Furniture Notes Archives - Page 2 of 4 - Modern Classic

Danish Modern Designer Borge Mogensen’s Legacy

Borge Mogensen-Style: Model 2334 Chair

Borge Mogensen’s iconic Danish Modern furniture designs have become staples in homes and offices around the world thanks to their remarkable comfort and subtly striking Scandinavian beauty.  Applying his knowledge gained while studying at the School of Arts and Crafts in Copenhagen and apprenticing for world-renowned Danish Architect, Kaare Klint, Mogensen began designing his prized 23 Collection, intended to serve as practical family seating for everyday use.  His passion for furniture design was one that he passed down to his son, Peter, who carried on his father’s legacy of Danish Modern design.  Equipped with the skills inherited from his father, Peter Mogensen took it upon himself in 1971 to finish the Model 2334 Chair design that Borge started in 1962, and went on to win This unique father and son collaboration has withstood the test of time and helped lay the groundwork for Danish Modern design as we know it today.

Our Mogensen-Style Model 2334 Chair was inspired by Borge Mogensen’s original design, as well as our loveseat and sofa version of this chair.  Our version uses seat and back cushions filled with foam and Dacron that sit over our heavy-duty wood frame construction, thus ensuring durability for years to come.  With 4 different wood finishes on the legs and a wide array of leather color choices, this chair can be customized to perfectly fit in any room of the house.

Come check out our Mogensen-Style Model 2334 Chair and more in our Bellingham showroom!

Organize Your Home To Spark Joy For You Everyday

Kjaerholm-Style PK31 Lounge Chair

It seems like most people I know are making their New Year’s Resolution to organize and declutter items no longer serving a purpose or sparking joy.  This is great and all, but I’ve always found it is important to be practical about how everyday activities mean daily upkeep for a tidy home, its not just about spending a weekend to take on the large and daunting task of purging unnecessary items and finding a place for everything.  While that is a great starting point, here a few habits to adopt to maintain order and subsequently make your home one to spark joy for you everyday:

Always Leave A Room With Two Things To Put Away:  If you have children, or a significant other who just acts like a child, maybe make it three things, but you will find after doing this for a week or so (and encouraging everyone else to get into the habit as well), you’ll be pleasantly surprised how this small gesture maintains order and prevents feeling overwhelmed at the sight of total disorder if left unattended for days.

One-Touch Rule:  Adopt this mindset and you will never spend another second of your life searching for your other shoe (or keys, or wallet).  If put in its designated place from the start, an item is only touched once until you next time you need it.  Think about the dirty dish you are about to put in the sink when it belongs in the dishwasher (touch #1).  Here is what happens next: other dishes pile on top of it until its overflowing, so you move everything onto the counter (touch #2) and begin loading everything into the dishwasher (touch #3).  It takes as much effort to put that same dirty dish in the dishwasher which is literally right next to the sink.  Have you ever woken up to a perfectly clean kitchen?  Trust me, you will love it.

Avoid the ‘Clutter to Maintain Clutter’ Complex:  While there is tremendous value in finding an organizing unit solution for a chaotic spot you are constantly trying to keep in order, if you’re not properly putting it to use, its only more clutter.  Oh, the irony.  If you find yourself shopping for a catch-all to hold all your other catch-alls that hold all the random stuff you don’t know what else to with, you’re not organizing, you’re just finding new ways to store clutter.  Know specifically what needs a storage solution BEFORE shopping for organizing accoutrement (spice rack perhaps?)

Got a minute? De-Stress and Create Order:  When you find yourself with a minute to spare, take the opportunity to get a small area in order, like that utility drawer or the kitchen cabinet with the baking sheet avalanche every time you open it.  You will be amazed how satisfying this practice becomes and how eliminating the clutter also eliminates stress you only recognize was causing stress once its gone.

Abide by these four methods and you will notice everything falling into place, seemingly on its own, but its all you and your new year’s resolution habits replacing the old bad habits.  You can find inspiration and check out what we have to offer by visiting our showroom in Bellingham!

Color Blocking By Design: Easy As 1, 2, 3

Our Saarinen-Inspired Womb Chair and Ottoman in Our Exclusive Chartreuse Green Boucle

Color blocking is one element found in modern design that has always been my favorite part of the design process, especially  when it is one single color over a neutral palette, thus making it ‘pop.’ This is where you have the liberty to set the tone of the room however you wish based on your color choice. It can be introduced with a Cerulean duvet for a calming bedroom setting, or spry Living Coral throw pillows in the living room for a fun spot to entertain guests.

Blush and Bashful: 2019 Interior Design Trends

Our Saarinen-Inspired Womb Chair in Cayenne Red

2019 interior design trend forecasts seem to be all over theplace this year.  While some design professionals declare one trend as being all-the-rage, another will say its best to leave it in 2018 (yea, I’m talking about you, rose gold).  After spending a considerable amount researching 2019 interior design trends, here are my top picks I am excited to see in the upcoming months:

Blush: The New Neutral

Tell grays and beiges to take a hike, there’s a new neutral in town.  Using varying shades of blush is a pleasantly unexpected twist on the key design principle to set a neutral palette of a room.  Navy Blues, Sage Green or gold accents are a few of my favorite colors that really pop when paired with a blush neutral palette.

Natural Stone and Mixed Metals

Every year its a trend to bring in an element of nature but for the past several years this has been in reference to raw edge accents and exposed hardwood construction and joinery techniques.  Its quite a welcome change then to see elements of nature expand beyond woodworking with natural stone, think marble or quartz, in combination with mixed metals like steel and copper.

Bold Geometric Graphic Prints

Handmade one-of-a-kind pieces are going to replace the mass-produced and, as with anything handmade, the imperfections are part of the aesthetic especially when it comes to textiles and wall prints.  Perfect repeat patterns will be used less or replaced by visual-stimulating bold geometrics and graphics.

Art Deco

I mean, Art Deco has always been my favorite classic style, so its a stretch to say it will be a ‘trend’ but there will certainly more of it, especially when it comes to furniture.  Noticeably, softly contoured and organically curved furniture silhouettes, like our Saarinen-Inspired Womb Chair, will be showing up more than ever.

Modern Holiday Preparation (Minus The Meltdown)

Exhibition Chair in our Premium Navy Blue Leather with Holiday Accent Pillow

The holidays are meant to be a joyous time celebrated with friends and family, though in the weeks leading up to Santa’s arrival, there’s no denying we all feel the pressure to get everything holiday-ready in time.  I’ll admit, I’ve had my fair share of annual holiday meltdowns, but now that I am so much more mature this year (relatively speaking, I guess), here are a few tips I’ve adopted to make sure I’m holiday-ready by Christmas:

Indoor Holiday Decor:

Think big items: throw pillows, wreaths, large holiday lighting accents and candles to name a few.  These are the items you can store away if you plan to use them next year and can be unpacked with relative ease.  When it comes to strands of Christmas lights or holiday garlands, it seems like no matter how meticulously I put those away every year, when it comes to bring those items out of storage they are a tangled mess.  Certain items are inexpensive and plentiful that its much easier to just buy new each year, because spending an hour untangling $10 Christmas lights is enough to make anyone say bah-humbug.

Gift Giving:

Try and think back to last year what you received as gifts.  Chances are you might remember a couple, but otherwise we mostly just remember who gave us a gift, not exactly what that gift was and that is what matters.  Holiday shopping does not need to break the bank since the kindness of giving is what stays in our memory.  Make a list of people you plan to give gifts to this year, set a budget you’ll stick to and get started sooner rather than later so everyone’s gifts arrive in time.  Can’t decide what to get the people on your list who seem to have everything?  Think of the items everyone enjoys receiving and could always use: marble key trays, modern picture frames, luxury candles and the list goes on.  If you want to step it up a notch still, items with the first initial of the gift recipient are always appreciated (think jewelry, cufflinks, hand towels, etc).

Gift Wrapping:

“Just give it to me, I’ll do it.”  If I had a nickel for every time I’ve said this to my friends who despise this part of the holiday preparation process, I’d have a lot of nickels.  Gift-wrapping is my time to shine.  Deciding how I’ll be wrapping my gifts each year, from the gift boxes, wrapping paper, tissue paper and ribbon, is like shopping for the perfect outfit, well, gift wrapping outfit.  If you are indecisive on a gift-wrap outfit color scheme, what could be more sophisticated than making all the elements one color (matte black ribbon, paper, boxes and tissues paper perhaps?).  You’d be amazed how enjoyable gift-wrapping becomes when you have all the parts laid out in front of you and one by one, beautiful packages start piling up under the tree (glass of wine and Bing Crosby tunes are optional though highly recommended while spending a cozy evening wrapping everyone’s gifts).

Most of all, remember this is supposed to be a celebrated time of the year, so make it a priority to enjoy the time you spend with loved ones.  If you are looking for some modern home holiday inspiration, be sure to stop by our factory showroom in Bellingham and let the holiday cheer begin!

Hygge Habitat: Make Your Own This Winter

Our Wegner-Style Wing Back Chair and Ottoman

When the weather outside is frightful, there is a specific type of coziness I find while watching it from the delightful indoors and it turns out there is a Danish word for it, hygge (pronounced hoo-ga).  There are many elements in creating a cozy little nook, or a hyggekrog, for the winter months and these are just a few of my favorites:

Small Light Sources:

Although overhead lighting is necessary, turning it off and using other light sources to create an illuminated bubble of coziness is totally hygge.  In fact, did you know Denmark uses more candles per capita than any other country in the world?  Aside from burning candles, table lamps, lights on a Christmas tree and crackling fireplaces (if you are lucky enough to have one) are just a few other ways you can use light to make a space feel as hygge as a warm hug.

Do I Smell Something Cooking?:

Whether its a simmering beef stew or simply pre-made cookie dough baking in the oven, walking into a room and being met with delicious wafts from the kitchen is, in my opinion, a universally effective way to create an atmosphere everyone will agree is definitely hygge.  Of course, there are other ways make a lovely smelling home, but there is no substitute for the smell of cooking, especially when a delicious culinary delight is in the immediate future.

Exhibition Chair and Ottoman

Comfortable Furniture Made to Last:

Since your living room is where you will spend a significant amount of time during the winter months (and year-round), comfortable furniture built to last for years is a fundamental ingredient in any hyggekrog.  Paying close attention to the durability of materials used in making any piece of furniture you are considering will pay off in many years of comfy lounging.

Bring Nature Inside:

Perhaps its in our DNA still from the hunter/gatherer days centuries ago, that science has shown a direct correlation between nature and a feeling of well-being.  This means any space calls for live green plants before it can be truly hygge.  For those of us who are ‘botanically-challenged’ and born without a green thumb, there’s still many types of indoor plants that are hard to kill, even with minimal care.  I love Echeverias and my Fiddle Leaf Fig tree, not just because they look good in any month, but they last for years (even though I often forget to water it, I’ve had my same Fiddle Leaf for almost 4 years now!).

Find a Mindless Hobby:

I’ve been knitting for years and I love when I get so into the flow of stitching away, I completely lose track of time.  Knitting is what works for me, but any hobby where you can find flow in creating something one-of-a-kind is perfect for those long winter months (ahem, not to mention Christmas gifts). Even if learning how requires more patience expected, having a creative outlet you can lose yourself in doing makes all worth it.

Form and Function and Floor Planning

Knoll-Style Lounge Chair in Charcoal Gray

Arranging furniture in any room is equally exciting as it is daunting.  While there are infinite possibilities when an empty room is your blank canvas, lack of planning can lead to endless furniture shuffling and that lingering question if there is a better way to have it arranged.

Although there is no magic formula or standard way to arrange your living room furniture, there are a few guidelines to consider:

–Pick a focal point for the room

This will serve as a reference point and everything will be arranged relative to the placement of the focal point you choose.  This can be anything with a significant presence in the room from a window to a sofa or even a piece of art.  It should be the obvious place the eye is immediately drawn to upon entering the room.

–Create a floor plan

You can either map out your floor plan on a blank sheet of paper though there are several apps that have been created for this very task as well as templates you can find online for furniture arrangement planning.  This will cut your time spent moving furniture down significantly.

-Form and Function

Using functional furniture enhances the potential for using a space in different ways.  This is especially important for smaller spaces where there is not room for much ornamentation.  Keep in mind that you should never have to sacrifice style for functional furniture… just look here for a few ideas where form and function work in harmony.

–Flow of Traffic

Just as important as where the furniture is placed is where the furniture is not placed to create a path that is easy navigate.  Direct traffic around the furniture, not through the middle of it and allow 36-48 inches for the obvious paths and about 24 inches for the smaller ones.

Let us know if you have any personal tips when it comes to arranging your home!  Either post it below, or stop by our showroom in Bellingham to also  see and experience the pieces we have to offer.

Scandinavian-Modern Design in The 20th Century

Wegner-Style Wish Bone Chair with Black Leather Seat

During the 20^th century, the Scandinavian countries, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark, were inarguably all recognized as furniture design hot spots, with some of the most iconic designers who created some of our favorite Scandinavian-Modern furniture.

Scandinavian-Modern designers were unique in the way they upheld the fundamental ideals of modernism and combined it with their traditional skills acquired in woodworking and cabinetmaking.  This meant incorporating their knowledge of hardwood joinery and framework techniques to create some of the most iconic furniture designs of the 20th century.  These furniture designs that are still highly regarded today came from famous designers such as Arne Jacobsen, Hans Wegner, Paul Volther, Finn Juhl, Borge Mogensen, Poul Kjaerholm and Eero Saarinen.

Our Scandinavian-Modern Furniture Collections honor the original and intended iconic furniture designs created during the Modern age.  With the minor adjustments we added for optimum comfort along with the use of top quality materials these designers did not have during their times but that we do have thanks to technological advances in the decades since, these iconic Scandinavian furniture designs can be enjoyed for years longer than ever thought possible.

You can come see and have a seat in any of our Scandinavian-Modern furniture in our factory showroom location in Bellingham!

Platner’s Spot in 1960s Modernism

Platner Style Round Dining Table

Having worked for Eero Saarinen early in his career, it is clear Warren Platner drew influence from him by the soft curves of his furniture designs.  Still able to make a name for himself, the American designer created a revolutionary method of welding dozens of steel rods onto a circular frame, giving his collection of furniture a strong and beautiful structure and an icon of 1960s modernism.

Our Platner-Style Round Dining Table closely matches the dimensions of his original design.   Though he originally created the base from nickel-plated steel rods, today we have the option to use the more resilient and durable option of stainless steel for our base.  With a 5/8” inch tempered glass top, our version of this iconic table is the perfect focal point for any dining room!

Come check out this icon of 1960s Modernism plus more of what we have to offer in our Bellingham showroom!

Our Saarinen-Style M70 Womb Chair 2.0

Charteuse Green Saarinen-Style M70 Womb Chair

The 1948 unveiling of Eero Saarinen’s iconic Womb Chair was a sign of changing times when ‘lounging’ was becoming socially acceptable, unlike in the decades prior. Saarinen’s organically curved Womb Chair was designed at the request of his dear friend, Florence Knoll, who asked for a chair designed to feel like a basket full of pillows and “something I can really curl up in.”  Saarinen achieved exactly this and more with a chair designed to create comfort, not solely by use of cushioning, but by the use of contours that create incredible comfort in any position.

Our Saarinen-Style M70 Womb Chair and Ottoman closely matches Saarinen’s original design but with upgraded materials available today that were not available in 1948.  We recently made some improvements to this chair, including adjusting the slope of the back to a more upright sitting position and with arms parallel to the floor, making it even more comfortable for both sitting and lounging.  Our wide variety of boucle fabric colors gives it a vibrancy that is matched by a level of durability to ensure years of  stylish comfort in any setting.  You can read all this and more in our Womb Chair Comparison Guide.

If you would like to see this chair in person, come visit us at our factory showroom in Bellingham!