Category Archives: Furniture

March 5, 2009 · 2:15 am

At Home: Do You Bamboo? Clearly We Do Not.

If you’ve read my wallpaper post, you know I am working on re-doing our bedroom. Wallpaper behind the bed, green paint for the walls, and a new dresser.

Erin Gates, a talented and sweet interior designer, is helping me put things together, make decisions, etc. I’m good at some of this, but not all. One of the things I need help with is mixing different styles of furniture. Erin suggested a vintage dresser in faux bamboo style. It’s not only stylish – once it gets a new paint job anyway – but you can find them on ebay for cheap, cheap, cheap.

I discovered the specimen above on Craig’s List. It was holed up in a not so cute secondhand shop in Brighton. Two hours and $40 delivery charge later it was in my bedroom. Not so fast.

My husband, whose taste and judgement is quite good, though he may lack vision, laughed when he saw it. Okay, the scale was off compared to our other pieces. Okay, it was rickety. (Actually, what he said was, “Let’s take it out to the alley, where it belongs.”) Okay, it wasn’t made out of real wood, though for that price what do you expect? Although he would have happily indulged me, I had to agree it just wasn’t right, at least for our room.

Erin generously posted it on her blog, “Elements of Style” (which you MUST bookmark), and by noon it was sold. There was lots of interest. So there.

P.S. The lucky buyer was Audra Boyle, the co-owner of Looc boutique in the South End, who has impeccable taste.

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Filed under Furniture

Tagged as Audra Boyle, Bamboo, Boston, dresser, Erin Gates, Looc

February 21, 2009 · 5:37 pm

Site Spotlight: Abode7

The other day at jury duty , while I was conscientiously reading last month’s Dwell on prefab housing (I’m doing a piece on an amazing prefab in Maine), to kill time, I studied the little ads in the back of the book. I came upon a cute ad for Abode7. This morning I checked it out, and it’s worth a look.

It’s a decent mix of transitional furniture and accessories, blending trendy accessories, like Thomas Paul pillows and Dwell bedding, with more subtle staples, like eight different styles of sisal rugs.

The furniture is along the lines of Crate & Barrel in terms of style and price, with a whole bunch of upholstery options that are so-so. While much of it was too traditional for my taste, I found some simple silhouettes to consider, like the Nolan Cane Back Slipper Chair, especially at its sale price of $519. And the Asian-influenced pistachio curved stool, for $180.

If you’re into bamboo and grass shades, there are about 30 different styles, and there’s also drapery, both custom and ready made. A lot of it is awful (Trudy Plaid Drapery, ick!) but the Moroccan Palace and South Beach patterns have potential.

They also offer a bunch of fabrics by the yard if you’re a DIY-er. A lot of it is eh (again with the hideous pastel plaids), but there’s a zebra linen, Thomas Paul look-a-like florals,and graphic trellis patterns.

So, while you’re not going to get any major inspiration here, Abode7 is a good site to poke around for basics, like well-priced non-trendy sofas, accessories, and such.

Shopping: 1st Dibs’ Saturday Sale

1st Dibs, the exquisite, international online antique marketplace, has a sale each Saturday, in the tradition of weekend yard and barn sales, but much more upscale. I breezed through 75 pages of items to come up with these keepers, assuming you’ve got plenty of cash

Cloud Sofa and Ottoman by Isamu Noguchi, c. 1985
$6,500, reduced from $7,500

Go mod in your coop, dorm room, or dream home in groovy green.

Brass Sputnik Chandelier, c. 1950’s
$900, reduced from $1,200

Perfect in any dining area, over a simple Shaker table, a glitzy antique, or Saarinen pedestal.

Napoleon III Pouf, c. 1940
$3,350

Have your Marie Antoinette moment in your boudoir. Embellish with floral foil wallpaper, and cake.

Pair of Reupholstered Louis XVI Arm Chairs, early 20th c.
$1,960, reduced from $2,800

The zebra print upholstery update makes these oh so sophisticated chairs stylish in any setting.

French Iron and Hand Blown Glass Sconces, c.1950’s-1960’s
$950, reduced from $1,950

Design your bedroom around these romantic cornflower blue sconces.

Seguso Frosted Glass Flower Sputnick Chandelier, c. 1950’s
$7,500, reduced from $9,500

A fanciful take on Italian glass that isn’t too ornate.

Pair of Hollywood Regency Night Stands
$2,700, reduced from $4,250

We hear Kelly Wearstler calling. Slap up the Imperial Trellis wallpaper so you too can live like a diva.

French Vanity with Matching Stool, c. 1960s
$2,900

Oh la la, how cute are you? This oak and rattan vanity is sure to see you through many a primiping moment. (Don’t despair, the dealer promises to fix the missing side to the oval mirror.)