Category: furniture

5 tips for finding contemporary furniture in Miami

Boston sofa from Anima Domus

When it comes to interior design, contemporary style is a popular choice for many people. Contemporary houses often feature simple, spacious, and most importantly, functional living spaces. Many home-owners favour this pared back, clean style compared to what they see as impractical layouts and fussy detailing of older houses. In a nutshell, contemporary house design offers efficient living. Not surprisingly, contemporary furniture often compliments that contemporary living space best of all. And, in a big city like Miami where contemporary housing is popular, you’ll need to know who are the best suppliers.

Here are five tips for finding contemporary furniture in Miami.

Wildwood table and benches from Anima Domus

  1. Choose what appeals to you

Contemporary furniture store in Miami will give you lots of options. Choose furniture that provides you with the functionality that you need whilst also being stylish and aesthetically pleasing. These items are an important financial outlay and have to satisfy on many levels. Choose wisely from a trusted supplier and if possible, don’t settle for second best if there’s something you really love. After all, you’ll be interacting with your furniture on a daily basis, probably for many years to come. You’ll get a little bit of pleasure every time you use a treasured piece, rather than the pang of regret from the wrong choice.

Leather Blob chairs from Anima Domus

  1. Choose textiles & fabrics that are appealing but also easy to clean

One reason for having a contemporary home is to maximize the efficiency of living spaces. This can all be undone by the wrong choice for furnishing fabrics and coverings. Designs must appeal in terms of colour and pattern of course, but being robust and easy to maintain is also of major importance – especially if you have young children or pets. Your treasured furnishings will quickly lose their looks if they’re unsuitable for daily assault – and you’ll waste so much treasured time cleaning them too. For instance, leather and leather-effect fabrics on furniture are much easier to clean when it comes to those day to day knocks and spills – they’re flexible materials and look great too. You’ll be using your furniture for a number of years so you need to assess which ones will stand the test of time.

Squaring bed from Anima Domus

  1. Ask for tips from the retailer or from your interior designer

The contemporary look will incorporate classic clean lines and pared back simplicity of form. You can ask for suggestions from your interior designer or contemporary furniture seller on how to achieve this style. They’ve acquired lots of experience and expertise decorating contemporary homes so they can definitely help you with your buying decision when choosing furniture – in terms of design, practicality and current trends. There are various design services in the Miami area who can take a look at your home and tell you which contemporary pieces will work well in your home – and many of the possible sources in the locality.

Pari shelving system from Anima Domus

  1. Look for furniture stores that sell specific ranges

As much as possible, you want your furniture items to complement the space and each other. Buying pieces from a certain range could cut out all the guess work. Certain stores may even go as far as offering the smaller accessories to finish given looks within their ranges. Also, it’s often cheaper when buying matching sets than individual items separately. A whole bedroom suite or seating arrangement, for example, will have a much more favourable price as you’re purchasing numerous items – and giving the store profit margins that allow discounting.

Belt bench from Anima Domus

  1. Create a mood board

A mood board is a great idea to consider when you’re thinking about furnishing choices. You can use various online tools to do this or go the traditional route with cut out photos, articles, samples and so on. You’ll find inspiration in magazines and all over the internet. Identify what styles and furnishings really appeal to you – and collect examples of how they’re used in other people’s homes. These mood boards can then be shown to interior designers or retailers so that they can source the pieces you’ve identified – or offer similar items that they have in stock.

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Loving our new Frankie day bed

Frankie day bed | H is for Home

The kind people at Happy Beds sent us their Frankie day bed with single mattress to try out this week – and we’re loving it!

Frankie day bed components | H is for Home

It arrived in five well-packaged boxes, each containing the essential components ready for construction. The fact that it comes in pieces will certainly suit those people who live in flats – or have some tight corners or doorways to manoeuvre objects through and around.

Arched slats on the Frankie day bed | H is for Home

Putting the day bed together was really straightforward. We followed the enclosed instructions and it was up and ready to go in approximately 1½ hours. Adelle actually loves doing that kind of flat pack construction type thing! Don’t worry if you don’t have a tool box, it comes with its own double-headed (Phillips on one end and standard on the other) screwdriver for assembling.

Detail of the fabric on the Frankie day bed | H is for Home

It’s very solidly constructed and has arched, flexible wooden slats for extra comfort. The detailing and finish is very good too. We really like the fashionable, soft grey, Hessian-like textile. It sits very nicely against our slightly darker grey walls – and also works well as a backdrop for pops of brighter colour.

Frankie day bed with blanket | H is for Home Frankie day bed with fabric throw | H is for Home Frankie day bed with vintage tin side table | H is for Home

We’ve been experimenting with various accessories and soft furnishings to dress it. So far, bright yellow has been our favourite. The grey/yellow combo is a bit of a classic, and was the obvious starting point if you look at the huge painting which hangs on the wall above it.

Frankie day bed with drawer pulled out | H is for Home Frankie day bed with blankets stored in under-drawer | H is for Home

The Frankie day bed has another nice design feature too. The under-bed, pull-out drawer is the exact dimensions as the mattress above. This means that, if you decide to house a mattress in it, you can have two single beds at slightly different heights – a great option if you have people staying over and need to maximise sleeping berths. Alternatively, it makes for great storage. You can get absolutely loads of bedding, clothes or shoes tucked away neatly and out of sight.

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Join our club!

Pair of vintage leather club chairs | H is for Home

Anyone after some vintage leather club chairs? We picked this pair up last week and they’ve just gone into our shop space.

Detail of a vintage leather club chair arm | H is for Home

When we bought them they looked very tired, dry and dusty. So we had a TLC day applying leather cream and wood wax – and also tacked and glued some small rips and loose Hessian lining. We’ve put a bit of warmth and colour into them. The patina will continue to improve with continued handling (rubbing your hands along the arms as you sit in front of a wood-burner with a glass of wine always helps!).

Vintage leather club chair | H is for Home

They’re very comfortable indeed, so sitting in front of a fire with a glass of wine shouldn’t be too much of a chore. They’re available to collect from here in Todmorden – they’re priced at £795 the pair. Any questions, just drop us a line.

4 Things to look for when purchasing high-quality furniture

4 Things to look for when purchasing high-quality furniture

Not all furniture available on the market will match up to the expectations you have for your home’s interior. Therefore, it’s essential to ascertain if the pieces you intend to acquire have the desired quality and features required.  After all, in addition to providing function, furniture does an exceptional job of reflecting your personality. Here are 4 things to look for when purchasing new furniture.

Walnut extending dining table

  1. Quality of materials

The quality of materials used is an essential consideration – whether it be wood, metal, plastic – or a combination. Wood options can be made of solid timber, composites or veneers. Solid timber is generally the most expensive. Veneers are often a cheaper alternative as the core or carcass is made from less expensive woods. Composite refers to wood mixed with several other materials including plastics, resin and wood pulp. Composite furniture is often the material used for cheaper, mass-produced products and often don’t fare well in the durability or longevity departments. Good-quality wooden furniture looks great and ages well, it offers a range of colours, grains and texture – and can add real warmth to a space.

Metal furniture and fittings have been very much in vogue over recent years providing shimmer and sheen to interior décor – copper, brass and steel being the most widely used. As with wood there are noticeable variations in quality of metal products. This goes for main structural elements of a piece, but also the incorporated fixtures such as screws and brackets. Look for good weight and a nice surface patina.

Plastics are often much maligned but offer great flexibility in colour and form. Modern plastics can provide real quality of finish that should overcome any doubts – and good design will utilise the material to its greatest potential.

Sideboard drawers

  1. Quality of workmanship and finish

Before purchasing furniture, you should assess the workmanship and quality of finish. Pay attention to the drawers, cabinets and so on – a good indicator of quality. The drawer should pull out completely and smoothly, latch properly and shut evenly. Joints should be fitted, stable and secure – and preferably not just simply glued into place. Joints should be neat and flush – as should borders between different materials when used in combination. Also, check furniture edges and corners for a smooth, well finished appearance. When doors are opened, check they remain fixed in that position until you shut them again. In addition to checking the drawers and cabinets, you should also ensure that the handles and knobs feel secure and built to last – they shouldn’t feel loose or jiggle around – and you should feel confident that they’ll stay that way despite heavy use. If you’re purchasing a chair, sofa or bed in particular, you must ensure that the legs are secure and joined properly to the frame; legs roughly nailed on might not be the best sign! You should also make sure that the legs or feet are made of materials that won’t damage your floor surface.

Occasional table in front of a fire

  1.  Size and proportion

The furniture you buy will need to depend on the size of the room in which it is to be located. If you’re buying a sofa for a small box room, an oversized 4-seater example would look out of place and swamp the space. Conversely, an expansive, open-plan living space calls for large sofas, tables and chairs. Otherwise pieces get lost in the space and rooms feel sparse and ‘echoey’. Consider marking out the outline of various furniture options using chalk or masking tape – this really can help you visualise the finished room.

It’s not just the size of the rooms that you need to take into consideration. Always measure furniture before you buy to make sure that it can fit through the front door, around corners, up stairways and through internal doors. It can become a very expensive and time-consuming task having to remove doors and windows to get furniture indoors. Some have to resort to hoisting over-large pieces of furniture up through upstairs windows to get them where they were intended to go.

Corner of a cream leather sofa

  1. What’s already in your home?

Consider the furniture that you already own – will your new piece compliment or clash with it? Some very successful decorating schemes are quite eclectic when it comes to age and style, but this requires care and skill. You can’t just throw objects into a space and hope for the best! And then there’s the age and fabric of the building to consider. Will it suit a traditional, vintage industrial, country or contemporary style?

Read interior magazines or browse websites such as Pinterest for inspiration. Check out the results other people have achieved who live in buildings similar to yours – or have incorporated furniture pieces that you love too.

Hopefully these pointers will help with your choices. For a wide range of attractive, high-quality furniture, danetti.com is the perfect site to visit.

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