Welcome Greentea Design

We have another new advertiser on the Landfair Furniture (Blog), Greentea Design, your online source for Japanese furniture.

Why Greentea?

Exclusive Designs
Designs like the Mizuya Kitchen are available nowhere else in the world.

Flexibility
Need custom designs? Special considerations? No problem! Greentea strives to exceed your expectations whenever possible.

Think Green
All their furniture is built from reclaimed wood salvaged from Korean farmhouses.

Greentea has four collections:

Living room furniture




Bathroom furniture - If a stylish bathroom is what you are after, then this is the place to look. The pieces that make up their bathroom furniture collection feature warm, solid woods and rich patinas.

Kitchen cabinets - The emphasis is on the natural beauty of the elm wood and hand-forged iron hardware.

Antique furniture



Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

New Art Glass Offerings

Lindsey Strader writing for Home Accents Today notices art glass offerings are being shown with asymmetric configurations, abstract patterns, undulating edges and bold colorations. One design featured is from Globval Views carried at Landfair Furniture.



Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Stanley Teams With Coastal Living Magazine

FURNITURE Today reports that Stanley Furniture and the magazine Coastal Living have partnered "on a new line of relaxed, cottage-inspired furniture. Cottage-inspired groups are second only to traditional among Stanley's best-selling styles.

This desk from Stanley’s new Coastal Living collection, in a Sea Grass painted finish, features a drop-front keyboard drawer with cord management opening.

"Published by Time Warner division Southern Progress Corp., Coastal Living is a lifestyle magazine geared towards readers who live at or near coastal areas. It covers subjects ranging from homes and travel to food and entertainment."

"The domestically produced collection has about 80 pieces, all of which will be available in 13 painted finishes and one wood finish. Categories include bedroom, dining room, occasional and accent furniture, as well as home office and home entertainment."

Landfair Furniture proudly carries Stanley Furniture.

UPDATE: FURNITURE Today has further information about the partnership and more pictures.
Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

What Is Magnetic Induction?

Mike came across an article today at Wallstrip Today about how Intel, using some new technology called "magnetic induction" has demonstrated a prototype system that could power gadgets without having to plug them into a wall socket. Imagine that! No more charging stations for cell phones and laptops, maybe even electric cars.



His research into "magnetic induction" led him to another article, this time about a new cooking surface.

Magnetic Induction Cook Tops uses technology that transfers heat to the pan through magnetism. Even when the cook top is on, it is cool to the touch because the energy transfer only affects magnetic objects. This is of great value for homes that have kids with curious hands!

GE is selling the GE Profile:

The GE units have a whole lot of smarts added in, especially when it comes to safety. If you remove the pot or pan while cooking, the surface detects its absence and cuts off. If you place something with less mass on the surface such as your ring or a spoon, it won't heat up. Only pots and pans will be allowed to generate the cooking heat. There's even a setting that lets you lock the cooktop's controls.

The neat thing is, it can boil water in 15 seconds and heat control is much more precise than with gas or electric burners. Think of the fossil fuels that can be saved! The GE website shows the cooktop has a retail price of $2549.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

New Products

Lindsey Strader at Home Accents Today Product Line has singled out some new products and two are from Uttermost, whose products Landfair Furniture carries on our showroom floor.



Tree Panels
Set of 2 are frameless hand painted oils designed by Grace Feyock, and feature an array of natural earth tone colors. Each measuring 20"W x 70"H.



The Jannik
Hurricane Candleholder features an old barn finish with bronze metal details and clear seeded glass. Designed by Matthew Williams this candleholder measures 11"W x 25"H.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Landfair Furniture Finalist In ARTS Awards

We are very pleased to be nominated as a 20th Annual ARTS Awards Finalists; the winners will be announced in Dallas, Texas on January 17th.

The ARTS Awards is the premiere awards program dedicated to the home decorative accessories industry. Twenty-six categories exist under the headings Manufacturer, Retailer, Product Designer, Sales Representative, Rising Star and Academy of Achievement. Manufacturers and the Rising Star award are nominated by retailers, sales representatives, designers, suppliers, consultants and other industry officials. Retailers are nominated by manufacturers, sales representatives and other industry officials.

Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery is a finalist along with Interior Illusions in the West.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

The CCR And Its Contents

When Mike and I signed the lease a little over a year ago, in the Pearl Design center, we wanted to know about the covenants, conditions and restrictions, (CCR).

Alex Veiga, business writer for WTOPnews.com has some five good questions to ask when buying a condo. You are entitled to a copy of the CCR and Veiga says you want to know what's in it.



Every time the CCR subject comes up, I am reminded of a book I read, a while back, called "The Association" by Bentley Kittle. Publisher's Weekly describes the book this way:

With this haunting tale, Little (The Town) proves that he hasn't lost his terrifying touch. Barry and Maureen Welch are thrilled to exchange their chaotic California lifestyle for the idyllic confines of Bonita Vista, a ritzy gated community in the unincorporated fictional town of Corban, Utah. But as Bonita Vista residents, they're required to become members of the neighborhood's Homeowners' Association, a meddling group that uses its authority to spy on neighbors, eradicate pets and dismember anyone who fails to pay association dues and fines. Maureen, an accountant, and Barry, a horror writer who is banned by the association from writing at home, soon find themselves trapped in the kind of deranged world that Barry once believed existed only within the safety of his imagination. The novel's graphic and fantastic finale demonstrates the shortsightedness of the Association and will stick with readers for a long time. Little's deftly drawn characters inhabit a suspicious world laced with just enough sex, violence and Big Brother rhetoric to make this an incredibly credible tale.

It made quite an impression on me. I will never again be complacent about the CCR and its contents.

10 Funky Modern Table Designs

You must take a look at Quazen.

Quazen is a user powered website dedicated to providing you with the highest quality general oriented content on the web. Our community of writers strives to deliver the most coherent and up-to-date articles on a variety of general topics including Recreation, Kids and Teens, Arts, Shopping and more.

The post that drew my attention is titled 10 Funky Modern Table Designs This one below, I'll show you as a homage to the Olympics:


Click on image to enlarge.

They say at Quazen, "These tables, I'm afraid, are so impractical that no one will ever pull up a chair." We will, we love them all!

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Masland Carpets Added

We are very excited to start a relationship with a new vendor, Masland Carpets. While we were in Las Vegas, we saw all the carpet samples that Masland offered and were amazed at the quality, colors, designs and prices.

Maybe, you are holding off to make a major furniture purchase, but want to add a little zing to freshen the look of your home. Maybe, you are a designer and are looking for a carpet to begin or complete your customer's design. Maybe, budget is a consideration. We have the perfect remedy!

Here's the Masland Zulu look, that is "what's new" at Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery:



This is Zebra and will be featured in our showroom:


Look at the range of colors:






Zulu's contrasts in texture, color, and surface luster combine to produce over-the-top comfort and visual stimulation in this innovative hand-knotted rug made of 65% New Zealand Wool and 35% Art Silk.


Standard Rug Sizes are:

5' x 8', 8' x 11', 10' x 14'

Custom Sizes Available

Bev & Mike
LandfairFurniture + Design Gallery

Uttermost Chest And Mirror

Here's another piece we fell in love with at Market. It's new!

It's a Bolzano, Console Cabinet. This uniquely Eastern console cabinet was designed by Matthew Williams. Built and hand finished by artisans, it offers concealed storage with a full width, adjustable shelf; mirrored, timeworn door pulls that reflect the authenticity of age, and genuine Asian newsprint lines in the cabinet's interior for unexpected interest. 33 W X 37 H X 17 D inches

The matching mirror has a distressed, aged mahogany red finish with black undertones and a mossy green inner liner with rust details. The mirror has a generous 1 1/4" bevel. 31 inches X 3 inches.

Look for them in our showroom soon.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Uttermost From Las Vegas Market

Lindsey Strader writes for Home Accents Today about new products. Her position is kind of a "Devil Wears Prada". Remember how Meryl Streep and her gang decided or told the industry "what's hot"? That's Lindsey Strader!

This morning her Product Line reached us by email and our most recent purchase from Uttermost at Las Vegas Market is featured:


The Nia Corner Chair is great alone, or paired for use as a loveseat. Reinforced hardwood frame is upholstered in a sueded toffee fabric with metallic brass accent buttons for tailored styling. Rich walnut stained legs. Measures 25"W x 32"H x 25"D.

Strader also features this Uttermost mirror:



The Amberlyn mirror features a round, center mirror with generous 1 1/4" bevel and is surrounded by heavily antiqued gold leaf mirrors with burnished edges and antiqued, etched glass panels. Measures 33" in diameter.

You can receive Lindsey Strader's Product Line by subscribing or go to e-newsletters at Home Accents Today

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Two New bar Stools From Dinec

Here are two more pieces coming soon from Dinec:


This bar stool is stationary and hugs your back and is very comfortable.


This bar stool swivels. Both chair seats come in leather, fabric or wood and two different heights. Dinec offers 74 different finishes!

Bev & Mike
LandfairFurniture + Design Gallery

Surfing The Web

One thing leads to another:

First, we have Portland Architecture by Brian Libby, architect and member of AIA. Libby is a freelance journalist living in Portland His blog has a post about Portlander, Ryan Walsh of DRW Design Build, who wins grand prize in Dwell magazine/AIA's "How green are you?" contest. I then clicked on Dwell magazine and I see Dwell has a blog. The Dwell blog has "A weekly round-up of our favorite design links". One of their favorites is design*sponge, also one of ours, and they have pictures of designer Jean Orlebeke's house.



Notice, the clean lines, the yellow sofa, the antlers near the ceiling, the recycled wood shades, the large print chairs and the black and white rug. Great design!

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Design Star Finale On HGTV Tonight

The big finale is tonight in HGTV's Design Star!

The final two contestants, Matt and Jennifer designed it out this past Sunday to compete for the ultimate design star title and the prize of their own design show on HGTV. The winner viewers chose will be revealed this Sunday on HGTV in the final episode of Design Star.

Who do you think it’s going to be?

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From Drab to Fab in 7 Steps.
When: August 23rd, Saturday 10:30 to 11:30 am.
Where: Landfair Furniture at 1636 NW 15th Portland, OR 97209
Phone: 503-249-7951
Register online:
Please Register Me

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Also, after the ultimate design star is revealed, you can keep the excitement going by checking out the premiere of HGTV’s newest show Summer Showdown to watch HGTV's top talent go head-to-head to make over rooms in dire need of an overhaul. Summer Showdown airs immediately following the finale of Design Star.

Check out the promo for Summer Showdown here:


Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Long-Term Benefits to Building a Green Home

I got the feeling from manufacturers in Las Vegas that Oregon may be a pace setter in the "green" movement. Because of that feedback, I thought you might enjoy some excerpts from this interview of NH Architect Jeremy Bonin. Bonin "with his wife Kim, is the principal partner of Claremont, New Hampshire-based Bonin Architects & Associates, an architectural firm not only focusing on post and beam homes, but on green and sustainable design as well. Jeremy is a LEED-accredited professional.

JB: The simple solutions are generally the most effective and cost efficient. This applies to so many aspects of the design of a home; the first, quality of space over quantity of space truly does have a great impact on the livability of a home. A well-designed, efficiently planned home will address all of the same programmatic requirements as a larger home, yet will cost less to heat and maintain over its lifespan, as well as offer more to the family in terms of comfort, warmth and shelter.

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From Drab to Fab in 7 Steps - Seminar by Interior Designer Donya Wyland.
When: August 23rd, Saturday 10:30 to 11:30 am.
Where: Landfair Furniture at 1636 NW 15th Portland, OR 97209
Phone: 503-249-7951
Register online:
Please Register Me

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Second, building a sustainable or energy-efficient home should start with keeping whatever energy is expended in heating and cooling in the home. The shell or envelope of the home is where to address this: A timber frame home with SIPs (structural insulated panels) is one of the most impressive and effective ways of going about building a more efficient shell. A SIPs enclosure has minimal thermal bridging as compared to typical conventional stick framing, higher R values and are substantially tighter, allowing much less air into and out of the building through gaps in the construction. SIPs may also be used without a timber frame or as a hybrid, where minimal timber is used in conjunction with the SIPs.

If conventional construction is used, the method of insulating the building may be altered from the conventional fiberglass batt insulation. Using sprayed in expanding insulations such as icynene or other products such as blown-in batt (BIBs) insulation have higher R values and dramatically reduce air infiltration and exfiltration, and also are more efficient. Combining the more efficient and better-insulated shell with high-quality windows and doors results in more of the energy expended to heat and cool the home being kept indoors.

The third aspect, no matter what you choose to do in terms of sustainable options, is to remember to start with the simple solutions. For example, while photovoltaic panels (PVs) are great and the allure of producing your own electricity is strong, if you haven’t situated the home properly on the site to maximize solar gain for both daylighting and passive solar heating, you are spending a substantial amount of money to produce electricity while you are wasting electricity or a fossil fuel to light and heat the home. Daylighting and passive solar heat are free - they need only to be considered while designing the home.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Dinec Is Coming

When we were in Las Vegas at Market we made some excellent purchases for the store. Here's a sample of what's coming from Dinec:









Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

The Wallstrip Blog

I love this blog: Wallstrip. It's hip, irreverant, fast-paced and smart. Julie Alexander is the host and she is very good at reading her teleprompter with great gestures while we get fast cuts to media that is pertinent.

Take a look at the most recent post about AICAR: the exercise pill. An "exercise pill: the pill that helps you burn off calories just by sitting on the couch." What a wonderful idea. You can order a large pepperoni pizza, each slice worth 5 points, wash it down with a diet coke and afterwards take the "exercise pill" before your nap.

Then Alexander gives you a once over of Weight Watchers (WTW) as an investment. Her numbers on the price of thestock are a little out of date, though. She talks about the price of WTW as about $58. Since the video the stock has declined to about $35.

Investors must have liked the latest earnings or Wallstrip has a big following because the stock has jumped $2.42 or almost 7%!

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery