Furniture Reporter

In choosing appropriate dining room furniture, the House of Oak & Sofas salesperson pays close attention to the dining habits of those living in the house. In a new house, perhaps with a full bar located in the kitchen, dining habits can change significantly. In some homes, sit-up meals, with everyone dining around a table at the same time, are virtually non-existent.

Pub or Bar Stool Dining

With that in mind, the fastest growing segment of dining sales in the past 5 years has been Bar stool dining table where a counter-height table, seating from 2-8 people, is surrounded by barstools. We sometimes refer to this trend as an “SUV trend” where seating is a bit higher than in a normal car, but for whatever reason, sitting on a barstool is “in.” Noticeable differences include no “head” of the table (everyone is in a circle or square), and in larger dining areas, the need for a more square-shaped room rather than rectangle-shaped, although with open plan building, this becomes less problematic. The bonus for stool height dining is that the table becomes a great game table where up to 8 people can join in playing Monopoly or other board games.

Of course, as mentioned above, many homes dispense with tables completely in the kitchen, and use barstools pulled up to built in bars. Almost all bars and stool-height tables are built at either “counter height” which is 36 inches or “bar height” which is 42 inches. An important measurement in this regard is seating height. Seating height is generally 12 inches below dining height. Therefore a regular dining table at 30 inches tall requires chairs with seats that are 18 inches off the floor, a 36 inch counter table requires 24 inch bar stools and a 42 inch bar table requires stools whose seats are 30 inches above the floor. Like color, correct seating height is difficult to remember, and barstools are the most frequently exchanged item in our store: the reason being that the original purchase was for the imagined height rather than the measured height.

Measuring for New Furniture

Finally, in measuring for new furniture, people often cut the sizes and shapes of potential pieces from newspaper and lay them on the floor. That way they can walk around their “new furniture” and be assured that the room has sufficient space. In most homes, it is common that one side, or two, of a dining table might be a bit less accessible, a 30-inch space on all sides of the tables is desirable and will allow people to pass behind seated diners for serving or clearing.

Rugs

At House of Oak & Sofas we often recommend using an area rug under the dining table to help define and soften the dining space. Rugs should be large enough so that the back legs of chairs do not drop off the rug when one is dining. In general, a very small dinette can sit on a 6×9 rug while most require an 8×11 size.

I just finished a 1/8″ plate steel base for my friend Alice.

She brought a table back from Africa, she did not like the base that came with it.
I wanted the base to look “hand made” to go along with the character of the table top (not shown). And decided upon sheet steel to give it that “made in India” flavor. Let me say that cutting steel into curves etc. without some high tech solution (plasma cutter, laser, etc.) is for the patient birds.
I must have been hunched over that band saw for 4 hours, cutting curves out.

I’m not sure that I can say it was worth all the effort, but I am intrigued by the outcome. I do like the freehand steel metal formed look. It brings to mind all sorts of possibilities, if only the cutting could be easier. I had to file and grind the lines to give them a grace the band saw could not impart. All just a part of working with metal I guess.

I do like the character that sheet metal shapes make, the crudeness and folksy nature of the freehand volumes is exciting to me.

I discovered a nice “blend” of old raw scaled metal, and new cut metal that is exposed… I gun blued the shiny new cut metal edges, then Bri-Waxed the entire piece. I have worried that my “tooling” i.e. grinding welds etc. could stand out as too overt on my metal work. The gun bluing on the shiny spots seems to obscure the contrasts. A simple fix.
The top pictured is a small concrete slab I’d made previously as a sample… works well with Alice’s table base I feel.

I think it was my friend Tina who came up with the idea of making a special version of the Berlin chair with a cowhide as design. Ivanova did a great job with the texture. already her first shot was quite impressive, but the final version I saw today really stunned me.

The work on the Berlins progresses nicely. We now have 11 versions, and lots of ideas for other designs.

You can see the high level of detail Ivanova applies to our creations in this closeup:

Wicker is a small, flexible branch or twig, usually of willow, that can be woven to make baskets, furniture, and other objects. The term wicker also refers to any basket like furniture or accessory. Some wicker objects are woven from such plant materials as bamboo, cane, rattan, and reed, and from artificial fibres.

Wicker furniture is made by weaving the material around a sturdy frame. Wicker is loosely woven and allows air to circulate, making such furniture especially suitable for hot areas. Wicker is also lightweight and extremely durable.

Wicker chair were made in ancient Egypt. During the 1800’s, wicker chairs and tables became popular in Europe and the United States. Each piece was handmade and took several days to complete. As the costs of labour and materials rose, manufacturers sought less expensive ways of making wicker objects. They developed an artificial fibre from specially treated twisted paper or usually called loom. They also began to weave wicker on looms. Today, however, some wicker objects are still made by hand, mostly in Asian countries.

Bedroom is the part of the house where you stay most. Furniture utilized in the room will define your personality. Choose pieces which will last longer. Choose designs that will never go out of style. You also select furniture pieces which are sturdy and will maximize the money that you use in buying it. Look for pieces which are unique. It adds to the bedroom’s ambiance if you find something that is worth keeping. Though it might look different from others, this will bring identity to your bedroom.The bedroom furniture that you need to consider is the basic ones like the bed, mattress, blankets and pillows. Closet is also additional furniture for the bedroom.The most important part of the bedroom is the bed. The size of the bed should be appropriate to the size of the room. You should leave enough space for movement and action especially for cleaning under the bed. If you have a small room, you can look for beds with wheels for easier movement and transport.

Not all bedrooms are made alike, and choosing the right furniture for the right bedroom is very important. The furniture you choose should reflect the amount of use it gets, the importance of the room in the house, and the design preferences of the homeowner.For example, the master bedroom furniture should be among the most costly in the home and while you shouldn’t spend a fortune here, you should be certain that your bedroom set will make you happy for a long time to come.