Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Furniture Restoration – Breathing Life Into Your Home

The following is a guest post by Tom on behalf of Furniture 123.

Overview
In the current rising age of austerity, now probably seems as good a time as ever to be tightening the purse-strings and reducing spending. People are sacrificing past luxuries – cars, holidays and even furniture have risen beyond the spending capacity of many families. There are, however, other ways in which you can satiate your desire for a new-furniture fix – and while it might not prove quite as fulfilling as a brand new sofa or dining table, home restoration can be captivating and almost certainly less expensive.

So Just What Can Be Restored?
Well – in short – just about anything! Wooden, metal and upholstered furniture all make ideal subjects for budding restoration gurus. Dining tables, sofas, chairs, fireplaces, bookcases, display cabinets, coffee tables, footstools (you get the picture) are all suitable. You should never underestimate the impact that a simple amount of work can have on your furniture.

How Can I Restore My Furniture?
Metal Furniture
Generally, metal furniture is widely acknowledged as the easiest to restore. Find yourself some metal furniture spray paint, allocate a few hours of your time and an ideal outdoor area and get down to work! Note that this is best done on a dry day. Leave to dry and after a few hours, sit back and enjoy the results.
Wooden Furniture
To clean your wooden furniture, orange oil and a textured cloth are often used as the preferred tools. For wooden furniture which is chipped and worn, dramatic results can be observed through sanding and oiling. Find yourself some fine sandpaper and get down to some real ‘hands on’ work. When you’re happy with the results, varnish/paint the piece as required, leave to dry and voila! A real labour of love. For those pieces of furniture which have suffered from serious wear and tear, you might want to consider wood putty or a liquid wax mix to fill undesired nicks and holes.
Upholstered Furniture
Follow the given instructions for cleaning your specific fabric, ensuring that it isn’t washed at too high a heat. Use a spot shampoo such as Vanish to remove any obvious stains. For instances in which the upholstery is too badly stained or damaged, consider buying a cover to slip over the furniture, or adding pillows and cushions in strategic positions. An added advantage of this is that it allows you to change the décor of the room at will.

And The Results?
Of course, results deviate dependent on the time and care spent on the restoration, but it wouldn’t be right if we didn’t showcase some of the success stories out there…


Taken from Green Restoration.






Taken from Nere Finishing.
If you have any of your own examples then we’d love to hear from you, please leave a comment or get in touch.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Are You Going To SOFA?


Michael Eden
Grey Bloom, 2010
made by Additive Layer Manufacturing from a
high quality nylon material with unique mineral
soft coating, limited edition 1 of 12
8.5 x 7.5" diameter
Clare Beck at Adrian Sassoon, London

Coming up on April 14 to the 17th in New York is the International Exposition of Sculpture Objects and Functional Art (SOFA). Judging by some of the sneak peaks, it will be a great show and a peek at new accessories in showrooms.


Kate Malone
Atomic Vase, 2010
glazed stoneware
14.5 x 12.5 x 10"
Clare Beck at Adrian Sassoon, London


Bodil Manz
No 16 - Angular Vessel, 2011
porcelain
9 x 15"
photo: Erik Brahl
Lacoste Gallery, Concord MA


Marc Ricourt

Marc Ricourt
Scorched Ash, 2009
scorched ash
49 x 24 cm
Sarah Myerscough Fine Art, London


Bud Latven - Sarah Myerscough

Bud Latven
Tulipwood Conic
tulipwood and ebony
33 x 48 cm
Sarah Myerscough Fine Art, London

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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We've suspected that bathtubs aren't used much.  Most of the time when we see movies, TV or ads of someone in the bathroom, they are taking a shower. Rarely are they bathing.
Lake Norman resident Starr Miller considered getting rid of the whirlpool tub in her master bathroom when she realized her housekeeper was in it more than she was.
I suggested to Mike just last week while vacationing in Mazatlan, Mexico, that I would like to remodel the bathroom and create a wonderful  glass shower in place of the tub.  I just don't bathe anymore and Mike doesn't like to sit in his dirty water.   He loves a shower.

Doesn't this shower look luxurious?




What do you think? Are you including tubs in your bathroom remodels? Do you even use a tub in our busy days anymore?

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Monday, March 14, 2011

Style and Substance



Explore The Pearl is out and in is a discussion of what constitutes Style and Substance. Quoted in the article is Syslee Shael of French Quarter Linens, Todd Dewey of J.D. Madison Home Furnishings, Deepali Kahlia of Filling Spaces, Bridget Blackburn of Cargo and Bev Landfair of Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery.

Bev says of a trend, "Style is just a trend that hangs out longer."

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Thursday, March 03, 2011

The Model Architect: Bart Prince

It fascinates me that an idea in our mind can become solid; real. As soon as the idea was conceived it was real and then the conception became physical. Dwell has this wonderful video of architect Bart Prince from Albuquerque talking about his work with clients and the results. After his interviews he builds a model of the design so his clients can see the idea in solid form.

Portland Japanese Garden Expansion By Kengo Kuma



Jenna McKnight editor of the Architectural Record reports
The renowned architect Kengo Kuma has been tapped to design an expansion for the 5.5-acre Portland Japanese Garden, which opened in 1967. While funding is not yet in place, the plan calls for new garden spaces, an education center, a gift store, and a tea house. Groundbreaking is targeted for 2013.

Wednesday, March 02, 2011

THA Architecture In Portland Wins Award



Architectural Record is pleased to announce the winners of its 13th Good Design Is Good Business Awards (formerly the Business Week/Architectural Record Awards). The program recognizes projects with innovative architectural strategies that help businesses achieve specific goals. The jury, which consisted of members of the editorial staff, attempted to gauge the success of each project’s “business case”—a series of quantitative and qualitative measurements of building performance. Factors considered included employee productivity, construction costs, reduced overhead, and branding, among other criteria.

Pictured above is Mercy Corps Headquarters by THA Architecture, in Portland, Oregon

Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Two Heartwarming Stories

Kathy in Mazatlan writes:
Yesterday a friend of a friend came in to town via a yellow and white cab to the Golden Zone. He was excited to visit our lovely city. When he got to his room he realized he left his leather pouch in the cab containing dollars, passport and other important papers. Shortly therefter the hotel received a phone call from cab driver and the pouch with all contents was delivered to him. Thank you for your honesty. Muchas gracias to our tourism.


Vitalia writes about losing her wedding rings.  She remembered before she got out of the car, she had taken her rings off and put them in her lap when she applied hand lotion..
I ran outside only to find out that there is a big sewer vent right under the door where I exited the car.  There was no sign of rings.  Just a big, ugly, scary sewer grid.
Rouget restaurant owner Brian in Newton, PA went into the sewer to search for her rings.

What are you willing to do for your clients, not to gain something, but to be a decent human being?

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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