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Everyone should experience a little “la dolce vita” every now and then.
Heather Dempsey and Massimo Mallamace, owners of San Francisco home furnishings shop Fatto a Mano are offering a select few the opportunity to experience Tuscany in a 500-year-old stone country house, Podere Erica.
The country house recently underwent a $1 million renovation and is packed with antique furniture and décor. A few amenities include a huge claw foot tub, working fireplaces in the bedrooms, air conditioning and a dreamy wisteria-covered pergola.
However, a little “la dolce vita” will set you back a few Euros, (6,685 Euros per week during the high season).
According to the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association monthly Trend of Business Survey, overall cabinet sales for November 2010 decreased 4.1 percent compared to sales for November 2009.
Survey participants reported that stock cabinet sales decreased 8.8 percent, custom sales decreased 6.0 percent and semi-custom sales increased 1.4 percent. Respondents reported year-to-date sales also declined 3.0 percent, with stock sales down 5.5 percent, custom sales down 13.2 percent and semi-custom sales up 1.8 percent.
Survey participants included stock, semi-custom and custom companies with combined sales representing over 50 percent of the U.S. cabinet market.
It’s hard to find anything especially furniture that is actually Made in the USA, until now. Pacific Hospitality Design Inc. is the first U.S. custom furniture and furnishing manufacturer to earn the license to use the Made in the USA Certified Seal. In an industry where outsourcing has become the status quo, it’s nice to see some manufacturing is still thriving in the US.
If you read the fine print on many items you buy, you’ll find phrases like designed in California or Assembled in the USA (clever marketing trickery). Made in the USA Certified is a non-partisan leader in independent third-party assurance verification for genuine ‘Made in USA’ products and services.
The Association of Woodworking and Furnishings Suppliers is now accepting entries for the 2011 Fresh Wood Student Woodworking Competition. The competition, which will be showcased at the 2011 AWFS Fair, July 20-23, in Las Vegas, has six categories at both school levels: case goods, chairs, open, production/contract, reproduction and tables. Entries will be rated by a panel of ten judges who represent different aspects of the woodworking industry:
*Margaret Casey, director of programming for the World Market Center in Las Vegas and president of the Sustainable Furnishings Council Board of Directors;
*Andy Glantz, owner of Zenith Design and current president of the board of trustees of The Furniture Society;
*Alan Harp, an Atlanta-based furniture designer and former instructor of the Georgia Tech Advanced Wood Products Laboratory;
*Garry Knox Bennett, an Award of Distinction winner from The Furniture Society and Fellow of the American Craft Council;
*Greg Larson, director of the New England School of Architectural Woodworking;
*Merry Mabbett-Dean, owner/interior designer of Absolute Office of Oregon and a Fellow and past president of the International Furnishings and Design Association;
*Juan Morales, principal/VP operations of Contract Resources/Villa Hallmark;
*Jason Phillips,vice president and creative director of Phillips Collection;
*Marc Spagnuolo, owner and creator of TheWoodWhisperer.com; and
*David Wade, master craftsman at Maloof Woodworking.
The competition is open to full-time students in an accredited high school or post-secondary woodworking or related program and part-time students in an accredited post-secondary woodworking or related program that are transitioning into a career in woodworking or design. Entry applications will be accepted until May 2, 2011.
Looking for clues to what may be the next “it” color—look no further than your local grocery store. Blue may be the world’s most popular color, but the one to watch for 2011 is actually Magenta, according to DayGlo Color Corp.’s Brand Action Team. Product packaging, paint, cosmetics and clothing are all indicators of color trends that will eventually show up in furniture.
Pantone is also jumping on the pink hue bandwagon, declaring Honeysuckle the 2011 color of the year. According to Pantone, Honeysuckle is upbeat and dynamic…a conversation stimulant when used on dining room walls. I can almost hear the conversation now…
Frightened dinner guest: “Oh, you repainted your dining room…it’s…uh, a bold choice.”
Trendy host: “Yes, the color elevates our psyche beyond escape, instilling the confidence, courage and spirit to meet the exhaustive challenges that have become part of everyday life.”
Frightened dinner guest: “Do you talk to Elvis, too?”
However, with bold color comes great responsibility. Pantone warns, once you try this arresting shade, it can become addictive. We may need a colorvention, an intervention for good colors gone bad.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has banned in the United States any crib with a side rail that can be raised and lowered — also known as drop-side cribs. Hotels and daycare centers have two years to replace this style of furniture for a crib with four fixed sides.
Texture and natural imperfections are what gives wood its character. Mike Messer, owner of Great Lakes Rustics likes to take a living piece of wood, imperfections and all, and turn it into a functional piece of art otherwise known as a coffee table.
Great Lakes Rustics specializes in hickory, pine, red cedar and white cedar log furniture. The furniture line covers beds to dining tables to accessories. My favorite part of this rustic furniture line is the barn wood end tables. These end tables are made from historic Michigan barns that have been marked to be destroyed. The design varies somewhat because all salvaged wood is one of a kind.
No, I’m not talking about the Brooklyn Bridge. New Yorkers and New Yorkers at heart now have an opportunity to own a piece of historic NYC. Made of New York furniture is constructed out of old Manhattan lumber using as few machines as possible. This eco-friendly furniture line rescues 19th century lumber and wood materials that would end up in a dump somewhere in Jersey. The geometric collection’s simple lines complement the charm of the old wood. Prices range from $200 to $1,200 and the collection can be found here.
Modern furniture doesn’t have to be sterile and cold. Light Vintage from Italian design firm Moda offers an ornate, classic wood furniture line paired with bold, colorful modern fabrics. The result is a playful mix of old and new that would fit in a European palace and a loft in Chicago. The furniture line features chairs, sofas and my favorite the fainting couch.
Looking for new ways to incorporate your favorite pictures into your space? Two designers, have created the Lumi Process, which uses photo-realistic images and prints or ingrains them in the fiber on natural materials (denim, wood and raw leather) in an eco-friendly way (no harsh chemicals or processing).
If you’re a luxist, then the Lumi Process isn’t for you. The process can only be used on materials that can handle heat such as polyester or polyester-coated goods. Kind of a buzzkill, but I can see this high-art process, which is currently used on furniture going low-brow commercial in the next 10 years.
Nevermind those extra holiday pounds you packed on, Dutch designer Carolien Laro has released a series of stools with flexible seats created by cutting slits into their solid ashwood tops.
The seating collection includes a three-seatbench and three stools, one on wheels, one without and another with folded steel legs. To create the Springwood effect, each seat has 480 CNC-milled cuts.
