Realities OF Furniture Shopping

Jason Ball of Jason Ball Interiors has a great post about shopping for furniture from an interior designer's viewpoint:

Interior designers shop for furniture differently than most consumers by focusing on size, style, lines, color and pattern. Many designers "shop" at designer-only showrooms which don't have a large number of options on the floor, but instead have thousands of options in catalogs covering multiple manufacturers. The number of styles and semi-customization are much greater than most retail furniture stores. The real benefit comes in access to hundreds of fabric options and a higher level of customization possible. Take the "walking the floor" situation. In a designer-only showroom, you'll test out different types of cushions to see what's comfortable. You can then select pieces based on their various measurements - seat depth and height, arm height, overall height, etc. And, the piece you select will be built for you!

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
Follow us on Twitter

A Colorful Accent

Faith Sheridan has my husband's favorite colors: Malachite and I call it a cinnamon.



Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
Follow us on Twitter

Jentrified

Have you been to Jen West Design's blog, Jentrified? I was struck by her post about her visit to the Design Center in San Francisco where she encountered Hwang Bishop:



Darn, we are not on her blogroll either.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
Follow us on Twitter

Angela Todd's Blog

Hey, gang, check out Angela Todd's blog. She has a step-by-step process to get remodeling or redecorating project underway.

Another post on her blog has pictures of the Home Builders Association’s Ultimate Open House, which took place on April 18th-19th and 25th-26th. She says it was a tremendous success. The Interior Design Society of Portland worked with several of the home builders to stage and style their homes. This picture just steals my heart. I just love the drama and the striking saturated orange:



The only thing missing on her blog is a blogroll and our blog on it.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
Follow us on Twitter

Before & After With Interior Designer Marlene Buckner

We've encouraged interior designers in our area to show us their before and after pictures of projects they've completed. We want to give you an idea through their examples why we recommend you use an interior designer.

Our latest example is from Marlene Buckner, president elect of ASID Oregon Chapter, and a consummate professional having passed the National Council for Interior Design Qualification Exam (NCIDQ)

This 1916 residence in Dunthorpe was designed by famous Portland Architect Wade Hampton Pipes. The kitchen was so small the family ate at the farm table that doubled as a work surface. After Marlene designed an 8 foot addition on the opposite end of the room and developed the kitchen design with the homeowners, a new larger kitchen emerged that included an island and nook with built-in banquette seating (in the old kitchen location).



True to the period, painted cabinets with inset doors from Wood-Mode were installed and a satin-etched Mysore Black granite counter was chosen for its aged appearance.

Challenges included lacing in and finishing the new oak kitchen floor to blend seamlessly with the original 90-year-old oak floors found everywhere else. The oven cabinet also required careful modification to bypass the top two steps to the landing above that were hidden in a soffit.

Due to the complexity of this addition and the beauty of its integration with the original home, this project received the 2008 ORA Outstanding Remodeling Achievement Award as well as the prestigious national Chrysalis Award for Best Residential Addition in its price category.

Marlene Buckner specializes in Spatial Design, Kitchens, Baths, and Interiors and is a Certified Kitchen and Bath Designer through NKBA.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
Follow us on Twitter

Facundo Poj : Concept To Prototype

Remember the January post titled Facundo Poj Design? Argentinian Facundo who now makes his home in Miami, has just released a video on the whole process of the aztec stool & wine rack from concept to prototype in just over 3 minutes. Naturally, the design is facilitated with a nice bottle of red wine and a cigarette.



Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
Follow us on Twitter

Contemporary Lighting for the Modern Style Apartment

When it comes to modern style apartments, the furniture pieces are the all-important focal points of your retreat. Therefore, it is absolutely essential to feature your modern décor in the best way, even at night.

When nighttime approaches, the lighting of your home should not only highlight the beauty of your modern furniture, but it should also encompass the overall modern theme of your room’s décor. Whether you are in the office working or in the living room relaxing, modern lighting can create the ambiance that enhances optimal enjoyment of your residence. The versatility of modern lighting lies in the unparalleled ability to work in all different kinds of settings for many different purposes.

Here are some tips on how to spruce up your décor with contemporary lighting solutions.

What can Pendant lighting do for you?

Watch your head, pendant lights are now all the rage in the modern design world (but don’t worry, you can always adjust the height to accommodate tall people). Overhanging pendant lights are becoming increasingly practical and ornate, with an ever-widening selection of various finishes and styles to choose from.

Additionally, Pendant lights work just about everywhere; whether you want to use them in the kitchen, in the living room, or even outside, they are a great way to impress your guests. In the living room, your modern couch should not be left in the dark because of weak attempts at using recess lighting or track lighting. Rather, modern pendant lights running the length of your couch will make it glow to the point where everyone in the room will gravitate towards that spot. Truly, modern lighting really brings out some of your fanciest modern pieces in a subtle, yet effectively beautiful way.

Ceiling Fixtures for your Space

Ceiling lights, from classically shaped light settings to wonderfully intricate chandeliers, are an integral part of the quintessential modern interior. These lights are best placed in areas that are smaller but used frequently. For example, kitchens and foyers are best for large ceiling fixtures that radiate light to a given space. For those intrepid modern décor fans out there with a little money to spend, investing in a chic designer chandelier will certainly add value to your home, especially if it has large ceilings and an abundance of space.

Depending on the style of the dinner table and chairs, a modern designed overhead fixture is the perfect way to bring people together. Stainless steel, chrome or brushed nickel fixtures that are clean and futuristic looking are the perfect accessories to your dining experience.

Your Child’s Space born Modern

Modern lighting is not just designated to sophisticated, adult spaces. Rather, there are various contemporary lighting options that are fun, colorful and kid-friendly. Some modern lighting décor features are purposely made to work in both children and adult rooms. Offi lamps seem to epitomize this children’s theme perfectly. With lighting styles like “Daschund Dog” and “Teddy Bear Jr,” Offi continues to be a leader in children’s décor. The fun and colorful designs of Offi lamps are sure to embody the imaginative décor of your child’s space.

All in all, your lighting should complement the furniture that you worked so hard to acquire and maintain. Putting half as much effort into lighting the décor of your room will pay off when your house fast becomes a place that brings everyone together. By adding contemporary lighting to your room, not only will your room be illuminated, but it will also be infinitely more stylish.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
Follow us on Twitter

Tour Of Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Beverly gives a tour of Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery in Portland's Pearl.



Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
Follow us on Twitter

Sofa's Durability Depends On Fabric

Kara Pierce, Senior Design Consultant at The Sofa Company, has written an article titled How to Test My Sofa’s Upholstery Fabric Durability and Strength.

How exactly is a fabric’s durability measured? Most fabrics go by one of two test methods, known as Wyzenbeek and Martindale, to give the fabric an “abrasion” or “double rub” rating. Essentially, the fabric is pulled tight and rubbed in two directions by a standard weight fabric; if two yarn breaks occur, or if noticeable wear is observed, at that point the number of rubs is recorded as the abrasion rating. 30,000 double rubs is considered minimum durability for commercial use; hotels, conference rooms, etc. Between 30,000 and 100,000 is considered heavy duty. Although these tests are only used as tools for predicting wear, it can help when looking at fabrics, to know that the higher the abrasion rating number is, the better it performed on the durability test.

At Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery you will notice that most of the Sherrill fabrics have a "wearability" rating from Heavy and Medium to Light. The Duralee fabrics carry a durabilty rating and the samples will have a "double rub" rating.

It's important for your satisfaction with our furniture that you pair the durability of the fabric with its use. You wouldn't want to use a linen fabric, for example, in the den where the kids wrestle. You also wouldn't want to use a lower quality sofa or chair in a room that gets heavy use.

In our store we have sofas with different price points, different styles and fabrics that can be ordered to fit your needs.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
Follow us on Twitter

What To Look For In A Sofa

In this viseo shot at Landfair Furniture + Design gallery, the owner Beverly Landfair explains the "sit" in a sofa and what to look for when shopping for a sofa:



Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
Follow us on Twitter

A delightful urban nursery

I walked through a series of interesting neighborhoods to reach a small nursery in a developing district along N. Mississippi.

Some remarkable initiatives for community development (the 'trees' are the entrance to the Rebuilding Center), an excellent parking and all sorts of interesting landscapes were part of the experience.

But the nursery, Pistils, turned out to be wonderful -- full of great plants, a charming shop selling all sorts of things, and knowledgeable staff. It was well worth seeking out.

Greening your city

I don't live in a large city, but I'd like us to do more to green the streetscapes and business landscapes.


Portland isn't perfect, but their street plantings, "hell strip" plantings (that's the strip between the street and sidewalk), and containers are a big improvement from what I normally see.

Of course Portland has the perfect benign climate for container plantings, and tough site plantings.


But, this is what I saw in the downtown Pearl District of Portland today, and think about what you could encourage in your community. I know I'll be going home with good ideas about what to try.

A peaceful garden and a ground squirrel mooch

The peacefulness of the Japanese Garden in Portland soothed an overstimulated conference attendee (that's me). I love interacting with like-minded folks, but I'm also used to having a LOT more quiet time than occurs in back to back sessions (no matter how interesting). I know I have company here -- many garden writers and photographers are reflective and observant, and not necessarily 24/7 types. I spoke to several like-minded folks today. So visiting the Japanese Garden was an antidote to the conference experience in closed-in rooms and no windows.

These rose buds in the Portland Rose Garden near the Japanese Garden were my favorite image from a striking garden.

This fellow has his territory near the snack stand staked out. It involves coaxes tourists into feeding him/her.

An early morning city walk

As soon as it became light, I was off to walk. I like to get my bearings in a new place, and see how the neighborhoods and cityscapes feel. I MUCH prefer to walk outside (in whatever weather) in preference to indoor gyms.

Looping through downtown Portland (very quiet so early) and walking back along the Waterfront Park path was urban, with pockets of streetscape plants. Returning through more of a neighborhood area gave me a different perspective, with restaurants, and coffee houses, and folks stopping on the way to work.


I was impressed with a couple of curbside and parking lot plantings near a huge mall -- definitely an encouraging start for the week!

Off to visit other gardens

Heading to a conference on the other side of the North American continent takes me from Eastern oak-hickory forest and old fields to the damp western slopes of the Cascades. I may not see much in the way of natural areas in downtown Portland, but it is certainly a city of gardens, parks, and focused (and contained) urban growth.

Rosehill Cottage chair

My part of North America (the Southeast) exemplifies sprawl and a larger ecological travel footprint, according to an expert interviewed on our CU-produced program (Your Day) for SC-ETV Public Radio, aired as I was driving to the airport. There’s certainly irony in that, but I guess I believe in the benefits of travel, and hope the carbon offset programs do some good!

But he also spoke about how Portland had made a choice between expanding highways and mass transit, opting for transit. I’ll take a light rail system from the airport to the conference hotel for about $2.30. If I have time to go to the other side of the Willamette River, transit is free in the main downtown area. Remarkable. And unfortunately singular in this country.

I’ll be visiting gardens and nurseries as part of the conference, and interacting with fellow gardening and plant enthusiasts who write, speak, and blog about gardens (with a media mix of TV, web, and podcasting added in).

Florist display in England
Since I enjoy encouraging people to think about learning more about plants, nature, gardens, gardening, and ecology, aside from being a total enthusiast myself – I think I’ll fit right in.

And, I love seeing how other people choose plants for their gardens and create special places. Rosehill Cottage was a private garden that I visited in May under the National Gardens scheme in England -- a weathered cafe chair made a perfect garden vignette. This small local florist clearly arranged her wares in an imaginative and welcoming way.