DIY Furniture Trend

The furniture industry is being changed by one major factor: Pinterest! Browsing the site, you will likely encounter several DIY furniture photos. Just typing in the word "furniture" on the Pinterest lands you with a multitude of projects you'll probably dream of tackling.

It's believed that the popularity of DIY furniture projects came about, because of a down economy, and while traditional furniture stores don't seem to be extremely effected by this trend financially, they are effected by the products that are now in demand. A more rustic, "shabby-chic" look has stemmed from the modern day, DIY creatives.  Believe it or not, customers will pay a pretty penny for the DIY-look. Something that you may have only found in second-hand shops years ago, is now being featured in the front window of Haverty's.

Pallet furniture, for example, has thrifty enthusiasts hooked. It's quite shocking, what you can muster up from a couple of pallets found on the side of the road. In reality, they aren't usually found on the side of the road anymore. People are scooping them up quickly if they look like they've been thrown to the curb. Some businesses are even selling pallets that they once trashed.

In our next post, we will take a look at pallet projects.

Design Sponge

Today, we visit one of the top three furniture blogs on the web: Design Sponge

What makes Design Sponge so special?  They boast extremely high traffic each month due to their content, ranging from design ideas to modern furniture trends.  Each section of the site is inspiring, but the best part is the "before and after" section of the blog.  Below, are a few examples of the incredible transformations you can find.

Camp Trailer Makeover

Table Redo

Craft Station Makeover

Design Sponge's creator has had wonderful and unexpected success.  She just celebrated her site's 10th year anniversary, and now has a entire team working by her side.  Pop on over for a visit to see why they are rated in the top three design/furniture blogs online!

1670 Furniture House Going-Out-of-Business Sale

1670 Furniture House is going to be holding a huge going-out-of-business sale, and Planned Furniture Promotions will be helping them close their doors.

Long-time store owner, Madeleine Schlaefer, is retiring after 54 years in the business. The charming, well-known store was started when Madeleine and her late husband, Gordon, entered the furniture business in 1960. They opened Gordon Schlaefer Furniture on Main Street in Port Washington, N.Y., then went on to open 1670 Furniture House with their daughter, Elizabeth, in an historical building in their new home of Southold. The family expanded the three-level store, which was built in 1670, while keeping the aesthetics and rich history of the original building intact.

Closing 1670 Furniture House “is a bittersweet event,” said Schlaefer, who runs the store with “great help” from her daughter Elizabeth. “But when it’s time, it’s time. I’m looking forward to spending more time with my grandchildren and friends and am excited about having time to travel.”

 1670 Furniture House is located on the picturesque North Fork of Long Island, just minutes from numerous vineyards and the Long Island Sound. Over the years, 1670 Furniture House has become the North Fork area’s premier destination for stylish, high-quality furnishings at an exceptional value, Schlaefer said. The store offers customers a wide variety of furniture, lighting and home accessories, including transitional and coastal styles. “We’re well known for our fresh and dynamic new designs,” said Madeleine Schlaefer. “We also pride ourselves on providing excellent customer service with a personal touch.”

With Schlaefer’s retirement, 1670 Furniture House’s final sale offers customers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to buy brand furniture at going-out-of-business prices.  Madeleine added. “We look forward to seeing many old friends during our closeout event.” Everything in the store will be sold before the closing. 1670 Furniture House features furniture, home accents and bedding products from well-known brands such as Harden Furniture, C.R. Laine, Comfort Design, Rowe, Furniture Classics, Riverside, American Drew, Braxton Culler, Hancock & Moore, Theodore Alexander, Sherrill, Howard Miller and Elite Leather.

The sale will start on August 28th, 2014 at 47155 County Road 48.

About Planned Furniture Promotions:  Planned Furniture Promotions, Inc. (PFP), and affiliate of Gene Rosenberg Associates, LLC, is a foremost furniture industry specialist in conducting high impact promotional sales.  Since 1962, PFP has specialized in creatively planning and successfully implementing thousands of sale promotions for national, regional, and local retailers of all sizes that are interested in quitting business, retiring, raising cash, and achieving other urgent goals.  PFP applies its unparalleled expertise and offers a broad range of services to help retailers maximize value including purchasing inventory using its substantial buying power, management, sales staffing, advertising, financing, and other critical areas.  To learn more about PFP, visit pfpromotions.com or their linkedin page.

HOM Golf Tournament Raises $250,000

HOM Furniture golf tournament raises $250,000 for charity.

HOM Furniture and its partnering sponsors raised an estimated $250,000, mainly for Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge, a faith-based addiction recovery program, at the 25th anniversary HOM Open golf tournament held on August 21, 2014.  This year's event also helped to raise funds for the Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Assn.  

The event drew an estimated 300 participants from around the country, including local media sponsors as well as bedding, case goods, upholstery and rug suppliers to the Coon Rapids-based Top 100 store.

Seventy-five teams played a six-hour round of golf at the Majestic Oaks Golf Course in Minneapolis.

“We are just so proud of what Teen Challenge has done with the funds we have raised over the years,” said Wayne Johansen, a HOM executive, who co-chairs the open along with his wife, Char. “It is always great to partner with someone who uses it in such a fiduciary manner and they do.”

Johansen said that Teen Challenge has been the event’s primary charity for more than 10 years.

For more information: http://www.hom-open.org/golfweb/

Source: Furniture Today

Homemade All Natural Furniture Polish

Many commercial furniture polishes contain toxic chemicals. These chemicals can threaten the indoor air quality, as well as the environment. You can still have the healthy, scented and clean glow on your furniture without the chemicals by using homemade all-natural furniture polishes. Besides having a healthier home environment, using a homemade furniture polish is economical. In most cases, you may already have the ingredients needed for your natural furnish polish in your home.

Black Tea 
Tannic acid in black tea will remove residue from dull furniture polish while restoring a natural shine to the finish. Steep three or four black tea bags in a cup of boiling water until the water has cooled. Remove the tea bags and, using a cotton cloth, wipe down your furniture. No rinsing is needed.

Vinegar 
White vinegar is a natural all-purpose cleanser and can be added to most any mixture. A quarter cup of vinegar with a few drops oil is an effective all-natural furniture polish. Vinegar will pull the dirt out of the wood while the oil lubricates it. As an all-purpose cleanser, vinegar is a disinfectant and deodorizer.

Oils
Of all the oils, olive oil has one of the longest shelf lives and works extremely well to add shine and lubrication to your furniture. Another choice may be jojoba oil, or liquid wax, found in most health-food stores. Oils are important additions to your all-natural furniture polish as they help prevent cracks by adding the moisture needed to ensure your wood does not dry out.

Mayonnaise 
Believe it or not, mayonnaise is another great furniture polish. Because it is made of vinegar, eggs and oil, all the ingredients needed to put a beautiful shine to your furniture are already there. A little mayonnaise on your cloth is all you need. The eggs and oil will add a nice shine as the vinegar cleans the wood.

Lemons 
Lemons and lemon juice are called for in many homemade furniture polish recipes. They are a great addition to any green cleaning recipe as lemons have antiseptic and antibacterial qualities. Half a cup of pure lemon juice mixed with a cup of olive oil makes an excellent furniture polish, especially for your hardwood furniture or floors.

Lemon oil 
Lemon oil will lubricate your furniture so it does not dry out. However, when buying commercial brands of lemon oil, beware: not all products are all natural. Combine 10 drops of pure lemon oil with two tablespoons of lemon juice and two to three drops of olive oil or jojoba to create a wonderful furniture polish that will add luster and shine to your furniture.

Source

All American Furniture Expo 2014

The All American Furniture Expo is just around the corner!

It will be held at the Lancaster County Convention Center in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

September 4th 9am-5pm
September 5th 9am-3pm

Contact Information

All American Furniture Expo
2340 Sue Ann Drive
Lancaster, PA 17602

Phone: 717-393-6466

Fax: 717-295-2625

Email: allamericanfurniture@comcast.net

Solid Wood and Upholstered Furniture Expo 
The 2014 All American Furniture Show will feature more than eighty different American furniture manufacturers, including a fine selection of Amish made hardwood furniture. This is a must attend event for anyone wishing to offer their customers quality solid wood and upholstered furniture made in the United States. Take advantage of this opportunity to meet and do business face-to-face exclusively with the furniture makers. It is also a Powerful Marketplace for manufacturers and craftsman to connect with motivated buyers who appreciate fine quality and want to meet the heightened demand for greater quality found in USA made furniture and accessories. Organized by Keystone Wholesale Markets, the All American Furniture Expo will provide buyers a unique opportunity for one-stop shopping spanning 45,000 sq. ft. of exhibit hall in downtown Lancaster conveniently located from most metropolitan cities in the Northeast. Open to the Trade Only. Admission is free, but only to people affiliated with a retail business that resells furniture shown at our expo. Please no children or cameras!

2014 EXHIBITOR LIST

• AMERICAN BABY CLASSICS*
• AMES WOODWORKING
• B & S WOODCRAFTS
• BARKMAN FURNITURE LLC
• BEECHDALE FRAMES
• BREEZY ACRES
• BYERSTOWN WOODWORK
• BYLERS BENT OAK
• CEDAR RIDGE FURNITURE
• CORNERSTONE WOOD
• COUNTRY CUPOLA
• COUNTRYSIDE FRAMING
• COUNTRY VALUE WOODWORKS LLC
• CRAMCO DINETTES*
• DAVCO ADVERTISING
• DELIGHTED HOME*
• DUTCH DESIGN
• EBERSOL FURNITURE COMPANY
• EDWARDS INC*
• ELI'S WOODSHOP LLC
• ELM CREST FURNITURE
• FARMSTEAD ACRES WOOD
• FINISHWORKS
• FISHERS QUALITY PRODUCTS
• FIGHTING CREEK FURNITURE*
• FRIENDSHIP UPHOLSTERY CO.
• FOREST RIDGE WOODWORKING
• HALLAGAN FINE FURNITURE
• HERSHBERGER'S HARDWARE
• HONEY BROOK WOODCRAFTS
• JK PINE CRAFTS
• KEYSTONE COLLECTIONS
• KEYSTONE WOOD DESIGNS LLC
• LANCASTER COUNTY SHOWCASE

• LANCASTER COUNTYS WHOLESALE MALL
• LANCER FURNITURE
• LAPP'S WOODWORK
• MAPLE HILL WODWORKING*
• MASTERFIELD FURNITURE INC*
• MILLER CABINET SHOP*
• MORRIS HILL METAL CRAFT
• MT PLEASANT WOODWORKS
• NATUREPEDIC*
• NEW IMPRESSIONS WOODWORKING*
• NISLEY CABINET
• PACKSHIP USA
• PARAMOUNT SLEEP COMPANY*
• PEACEFUL SLEEPER
• PENNS CREEK FURNITURE
• PREMIER FURNISHINGS
• QUALITY FABRICATIONS LLC
• REDECOP FAMILY CHAIR CO.*
• REVIVE SLEEP INC.*
• ROCKY RIDGE FURNITRUE
• RUSTIC COUNTRY HEIRLOOMS
• SALT CREEK CHAIRS
• SCENIC VIEW FURNITURE
• SMUCKER WOODWORKING
• STIFFEL COMPANY3
• STONY ACRES FURNITURE
• STONY HILL WOODWORKS
• TROYER RIDGE FURNITURE*
• TRUEWOOD FURNITURE
• UNIQUE WOOD CREATIONS*
• VALLEY VIEW OAK LLC
• VAUGHAN-BASSETT FURNITURE CO
• WINDY VALLEY WOODWORKS
• Y & T WOODCRAFT
• ZIMMERMAN CHAIR SHOP

In The Land of Nod

Have you ever heard of The Land of Nod?  If not, you've certainly been missing out!  There are some very creative furniture stores out there (online and in person), but this one is a must-see.  They specialize in children's furniture, and they are definitely great at keeping it fun!

Visit: The Land of Nod.

Where else can you find adorable chairs like these?  They even sell personalized, embroidered chairs.

Then, there are the poufs!  This company is very innovative, and on top of the market with these playful pieces.

This is just one example of a modern toddler bed that they sell.

They also sell bookcases that even adults would love to add to their collections.  Below is one of the most interesting designs.  

Simple, yet unique, this dresser is dreamy.

They even sell craft desks, work space furniture solutions, and playroom furniture.

After you have browsed all of the neat furniture The Land of Nod sells, don't forget to take a peek at the tents, like the one below.

If you have the means, how can you resist spoiling the kids with all of these great pieces of furniture?  The Land of Nod is definitely a pioneer in the children's furniture world!