Blog
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The Beauty in the Wood
A rich textured grain is a beautiful thing and can be used exquisitely to bring a natural and fresh look to your interior, however, used wrongly it can provide a clash of tones and a mess of confusing aesthetics.
So keep a keen eye out when selecting wooden pieces as it is vital to blend the materials together seamlessly!
Zero Diversity
In the realm of wooden interiors or those furnished as such, you can never go wrong with a staple wood. One consistently used timber that provides the textured grainy look without needing another to contrast, favoured examples of these are oak, for its lighter tones, and mahogany, tried and tested, a true classic.
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Antoinette Range, Mahogany[/caption]
Solid oak furniture has seen a rise in recent years, with large scale shops specialising in the wood, and it’s no surprise as it offers a familiar light colour with wood knots to give it a more natural look. It is a front runner as it is not overpowering and pieces can be solely constructed from the wood and still look sleek and sophisticated, it also goes exceedingly well with silver, steel or chrome metals which fashion superb handles in our Tuscany range!
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Tuscany Range, Oak[/caption]
As a contrast is the stand alone, unmistakable appearance of mahogany, the wood that has been used across every range and every style, and for good reason! It is a strong and incredibly durable timber which is a priceless asset when choosing pieces that you hope to maintain for years to come. From all mahogany dark toned furnishings that exude a powerful masculine presence to the white painted, hand carved pieces it is a truly extraordinary wood with a beautiful grain and texture, one which we love to work with and chose for our Chateau range.
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Chateau Mahogany Bed[/caption]
Mixing the Grain
A delicate procedure if there ever was one in the realm of interior design, mixing different flavours of wood and creating a multi-tonal masterpiece within your living space’s harmony can be catastrophic if done carelessly.
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Mitz Takahashi's Oak and Mahogany Wood Sideboard[/caption]
So your aim is to create harmony between contrasting pieces, it can be beautiful, it can be a show stopping display of your interior expertise and so we do not want to discourage it. Here goes.
Our advice on blending different woods in one room!
- Keep it fun, there’s no point in adding a splash of fair if you naturally stay between the lines. This can cause a contrast of interests in your home and having one room as a sleek, by-the-book recipe interior and another as a mix of this that and everything in between is a no go!
- Keep it Light, different textures are good, they are celebrated in fact! We must tread carefully however and only allow so much change in one room. Otherwise we end up with items that clash harder than Crocs and a little black dress … now wouldn’t that look stupid.
- Keep looking! It’s hard to find what you’re looking for, especially in different ranges of wood, but persevere and you will be thankful when you find the perfect piece and so glad that you didn’t settle for that rotten thing that “almost works”.
As always, wishing you a keen eye and something to buy!
Fern xx
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Trends: Our Creative Space
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New Showroom, We Have Arrived!
After the long awaited move into our new premises, we are making the finishing touches to the store and fine tuning our new showroom. It’s been a slow progression from our exclusively online store into our first showroom, and now onto our latest venture! NG10 1LN! That’s our new post code by the way and it is right in the centre of Read more... -
Arrivals, Old & New
New Arrivals We love updating our catalogue, we get to hand pick the perfect French style pieces to fit with the rest of our ranges and just some things we think you’ll like. Recently we have added several pieces to our Dorset range as well as giving our Giselle range a make-over, we are currently anticipating some new additions to our Read more... -
Fern's Fashion Week
A Thought on London Fashion Week It is here, London fashion week is booming from the 19th to the 23rd of February, the press and designers are in full swing. All new ideas for the Autumn and Winter approaching in 2016 are showcased and featured by over 83 designers, including the likes of Jasper Conran, Burberry, Julian Mcdonald, Vivienne Read more... -
29 Days of February
The Leap Year Signifying another four trips around the Sun, the leap year balances the days and synchronizes us with our calendars again. Although it may not mean much to most people it says a lot about restarting, it takes us a little over 365 days to complete our journey and so we inevitably become out of time. Not unlike fashion, we eventually Read more... -
New Year's Eve and New Storage Solutions
Goodbye 2015 January is fast approaching and it seems like only yesterday were we opening the first door of our advent calendars. Thankfully, Christmas is behind us and all the stress can be forgotten for another 364 days, now we face the task of boxing up all that merriment and stuffing it into places no one will look. We offer you comfort in Read more... -
French Dining Tables - Tis the Season
Christmas time draws near and we want to do our best to spread joy to others, through gift giving and holiday cheer the festive period becomes exactly that, festive. Families join together over one table to share a feast and swap stories from the year that’s passed, and we wouldn't have it any other way. Every December we hope our celebrations Read more... -
Halloween
A Night To Remember What’s under the bed? As Halloween approaches we are encouraged to face our fears with humour and poorly made costumes. However, some of us would rather leave the lights turned on and hide under a cosy throw. In the spirit of keeping comfortable on Halloween, throws can not only keep away the chill of an October Read more...