Furniture or Design?

We approach each challenge the same way, “it’s really all about the client.”  People who know us come to Furniture Market because of our reputation for high-end luxury furniture and expert interior designers.  Some visit the showroom just to catch an inspirational vibe.  They come looking for a creative experience that will both inspire and inform them on their home furnishing project.  Naturally if they want to just buy a chair, sofa or bed they can do that, but it’s not usually the type of store traffic we get.

More often we are seeing people who are embarking on a new room design or they are having a new luxury home built and want the entire home furnished and don’t know where to start.  In the case of the later we can take care of everything by working with the owner and their architect to ensure that home conforms to the furnishing theme and vise-versa. 

Visitors to Furniture Market also come to the showroom to find accessories and the latest art pieces, things that they would not be able to find anywhere else.  That is just one the things that makes Furniture Market unique.  Every item in the store has been carefully selected to be thought-provoking, visually creative and unique.  People often come to me to push the envelope within their genre, to discover their taste and style and transform it into a livable, functional home design.  We just don’t fill spaces with attractive furniture or place a sofa in a certain spot because it will fit that sofa.  On the contrary, for every piece we place in every room there must be reason why its there.  It’s placement within the room must complete ‘the story and feel of the design’ as well as play off the design of the home and the natural light available.  

I believe it’s our commitment to the art of interior design as well as the client that keeps them coming back and referring us to their friends.            

What are you paying for in a chair?

Investing money in fine furniture is a big deal and It’s important to know what you’re paying for. When it comes to a piece of furniture that you’ll have in your house for decades, you’ll want to know that you are paying for something that will not only be a joy to sit in but will also be well-made and built to last.

Stressless focuses foremost on quality; in both material and construction. Stressless pays attention to every detail, from the several layers of specialty foam to the fabric and leather. For example, they mold perforated foam directly over the base, enabling you to sink deeply into the chair. Unlike most chair manufacturers, Stressless uses a solid steel rod base that is cold bent for form the frame. This is a special process that creates more durability and support that lasts longer, a process that most manufacturers find too complex and expensive. When it comes to coverings, they only use top-grain leather, which they source and hand-select from the finest tanneries in Italy and Brazil.

Every step in the construction process is carefully designed to produce furniture that is of the highest quality and extremely durable. Many in the furniture industry compare just how far Stressless will go to create the most comfortable chair possible to that of luxury automobile make Rolls Royce. There are just no short-cuts taken!

The bottom line is this, a Stressless chair or sofa must be comfortable and it has to last. It could very well be the last chair you’ll ever buy. That is what you’re paying for.

Greenery in The Home

No matter the size of the home or the scope of the project, the finishing touch that brings it all together is almost always the introduction of greenery.  There is something about adding a living element (even if its faux) that say’s “its done”!

Without it the room doesn’t have any life to it, isn’t cohesive or just looks flat even though all the elements may be there. Adding greenery and plants to your home is a great way to add life and energy to it. Here are a few basic that I go by when decorating with greenery.

Go High

I believe to truly feel the impact of plants in a room, you have to get them up and off the floor and into your line of sight. This can be accomplished with either tall planters or putting them on a pedestal. This works especially well in homes with high ceilings.

Not only can pedestals and large planters add sculptural appeal of their own, but they can turn an otherwise boring hall-way or corner into a living, exciting point of interest.

They can also be placed behind a chair or a nook next to a window. Small accent tables, étagères, and of course, traditional plant stands also make ideal platforms for potted plants.

Scale Up

Some may think it risky to invest time, effort, and money into a large-scale plant, but the result is worth it. An indoor tree, such as a palm, a fiddle-leaf fig, or a ficus, can be the difference between a room that feels dreary and one that feels fresh and full of life. When placed near windows or French doors, indoor trees will help bolster a room’s visual connection to the outdoors, especially when its too hot or cold to spend a lot of time outside.

Beyond the mental and emotional impact of all that greenery, adding a large plant to a space can really spice-up its style factor, the same way a piece of sculpture or an eye-catching light fixture does. A large plant has real presence in a room, drawing the eye up and around and adding gorgeous textures and dimensions to any room.

Create an Indoor Garden

Often times I'll turn a room or sunny corner into an indoor arboretum by adding more than one type of plant. To accomplish this I'll cluster plants in a variety of sizes, textures, and containers with some placed on the floor and others on pedestals or tables. The result is a look that feels lush and organic.

Complete and Repeat

A single petite plant can do wonders for a lackluster corner or a lonely hall table. But if you double it up, it just works so much better. For example, to highlight a beautiful glass, stone or chrome console table I often make a row of green potted plants in similar sizes in matching containers. This makes a wonderful yet simple centerpiece or windowsill vignette. I especially love this look when using small-scale plants, whose tailored shapes create a pleasing visual rhythm when repeated.

Go Faux

Don’t have a green thumb or the time needed to pamper real plants? Quality faux greenery on the market today are incredibly life-like and real, and require a fraction of the time needed to maintain them. Other than light dusting from time to time, a quality faux plant or tree will last years. This is often the case with many Furniture Market clients who maintain second homes here in Las Vegas. Real greenery just would not be practical if the home is left alone for long periods of time. Faux greenery comes in every imaginable type and size, and something can be found for every need.

Go Slow

Real succulents are really low maintenance , hardly require any water grow very slow. This makes them perfect for the out-of-town or on-the-go homeowner. The only they require a lot of is sunlight, and lots of it. Orchids are another great low maintenance plant. They’re also beautiful and require very little water, and like succulents they also need a fair amount of sunlight.

Arrange  

Creating beautiful greenery arrangements can be as simple as opening a home design magazine or visiting your local nursery. Or, you can stop by Furniture Market and get inspired by the dozens of one-of-a-kind arrangements on display throughout the showroom. We'll be happy to assist you with recommendations and ideas. You can also take the easy route and purchase one right off the floor. Either way, going greenery can be a lot of fun.

Area Rugs Are Fun

There is one common element I find in every new home I furnish, and that is the unlimited flooring possibilities the new home owner can choose from. No longer is wall-to-wall carpet the standard for rich and luxurious elegance. Stone, tile and wood is now the accepted standard, and within those three mediums, the choices are almost unlimited in regards to colors, materials and textures. With that now the norm, the popularity in area rugs has gone up dramatically, creating an entirely new focal area within a room.

Area rugs have a unique way of bringing together all of the elements of a room, by pulling together various colors throughout the room and décor. But the benefits of area rugs extend far beyond style. Here are a few to consider.

Comfort

It’s obvious that carpet is a lot softer than hardwood or tile on your feet, and most will agree that carpet is more comfortable to stand on than that of hard surface floor. Not only does the carpet feel softer to the touch, but its softness gives it flexibility, which allows the carpet to absorb some of the impacts of your footstep. This literally takes some of the pressure off your body.

Noise

An area rug will significantly decrease the noise in your room by eliminating sounds reverberating off walls and floors, especially in larger rooms. It acts as buffer by absorbing sound from the air. Lay down an area rug, and listen to the difference.

Warmth

Although winter temperatures in Las Vegas are rather moderate compared to many cities, it can still get rather chilly giving carpeting an advantage to hard surface flooring. An area rug placed in the center of your seating area will not only help retain some heat in that area, but it will make walking with bare feet more comfortable.

Anchor

A properly placed area rug will instantly anchor the furniture within a room, which in turn will create a cozy, intimate living space. I always choose a rug that is large enough so that the main pieces of furniture (sofa, love seat, chair, coffee table) are all sitting on the rug, or at minimum have the front legs on the rug. Without the rug, it can feel as though the furniture is ‘floating’ in the room.

Finding Center

If you subscribe to feng shui or similar beliefs, or even if you just intuitively sense it, an area rug helps slow down the energy that flows through a home. In other words, its helps ground a space by providing resting place for both body and energy.  Energy travels quickly over hard surfaces, creating feelings of excitability or anxiety.  An area rug introduces a sense of calm into the space by slowing the energy.

Choose the Right Rug

Be sure to choose a rug to match the space. Skimp on size, and your room will look smaller, choose one too large and you'll loose the ascetics of your hardwood or tile flooring. In a living room, the rug should define the conversation area, and be large enough so at least the front legs of the furniture are on it.

Layering

Don't be afraid to layer an area rug over existing wall-to-wall carpeting. It will add playfulness while still pulling together the rooms boundaries.

Start at the Bottom

When I'm asked to design a room from scratch, I often choose the rug first and work my way up. After all its the biggest, most impacting piece that will tie the room together.  Then I select the furniture, throw pillows, textures, and then textiles for curtains.

Color & Texture

I will often use the area rug to introduce color and contrast into the room. An interesting pattern or texture to the rug will instantly create a focal point, drawing the eye to it before moving up to the furniture and beyond. Its a wonderful way of adding color to a room designed around neutral colors and textures.

Lastly, area rugs are fun! They can be changed out periodically and each time it will completely revitalize the space and feel of the room. They can even be stored and re-used again at a later date, or swapped out to a different room or space. I think of area rugs much like a persons wardrobe. Something to change to suit the mood, climate or purpose.