. To view his work, go to bigleafstudio.com or better yet, come down Friday night and meet him and his work.

Adrian Boomer is an Evergreen grad and retired teacher who has done and taught art ever since she could hold a pencil. Her large paintings are people, clothed and unclothed.

Ralph Boomer has been building furniture for over 40 years. He specializes in using sustainable local lumber and takes particular care to choose wood with beautiful grain. Among his favorite woods are big leaf maple , walnut and black cherry.

Patrisa de Francesca in a transplant from the "other Washington" via Arizona, California, Canada and Portugal. She loves nature and this shows in her photography. She also works in water color and would like to pursue an interest in encaustic painting.

Anita Adelika Eisenman is attracted to the reclaiming of the environment by nature. Some of her pieces are drawn from water, reflection, wind, and messages. She works primarily with pencil, paint, pastel, photography, encaustic, and clay.

Chris Johnson is primarily a three dimensional artist who also paints with water color and acrylics. He has worked in bronze, ceramic, fabric, wood, and steel. He has been involved with the artistic community for 30 years.

Chris, Dale & Ralph have left some pieces at the store for sale, so if you missed the show, stop by.

shop onlin

2008-09-20T18:40:00.000-07:00

We're delighted to begin an offering to shop online. The website is http://shop.olyfurnitureworks.com and we're just getting started with our online offerings so we'll be expanding these as time permits. The advantages are ease of access, opportunities for products we just don't have room for on our floor and all items are shipped (free of charge) directly to your door.

2008-09-18T20:23:00.000-07:00

Just posted at http://www.olyfurnitureworks.com/furniturecare.html the next 2 articles that will appear in the Olympian. Task Lighting should appear in 2 weeks and Prefab Housing 2 weeks after that. You saw 'em here first... :-)

Arts Walk - coming up

2008-09-17T13:43:00.000-07:00

Fall Arts Walk is just a few weeks away. Here's a little about SOME of the folks who'll be showing...

Adrian Boomer is an Evergreen grad and retired teacher who has done and taught art ever since she could hold a pencil. She describes herself as a painter who also does many other arts and crafts while waiting for painterly inspiration. Her large paintings are people, clothed and unclothed. An injury has forced her to work on smaller , non-objective pieces which have a strong spiritual component.

Ralph Boomer has been building furniture for over 40 years. He specializes in using sustainable local lumber and takes particular care to choose wood with beautiful grain. Among his favorite woods are big leaf maple , walnut and black cherry. His pieces show careful selection of wood and a high degree of craftmanship. His designs highlight the special properties of unusual pieces.

Patrisa de Francesca in a transplant from the "other Washington" via Arizona, California, Canada and Portugal. She loves nature and this shows in her photography. She also works in water color and would like to pursue an interest in encaustic painting.

Anita Adelika Eisenman is attracted to the reclaiming of the environment by nature. Some of her pieces are drawn from water, reflection, wind, and messages. She works primarily with pencil, paint, pastel, photography, encaustic, and clay.

Chris Johnson is an Evergreen graduate with no formal education in art. A deep need to create has drawn Chris to the visual arts. He is primarily a three dimensional artist who also paints with water color and acrylics. He has worked in bronze, ceramic, fabric, wood, and steel. He has been involved with the artistic community for 30 years.

Robin Levin is a newcomer to Olympia, from Anapolis, Maryland. She has a B.S. in fine Arts from Frostburg State College. She completed her M.S. at the University of Oregon. and has belonged to several art collectives, Robin prefers to work in acrylics and some mixed media. Her work has a strong personal and spiritual element which shows itself in abstracted, organic images.

Mary Ellen Shogren is a former member of the National Guard. She got her initial training as a painter at Central Washington State and graduated from Evergreen. Mary Ellen is passionate about nature. She has worked in Washington State youth Conservation Corps programs and presently works as a gardener/landscaper. Mary Ellen prefers to work on large canvases in oil and acrylic.

Whew! What a weekend!

2008-09-09T15:39:00.000-07:00

This last week we brought in 2 1/2 truck loads of furniture and boy, did it fly out the door this last weekend. Between Saturday and Sunday, 35 pieces of furniture or furnishings (lamps, etc.) sold. Still lots of nice things, though, including a couple of unfinished pine armoires and a pair of pine chests of drawers with a clear finish on them (and a pair of night stands to match). This week I'll be adding an antique armoire to the mix and a few other pieces. On consignment, I got a pair of end tables, 4 dining chairs and 2 4-poster twin beds (and that's just today). Come on down....

Coming changes

2008-08-15T09:04:00.000-07:00

Hi -

Furniture Works will be implementing a few new things over the next couple of months and I wanted to give you a heads up.

1. Our big sale - If you've seen it for a while at Furniture Works, this is the time to get it. 50% off selected items in the store (one week only...I hate giving money away) and it will be our biggest sale ever. By the way, that's my dog Oscar you see in the signs on the windows.

2. Consignments - Beginning 9/1/08, we're changing our consignment period to 60 days. This is to encourage consignors to price their items right to get them into your hands.

3. Seminars - We're going to start a series off seminars on furniture and home decorating. The aim is to keep the costs minimal and we'll donate the proceeds to local charities. And there will be refreshments served. I don't have dates for these yet, but keep an eye on the website.

4. Giveaway - In October, I'm going to select a nice piece of furniture and have a free drawing for it. You'll want to stop by and register.

5. New vendors - As a result of visiting the Las Vegas Market Center, we've established relationships with several new vendors and this will bring some different and exciting pieces to Olympia (their furnishings won't be anywhere else in town). These include Uma, Soflex and Furniture FX, just to name a few.

Vegas

2008-08-08T15:56:00.000-07:00

Whew! Just flew back from Las Vegas and boy, are my arms tired...and my feet. My wife & I went to the World Market Center (5 million square feet of home furnishings). The good part is we established relationships with several new vendors, including some who will drop-ship directly to your home, and we'll be getting a lot of new pieces in the store in the next couple weeks.

We're also in the process of setting up online purchasing which will open up lots of items for sale that we just don't have room for in our store.

Artists!

2008-07-26T07:33:00.001-07:00

We'll have several artists registered to show their work at Arts Walk. We'll have a half dozen furniture pieces from Big Leaf Studios (http://bigleafstudio.com/), original paintings and, from a consortium of artists, paintings, furniture, pottery and lamps.

I'm also pleased to announce we have a new employee, Jennifer Troxler. She brings previous experience with retail furniture to this job, so I'm sure you will find her knowledgable and helpful.

I'm off next week to the Las Vegas Market (http://lasvegasmarket.com/index.shtml) and I'll be looking at 4.3 million square feet of home furnishings, to find the best to bring to Furniture Works.

Artists?

2008-07-11T11:05:00.000-07:00

We've about another week before artists need to register for Arts Walk (which is the first weekend in October). I've got a furniture maker lined up but would love to have a couple of painters showing their works. If you want to display your work at Furniture Works, send me an email at ken@olyfurnitureworks.com.

JinJin's closed on 4th Ave & they brought in several really interesting pieces of Chinese furniture on consignment. The lamps are particularly cool since they're made from jars that came from the area in China that originated porecelain...and they have silk shades.

As always, thanks for supporting FW...

Whew!

2008-06-22T16:30:00.000-07:00

Busy weekend. My wife returned from some travels up north with not one, but two, truckloads of used furniture. Lots of great stuff including a dining set with the new plastic still on the seats, a great antique chest from Korea and a couple dozen other items. I'll try to get the pictures updated on the website this week.

chest of drawers

2008-06-07T11:34:00.000-07:00

Folks have been asking for chest of drawers and dressers lately and they've been a bit hard to find. I'm pleased to say I picked up 6 of them this week. One of them is part of a set of whitewashed mahogany which was popular in the late 1950's. These all are pretty much in the classic mid-century modern style.

I also found a new vendor for upholstered furniture & I should be getting in a couple of new sofas next week. They're closeouts from the manufacturer (they're preparing for next months furniture show in Las Vegas) so they'll have a great price.

I'm also thinking of expanding my advertising. If anyone has any suggestions, please drop me an email at ken@olyfurnitureworks. Thanks,

new stuff

2008-05-03T16:04:00.001-07:00

First, thanks to everyone who came by during Arts Walk. It was a fun, if tiring, weekend.

One of my vendors had an open house this week so I got a busman's holiday on Wednesday & got to go the Tacoma Art Museum. I also picked up several new items and spent this morning getting them unwrapped and out on the floor for you to see. I also picked up a sofa, loveseat and chair in the green velour style that's been quite popular. This will be the 3rd set I've had in the store. They're a closeout item, so when they're gone, they're gone.

Lots of used items this week too, including an upright cedar chest (with pull out shelves) that's quite nice and a sleeper sofa and, even more rare, a chair that unfolds to become a twin bed. Stop by & take a look.

The Tristone sectional is very nice and comes with a round ottoman. I also got a new style in the click-back style (clicks back into a full size bed). This one is a bit more stylish in that it has a channel back.

Arts Walk

2008-04-22T15:58:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I've been out of touch. Arts Walk is this weekend with the Parade of the Species on Saturday afternoon. We're going to be showing works by:

Tim Coy, multi media
Diana Fairbanks, Oil
Robin Jordan, Acrylic
Matalie Pyrooz, Photography and
Ridgeline Middle School, graphite drawings

I know we're a few steps out of main downtown but if you're nearby, both Habitat's ReStore & the Union Gospel Mission will also be showing works for Arts Walk.

I've got programs by the counter if anyone wants one.

Thanks

2008-03-25T13:54:00.000-07:00

Had a couple in the store on Sunday (yes, I worked on Easter) and although I remembered them it was only when we got to talking that I realized they had bought a half dozen different pieces of furniture. The important thing here (besides my faulty memory) is that I'm very, very appreciative of my customers...even if I don't always express it. So I just want to take this opportunity to say thanks to everyone.

As for what's new this week, I'll have a mission style sofa and loveseat, a bistro table with 4 chairs, a like-new (still has the tags on it) night stand with 4 drawers and the most amazing coffee table/game table I've seen. It's a kick.

Thanks again, everyone....

nice used pieces and my articles

2008-03-17T10:22:00.000-07:00

I'll be picking up some great pieces today (bedframe, desk, bookcase, sofa, table & chairs, hutch, etc.) and they'll be out on the floor on Wednesday.

The 2nd of my 3 articles on Spring cleaning was in the Saturday Olympian Home & Garden section (http://www.theolympian.com/181/story/389678.html). For those interested in reading my articles, I try to keep them all online at http://olyfurnitureworks.com/furniturecare.html.

new deals

2008-03-08T13:32:00.001-08:00

Just got in some great new upholstered goods...I'm busy unwrapping them today. This sectional is 7 (yes, 7) pieces and is selling for only $810 (which is half of the normal price of $1620). I got a deal, so you get one too. Once nice thing is that each wedge piece can be pulled out a separate chair, if you need the change the size of the piece.

Although I just sold the chair from this set, I also got in the sofa that appears in the picture. Right now, it is still in the wrappers in the back but it is going to sell for about $475 (usually retailing for $600).

Lots of other new pieces to see as well. And don't forget, there's only 7 days left in our big sale (10-50% off), the biggest sale we've had in our 5 1/2 year history. If you saw it & liked it, nows the time to get it.

Indonesion decor, etc.

2008-03-01T12:21:00.000-08:00

Got some Indonesian pieces this week as a consignment including a bench made from antique plow handles and a folding bench made from coffee trees. The teak buckets are especially nice.

Sofas are coming and going & got 2 used ones this week at reasonable prices. Sold one of my used futons but still have one left...it is hand made of solid oak and clear fir for $150.

2 weeks left on our sale...

1st Saturday of sale

2008-02-19T15:00:00.000-08:00

The first Saturday of our sale went terrific and 14 items sold. So...got to get out & get more. Just picked up another used bookcase ($25), a sturdy kitchen table, leaf & 4 chairs (made in Yugoslavia), a teak shelving unit (several pieces that fit on brackets), a French provincial sofa with satin fabric and a footstool.

walnut entertainment center

2008-02-13T14:07:00.000-08:00

Hi, got a couple of new things in that I think are pretty special. Got a solid walnut entertainment center, clearly a hand crafted piece of furniture, that's amazing. I didn't know folks could afford to build out of solid walnut. The materials alone must have cost a fortune. This one is priced at $500.

Probably the same builder, but got a used futon in too. Solid oak frame with clear fir as the cross-slats on the back. Very nicely constructed, very solid and only $150.