About a year ago I saw the Obelisk by Janus et Cie for the first time. It is a truly striking set of outdoor furniture, which is easily fashionable enough to be used indoor as well. It is a set of four chairs and a small table that stack into a towering obelisk when not in use. I love the idea in theory. In obelisk form, it takes up very little square footage -- equivalent to one of its chairs. The rest of its volume is stacked, thus freeing your precious floor space. The quality and durability of these pieces is truly top notch. The chairs' frames are made of powder-coated aluminum for lightweight durability. The outer shell is a woven polyethylene, extremely resilient and especially good at standing up to the elements. It's truly a perfect set -- in fact the only draw back I can see is it's nearly $9,000 price tag.
This year it's in with the knock-offs. Yesterday I found three suspiciously similar sets made from rattan. Now rattan, done right, can be a very durable. It can also be that cheap wicker furniture that disintegrates after a few seasons. I am sure these new sets will not live up to their high style counterparts, but they are good budget options. The three sets range in price from $2,379 to $4,000. This represents a huge price difference from the Obelisk. I will be excited to see how these new pieces stack up against the competition.
I was reminded today how much I miss summer, or at least warm weather. Cottage weather, as we like to call it.
While at the cottage we are often more social than we are at home. Not that we are anti-social at home. But the cottage is community; we visit with people we don't see all winter. We have the neighbors up and my wife's parents are often there with us. Life at the cottage is simpler and often revolves around meals, more so than our home life. And I almost always cook! I enjoy cooking and I'll try almost anything. If there's a recipe, I'll give it a go. We very often grill our evening meal. What can I say -- I enjoy grilling and it seems like the manly thing to do.
Continue reading "Small space table grill by Eva Solo" »
Rowe Furniture has heard the call for stylish furniture that we can fit through our door.The Mini Mod collection is designed for small space living. Most sofas range from 81 to 96 inches. The Mini Mod collection's sofas are typically less than 80 inches. The collection includes couches, chairs, ottomans and even a sectional for small spaces. Most pieces are available in more than 130 fabrics from the Eco Rowe natural fabrics collection. Rowe furniture can be purchased with Reflex Natural cushion cores as well. Rowe is a founding member of the Sustainable Furniture Council. It's great to see more manufacturers turning their attention to the "small" market. The selection of fashionable furniture available for small spaces seems to growing daily.
Furniture Fashion would like to welcome Michael Bogdan as a writer. Michael has great experience on small space living and currently runs a blog on this topic. Michael provides an introduction into small space living in the below article. Please, help me welcome Michael to our team.
What's wrong with big? Well, like it or not, there are societal ramifications to huge homes. I often look at families of 2 or 3 living in massive homes as gluttonous children taking more than they could possibly eat, just because they can. How many of these homes have rooms that are never used? The McMansions consume resources -- the resources used to build them, the resources use to heat, cool and maintain them.
Luckily, in this world of super sizing there are alternatives. Smaller living arrangements have long been abundant in much of the world. Sophisticated city dwellers all over Europe live in apartments considered tiny by our standards. Now downsizing is coming to America in a big way. There is a visible and growing trend toward smaller space living.
Continue reading "Furniture Fashion introduces small space living section" »
You don't have to be challenged by space requirements to take advantage of the Case Study Daybed Couch series. These light and good looking couches easily convert into a comfortable bed in seconds with removal of bolsters. Case Studies 1.5 inch thick wood frame is available in blonde, walnut, or dark walnut with metal or matching bent wood feet and a large selection of fabrics. Case Study Daybed Couch $1990 One Arm Daybed $1890 Optional Corner Table $450 Bed Dimensions: 27H x 77W x 33L Available from Modernica
