Georgia Interior Design

Normally I love the drive to High Point because the weather is always sunny and there’s a sense of adventure that builds with the anticipation of what possible innovations might be presented by the manufacturers just a few short months after they unveiled their last batch of great ideas. Seriously, how hard must they work to come up with something new between April and October only to do it over again the following spring? Santa’s elves would riot if they had to do their thing twice a year. Yet it happens, and there is just as much enthusiasm each and every time.

Having said all that, it was not sunny this trip. Heavy clouds and a snap cold front set the stage for an ominous five hour drive to North Carolina, and the fact that I blew a headlight didn’t help my mood much. Experts on the radio discussed winners and losers of the latest Republican debate. A welcome break came at Starbucks in Greenville where I always stop for a visit with a good old friend. Over coffee we solve the world’s problems and debate things like if heaven will be in the clouds or just a better version of earth.

Arrival at the Doubletree in Greensboro after midnight is par for the course. Experience has conditioned me to expect something to go wrong with my hotel room, however this year I was pleasantly surprised by no surprises except a warm chocolate chip cookie at check in and an even warmer greeting. The room was spacious and well appointed and the bed looked especially cushy. Brimming with exceeded expectations, I threw open the curtains to take in a sweeping view of….the dumpster. Back to reality. Oh well, I’ll take a dumpster view in exchange for a lock that works and functional plumbing.

Thursday before market was spent in a class on internet marketing, and planning for the big weekend of showroom touring. Breaking news! Martha Stewart is presenting her new line of furniture through Miles Talbott, one of my great vendors! This has potential! I spilled a margarita on Rachael Ashwell last year, what might happen if I meet Martha? What might she say if I spill a margarita on her? I’m guessing that would not be a good thing. Word is she doesn’t just give a papal wave on a design bearing her name but rather is deeply involved in every nail and stitch. Descriptions of the fastidiousness of her team shed light on the reason for her tremendous success in all she has undertaken.

Thursday night dinner conversation was filled with crazy furniture stories….yes, they exist, and a really cool bar trick by my new friend Robert, a custom home builder, who blew our minds with a fork and spoon suspended in a physics defying balancing act on the side of a glass by a burning toothpick. I should have taken a picture but my hands were too busy picking my jaw up off the table.

Next day, off to market. Keep in mind that Friday is not officially ‘market’, so I had a full day to get the scoop while minds were sharp and smiles were bright, knowing that conversations would soon be dulled by aching feet and sensory overload.

Morning started at the Miles Talbott showroom, well actually it started at Biscuitville, but you know what I mean, and my group was all atwitter over being one of the first to see this new Martha Stewart collection. Given that Martha’s website gets like five gazillion hits a month I was expecting to see something along the lines of Vegas Strip lighting and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to announce this major partnership, but those funny Miles Talbott folks had that “what’s the big deal?” look on their faces behind Cheshire cat grins. Clearly this IS a big deal, but true Southern gentle-people don’t jump up and down. Neither does Martha, I suppose. So, to prolong the agony they toured us around the entire building first. Clearly there was a lot to see and you must show respect to the top gun designers in the Miles arsenal, but doggonnit we wanted to see Martha! Just when I thought that maybe we would have to wait ‘til next market, there it was on the wall before me: ‘Martha Stewart Fine Furniture’. I paused in reverence and entered. Our lead designer is a huge Martha Stewart fan and knew what to expect when she visited on Saturday, but I had no preconceived notions. The two words that popped in my mind as a first impression upon seeing the collection were ‘Federal’ and ‘Asian’. Some of the pieces looked like they could be on loan from Mount Vernon or Monticello, but there were a few with Asian influence such as a fan mirror and a side table with bamboo inspired legs. Her fabrics were more colorful than I would have imagined, and apple green made a big splash on the settee shown here.

Post Martha, to sum up what I saw over the next couple days: French, gray, blue, birds.

French is first because that is the look representing the goose that laid the golden egg which unfortunately is sure to be killed soon via overexposure. French script was ever present, just like last market, but I am telling you I heard the word ‘French’ so often and in so many creative ways I would bet the official food at market was French fries. Doubt me? I wrote this one down just to get the quote right.

“…and its finished in a bleached post industrial sandblasted French.”

Deco French, French rustic, French music set to a techno beat, even the color red I noticed as a new accent this year was Bordeaux. Why couldn’t it be Chianti? ‘Cause Chianti’s not French.

To be honest, I loved it all. The look is super cool, but now that you can find it at Target how much longer can it last?

I spoke to long time fabric buying guru Sue Dunn about the accent colors at market this year and her response was blues are still big. Spa blue, turquoise, navy. Robin egg blue. She was right; blue was the predominant accent color in most showrooms whether in fabric, accessories, or occasionally in painted finishes. Apple green was strong, too, and as long as there was a gray background you could count on yellow to be nearby.

Favorite name for a color: “glazed shagreen yucca plant blue”. Honestly, what comes to your mind?

Gray was the featured neutral base color for upholstery and casegoods, and it really looks good. Accent colors pop next to gray and the weathered look it gives to occasional tables and casegoods says the owner is stylish but casual. Dove gray, slate gray.

It’s cool to see how these trends all work together. First you have the eco trend which brings in a natural look; then you have the great recession trend which drove us to simplified comfort. Add a little casual sophistication and viola! French Laundry.

Another insightful quote regarding consumer trends, “Everybody wants red but buys beige.”

I spotted accent walls and fabrics in the purple family, not a lot, just a surprise here and there, but enough to ask a color expert about it. He confessed, “Raspberry, plumb, purples, yes they are out there but purple always makes us nervous.” Scary purple.

At this point in my notes I wrote “wayyyy too much coffee.”

One factory rep told me they monitor trends in fabrics sent in by designers (for custom covers on their sofa frames) for guidance in selecting future fabrics offered by that manufacturer. They’ve seen so many bird fabrics they added a couple to their lineup. I noticed birds on a couple pillows last market and saw bird fabric in nearly every showroom this fall. Saw turtle shell in a couple of showrooms this market and now wonder if turtles will take over the world next spring.

Geometric patterns in fabric have led to fretwork designs in furniture which showed up in some clever places like headboards and occasional tables. Spooled legs…big.

Heard a story about the designer for Kate and William coming to High Point and requesting a Rolls Royce to meet her at the airport. Probably aren’t many Silver Shadows in town. She stayed at one of the nicest hotels but had to have her sheets flown in from England, poor thing. Contrast that with word that Oscar De La Renta himself was working past midnight to get his showroom ready.

From class and culture to the best (or worst) line I heard by a rug salesman who happened to be using a cane. “You want to know why I am using a cane? I took a Viagra and it’s been more than four hours.” Bet that works with all the ladies…

Here’s a little blurb I wrote for a local paper.

How would you like to be energized or have the confidence to meet life’s challenges?  According to the color experts at Pantone, all you need to do is put a little honeysuckle in your world.  Think I am joking?  Here’s a quote from their executive director in the press release on the 2011 color of the year, “In times of stress, we need something to lift our spirits. Honeysuckle is a captivating, stimulating color that gets the adrenaline going – perfect to ward off the blues.”   That last phrase might be an inside joke since the previous color of the year was turquoise.  Those funny color experts…

For those of you, including me, who thought honeysuckle was yellow, it is actually a reddish pink in this case.  Huh, and I thought I knew my colors.  So, I know what you are thinking.  Who gets to pick the color of the year and what difference does that make to me while I drive my taxi from soccer practice to cheerleading practice and back to lacrosse practice?  Well, there are people out there, spectral clairvoyants, who are paid a lot of money to predict popular colors in the future, and there is a lot of money riding on their accuracy.  (I just made up ‘spectral clairvoyants’, by the way)  Manufacturers of everything from clothing and cosmetics to furniture, electronics, and autos are betting serious cash that they are right.  What that means to you is that you should already be seeing this color in home magazines, at the makeup counter, and in fashion.  As a matter of fact, I was visiting my friends at Belk’s at the Forum a couple of weeks ago and honeysuckle was already sprinkled throughout the store, especially in the young women’s department.  I’m not so sure you will see a honeysuckle Chrysler any time soon, but it wouldn’t completely surprise me to see one of the edgier car manufacturers give it a whirl.

I fully expect to see this color strongly represented at the spring furniture market in High Point, most likely in accessories, accent pillows, and wall paint as a statement.  Certainly when it comes to your home, if you choose to be on top of the trend, we would recommend using this color in small doses just to give your room a fresh pop.  We wouldn’t want you to be too energized or over confident!

Once upon a time, my wife and I would shop for a sofa by searching furniture ads in the paper for a great looking couch at an attractive price.  Six months after the purchase we’d be complaining about how badly it had worn and why they don’t make good @$#%$ furniture anymore.  Six months after that it was in a garage sale and the process would begin again. 

Now that I know the industry, the good and the bad, have toured manufacturing plants and spoken to countless CEO’s of furniture companies, I can tell you what to look for and how to avoid some serious mistakes.  Your sofa may be one of the most important purchases you make for your home.  It’s where you spend time with family and friends, entertain clients or the boss, and it says something about your taste and style.  So buy well.  Some people spend more on a night on the town than a sofa they will own for an average of seven to ten years, longer if they buy traditional looking furniture.

Keep in mind that your options are endless.  Most good sofas are made to order, so you get to choose your style, fabric, pillows, seat cushions, back cushions, feet finish, or whether or not you want it skirted.  Or, maybe you want nails, fringe, contrast welt, or, heck, monogrammed throw pillows.  Have fun, and buy what you love.  Just remember, custom does not have to mean expensive.

Tip number one is so ridiculous that I have reservations in telling you in fear it will hurt my credibility in your eyes and make you think the rest of this post is not worth reading. But believe me when I tell you that this blunder has happened to a lot more people than you think.  Here it is.  Ready?  Measure the doors or openings through which the sofa you are buying is going to have to pass in order to get into the room you want.  If you ever visit a friend’s house and wonder why the sofa in the basement is nicer than the one in the living room, it miiiiight just be they bought it without measuring the doorway. 

Tip number two has a lot more substance so I can recover a little respect.  Make a scale drawing of your room.  Include windows, doors, openings to other rooms, and typical paths of foot traffic.  Add overall measurements and especially the measurements of spaces you are considering placing your sofa. If you have a newer home here in suburban Atlanta, that cute little 84” sofa you saw at the furniture store may be way too small for the room.  Note the height of the ceiling.  Ceilings open to the second level might make you consider a sofa with a higher back  We’ve had more than one client who bought a sectional off a random furniture store floor only to find out they needed it to be left facing rather than right.  Those go to the basement, too.  Thank God for basements.  I have one friend who was too stubborn to put his mistake in the basement, er, terrace level, so his leather sectional sits crookedly in his living room, sort of blocking an entrance and preventing access to some of the built in cabinets…but what a deal!  Buying a sofa that fits the scale of the room is important for the overall look and feel but if you are extremely tall or short, you may need to be more concerned about buying the sofa to fit your personal scale and have your designer help make it work in your home.   There are some tricks to making that work, but I’ve gotta keep moving.

Number three is a biggie around here in the ‘burbs where most every house is full of bouncing children.  One customer told me that she needed a new sofa after finding out that her kids were jumping off the second floor loft onto her couch down below when she wasn’t looking.  You do not need to wait until the kids go off to college before you have nice furniture…you need the right sofa with the right fabric or leather so you can enjoy it with your children!  Here’s where I get into quality and while some of you say you don’t care about construction, I say you should.  The ‘six month wonder’ sofas are plywood construction stapled or nailed together.  You can sometimes lift one corner of the sofa and the other three legs will still be firmly on the ground.  That should tell you something.  The store selling it doesn’t care about you and you are going to be full of wrathful righteous indignation after a short while when it fails to hold its shape.  Good sofa construction has a kiln dried hardwood frame and is corner blocked, glued and screwed.  That rhymes, so you should remember it.  The sofa will feel heavy.  Trust me, manufacturers don’t have the money to put anything extra into a cheap sofa, so with a hardwood frame, heavy=good.  A quality frame typically comes with a lifetime warranty.  

The frame of a sofa holds the support system for the cushions.  My experience is that a manufacturer that bothers to put good heavy wood into the frame is also going to give you a nice support system.  Top companies use eight way hand tied springs, which I won’t bother to describe right now, but will just say they give the best consistent support and comfort.  Below that are sinuous springs which are metal bands stretched across the frame to hold up the cushions, a system that can be acceptable if there are a sufficient number of bands and those bands are thick enough.  Below that is a webbing system.  Unless you are buying a $300 dorm room special, webbing=run away!

One note, contemporary sofas are not normally kept as long by the owner because they go out of style more quickly, therefore they can cost less and have less effort put into the frame construction and spring system, which in this case can be ok.  Some designs are so sleek that there is no room for eight way hand tied springs.

A couple other things to look for are just the quality and general straightness of the stitching.  Feel for nice padding on the arms and edges.  If you are going to center your sofa in a room, the back of the sofa should look nice and have some substance beneath the fabric.  Check it out, poke the back of a cheaper model and there won’t be anything there!  That won’t be good when junior gets backed into the sofa during an imaginary swordfight. 

Leather should be top or full grain if you plan to use the sofa with any regularity.  You could get away with splits on a show piece in a room that doesn’t have much traffic.  For more info click here.  Pet owner?  Consider a top grain ‘protected’ leather.  It won’t show claw marks, assuming cute little Muffin is not part velociraptor.

Upholstery fabric should be durable although vanity sofas in a seldom used keeping room might allow you to go with a little more style over substance.  Check to see if your fabric sample has a loose weave or has the potential to pill and if so…here kitty kitty!  Most quality upholstery fabric has a ‘double rub’ rating.  We call it double butt rubs.  The higher the number, the more scootching it can take.  20,000 double rubs is not uncommon.  We do often recommend fabric protection, but just know that it will void the manufacturers warranty on the fabric.  We don’t typically worry about that because even the top lines don’t warrant the fabric for anything other than manufacturers defect.  They understandably can’t be held responsible for extra wear from your cuddly St. Bernard or that time you hosted the Sumo wrestling team.

Number four is a little more perfunctory, but you will thank me in the long run.  Sofa’s have two functions, style and comfort.  Let’s talk about comfort.  Think about how you intend to use the sofa and how your family sits.  Now I am not saying that you have to hide behind the curtain and do a detailed analysis of sitting habits of your spouse and children, but it would help in choosing cushions and arm styles if you really took the time to see how your current sofa is being used.  Nap sofas should have lower and softer arms.  Reading sofa’s should have arms that are high enough to support your elbow when you have a book in your hand and be the right height in relation to the end table so you can comfortably place your cocktail on a coaster.  Formal entertaining sofas tend to be firmer because it just isn’t right watching the boss’s wife struggle to get out of a cushy seat.  I just got a funny picture in my mind…sorry.  TV sofas should be deep and soft.  The same sofa can sit in a variety of ways with the choice of different seat cushions.  The best cushions tend to be down wrapped cores (unless you are allergic to down!) and the cores can be high density foam or actual spring units.   Spring down cushions have a great feel, and yet because of the springs will regain their shape once you get up.  Down cushions will be the softest but will have that sloppy look and will require a little effort to punch them into shape, yet some people love them.

Okay, so that was four main tips.  I was thinking I should write five because that’s just what you do…the five best tips for buying a sofa.  But really, there was a ton of info in this post.  I know I made it seem harder than buying a car, but you will hopefully spend more time with your friends and family in your home than in your car, even in Atlanta.  Please don’t be intimidated, just be informed, and if you have any questions you can always call or shoot me an email at johnscreek@luxemail.net.

“Dibs!”

I was talking with my design team about how our clients are using sectionals these days and as the conversation unfolded Veronique told me that every time her family gets together to watch a movie, someone shouts ‘dibs’ to claim the corner seat.

Sectionals are hotter than ever, but it wasn’t until I posted the news of the arrival of three new sectionals to our store on facebook that I became aware of the fact that many people didn’t know they were popular again. 

Anybody who has followed my blog knows that I like to notice how history tends to repeat itself, even in our world of furniture and interior design.  The resurgence of the sectional could be due to the cyclical nature of things, or it could be in response to the open great room floor plans in new homes these days, but just maybe it could be something more intimate such as the desire for family closeness, especially during challenging times.  There’s nothing better than the whole tribe sitting together, legs intertwined, watching a movie.

So yes, sectionals are back.  Oh boy are they back.  We are seeing them in great rooms, family rooms, and basements and they function in a variety of ways.  Watching TV is a biggie, and we’ve heard from more than one husband that if he gets a sofa chaise combination he can do without the recliner.  (Hear that, ladies?  There’s a way out of a recliner in the living room!)  Many people are using sectionals in place of theater seating in their media rooms.  Social gatherings are made easy with lots of comfortable seating which promotes great conversation much easier than sitting like birds on a fence on a formal sofa.  Others are finding they can maximize seating in a smaller room, a constant challenge, with the addition of a properly fitted sectional.

What most people don’t know is how customizable sectionals have become, and because they can be a bigger ticket item, it is very important to buy wisely.  The configurations are limitless, from the basic aforementioned sofa chaise to a full blown ‘party pit’.  The corner piece alone could be a simple corner, a curved corner, or a wedge and the decision will be influenced by the size of the room and whether the sectional is going to curve to fit the walls or float in the center of the room.  Most of my blogging does not directly promote our services, but I will say that when purchasing a sectional, I can’t stress enough how important it is to get some help from a professional.  Space planning is critical and in order to maximize the use of your room and your new sofa, you should have some help.  We’ve had to try to bail out numerous clients who came to us after buying a sectional off a random furniture store floor only to find out that the scale was off or it faced the wrong direction.  Oh the bitter aftertaste of falling in love with a price before getting to know the product.  Making a room work with a large piece of furniture that doesn’t fit right is a huge design challenge!

Price points and styles vary, so the three pieces we added to our showroom were selected to show the range from clean lined and easily affordable to the ultimate in large scale and trim options.