Green Furniture

I’ll be the first person to bang on about how important it is to furnish your home with what you love and not be a victim of the moment’s fashion, but I have to admit I do get a flash of satisfaction when the interwebs tell me that green furniture is “on trend.” And when I say “green furniture” I mean it in both the environmental and color sense.

Green Furniture is IN!

Homes and Gardens is all about green colored furniture, painted furniture and thrifted vintage pieces for their 2024 trends. Green has been called “the new neutral.” and a “must have” color for any room in the home. Search queries for green kitchen cabinets are through the roof (smug sidenote - I painted my kitchen cabinets green in 2020) as the ubiquitous blue cabinet trend wanes. I’ve loved the color green forever, as my first ever blog post explained. Those who have been watching my furniture creations evolve will have seen a green dresser or green cabinet pop up as frequently as I allow them to! Even when the main color of the piece is something else, green tends to creep into the wallpaper color palette I choose. This black and green cabinet is a good example.

Murray the Moth Cabinet

Murray may be all sophisticated black on the outside, but his true character is created with the green, cream and orange toned lapidary wallpaper on the inside.

Green is a highly versatile color that comes in a wide range of shades, from soothing pastels to vibrant emeralds. For a sophisticated color scheme I would always counsel interior design clients to build in a range of a specific color into an interior design palette. So, if you love sage green for example, try to add deeper green accents such as a forest green or a dark olive. The huge range of tones we term “green” allows you to easily incorporate green into any design scheme, whether you prefer a minimalist, modern look or a cozy and traditional feel. Green can be used as a dominant color or as an accent to add depth and interest to a room.

If you’re reading this blog as a newbie to the wonders of green furniture, take a look at some of the gorgeous color palettes you can pull off with a piece of green furniture such as a green coffee table or green dresser as part of the scheme.

Green Furniture with Neutrals

Green with neutrals such as brown, black, white and other tones of greens is an obvious place to start.

The green display cabinet in this image creates the focal point of the room. Along with cream, browns and a light rust color, the color palette pulls the room together to create a comfortable but earthy toned space.

Kali the Kaleidescope Cabinet

Kali the Kaleidoscope Cabinet is a revamping of a 1930s china cabinet. I kept the gorgeous wood veneer on the doors where it was in good shape but added a deep green to the base and top and a dazzling cactus kaleidoscope style wallpaper to the back to make the piece work for a less fusty time. It’s a green cabinet in both senses of the word!

In this living room featuring a green coffee table as well as green upholstered pieces, the rich forest green is contrasted with clean bright white and some hints of gold. The inclusion of a tall palm lifts the green tones up off the floor and adds a feeling of tropical luxury.

Dorothea the Display Cabinet

This green cabinet is more like an accessory than a piece of furniture. It can sit on a table top. Whether you’re using it to display plantlife, treasures or as a shrine, a little green accent is always welcome in a home.

Squire the Squirrel Dresser

My Squire the Squirrel piece was inspired by the similarity in shape to one of those old-timey orchard ladders that narrows towards the top, especially when the drawers are pulled out like rungs. This green dresser seemed like the kind of piece some squirrels would love to play on!

Stella the Coffee Table

This green coffee table was nearly red, I must admit. Stella had a kind of colorful Romany flair in my mind, but she ended up green and gold with her beautiful natural wood top being accented with a star.

Green Furniture with Blue

Green is, quite obviously, associated with nature and the outdoors. Hopefully this connection conjures feelings of tranquility and serenity for you. By bringing the color green into your home, you can create a sense of connection to the natural world, even in urban environments. I live smack bang in the middle of the city of San Francisco, but you might mistake my living space for a jungle because it’s so important for me to have plants around me. Green plants, green walls, or green furniture can help to infuse a space with a calming and rejuvenating energy.

Other than keeping it simple by using greens with neutrals, there are many other ways to include green furniture in a color palette. A green and blue color scheme can be an excellent way to create a sense of peace in a room.

The light blue walls and ceiling with green toned lower half of this room evokes an outdoor color palette with a blue sky and green fields. The cream tones add a soft cloud like effect.

These soft dark green nightstands highlighted with woodland wallpaper from designer Timorous Beasties continue to be a fan favorite and the pair of nightstands sold very quickly!

Woodland Nightstand

I was encouraged to create another single green nightstand in a similar green tone, this time with a more modern and geometric style. This time I used a wallpaper from Hygge and West. Although originally intended as a nightstand, this adaptable furniture piece can be used as a green side table in a living room.

Green Furniture with Pink

A less expected green color scheme is one that incorporates a salmon pink. This can be a lovely way to warm up a palette.

The key with a green and pink color scheme is getting the right tones of each color. I’ve been playing around with AI generated images of various rooms and I can tell you, it takes a designer’s eye and not a computer’s to pick the exact green and pink colors that prevent this potentially stunning palette being an eyesore!

Beatrice Bar Cabinet

Beatrice is another great example of black on the outside, green on the inside. I am obsessed with this wallpaper from designer Mind The Gap. This black, pink and green cabinet might be one of my favorite pieces I’ve made.

Green Furniture with Yellow and Orange

Tiger Lily Dresser

This green dresser gave me a chance to combine a paint color with gorgeous natural woodgrain. When I found Tiger Lily, she was covered in a peeling map that someone had optimistically papered onto her. Although some of the woodgrain on the case was too badly damaged the drawer fronts looked stunning once they were sanded and coated.

The addition of the yellow and orange tiger lily flowers gave me an opportunity to bridge the gap between the painted and varnished finishes in an unexpected and contemporary way.

For a green color palette combination, add some bright yellow or vibrant orange! In small doses, these tones can act like a citrus burst on the tongue.

Green Furniture as in Environmentally Friendly

As for the environmental angle, the research boffins at Grand View Research are predicting consumer preference for sustainably made and recycled furniture to continue to grow rapidly over the next few years. “Rising awareness among consumers towards sustainable production of furniture products has largely influenced the adoption of eco-friendly furniture in residential spaces. Consumer inclination towards selecting furniture for their homes made from recyclable materials that do not harm the environment and society.”

Why is Environmentally Green Furniture Important?

The issues with standard furniture can be split into three areas

1. When new furniture is being made we are using the planet’s resources. Mostly, when it comes to tables and casegoods, this means wood from forests that aren’t necessarily being replanted as fast as they are depleted. The manufacturing process usually uses fossil fuels to power factory machinery and sometimes creates unclean wastewater as a bi-product. Add in the fuel required to ship your furniture across the world from the locations in which all or some of the components are made, and the tax on the planet gets up there. If you buy vintage, and especially if you buy local, you can avoid this negative impact.

Green fields, yes! Furniture in landfill, no!

2. Once the new furniture is in your home, you need to be careful about the chemicals that the furniture is dispersing. Called “off-gassing”, this process can leave carcinogenic chemicals such as formaldehyde, chlorinated tris and TCEP in the air that you breathe and the dust your home accumulates. For more on these chemicals, this website is a good resource. These chemicals typically dissipate over the first few months which means that vintage or second hand pieces will be much healthier for your home as they have had plenty of time to rid themselves of these chemicals.

One exception is second-hand foam filled upholstered furniture. If you buy this, make sure that the foam inside has been replaced with a more modern, volatile organic compound (VOC) free version, especially if the foam is disintegrating. In many states and countries, it used to be compulsory to add flame retardant chemicals to upholstered furniture. This was meant well, especially in the days when falling asleep on the couch with a lighted cigarette in your hand seemed to be a frequent occurrence. Perhaps you’re old enough to remember those public service ads from the 80s? Unfortunately, these flame retardants turned out to be carcinogenic so now most states and countries prevent these substances from being added to furniture and insist on flame retardancy being achieved by other means.

Another useful thing to know is that solid wood furniture has far fewer chemicals in it to start with. This is because composite woods or particle board require lots of adhesive to stick the wood particles together. The glue is often the biggest source of undesirable chemicals.

3. When you are finished with your furniture, unless you can resell it or donate it, it will end up in a massive landfill site. I wrote about this issue in my blog post “F-waste Sounds Like a Swear Word But…”. “Fast furniture” is a term for furniture that is made cheaply and not expected to last. These kind of pieces will often break before you would otherwise be done with them. This makes them impossible to resell and even more likely to end up quickly in landfill while you have to purchase a replacement and start the cycle all over again. The obvious way to avoid this is to buy high quality items that will last and that you will love for many, many years to come. If you’re buying vintage or second-hand, and keeping those pieces out of landfill, even more brownie points for you!

What to Look For When Buying New Green Furniture

If you have to buy new furniture it’s important to look for these things:

1. Certified Sustainable Wood: Look for furniture made from wood that is certified by organizations like the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which ensures that the wood is sourced from sustainably managed forests.

2. Reclaimed Wood: Furniture made from reclaimed wood not only adds character to your home but also reduces the demand for new wood and helps to minimize waste.

3. Bamboo: Bamboo is a fast-growing and renewable resource that is popular in green furniture manufacturing. It is versatile, durable, and has a minimal environmental impact.

In case it’s not already obvious, you can achieve all of your environmentally healthy and aesthetic goals by looking for vintage or “re-imagined” furniture that is painted green. What a winning combo! And I’m here to help you with that. Take a look through the pieces currently available at FOUND and see if you can find a green furniture piece to adopt (and then brag about!).

Where to find Vintage Furniture in San Francisco

Having trod these city streets in search of fabulous furniture for over 20 years now, I’ve seen many beautiful San Francisco vintage furniture stores come and go. It shouldn’t be surprising; running a store that requires many square feet of showroom space is an expensive endeavor around here. There are a few places that specialized in vintage furniture such as “The Eclectic Collective” (now just online) and “Swallowtail Home” on Polk whose passing I will always mourn.

But this city is always a place of change and with the disappearance of some, there will always be new vintage furniture stores in San Francisco to get excited about. In fact, the rate of change recently has been so swift that I noticed even places like Yelp and Google maps can’t keep up.

So, here’s my run-down on the places to find vintage furniture in San Francisco. The first thing to know is that most of these places either don’t post everything they have on their website or they don’t post it fast enough for the inventory on their website to be accurate. After all, vintage furniture isn’t the kind of thing that you sell multiple identical versions of. When it’s sold, it’s gone. So, I recommend you check out their websites for an idea of what they sell, but there’s nothing that can beat turning up in person.

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You might even find a perfect vintage furniture piece coming in through the back door that has barely made it onto the showroom floor yet. Swoop in and grab it, my friends!

Given that getting your butt over to the physical stores is critical, I’m going to split the vintage furniture shops into geographical regions.

But first, let me define what I mean by vintage furniture, because that definition is also changing.

“Vintage” typically means “more than 50 years old”. When I first started hunting furniture, that meant 1940s and before.

As the last 25 years have passed, that definition of vintage has come to include mid-century modern furniture.

More recently, I’ve noticed that some consignment websites’ definition of vintage to be “more than 20 years old”, so that takes us up to the end of the 20th century!

Vintage Furniture Stores in San Francisco

The Ultimate List!

Mission District, SF Vintage Furniture Stores

De Angelis, 573 Valencia St - lots of mid-century modern pieces

Black and Gold, 572 Valencia St (also 2200 15th St near the Castro district) - I would move in if they let me

Castro and Noe, SF Vintage Furniture Stores

S16, 286 Sanchez St - vintage and industrial style

Black and Gold, 2200 15th St (also 572 Valencia St in the Mission)

When Modern Was, 4001 24th St - colorful new and vintage furniture and home decor

Richmond, SF Vintage Furniture Stores

Past Perfect, 6101 Geary Blvd - trove of vintage and antique pieces from all over the world

Warren, 3020 Clement St

Donobedian Refind Home, 2500 Clement St

Gallerie d’Edmond, 1835 Divisadero St

SOMA, SF Vintage Furniture Stores

McCarney’s Furniture, 731 Bryant St  - mostly European vintage and antique pieces

Design Plus Consignment, 333 8th St - consignment store that occasionally includes vintage furniture

Repurch (formerly The Local Flea), 2514 17th St - consignment store that occasionally includes vintage furniture

Epoca, 1700 16th St - antiques store with some vintage pieces

Golden Age Antiques, 1201 Folsom St - mostly Asian pieces

Pacific Heights and Russian Hill, SF Vintage Furniture Stores

Gallerie d’Edmond, 1835 Divisadero St

Warren, 2436 Fillmore St and at 1837 Polk St (also at 3020 Clement St in the Richmond) - more decor items than furniture with some jewelry and coffee table books and clothing. Furniture is more likely antique than MCM.

Stuff by Luxe 1545 Pacific Ave - the rebirth of the iconic Stuff store previously on Valencia St

Still want more? Is it Monday and too many are closed today? Keep your San Francisco vintage furniture addiction fed by looking at some websites that sell furniture in SF or can be narrowed down to show you vintage pieces that are in the city. Shopping local isn’t just better for the local economy and the environment, when it comes to furniture, shipping is costly, so if you can go pick it up yourself or just hire a local mover, you will save big bucks!

Online Vintage Furniture

Found By Bashford Design - that’s me!

Eclectic Collective

Mid Century Modern Finds

MCM SF

Proper Bones

Guesthouse

Chairish

1st Dibs

Kashew

List or map out of date already? Call me out and let me know at sarah@bashforddesign.com!

Why You Need a Painted Dresser Now!

Sure, I may be just a little bit biased, but a painted dresser is more than just a piece of furniture; it’s a statement, a personality, a piece of intriguing history, a gloriously useful clothing/dinnerware/board games/junk hiding superhero. And, before we get anywhere near the end of this first paragraph, NO, you don’t need to love shabby chic (or Tuscan anything) to be a prime candidate for a painted dresser. This dark blue dresser and black dresser are painted with a fine glossy finish, a long way from the chipped and rubbed back style that you may have expected. A beautiful dresser is a treasure and future heirloom.

The Versatility of a Painted Dresser

Dressers are known for their storage capacity. This often means they are big, or at least one of the biggest pieces of furniture in the room. This is an excellent reason for making sure they are not a lumping mass of brown. Whether it's clothing, linens, or household items, a painted dresser provides ample space to keep your belongings organized and out of sight. Don’t replace the sight of your stuff with a boring brown bunker, especially if it matches your nightstands!

A beautiful dresser can transform the look and feel of a room. It serves as both functional storage and a decorative element, allowing you to express your personal style. And that style can be chic, sleek, whimsical or downright bonkers as well as traditional or boho or whatever other character you may already associate with a painted dresser.

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Painted dresser lesser known fact:

These chameleon tardis furniture pieces can be incorporated into more than just your bedroom. Used in living rooms, dining areas, nurseries and even kitchens, painted dressers can seamlessly adapt to different spaces.

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But first, using a Painted Dresser in the Bedroom

The bedroom is a natural place for a beautiful dresser, and a painted dresser can be an excellent addition to this personal space.

Dresser as a Focal Point

Make your bedroom pop by choosing a painted dresser with a bold color or unique design. This can serve as the room's focal point, drawing the eye and adding personality to the space.

This striking vintage blue dresser’s handpainted design was inspired by a Chinese poem found inside one of the drawers. Read the full story, here.

Functional Storage

A bedroom dresser is essential for storing clothing, accessories, and personal items. Opt for a dresser with drawers of varying sizes to accommodate different needs. Customize the interior of the drawers with dividers (available at The Container Store, Amazon etc) so that you can channel your inner Marie Kondo. Or just throw the clothes in a shut the drawer - no-one but you needs to know!

Vanity Replacement

In smaller bedrooms, a painted dresser can double as a vanity. Place a stylish mirror on top, add a few decorative items, and it becomes a multifunctional piece of furniture.

Coordinated Color Scheme

Match the dresser's color to your bedroom's color scheme for a cohesive and harmonious look. This blue dress is co-ordinated with the bed linens and a planter. Consider using complementary or contrasting colors to create an interesting visual effect.

Incorporating a Painted Dresser in the Living Room

The living room is another great space to display a painted dresser with a twist.

Entertainment Center

Transform a dresser into a unique entertainment center. Remove some of the drawers to accommodate electronics like a television, gaming consoles, and sound systems. The remaining drawers can house DVDs, books, or gaming accessories.

Display Shelves

Remove all or some of the drawers and use the dresser as open shelves to showcase your collections, artwork, or decorative items. This open shelving concept can be a striking focal point in your living room. This idea is most effective with a tall dresser

Coffee Table or End Table Alternative

If you're looking for a creative alternative to a traditional coffee table, remove the legs and place a painted dresser in the center of your living room. It provides both storage and a flat surface for books, drinks, and decor. A small dresser, especially if it’s relatively short, can make a great end table. Scale-wise it’s best to use a dresser-end table to one side of a long sofa. Next to a chair, it will overwhelm.

This small antique dresser was customized to fit the Celtic history of it’s owner’s family. It’s used in their living room in a recess next to the fireplace. It has painted accents that pick up on the vintage drawer pulls.

Using a Painted Dresser in the Kitchen or Dining Area

Kitchens and dining areas are not just for tables and chairs; a painted dresser can be a stylish addition too.

Buffet or Sideboard

A painted dresser can serve as a buffet or sideboard in your dining area. It's a great place to store extra dishes, utensils, and linens while also adding a touch of elegance to your space. This white dresser is used in a dining room to store special china, glasses and silverware.

Kitchen Island

In a larger kitchen, consider using a painted dresser as a unique kitchen island. You can install a countertop and add barstools for an informal dining area or a spot for food preparation.

Wine and Bar Cabinet

Transform your beautiful dresser into a wine or bar cabinet. Remove some drawers to make room for wine racks, glassware, and your favorite spirits. A painted dresser can add a touch of sophistication to your home bar. This black dresser was fitted with glassware holders and lighting to make it even more practical

A Painted Dresser in the Nursery

A painted dresser is a practical and charming addition to a nursery or children's room. Either choose a color that can adapt to different themes as the child gets older, such as a white dresser, or find a local furniture artist to update the design every few years.

Changing Table

A painted dresser can be converted into a changing table by adding a changing pad on top. The drawers are perfect for storing diapers, baby clothes, and other essentials.

Don’t forget to attach the dresser to the wall at the back so that it can’t fall on a child who likes to climb!

Clothing Storage

As your child grows, the dresser can evolve into a clothing storage solution. Paint it in fun, vibrant colors to make it a cheerful addition to the room.

Creative Themes

Choose a theme for the nursery, and paint the dresser to match. From nautical designs to enchanted forests, a painted dresser can be a canvas for your creative ideas.

A Painted Dresser for your Entryway

Calm the Chaos

Unless you have a large entry hall that can accomodate a full size, find a shallow dresser to act as a catchall for keys, shoes, dog leashes and shopping bags. This blue dresser has room for storage but the long legs keep it from appearing to take up too much space in what is often a small area.

Outdoor and Patio Uses for a Painted Dresser

Don't limit your vintage dresser to indoor spaces; it can be a unique addition to your outdoor areas as well.

Potting Bench

Repurpose an old painted dresser as a potting bench. It provides a convenient workspace for gardening and potting plants.

Outdoor Bar

With a little weatherproofing, a painted dresser can serve as an outdoor bar for entertaining guests in your backyard or on your patio.

Storage on the Deck

Use a painted dresser to store outdoor cushions, gardening tools, or pool supplies. It adds a touch of style while keeping your outdoor space organized. As you can see with this white dresser, you can even user a dresser as a planter!

Maintaining Your Painted Dresser

Caring for your painted dresser is crucial to ensure it remains in excellent condition. Here are some maintenance tips:

Regular Cleaning

Dust the dresser regularly and wipe it down with a damp cloth. Avoid using harsh chemicals that may damage the paint.

Touch-Ups

Keep a small amount of the paint used for your dresser in case you need to touch up any nicks or scratches that occur over time. Ask your friendly local dresser upcycler what paint she used and she’ll most likely have a little left over that you can use.

Protective Coating

Consider applying a clear protective finish to shield the paint from wear and tear, especially if the dresser is in a high-traffic area or exposed to the elements. If wear and tear is something you’re concerned about, make sure to ask what type of paint or finish was used on your dresser. Some types of paint such as those I use on my pieces will dry to a very hard coat; others, such as chalk paint will need to be waxed or sealed before they can be used, and even then, reapplication of wax can be helpful over time.

Have I convinced you? Let me know if I can help you find, paint or re-imagine a dresser!

Botanical Designs, Floral Furniture, and Biophilic Interiors

Has anyone noticed that the interiors world is into botanical everything? It’s as if the sun came out, the flowers bloomed and the world (at least the Northern hemisphere) noticed that plants are beautiful! From traditional chintz upholstery on a floral accent chair to hand painted vines on cabinets and table decor molded like vegetables, the natural world and floral furniture is in fashion and in homes. I have to admit that this is my favorite time of the year and I’m on the gardening bandwagon as eagerly as the next little old English lady. Whether it’s getting my hands into the dirt or painting the natural world, it’s all about the magic and whimsy of plants over here. As much as I love being outside, I’m realizing that I’m often inspired to bring botanical designs to my furniture. Perhaps this is a way to bring part of the intricacy and vitality of nature into the home in a way that can be appreciated even when it’s winter.

As shown here, quick review of furniture I’ve “reimagined” with plant based designs over the last couple of years suggests to me that botanical themes are recurring! But I’m not the only one. Botanical furniture and decor, with its exquisite blend of nature and craftsmanship, has captivated and enchanted individuals throughout history.

A Little History of Botanical Designs on Furniture

• Ancient Beginnings of Nature Inspired Furniture

The roots of botanical furniture can be traced back to ancient civilizations such as Egypt, Mesopotamia, and China. In these cultures, artisans began incorporating plant motifs and botanical elements into their furniture designs.

In China, ornate lacquered screens depicted scenes of lush gardens, immersing viewers in an ambiance of botanical splendor. The Egyptians, known for their reverence of nature, adorned their chairs and tables with carvings of palm leaves and lotus blossoms.

The Egyptian Queen Hetep-heres chair pictured here has been reconstructed even though the original wood had disintegrated when the queen’s tomb was found. It was common in Egyptian furniture, especially on thrones that were only available to the rich and powerful, to show animals or slaves holding up the person seated. This was meant to suggest the owner of the chair’s dominance over others. It’s interesting here to see how the flowers that support the arms are tied together in a sheaf as if farmed. Power over the natural world even in the form of farming was an important symbol of strength.

• Floral Furniture inThe Renaissance Period

During the Renaissance, botanical furniture experienced a resurgence of popularity. Inspired by the rediscovery of classical texts and an increasing fascination with the natural world, European craftsmen began incorporating botanical motifs into their furniture designs. Elaborate marquetry techniques were employed to create intricate floral patterns on cabinets and tables.

Italian craftsmen, in particular, developed a style known as "verdure" that depicted lush landscapes with various botanical elements. These Italian Renaissance chairs have upholstered backs that use tapestries illustrating various plants and flowers.

• Botanical Designs in the Victorian Era

The Victorian era witnessed a significant surge in the popularity of botanical furniture. The increased accessibility of exotic plants due to colonial exploration sparked a fascination with botany, leading to the incorporation of natural elements into furniture. Conservatories and sunrooms became popular spaces for displaying botanical furniture, allowing homeowners to surround themselves with a natural oasis.

Plant-inspired motifs such as ferns, flowers, and vines were carved into wood or painted onto furniture surfaces. In the pictured example, carved flowers and fruits embellish a 1860s Rococo Revival American parlor chair with needlepoint upholstery.

• Nature Inspired Furniture in the Art Nouveau Movement

In the late 19th century, the Art Nouveau movement emerged, embracing organic forms and botanical inspiration. Artists and designers like Louis Comfort Tiffany and Émile Gallé produced botanical furniture that celebrated the inherent beauty of nature.

The sinuous lines and flowing curves of Art Nouveau furniture mimicked the shapes and contours of plants, while stained glass panels and intricate inlays depicted flowers, leaves, and insects. This Art Nouveau chair is heavily carved with flowers, leaves and vines. Even the structure has an organic shape to it with barely any right angles.

• Modern and Contemporary Botanical Designs

In recent years, there has been a revival of interest in botanical furniture often as a counterpoint to clean and straight lines that can seem overly artificial and cold. Contemporary designers are exploring innovative ways to incorporate nature into their creations. Floral furniture can be an aspect of simple farmhouse style decor, boho interior design as well as multi-layered maximalist interiors.

Sustainable materials, such as reclaimed wood and bamboo, are often used, aligning with the growing environmental consciousness. This flower shaped chair made from bamboo, is a good example of floral furniture design combined with easily renewable rattan as a material.

These botanically inspired mid-century dining chairs have bentwood seats and backs along with curved tubular chrome legs and supports. The curve of the wood is molded to support the shape of the human expected to sit on them. This creates a more comfortable seat than a completely flat surface. By mimicking curves in nature, greater comfort is achieved. The botanical designs on the surfaces echo the natural world too.

Contemporary designers play with scale and less realistic color to make what used to be considered a traditional pattern feel fresh for a younger audience. These Eastlake period chairs were updated with bright colors to exaggerate the carving and overscale botanical fabric to make them more contemporary.

Living furniture, such as moss walls and planters integrated into seating, provides a unique blend of functionality and natural aesthetics, blurring the line between indoor and outdoor spaces. With advancements in technology and design, we can expect to see even more innovative and sustainable approaches to incorporating botanical elements into our furniture. From 3D-printed plant-inspired structures to furniture made from biodegradable materials, the possibilities are endless.

Whether it's a delicately carved floral motif on an antique cabinet or a modern living wall that breathes life into a room, botanical designs continue to offer a harmonious balance between beauty and functionality.

But Why Do Humans Love Botanical Furniture?

So what’s going on here? If humans have been incorporating plants into their furniture for so many millennia, this “floral furniture” is more than a passing trend. Are we drawn to nature because it’s “pretty?” Yes, maybe, but in my constant quest to find out why design affects us the way it does, I’ve become interested in biophilic design. Perhaps the timeless appeal of botanical designs on furniture comes from their ability to foster a greater connection with nature, not just to resemble it in some way. Wondering what biophilic design is all about? Read on!

What is Biophilic Design?

First, we need to zoom out from a single piece of botanical design furniture to look at larger spaces. In today's fast-paced and technology-driven world, our connection with nature has become increasingly important. Biophilic interior design offers a solution by integrating elements of the natural world into our living and working spaces. This design approach recognizes the innate human desire to be in harmony with nature, and seeks to create environments that promote well-being, productivity, and a sense of calm.

Principles of Biophilic Design

Biophilic design follows a set of principles to achieve its desired goals.

• Views of Nature, Vegetation

Views of nature, whether through windows or indoor landscaping, provide a sense of connection and respite. Studies have found that images of landscapes are more conducive than abstract art to healing and reduced stress in medical settings. Vegetation, such as living walls or potted plants, adds visual interest, purifies the air, and promotes a sense of well-being.

The use of botanical design, green background and woodgrain on this dresser are all suggestive of the natural world. The size of the tiger lilies is exaggerated to give a contemporary twist to an otherwise traditional piece of furniture.

• Natural Materials and Textures

The use of natural materials and textures is an essential aspect of biophilic design. Wood, stone, bamboo, and cork are commonly utilized to create a tactile and organic environment. These materials not only add visual warmth but also evoke a sense of authenticity and connection with the natural world. Incorporating textures inspired by nature, such as rough stone or smooth pebbles, further enhances the sensory experience and creates a multi-dimensional space.

• Color Palette and Patterns

The color palette and patterns in biophilic interior design are often inspired by nature. Earthy tones like greens, browns, and blues are commonly used to create a calming and grounding atmosphere. Interestingly, when I was in the desert area near Palm Springs last year, I noticed a lot of interior color palettes that incorporated pinks, oranges and yellow golds. In the desert, these are the colors of the natural surroundings, so green and blues aren’t your only option if you want to suggest a nature inspired color range. Patterns derived from natural elements, such as leaf motifs or water ripples, can evoke a sense of familiarity and serenity. Nature gives us repeating patterns but in a very subtle and seemingly varied way. Biophilic design seeks to bring natural, often curved shapes into the environment and avoid obvious angular repetition.

This lamp base is made from a printing roller that was used to create a floral design on wallpaper or fabric. In this example, the botanical design, full of curves and irregularity, is contrasted with the monochromatic tones and simple shape of the industrial roller and plain shade.

• Integration of Water Elements

Water elements, such as indoor waterfalls, fountains, or even small ponds, can have a profound impact on the overall ambiance of a space. The sound and sight of flowing water create a soothing and meditative atmosphere, promoting relaxation and reducing stress. Interestingly, I’ve found that people tend to be drawn towards either the ocean or to rivers. For some the sound of crashing waves is nearly hypnotic while other people prefer the less rhythmic music of a babbling brook. Incorporating water features into interior design can also help improve air quality by increasing humidity.

The Ripple Side Table was inspired by drops of water falling into the Russian River in California. The curvaceous silhouette of the top and the cabriole legs lend themselves to an organic theme. In case you haven’t noticed by now, I’m more of a “river person” than an ocean devotee!

• Big and Small Spaces

I always feel more relaxed in restaurants when I have my back to the wall and I can see out over the other people dining. I’m pretty sure this is because something in my animal brain is relaxed when it knows no predator can jump on me from behind! Biophilic design incorporates large open spaces for ease of view (so you can see those tigers coming!) with smaller spaces for feeling safe. Likewise, spaces for moving around are expansive with high ceilings but ceilings are often lower over seated areas to subtly suggest the safety of shelter under a tree.

• Lighting

Natural light helps regulate our circadian rhythms, improves mood, and enhances productivity. The use of smart technology can also enhance the biophilic experience by controlling lighting, temperature, and humidity levels to mimic natural cycles. We have all read advice that tells us not to continue to look at an electronic screen too near to bedtime. This is because the color of the light contains a relatively high amount of blue tone which is more suggestive of midday bright light than a warmer colored and softer evening light which introduces our bodies to the idea of sleep.

Benefits of Biophilic Design

Biophilic interior design offers numerous benefits for occupants. It has been shown to improve cognitive function, creativity, and overall productivity. Exposure to natural elements and daylight has been linked to reduced stress levels, improved mood, and enhanced overall well-being. Biophilic spaces also have the potential to speed up healing processes, promote better sleep, and increase concentration. By creating environments that mimic the natural world, biophilic design fosters a sense of connection, tranquility, and harmony with our surroundings.

As we recognize the importance of sustainability and environmental consciousness, biophilic design aligns perfectly with these principles. By using sustainable and eco-friendly materials, such as reclaimed wood or recycled materials (hooray for reimagined vintage furniture!), we can further reduce our ecological footprint and create spaces that are in harmony with the natural world.

Botanical as Biophilic?

Although biophilic interior design is a much larger intiative than the design of a single piece of furniture, furnishings that are painted with plants or flowers certainly incorporate a few of the biophilic principals. Usually the colors are reflective of the natural world, whether it is the use of green for leaves and stems or brighter colors for flowers. The organic curvilinear and irregular shapes of botanical illustrations resemble those in nature too, both on a micro and macro scale. The use of these shapes as decoration on simple furniture which is angular can serve as a way to soften rigid silhouettes. So perhaps botanical designs on furniture can be more than simply decorative. Perhaps their popularity is part of a more holistic desire to connect us with the natural world outside our homes. What do you think?

Black Furniture

Designing with Black Furniture

It may not be the first color you think of, but black furniture offers a bold and sophisticated alternative to wood tones and lighter hues. It adds depth, elegance, and a touch of drama to any room. Whether it’s a black dresser in a bedroom or a black bookcase in a study, there’s a way to incorporate it into any interior design style - romantic, industrial, art deco, zen, mid century, rustic, whimsical, multicultural, traditional, contemporary, maximalist, minimalist and more! Just as there’s no single “white” color, black comes in all tints. A black with an undertone of blue can look sharp and clean. With an undertone of brown, the black becomes softer. If you then add the myriad different materials from distressed painted black to high shine lacquer, cold matte black metal and deep plush velvet, it becomes easier to see why black furniture has a wide appeal even though it’s often forgotten as a “color” in interior design.

Embrace Contrast

When incorporating black furniture into your interior design, it's essential to embrace contrast. Black creates a striking visual impact, and to make it truly shine, you need to balance it with contrasting elements. Lighter colors, such as white, cream, or pastels, create a harmonious contrast and allow the black furniture to stand out. Consider pairing a black sofa with white walls and light-colored accessories for an elegant and contemporary look.

Another effective way to create contrast is through textures. Mix different textures, such as smooth leather, plush fabrics, or even metallic accents, to add visual interest and depth to your space. The interplay of different textures with black furniture can create a luxurious and captivating ambiance. To add a more relaxed feel, incorporate natural fibers such as unfinished wood, jute and straw.

Play with Light

Lighting plays a crucial role in interior design, and it becomes even more important when working with black furniture. The right lighting can enhance the beauty of black furniture and create a dynamic atmosphere. Natural light is an excellent choice to complement black furniture, as it brings out the richness of the color and prevents the space from feeling overly dark or heavy.

Strategically placed lighting fixtures, such as recessed lights, floor lamps, or pendant lights, can help highlight black furniture as focal points in the room. Consider incorporating warm, ambient lighting to create a cozy and inviting atmosphere.

Mirrors are another powerful tool to play with light in spaces with black furniture. Placing mirrors opposite windows can reflect light, making the room appear brighter and more spacious. They also create an interesting visual contrast when placed against a dark wall or adjacent to black furniture.

If you’re worried about black furniture creating too somber an effect, lighten it up and bring life to the room by adding plenty of houseplants.

Or include houseplant illustrations on your black furniture!

Add Color?

While black furniture can create a stunning monochromatic look, adding pops of color can inject vibrancy and personality into your space. Consider incorporating lively accessories, such as colorful cushions, artwork, or rugs, to create focal points and break any monotony. The contrast between the black furniture and these vibrant accents will create a visually captivating environment.

If you want an 80’s vibe, add primary colors to the mix. For moody maximalism, layer on more dark colors such as burgundy or navy. Personally, I’m more of a fan of pairing a piece of black furniture with dusty rose and cream or a rich camel and cream. When it comes to selecting a wood tone that works with black, a light oak color is the best option as it contrasts with the black and doesn’t add additional darkness to the room.

Natural elements, such as indoor plants or fresh flowers, can add a refreshing touch of color and life to a space with black furniture. The combination of greenery with black creates a striking juxtaposition that brings the room to life.

Another striking technique for adding color, is to line the back of a black bookcase or cabinet with some bright or contrasting wallpaper.

If you’re looking for a color other than white to work in a space that puts art front and center, black can be a great way to make the art the star of the show.

To tie a piece of black furniture into a room that already has more color, think about framing wall art with black frames or mats. A black lampshade or throw pillow in the mix can also help balance out a room with a piece of black furniture in it.

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Top Tip

And blatant cuteness break! Before you invest in any furniture with black upholstery, consider your pets!

My dog Harvey, was super gorgeous but a nightmare when it came to shedding blond fur on things. I had dark wood floors at the time which was really unfortunate!

My current dog Basil, is much better suited to the inevitability of dog fur on dark surfaces. Of course, by the time Baz was in my life, I had a bright yellow sofa. Duh!

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Black Bedroom Furniture

The Little Black Dress(er) - 3 Ways

Of all black furniture, black dressers seem to be the most popular. It’s easy to see why. A little black dresser works with so many different interior styles - from the delicate to the industrial and everything in between. Here are some mood boards that create different interior design styles each based on a small black dresser.

Romantic

Let’s start with a soft and gracious style. The key to making a black dresser work in a romantic interior is to pair it with soft colors, soft fabrics and some antique gold.

The Queen Elizabeth I Dresser is paired with a gold chandelier, a carved and dreamily cloud painted mirror, cream bedding and dusty pink with cream paint palette. Vivienne Westwood pearl earrings optional!

Contemporary

For a more graphic contemporary look, we’ll keep the lines clean and straight, then incoporate grays and blues into the color palette.

For this design, a black dresser is paired with light oak geometric pattern nightstands and slate blue stonewashed linen bedding. Continuing the moody palette onto the walls and trim, we have slate blue paint colors (School Blazer Blue and The Early Stuff). And to round it out, a beige and blue artwork with a light oak frame and a blue glass lamp with a black shade to connect with the dresser color.

Classic

Now for a style I’ll call classic or scholarly, we’ll keep the palette neutral so that the camel color of the bed and the beautiful burlwood boxes look rich and sumptuous.

This small black dresser is paired with a camel tufted leather bed, a bookcase, an architectural clock and some light wood accessories. The paint palette comprises a warm greige and a deep cream.

Black Furniture Everywhere!

Bedrooms aren’t the only rooms that deserve a piece of black furniture.

Consider a black console in an entry to create a strong first statement and anchor the space. You’ve probably seen the dramatic difference when someone paints their front door a glossy black. You can create the interior equivalent by choosing black furniture for your entry area.

A black desk or black filing cabinets can take a home office from dull to bold. Try to avoid a black office chair too, though. I often work at a black desk but sit on a velvety green swivel chair with plenty of plants around to help the creative juices flow!

Of course, a piece of black furniture doesn’t need to be black all over. I love combining black with light wood to create something organic but striking at the same time. You can use this type of black furniture in many rooms of your home too of course. This Celtic Dresser is used in a living room and this Mountain Geode Cabinet holds court in a media room.

Designing interiors with black furniture is an exciting endeavor that allows you to create elegant and sophisticated spaces. By embracing contrast, playing with light, balancing the space, and adding pops of color, you can achieve a harmonious and visually captivating composition. Black furniture adds a touch of drama and depth to any room, creating a sense of luxury and style. With careful consideration and creativity, you can transform your space into a stunning showcase of design, where black furniture takes center stage, making a bold statement that leaves a lasting impression. Just avoid plain black rugs. The lasting impression will always be one of lint everywhere!

Boho Furniture

Bringing boho furniture, aka bohemian furniture, into your home is a casual and playful way to decorate. The boho interior style is all about mixing and matching different patterns, textures, and colors to create a unique and eclectic look with an overall casual and relaxed vibe. Whether you’re a fan of bright colors or pastels, bold prints, or rustic wood, there’s a boho design style that will suit your taste. In this post, we’ll take a closer look at boho furniture and how you can incorporate it into your home.

What is Boho Furniture?

“Term ‘bohemian’ was first used in French language to describe Romani people because it was believed that they came from Bohemia, Czech Republic, but it later came to symbolize any kind of unconventional lifestyle, often in the poorer but culturally richer parts of the city, involving musical, artistic, or literary pursuits.” - Byron’s Muse

The bohemian or boho decor style draws inspiration from different cultures, especially those that were alternative to the prevailing classical formal style in 19th century Europe. So influences from Moroccan, Indian, and African design are sometimes combined to create a layered and well traveled look. Similarly, boho furniture can combine different design elements from around the world. It’s often handmade and has a vintage or rustic feel. A room design that features music, literature or fine art will help create the boho spirit. Most importantly, boho furniture is never stuffy and formal. Incorporating this style in your decor will help you create a cozy and inviting space where you can relax and feel at home.

Color and Texture

One of the defining features of boho furniture style is the use of bright colors and bold prints. You’ll often see rich jewel tones, such as emerald green, sapphire blue, and ruby red, paired with vibrant patterns, such as paisley, ikat, and floral prints. However, some contemporary versions of the boho style have a much lighter and whiter color palette. Use of raffia and macrame adds a beachy retro vibe whereas cut glass beads and heavy velvet can make the design a little more traditional. You can also add in some neutral tones, such as white, beige, or gray, to balance out any bold colors.

Modern interpretations of boho furniture style range greatly from saturated color to a monochrome palette.

Colorful Boho Living Room

The focus on casual paintings, jewel toned upholstery and a mixture of comfortable pillows makes this boho living room welcoming and unique.

Black and White Boho Living Room

This interpretation is devoid of color but creates a boho furniture look by mixing textures, periods of furniture and displaying guitars as a nod to the importance of music in the inhabitant’s life.

Furniture and Decor

Boho furniture should help you make a relaxed place of comfort and creativity. You can achieve this by using soft furniture, such as plush sofas, oversized chairs, and floor cushions. Pattern on pattern is a feature of the boho interior, so throw out any notion of balancing pattern scales or fabric colors. Vintage and handmade pieces are also a great way to add character and charm to your home. Extra points if those handmade pieces include items made by your arty friends! You can find boho-inspired furniture at thrift stores, flea markets, and antique shops and online of course! Don’t be afraid to mix and match different styles and eras to create a unique look.

When it comes to boho decor, the sky's the limit. Try macrame wall hangings, colorful tapestries, and patterned rugs to add texture and warmth to your home. If you’re a believer that “more is more”, go for large groups of paintings on the walls to create the feeling of a hive of creativity. If you’re more fond of simplicity, just one large, textured, neutral colored piece will bring a sense of peace and spaciousness. Plants are also a great way to bring life and energy into a space. You can use potted plants, hanging plants, or even a vertical garden to create a lush and vibrant atmosphere.

Boho Dining Chairs

If you don’t have a green thumb, include furniture that features plants like these botanically inspired painted chairs. They are made from (adult sized) schoolhouse chairs which add can a retro and upcycled vibe to the space. Very boho!

Boho Furniture in Different Rooms

Boho furniture can be incorporated into any room in your home. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Boho Entry

Set the tone by featuring a boho furniture piece that you see as soon as you get home. It will also signal to visitors that this is a place to relax and be themselves. A worn antique rug, some repurposed coat hooks and a textured mirror will do the trick if the space is small.

Boho Bench

If you have a little more room, add a bench or storage piece. This red storage bench incorporates vibrant crimson and orange, an ikat design on the top, and string and wood beads around the piece to create a layered, multi-cultural and highly textured boho furniture piece. Throw your shoes in it, under it or on it!

Boho Living Room

Use a colorful rug, patterned throw pillows, and a mix of vintage and modern furniture to create a cozy and inviting living room. For sofas and chairs, comfort is the key. An overstuffed silhouette and a rich velvet for the upholstery will fit the boho furniture style perfectly (and will also make it difficult to leave once you’re ensconced in all that softness)!

This jeweled toned room provides several places to sit and read books from the huge collection in the background. A natural fiber coffee sack is used to cover a large plant pot. The greenery breaks up the industrial style concrete walls. The casually parked bike and the dog on the wrinkled sofa say there’s no pretension here.

Boho Living Room

Boho Coffee Table.

For a coffee table, how about this octagonal piece? A little bit English traditional and a little bit Moroccan. Style it with a plant in a terracotta pot on a raffia mat or with a collection of mismatched taper candles for the boho coffee table look.

Boho Side Table

There’s nothing better than putting art directly on your furniture if you want to create a fine arts inspired boho furniture piece. This side table combines a traditional shape with curvy cabriole legs, a vibrant glossy blue background color and an original painting of ripples on water.

Boho Table Lamp

Don’t forget lighting. Multiple pendants gathered in a corner make a great boho living room feature. If re-wiring the ceiling isn’t on the cards, you can use a table lamp to add some color or go with something like this vintage wallpaper roller lamp to amp up the collected and pre-loved look.

Boho Bedroom

Create a boho bedroom by using a colorful duvet cover, patterned curtains, and a good dose of vintage or antique furniture. You can also add a macrame wall hanging or a woven tapestry to create a focal point over a bed. Got carpet? Lay multiple rugs over it. Boho bedroom furniture is relaxed and welcoming. Painted vintage pieces are fabulous for this look.

White Boho Bedroom

If saturated color isn’t your vibe, you can simplify. This airy modern interpretation of a boho bedroom incorporates plenty of natural elements and materials in a relaxed and unfussy way.

Boho Dresser

Boho dressers are all the rage and can be found in a wide variety of sizes and price points. How about this vintage boho dresser with half of the face of Queen Elizabeth 1st on it? Very counter-culture!

Boho Cabinet

Be sure to mix up your cultural influences to get that well traveled look. This small shrine cabinet can be used as a tabletop altar or, with the addition of some hooks, an unsual jewelry case.

Boho Dining Room

Use a colorful tablecloth, mismatched chairs, and patterned placemats to create a playful and eclectic dining room. For boho furniture, a worn dining table is a great choice. Add some softness to those mismatched chairs by layering with throws or seat cushions.

The emphasis on art is evident in this boho dining room but the mismatched framing and collage style layout give the required relaxed look. The chairs match in shape but not in color and of course there are plenty of plants.

Boho Dining Room

Boho Cabinet

If you have space for some storage in your boho dining room, try something granny yet modern like this gloss painted floral papered display cabinet transformed from its original 1930s state.

Boho Patio

Bring boho furniture style outside by using colorful outdoor rugs, patterned pillows, and a mix of vintage and modern furniture.Or keep it neutral and focus on combining natural materials like naturally died wool, leather, and wicker. For the evening use string lights or lanterns to create a cozy and inviting atmosphere. Boho furniture lends itself really well to the outdoors because it’s inately casual and carefree. When leaves land on it, it looks even better!

Colorful Boho Patio

Neutral Toned Boho Patio

Boho furniture style is all about creativity, playfulness, and self-expression. It’s a fun and easy way to decorate your home and create a unique and eclectic space. By mixing and matching different patterns, colors, and textures, you can create a cozy and inviting home that reflects your personality. So, let your imagination run wild and have fun creating your own boho-inspired space!

Hand Painted Furniture

The idea of hand painted furniture might make you think of expensive antique Asian panels with scenes painted in gold. Or perhaps it reminds you of the bookcase you tried to paint white in college which turned out shabby but definitely not chic. Fortunately, there’s a fabulous hand painted furniture world in the middle, and getting familiar with it will help you add style and character to your home.

Why You Need a Piece of Hand Painted Furniture!

Adding painted bedroom furniture or incorporating a painted cabinet or table in your living or dining room is a great idea for several reasons.

• First, a sea of brown wood looks boring. Adding a hand painted dresser to a bedroom that has sizable storage pieces in it helps break up the monotony. In a living room with brown wood end tables, coffee table and maybe a storage cabinet, the same sea of brown can be broken up with some paint color. See the wonders of a hand painted bar cabinet for more on this!

• Second, a hand painted furniture piece gives you another element you can use to bring out the color palette you have chosen for the room or add a punch of color as an accent.

• Third, a hand painted table, dresser or cabinet can be a piece of art and a focal point for a room. As you’ll see below, there are multiple styles of hand painted furniture. You absolutely DO NOT need to be into farmhouse or shabby chic style to use a piece of striking or whimsical painted furniture in your room.

Three Styles of Hand Painted Furniture - Which Is Your Favorite?

1) Out with the Brown - Simple Solid Colors

Perhaps the most common type of hand painted furniture, the simple solid colored piece, is the result of big brown wooden pieces going out of style. An easy way to update these big brown pieces - dressers, armoires, buffet cabinets and tables - is to coat them in a single subtle paint color which coordinates with another element in the room such as a chair or window covering. In addition to making older pieces compatible with contemporary tastes, people have been painting furniture since the mid 1600s for reasons that still make sense today - to harmonize a room full of different woods or to hide an inferior wood (some people do this with modern laminate).

This hand painted desk is an example of painting a piece a single color which coordinates with the room. Note that the large mid-century drawer pulls also pick out the gold color in the rug and the window shade.

Alternatively, covering a brown piece of furniture in a loud statement paint color similar to this hand painted table, will add some energy and character to the room.

For solid color pieces, sometimes carvings, hardware or edges are highlighted with a darker tone or a metallic paint or leaf to give a more finished and interesting result.

On this hand painted dressing table, the overall color is a matte light blue, but edges and carvings are highlighted with gold

2) Classic Organic - Bringing the Outdoors In

Much of what we would consider traditional hand painted furniture is decorated with botanical themes or pastoral images. This is the group that would include “jappaning” where oriental scenes are painted in gold on a red or black background. Many folk art styles would also fall under this definition if they have flowers and leaves painted as a repeating motif. However, adding elements from nature doesn’t have to be traditional. Hand painted furniture can employ asymmetry, unusual colors and/or oversized representations of the natural world to show a more contemporary flair.

Sometimes the artistic painted design is applied directly to the finished wood and sometimes over a solid paint color.

This hand painted dressing table is intentionally asymmetrical in design so that the vines appear to be naturally crawling up the wood structure. In this case, the carvings and hardware have been minimized by painting them the same background color as the case.

On this hand painted dresser botanical decoration is used in a realistic rather than symbolic style (albeit enlarged). However, the expected separation of natural wood areas from paint is broken by making the flowers overlap some of the beautifully grained wood drawer fronts.

For the Karl the Fog Wall Mirror, the carved shape of the silhouette reminded me of the puffs and fingers of fog that curl around the hills of the San Francisco Bay Area. The fog in the city is affectionately named “Karl.” Hand painted clouds cover the flat surface and the edge is highlighted with gold to emphasize the shapes.

In the example of the Jungle Sisters Chairs, the modern clean lined silhouettes of the bentwood chairs form a canvas for hand painted house plants.

3) Contemporary Geometric - Graphic Designs with Edges

Hand painting furniture in a contemporary geometric style requires patience and precision. Often this style works best on modern furniture where the simple lines of the structure don’t get in the way of clean straight lines of paint work.

The De Chirico console table has a faux 3-D design on the front and sides which is created by varying the tones of gray between straight lined sections.

Designs with geometric shapes can also work on more traditional styles of furniture such as this coffee table which has a green and gold star hand painted onto the top surface.

This ombre bookshelf which is geometric in shape is hand painted with a range of blues that imperceptibly blend together to create a modern effect. Like the color of the sky from the horizon up, the darker blue is at the base. The effect is to make a these large hand painted shelves seem lighter and less dominating in the room.

The natural oak on these modern hand painted nightstands is juxtaposed with geometric patterns in a range of glossy grays.

How to Use Hand Painted Furniture In Your Home

Once you’ve decided what type of hand painted furniture is your favorite, here are some ways to incorporate it into your home.

Use a hand painted dresser as a focal point in a bedroom. If you’re a fan of non-matching nightstands, painting them the same color can connect them without making them an exact pair. Painted bedroom furniture is one of the most popular ways to add a unique flavor to a private space. Natural elements on a hand painted dresser can create a calming effect, or something more unusual such as this Queen Elizabeth I dresser can express a quirky sense of style.

Try a hand painted cocktail or display cabinet in a living room. This can be a fun addition to your room. Display whatever you like - it certainly doesn’t need to be china. When used as a drinks cabinet, a whimsical painted furniture piece adds to the experience.

Or if you need to hide some things away, a hand painted cabinet can be used to hold toys, games or A/V equipment. Remember you can always have a hand painted furniture piece that is part wood and part paint just like this sliding door console.

A hand painted table brings a visual break from all the wood in this entry. A shallow cabinet or wooden bench in a smaller entry would also be great places to incorporate a painted piece.

If you want to dip your toe in the hand painted furniture water, a little table is a great place to start. This hand painted side table adds color to the room and is a piece of art in itself.

Smaller pieces are definitely useful in many places. Wherever you need light, it’s an opportunity to add a little flair with a hand painted lamp. This hand painted table lamp brings warmth to an office. If you can use a hand painted desk, the room you work in will feel instantly less dreary.

This hand painted bookcase in black helps to pull together the chair color and other elements in this study. Some bookcases have contrast colors painted on the inside backs which can be a great way to add color without changing the whole furniture piece.

Now what are you waiting for? You’ll look at it more often than those shoes you bought, so invest the time to find a hand painted furniture piece that you love and add it to your home!

Dark Academia Furniture and Whimsigoth Decor

I was once told by a very knowledgable business expert that it would help my nascent furniture firm if I could find a “signature style.” I’m still searching for that in many ways but I’ve stumbled across an aesthetic subgenre that hit me over the head with a quill pen when I saw it. Welcome to Dark Academia Furniture and Whimsigoth Decor!

What’s Whimsigoth?

Now to start with, “whimsigoth” is a wonderful word; one I wish I had created. But Evan Collins deserves the credit here. Meaning both whimsical and gothic, the term seems to balance the whimsy of off-beat design but take the silly jester’s hats and dogs-dressed-as-humans elements out of it by casting a shadow of somber gothic style to the mix.

What’s Dark Academia?

Dark Academia as an design style was started on social media to describe an aesthetic mix of Harry Potter and Dead Poet’s Society. There’s a pensive, learned, traditional style to it which you can either take seriously or play with its pretentiousness. One popular TikTok compilation of Dark Academia features a video of a hand holding an ink pen and writing the beginning of a story. If you’ve seen how I introduce new pieces on Instagram, you’ll notice the similarity! I also happen to have the official chops for the style; I spent many years in an English school founded in 1432 (blazers and house color ties compulsory) and went to a college that looks ridiculously like you could have filmed Harry Potter where I ate three meals a day.

Selwyn College, Cambridge

Creating Dark Academia and Whimsigothic Decor

How would we characterize their interior design style? Dark Academia furniture and Whimsigoth decor would celebrate darkness (duh), traditional architecture and or bookcases (extra points for Gothic arches), eerie “carpe diem” vibes, eccentricity and scholarliness.

A lot of my pieces fit this description, but for the ultimate Dark Academia bedroom or Whimsigothic living room you can get the look by incorporating those characteristics in various ways:

Dark

In interior decor terms this means black or dark color walls, dark wood or black furniture, and muted lighting. If painting your walls isn’t an option, you can at least hang heavy curtains over the window and reduce the lumens of your lightbulbs. Black furniture is stunning even if one day you decide that you’re tripping over your worn antique rug too often in the dark and need to let the light back in.

Dark Academia and Whimsigoth Style Rooms

I have a lot of dark pieces that I’ve made over the last year. A black dresser, black bookcase, black tray, black clock, and a black console table. Was I dark whimsigothing without realizing it?

Traditional Architecture with Library or Church Overtones

If you can’t move into your local castle ruins, lots of bookcases and or wood panelling on the walls will help. You can get wallpaper to mimic both if you don’t want to invest in the real thing.

Library with Gothic arches

My black temple clock is clearly churchy and architectural. To add some metaphorical darkness to the interpretation, any clock can be a reminder to “seize the day”. Which brings me to the next Dark Academia or Whimsigothic decor characteristic…

Black Temple Clock

Eerie

Anything that reminds you of the shortness of your time on earth makes a good Whimsigothic decor item. Think skulls, black crows, egg timers, framed lines of poetry about the brevity of life. Just make sure to leave out the scarecrows and anything orange in color and or you’ll end up with a Halloween headquarters by mistake.

A raven sits on a wreath made with old mystery book pages

One of my earliest pieces was called De Chirico because it reminded me of his shadowy inexplicable architectural paintings. Any furniture piece that references literature or fine art will get a Dark Academia furniture checkmark.

De Chirico Paintings and Console

Eccentric

The weirder the more wonderful. Some of the most eccentric homes in the world could be classed as Whimsigothic. There’s nothing like touring the brainchildren of some eccentric builders for inspiration in this area. Henry Mercer’s home, Fonthill Castle in Pennsylvania is a good example. Henry Mercer was a well travelled polymath bachelor who decided to build his own castle using concrete, a seemingly bonkers construction method at that time. He gained an interest in working with his hands and later started a company making decorative tiles.

Fonthill Castle, Doylestown, PA

On the other side of the US in California, the Winchester Mystery House is a classic. How’s this bed for a piece of Dark Academia furniture? The house is also famous for stairs that go nowhere and hauntings.

Winchester Mystery House, Winchester, CA

But you didn’t think I’d leave out merry old crazy-pants England, did you? Whimsigothic buildings abound, but here’s one that one wins the prize for bizarre, funny and depressing at the same time. The owner has explained that “The shark was to express someone feeling totally impotent and ripping a hole in their roof out of a sense of impotence and anger and desperation… It is saying something about CND, nuclear power, Chernobyl and Nagasaki”. That’s dark.

The Headington Shark, Headington, Oxford, UK

Although I haven’t yet added any giant fiberglass fish to my furniture, my pieces are sometimes a little odd. They are hand-made in San Francisco, the land of tech where products rarely have any physical being. Despite an education formed in “ivory towers” I prefer to work with my hands. I’d class that as unexpected, and on the sliding scale of eccentricity. I am aiming for more extreme as I age! (when I am an old woman, I will definitely wear purple). It’s not really “normal” to put just half a face on a dresser either.

Queen Elizabeth I Dresser

Scholarly

For a Dark Academia bedroom or living room, an interior filled with books is an obvious choice here, but what else could you throw in the mix? Classical musical instruments and sheet music would work. Posters advertising a performance of a Greek tragedy would be fantastic, especially if “thee-ar-tuh” is your thing. Bonus points if you actually acted in or directed the production. For those of a more scientific persuasion, maps of the cosmos and telescopes or old fashioned microscopes, magnifying glasses and bugs for examination would be appropriate choices. The odd bust of a philosopher would round out the mix. An avant-garde color helps if you want to reduce the pretentiousness factor.

For those who would like the look of books without the hassle of actually reading them (or bending the bindings and covers to look as if they’ve been read), I have a solution:

Ted the Poetry Tray

Ezra the Poetry Bookcase

“Genuine Fake Bookshelf” wallpaper by designer Deborah Bowness

So there we have it. Incorporate traditional architecture and make your Dark Academia decor dark (of color and thought), eerie, eccentric and scholarly and you’ll have nailed this Whimsigothic interior design style!

Vintage China Cabinet to Modern Bar Cabinet & Beyond!

Types of Modern Bar Cabinets

A modern bar cabinet or vintage liquor cabinet is simply a piece of storage furniture in which you can keep bottles, glassware and cocktail making gadgets.

The sophistication and utility of modern bar cabinets varies greatly. From plumbed-in versions with a small sink, bar-height counters and space for barstools, to simpler cabinets with glassware racks or just a door that can lock, there are tricked out versions and straightforward options for anyone who wants to add a modern liquor cabinet to their life. 

The Move Towards Modern Bar Cabinets

Do you remember the time when we were told that the future would be paperless? Given the state of my desk right now, this has clearly not come to pass. However, as more and more of our work and home lives (or work-from-home lives) go digital, it follows that we should need fewer cabinets and drawers to store stuff.

One thing hasn’t changed though; we still eat and drink physical foods and beverages. Kitchens aren’t getting smaller anytime soon! But how about in the living room?

Wine glass holders in the Bea Bar Cabinet

I’m seeing a trend. Not one of those “pampas grass is the new must-have home decor” types of trends, but a slower, more logical move which I think is likely to be here to stay. It’s the result of three shifts in how we live that have happened recently. Hear me out…

Montie the Mountain Geode

Sliding Door Cabinet

No longer a TV cabinet but still useful!

Over the last few years, the ubiquitous entertainment cabinet which sat under the TV to house the DVD player (remember them?), cable box, Roku etc has become redundant. Now, many people have all of this information delivered digitally straight to their smart TV.

Not only do we not need space for the black boxes, but we also don’t need storage for the DVDs (or VHS cassettes- I know some of you know what I’m talking about!). My husband, who hates to let go of anything, insists on keeping a box of all of this stuff in the garage but, the truth is, we never use it.

Decanter in the Bloom Cabinet

So we no longer have a need for the storage an entertainment cabinet used to provide. That said, my family still needs a cabinet in the living room to store a bunch of other stuff like puzzles, games (which may go entirely digital soon enough!) and random things that we can’t find another place for. I suspect we’re not alone in this!

Another trend has to do with Covid, surprise, surprise! When the bars and restaurants shut down in 2020 and stayed that way for a long time, most people’s access to a quick (or not so quick) alcoholic drink outside the house went away. So people bought more wine, beer and spirits at the supermarket, corner store or specialist wine store and took them home.

The third shift has been in the ubiquity and marketing of alcohol-alternative beverages. Unlike non-alcoholic drinks, these are concoctions developed to taste like liqueurs and spirits but with none of the alcohol. The various “elixirs” on offer follow a trend that has been building much more slowly around reducing our alcoholic intake whether for long term health, substance abuse issues, better sleep or safety.

So, if you add these three trends together, what do you get? Modern bar cabinets! Yes! I’m seeing contemporary and vintage bar cabinets pop up in more interior design magazine spreads and friends’ homes. They provide somewhere to store all those booze/booze alternative bottles, accompanying glassware and accessories. With the demise of the entertainment cabinet, they are being asked to double up as the main storage option for the living room, or at least provide a surface on which to put a photo or two.

I’ve made several pieces that can be used as modern bar cabinets in the last year and they always sell!

Wine glasses and cocktail supplies in the Woodland Cabinet

From Old China Cabinet to Modern Liquor Cabinet

One of the most rewarding types of furniture to “reimagine” is the vintage china cabinet. Although it may have been intended to hold dishes, with a bit of imagination, your grandmother’s antique china cabinet can also be used as a modern bar cabinet, bookcase, a unique stage for a houseplant collection, a vintage curio cabinet or just as a beautiful piece in itself.

Kaleidoscope Cabinet

Many vintage china cabinets have door locks which come in handy if you have kids around your bar cabinet contents!

Bloom Cabinet and Moth Cabinet

An interesting background like the wallpaper in this vintage glass door cabinet would look fabulous as the backdrop for a collection of white pottery because the contrast would make the items pop. From a design perspective, the key to a great looking curio collection is picking a theme and sticking with it. The downfall of any display piece is a mishmash of items that makes the whole thing look like a dumping ground for objects that didn’t fit elsewhere. Don’t feel like your collection has to be something your grandmother would have amassed though! For you, a group of action figures or artisan coffee presses might make for a more meaningful display than decorative plates.

Vintage China Cabinet to Classy Cocktail Cabinet

With glossy green paint and some beautiful wallpaper lining, this vintage display cabinet went from so-so to a statement piece. If your cabinet has some doors without glass (like this one) or a drawer or two, these are great places for storing things you don’t want on display. Keep the open area or space behind glass clutter free!

Woodland Cabinet

Vintage Display Cabinet to Unique Bookcase

If florals aren’t really your thing, then how about adding some tigers to the mix! This antique display cabinet was transformed into a piece that could be used as a striking modern cocktail cabinet while also keeping dust off some collector’s books:

Tiger Cabinet

If you’re going to use your vintage display cabinet for book storage just be careful to put heavy books only on the bottom (wooden) shelf. Glass shelves can carry some weight but be careful not to overload them. To reduce the weight and to display your books in a stylish way, turn some facing forward so you can see the covers.

CD Storage Cabinet to Modern Bar Cabinet

But vintage china cabinets aren’t the only things that can be transformed into bars. Here’s a former CD storage cabinet styled as a modern bar cabinet. The addition of brass rods to keep bottles from sliding out and wine glass holders bring this 90s flashback into the roaring 2020s.

Bea the Bar Cabinet

Whatever color, shape and size your modern bar cabinet is, and whatever you store in it, you’ll find it’s a great addition to your living or dining room. My prediction is that they’re here to stay. At least until we’ve digitized even the beverages we drink!

How To Create an Eclectic Interior - Step By Step

What is Eclectic Interior Design Style?

First, what do we mean by eclectic style interior design? Our faithful Meriam Webster defines eclectic style as “composed of elements drawn from various sources”. Within the umbrella of eclectic interior design, you may have heard of eclectic maximalist interior design which just means bolder is better. I also hear eclectic bohemian interior design bandied about. Although “bohemian” has had many meanings over time, right now I’d characterize this as an eclectic interior that has a greater proportion of natural, handmade and gathered elements in it.

One of the beauties of eclectic interior design is that it can have so many subcategories. So one person’s interpretation can lean more traditional, and another person’s could lean more towards modern eclectic interior design. One of the enduring qualities of eclectic design is that by definition it has many different styles mixed together and therefore it’s impossible for eclectic designs to go completely out of style.

It’s Easy, Right?

That’s all very well, but how do you actually make an interior eclectic? Most “how to” guides will tell you to just use items from different historical periods, different patterns and different textures. To some this is enough to go by, but, having been gainfully employed to create eclectic interiors for many years, if it was that simple, I wouldn’t have been able to earn a living! As I explained in a previous blog post, a mishmash of styles, colors and textures doesn’t automatically create a harmonious eclectic interior.

I created eclectic interiors professionally for over 15 years before I started this unique vintage furniture gig. I believe we all can experience flashes of inspiration, but I also believe that the majority of interior design follows a logical path. Practiced designers just do this in their heads without stopping to notice each micro decision that eventually creates the final design. So I decided to try to distill what some folks regard as “art” into a formula. I wanted to see if I could create a step by step process to create eclectic room designs.

Many scribbled notes, arrows, furrowed brows and sketches later, I had nailed down a very detailed guide for how to make eclectic living room designs. I ended up with an eye test of a flow chart that looks about as welcoming as a rabid guard dog with halitosis:

I suspect this would be a great start for a auto-eclectic computer program. But as my tech skills max out at the occasional Instagram post, I’m unlikely to be creating the design equivalent of ChatGPT any time soon.
So I’ve been sitting with this yellowing crumpled piece of paper for several months now, and you, my lucky guinea pigs, are going to enjoy/suffer me trying to “talk” you through how it enables anyone to put together eclectic designs.

“Where should I start?” said Piglet. “At the beginning,” said Pooh. Probably.

The Step by Step Guide to Creating an Eclectic Room Design

The Interesting Object (IO)

Step one is to pick one interesting home decor object, art piece or furniture piece that you love. It can be one item you know has to go in that room, or your grandmother’s vase, or a painting by a friend. Something like that. The IO is one object that can serve as a starting point for the eclectic interior design. There’s one rule though. It has to have at least 2 colors in it.

Let’s pick this tray as our IO just so we can have an example to illustrate all this waffling.

Our “Interesting Object” is Ted the Tea Tray

We start at the top left of the crumpled flowchart with this interesting object. As we move across to the right, we need to consider three aspects of the object for the purpose of our cunning plan.

• Silhouette - is the outside shape mostly straight or curvy?

• Detail - is there a lot of detail/pattern or is it plain?

• Color - let’s define its accent color (yes, it’s called dominant color on the flowchart, but welcome to editing on the fly as I workshop this with you) and background/neutral color

So for Ted the Tray,

Silhouette. The overall shape of the tray is more linear than curvaceous so we’ll go with straight.

Detail. The wallpaper behind the glass has lots of different lines, colors and text going on so we’ll go with detailed.

Color. The accent color here is green. The neutral would be black.

Next is one more color question for you to answer. Eclectic style interior design can work really well with lots of color, but it’s not a required feature. You decide if you’re

• a) a color junkie - you love lots of colors together

  or

• b) a color moderate - someone who likes to break up their colors with neutrals

For the purpose of this exercise let’s go with color junkie! We’re going to be working with a simple living room. I expect you can tweak this to work in any room of the house. Maybe we’ll find out later!

The eclectic living room is going to contain the following practical elements (listed down the far left column on the flowchart):

• sofa

• lounge chair(s)

• area rug

• throw pillow(s)

• coffee table

• end table(s)

• throw blanket

• floor lamp next to sofa

• table lamp on end table or storage piece

• storage cabinet or shelves

For each element in the room, we are going to consider the same those aspects as we move left to right; silhouette, detail and color. Dimensions are something that are very important of course, but they depend almost entirely on the exact room you have. They also have very little to do with making the design eclectic so I’m going to leave those up to you.

Sofa

Let’s work on the elephant (sofa) in the room.

Remembering that the IO has straight lines, lots of detail and is green and black, we’re going to make the sofa the opposite of the IO in terms of the silhouette and level of detail. So it should be curvy (a few straight lines with the curves is okay) and plain (without pattern).

The color junkie’s sofa is a lighter or darker version of the accent color. In this case, a mid to dark green is the color to look for. So now we’ve established the basic description of the sofa we’re looking for. If I google “curvy plain dark green sofa”, one of the many options I get is this:

Curvy, plain, dark green sofa

Lounge Chairs

Next, lounge chairs. Our chairs are going to have some of the same characteristics of our IO, namely, a straight lined silhouette and pattern/detail on the fabric. For the color, we’re going to go with EITHER the color adjacent to the IO accent color of green (yellow or blue) OR opposite the IO accent color of green (pink-ish red) on the color wheel. Color junkie says let’s go opposite!

The color opposite the closest green on the color wheel is a magenta. Let’s try googling “magenta chair with straight lines and lots of detail”…

Straight lined magenta chair with lots of detail

Whoa! That’s quite a contrast. Color junkies celebrate! Everyone else, just bear with me here!

Area Rug

Area rug next. The rug should have curved lines (unlike the IO). The rug could have a curvy outside shape but as that can be hard to find, we’ll incorporate the curves into the pattern. It should also have a pattern or lots of detail (like the IO). The color should be a lighter or darker version of the chair color. As we’re already going pretty dark with the chair, let’s go to the lighter side.

Pink rug with curvy pattern

Throw Pillows

Throw pillows are the ultimate salve for all schemes with major contrast. The throw pillows for our eclectic design scheme will be have a straight lined silhouette/geometric pattern (like the IO) and will have details like a pattern or trim (like the IO). The color should be lighter or darker than the color on the chair .

Square pink throw pillow with straight lined pattern

Coffee Table

The coffee table is up next. The formula for this one is curved silhouette (opposite to IO) and minimal detail (opposite to IO). You get to choose a wood tone here, but try to pick a wood that is similar to the era/style of your interesting object. For example, if it’s rustic, pick a weathered wood. Go with a teak tone for mid-century or a walnut tone for classic. Our IO has a mix of styles (the definition of eclectic decor!) but the book wallpaper has a hand colored black and white photo style which was popular at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. For more on that, check out this history. I remember a photo of my father as a young boy on the pier at Brighton in 1936. He has a hand colored little blue coat on. So I’m going to go with the 1930s.

Curvy 1930s wood coffee table

End Table

The end table should have curved lines (opposite to IO) and minimal detail (opposite to the IO again). Go for a color here rather than a wood tone if you can. For the end table we’re going to go with the accent color (green).

Curvy green end table

Throw Blanket

The throw blanket is going to be used on the sofa. The recipe calls for some straight lined, detailed pattern in the accent color of the IO.

Green throw blanket with geometric pattern

Floor Lamp

Next, a floor lamp to go next to the sofa. The formula here is straight lines with some detail. The color should be a metal tone of your choice or the same color as the chairs. As we’ve already introduced some gold in the end table, I’ll go with gold here.

Gold geometric design floor lamp

Table Lamp

The table lamp will go next to the lounge chair. It needs to have straight lines and detail but without matching the floor lamp. The color should ideally be the contrast color to the IO’s accent color.

Pink geometric design table lamp

Storage Piece

Phew, we’re nearly there! The last piece is going to be a storage cabinet or bookcase. For this piece we’ll need straight lines and lots of detail. The color should either be a wood tone that is different from the coffee table or a combination of colors from the IO.

Cabinet with straight lines and lots of detail in green, pink, black

We’re done! Let’s check out the whole scheme:

Definitely eclectic and colorful. The design coalesces around a rhythm of colors, contrasting curves versus straight lines and detail versus simplicity. Keep reading to see how I work through how this scheme could have looked if you were a color moderate instead!

Eclectic Room Design for Color Moderates

I had promised to go through my eclectic design process for color moderates. If you want to know how to design a room and pull together eclectic designs, but without as much color as the example above, this will show you how. Some of the pieces in the room can be exactly the same. We can keep the coffee table, and floor lamp because those pieces didn’t depend on the choice of how much color you wanted in the room. So here’s what we already have:

Interesting Object (Ted the Tea Tray), gold geometric floor lamp and curvy wood 1930s coffee table

Sofa

As before, we’ll start with the sofa. Rather than go with the accent color as we had previously, we’ll choose a neutral. If the neutral or background color on the IO is white or black (ours is black) and that’s impractical for your sofa, pick a gray or beige. I’m going to go with a very light creamy gray because it’s one of the other colors on our tray so we know it will work. Just like last time, the sofa also needs to be curvy and be relatively plain or without much detail. Here’s one of the many options that Google finds for us:

Curvy gray/cream sofa with simple lines

Lounge Chair(s)

For the lounge chair we’re going to use the accent color from the IO (green). As before, it has to have straight lines and some level of detail. We’re mixing up shapes, detail level and colors in a way that will provide an eclectic furniture mix but also a balanced modern eclectic interior design. In this case the furniture piece will fulfil the detail requirement with its channelled back and gold and black legs:

Green lounge chair with straight lines and some detail

Area Rug

The rug needs to have some curved lines and be patterned, i.e. have detail just like the option for the color junkie, but this time it needs to be in a lighter or darker version of the neutral we used for the sofa.

Area rug with curved cream lines on gray

Throw Pillows

Throw pillows for the scheme should be in the accent color (green) with straight lines and some level of detail or pattern.

Geometric pattern green throw pillow with details

End Table

For the end table, we’re going to go with a color that is adjacent to the green on the color wheel. So it should either be blue or yellow. I’m going to choose blue because the chances are you prefer that color, and I don’t like using yellow in a room that has gold in it. As before it needs to have curves and be simple/not detailed.

Curved simple blue end table

Throw Blanket

The throw blanket for sofa should have the same color in it as the end table but have straight lines and some level of detail or pattern (sorry that it looks a bit like a ghost in this picture).

Blue throw blanket with geometric pattern (wide stripes)

Table Lamp

For the table lamp, we should go with a lighter or darker version of the accent color. It should have straight lines and some detail.

Light green table lamp with straight lines

and some detail

Storage Piece

And lastly, the storage piece. If we can mix some of the colors in our palette together in this piece it would be ideal. Here we have cream and blues. This should have straight lines and have some detail to it. You can add detail to these shelves by displaying different objects on it. Remember though that eclectic design doesn’t equal clutter!

Shelves with straight lines and detail

And now for the big reveal!

An eclectic living room built around the same interesting object, but for a someone who likes to use neutrals along with colors. What do you think?

Top 5 Places to Find Unique Furniture

There are lots of great reasons to buy unique furniture. Maybe for you, all the pictures in the Pottery Barn and Crate & Barrel catalogs seem monotonous and predictable and you yearn for something different. If you’re a fan of eclectic interior design, collecting unique furniture pieces that reflect a range of styles is going to be essential. Perhaps you value having things around you that have lived different lives in different places and have stories to tell. Or maybe it's going to take months to get the furniture you found online or in a big box store, and shopping for in-stock pieces “outside the box” is the smarter way to go.

Whatever is driving you to do things differently when it comes to furnishing your home, finding unusual furniture and unique home decor doesn’t have to be difficult. Here are the top 5 places to find one-of-a-kind furniture pieces that reflect an independent spirit!

1) Thrift and Consignment Stores

Look for secondhand stores in your area that actually carry furniture. Many stores just stock clothing and books. Calling the store in advance to check if they have furniture can save a lot of time and energy, as most thrift stores won’t have websites that let you know in advance what types of things you can expect to find.

When you’ve found a store, talk to the staff to see if there’s a particular time of the month or day of the week that they get deliveries of furniture from a central donation site or have the staffing power to put larger items on the sales floor.

If you can befriend the manager or one of the consistent volunteers or employees, ask them if they’ll call you when the thing you’re looking for comes into the store. A plate of cookies will always sweeten the request! That way you’ll have a head start on the other thrift store devotees.

My top tip for finding chic unique furniture at thrift stores is “little and often”. Pop in as frequently as you can, take a quick spin around the furniture area and then leave if nothing catches your eye.

Finding unique furniture is possible at these places because what gets donated or submitted on consignment can be anything from a table that’s 100 years old to a brand new sofa that wouldn’t fit through the unfortunate customer’s front door. It doesn’t have to fit with the “color of the year” or what the market researchers say that most people want. 

That said, a lot of the furniture at these places isn’t going to be your cup of tea. Thrift store donations will often be inexpensive particleboard pieces which break or get damaged easily. Although consignment stores tend to be pickier about the quality of what they will sell, much of what you find may be a gently used version of what you can buy at the big box places, i.e. not particularly unique. And just because something at the store is different from what you’ll find at the high street national retailers, doesn’t mean that it’s going to be the style you like. 

I once found some library steps at a Salvation Army store. I didn’t need library steps and I didn’t even like the shape or wood color. However, I noticed some unusual lion-head style solid metal pulls on either side of the top step, presumably just for decoration. The set of library steps came home with me that day. I removed the lion head pulls and used them on some nightstand drawers that needed sprucing up. To fill the holes in the steps I screwed in some boring cabinet knobs I had salvaged from something else. Then I donated the library steps back to the thrift store on my next visit. Someone who needs some steps and doesn’t care about the decorative accents will still get to use them. And the Salvation Army gets double the donation to its worthy cause!

2) Interior Designers

If you’re looking for a 53.5 inch wide cabinet in peacock blue with silver accents and a pebble texture and with exactly seven drawers and soft-white LED lighting built in, then you need to call an interior designer. They are the people who not only know someone who can make this one of a kind furniture piece from scratch, but can shepherd this piece from concept to reality. Whatever you can dream up, an interior designer can get made for you. For a price, of course!

My top tip for working with an interior designer to collect unique furniture pieces is to be up-front about your budget. If they know what budget they are working with they can be infinitely more efficient when searching for what you’ll love and helping you make intelligent compromises if necessary.

The world of furniture is thousands of times bigger than the regular retail stores that we see each day or can access online. Highly trained artisans all over the world make bespoke unique furniture pieces which run the gamut from intricate antique reproductions to sleek futuristic high tech works of art. Better still, you don’t need to be able to specify exactly what style, dimensions, practical requirements and color you want. A good interior designer will work with you to help you find completely unique furniture items based on what they learn about your aesthetic preferences, needs and lifestyle.

Of the hundreds of custom pieces I designed and had fabricated in my career as an interior designer, one I remember most fondly was a bespoke entry hall rug we created for an historic home in San Francisco. Not only were the dimensions designed to fit the hall with exactly the right amount of inlaid wood floor showing on all sides, but the curving pattern of the rug was inspired by the design of the original Victorian stained glass panels in the front door. The silk and wool gold, salmon and beige tones made a perfect segue between the main living room and dining room’s color palettes. It was the definition of a unique home decor item. Whenever I drive by that lovely home, I think of that rug!

3) Vintage and Antique Furniture Stores

At vintage or antique furniture stores, what you gain in curation, you pay for on the sticker price. Most of these stores are run by people who know how to spot something rare or something made or designed by a famous furniture company. Understandably, they will price the item accordingly. Depending on the furniture fashion of the moment, you will likely pay a lot more for a piece that is in a currently trendy style, even though it’s not new. This is where being open to older quality furniture in a style which isn’t necessarily the “in thing” right now can pay dividends. 

My top tip for finding unique home decor at antique or vintage furniture stores is to keep an open mind about what a great accent item could look like. I’ve found a 1920s telephone that really stands out as a novel “objet d’art” on a desk in a guest bedroom. I love to think of the conversations that it witnessed so many years ago! A collection of baking molds or hand mirrors can make an unusual wall display. For the botanically inclined, a soup tureen or candy dish can make a distinctive plant pot or flower vase.

Once upon a time, in a shoebox under a table in a vintage store, I found some mysterious carved wood items. I didn’t know what to call them but I knew that I wanted to spend time with them! They were fascinating. Each had either a little lid or a tiny toothpick sized wood pin that held two pieces of the structure together. Some Googling later, I discovered they were shamanic medicine boxes. Given that I’m no shaman nor should I be trusted with prescribing any kind of healing remedy, these weren’t ever going to be used by me for their original purpose! The meticulous craftsmanship deserved to be honored though, and what intriguing and unique home decor items they make!

4) Flea Markets

Finding unusual furniture at flea markets is one of my favorite things to do. However, it’s rarely for the faint of heart. Here’s how to do it effectively:

1. Arrive early. It’s first come first served and by definition, if something’s unique, when it’s gone, you can’t just order another one.

2. Wear comfortable shoes, bring water, snacks and sunscreen. Some of these places are massive and will test your physical stamina if you’re determined to see it all!

3. Think about what you can realistically carry home. If you’re looking for a large dresser, make sure you’ve brought a van or truck, a moving dolly and/or a strong friend as flea markets aren’t the kinds of places that you can leave things for pick up a few days later.  

4. Be willing to haggle and offer to pay in cash to sweeten the deal.

My top tip for finding unique furniture items at flea markets is to take a tape measure and a list of maximum dimensions! There’s little worse than discovering the perfect vintage rug or cabinet only to find it’s too big to fit in your space when you get it home. You’ll have to make a purchase decision there and then without the option for returns.

School chairs aren’t usually the kind of thing that spring to mind when you think of chic unique furniture, that’s for sure! But when I saw a Leaning Tower of Pisa style mountain of these vintage chrome and bentwood chairs at a flea market, I saw some blank canvases that would fit as a set of 4 into the back of my car. Many hours of work later, these had become hand painted furniture pieces that were practical collector’s items.

5) Online

While websites like craigslist can occasionally yield diamonds in the rough, I’ve found that much like thrift stores, it takes patience to dig through the listings and a good degree of luck to find a unique furniture piece that happens to be the right item at the right time.

My top tip for finding unique furniture online is to add a geographic area filter to your search so that you at least start looking for items that are within a certain number of miles from your home. Often (but not always) you’ll be able to spend less on shipping.

Various secondhand furniture marketplaces and neighborhood resale websites likes craigslist can be great tools as they enable you to search thousands of independent makers and resellers in one place. Bear in mind that once you’re searching on national or international websites, the items you find are often thousands of miles away. And when it comes to furniture, there are unfortunately no inexpensive ways to ship these unique treasures to your home. If you can find a local small business who makes unique furniture pieces like I do in the San Francisco Bay Area, you’ll likely avoid paying shipping entirely.

One of my all time favorite craigslist finds was a dresser onto which someone had clumsily pasted a map. It was peeling at the edges and had several mysterious stains.The surface on most of the case was scratched and chipped but you could just make out that drawer fronts had gorgeous wood grain under the old glue. By painting the case around the drawers and refinishing the drawer fronts I was able to give the old but much loved piece a completely new lease of life. To this day it remains one of the most popular items I’ve worked on.

To hear more, receive a 10% discount on your first purchase and get advance notice of new pieces before they’re snapped up, join my email list by clicking on the button below!

Three Not-Cheesey Fall Decor Ideas

I'll be honest here - I have a visceral reaction to seeing any faux farmhouse "distressed" wood sign saying anything like "Welcome to Fall". Same for knitted pumpkins or anything with glitter. I know, I know. It's crafter heresy, and now my truth is out there in the world.

But, there are a few things that I am interested in trying for fall that probably count as upcycling and don't involve wooden crates, a bale of straw or a raggedy doll scarecrow.

Here are three that I'm going to be attempting to do in the next few weeks. Will someone please try any or all of them out with me?

Click on the images for the instructions. Maybe we'll come up with some variations or improvements. But disasters would be funnier so I'm all about those too. Here are the ideas for upcycled fall decor:

SWEATER CANDLES

Courtesy 11Mulberry.com

I'm thinking the key to this is making sure that the candle flame sits low enough in the jar so that the light comes through the wool. Extra points if you add a sweater to a jar once you've made your own custom-scent-blended candle from my friend's amazing store, Moonshot Studio in SF!

NOT YOUR GRANDMA'S POT POURRI

Courtesy HomeEdit.com

For this one, I doubled the citrus and left out the vanilla because I wanted a brighter scent and was worried the vanilla could make it sickly.

Why is this considered upcyling? Well, once you've tried and failed to dehydrate citrus slices in the oven and have created crinkled brown wafers instead, you have a lot of dried fruit that you can't dip in chocolate or string together for decorations.

OLD BOOK OAK LEAF WREATH

This one needs the addition of something to make it just a little more cool or maybe macabre. I don't know what yet. Ideas? The link on how to make this wreath is giving me a "404 Page Not Found" error message and some internet sleuthing suggests that the website (One-Thousand Oaks) no longer exists. So we're on our own. Can't be that hard, right? I'm thinking we just get and old book, cut out oak leaf shapes, glue them onto a wreath ring then visit the ER to get our fingers separated after gluing them together.

Please send me your stories, successes, failures and ideas if you try any of these.

"Welcome to Fall" (by which I mean, "let's try to appreciate Autumn even though it's raining for the 10th day in a row", for those Brits reading this),

Sarah

How To Say Goodbye (responsibly)

Remember that 61 million sofas-worth of furniture that goes into landfill each year?

I had promised to send some information about how to responsibly dispose of your unwanted furniture, so here it is!

In the SF bay area we have several good options:

1) Consign

Got a high end dining table that doesn't fit in your new place? Got a mid-century sofa that you know is "fashionable" but feels like you're sitting on concrete? I've often been asked how to sell furniture that is in good condition and good quality but no longer needed.

​My go-to starting point is Design Plus Consignment. They have showrooms in San Francisco and San Rafael but all you need to do to see if they will take your item (and how much you will make from the sale) is to fill out their online form. They are picky about what they take and will accept only pieces they believe will sell. If your piece is accepted, they can suggest movers to help you get the piece to their nearest showroom. Remember to factor in that cost if you can't get the furniture to them in your own car.

You can also try Remoov. In my experience they are a bit less picky. They pick up your furniture themselves and then consign it for you. If they won't take the piece for consignment, they can donate if for you and give you the tax receipt or take it to be "responsibly decommissioned."

2) Donate

Sadly, Salvation Army no longer does free pick ups in California due to cost and changing regulations. Their donation centers are still open in SF in the Mission at 26th St and San Jose Ave (don't go to the store on Valencia St) and in the Richmond on Geary at 4th Ave. I prefer the Geary location because it tends to be less chaotic. You can see the list of items they will and won't accept here.​

​Building Resources WILL do a pick up for you if you have a "larger, pre-approved loads". Call them on 415-285-7814 to see if they can help you.

​Goodwill does NOT accept large furniture items (or much furniture at all really) in the SF Bay Area.

3) Recycle

​Recology customers are entitled to two free large item pick up sessions each year. You can book your pick up online here. Then you leave the items on the curb the night before the pick up date and label them BIR (big item recycling).

Thanks for listening, folks!

Sarah

F-waste Sounds like a Swear Word but...

F-waste is the industry's shorthand for furniture that ends up in landfills.

"36151 Old Dominion Landfill" by bsabarnowl is licensed under CC BY 2.0

According to the EPA f-waste in the US was over 12 million tons in 2018. Only a fraction of that waste was recyled or combusted for energy recovery, leaving over 9.6 million tons going into landfill.

If you're like me, when you read these kind of stats, you think

a) that doesn't sound good but,

b) I've no idea what 9.6 million tons looks like.

So here's a little translation. 9.6 million tons is equivalent to:

61 million sofas

​48 thousand blue whales

​52 Salesforce towers

I can just about envision 52 Salesforce towers (who thought that tower could be so useful!) and that is a ridiculous amount of trash.

A big part of the problem is "fast furniture" - pieces that are made with poor quality materials and priced so low that it's cheaper for people buy a replacment when they inevitably break, rather than refinish or repair them.

I'm sure you can see where I'm going here. We'd all be doing our bit to help if we bought recycled high quality furniture meant to last and didn't change our interiors with every edition of the Restoration Hardware catalog.

So when you support a business like mine, you’re not only getting unique home decor, you're doing your bit for the environment. Well done you!

But this email isn't just about FOUND. I wanted to highlight some of the other companies who are tackling landfill problems in a new way.

​Formr - Thoughtfully designed furniture empowering formerly incarcerated people and reincarnating construction waste.

Formr has several contemporary styled ingenious pieces. My favorite is the VegeTABLE which incoporates a planter in the middle of an end table. You could snack on parsely rather than chips as you watch a movie!

​Fernish - Premium furniture rentals that feel like home.

By offering furniture to rent and then refurbishing and repairing it for the next renter, Fernish is attempting to reduce the amount of furniture that is thrown away.

​​Calico Sol - Modern Fast Furniture Presents a Global Environmental Problem - We’re Working to Solve this Problem by Making a Sustainable Model for the Future of Furniture

Although they're very new and don't have more than one product yet, Calico Sol not only commits to using eco friendly and recyclable materials in their furniture, they are also willing to pick up and recycle their products if you need to get rid of them.

In a future email, I'll explore some ways that we can responsibly dispose of our current furniture if we need to.

Hope you're all having a great summer!

Sarah

How Do You Create an "Eclectic" Interior?

It's simply a mix up of patterns and styles. Get a bunch of random furniture, make a gallery wall, throw in trendy plant, and voila! Yeah, right, if it was that easy, I would have been out of a job for 20 years!

This "how to create an eclectic interior" method, described by countless blogs as a sure-fire winner, could easily describe a warehouse full of junk. So what's the magic sauce that makes all the difference? Do some people just "have an eye" for it?

Does this fit the definition?

VS.

Does this fit the definition?

I've always been one of those people who likes to figure out why something "works" rather than assume it's the result of an ethereal artistic sense. Sadly for my long suffering husband, this means I'm likely to repeatedly bang out chord variations on the piano to try to figure out the logic of a piece of music, or add salt to the icecream to see if I can make it taste "artisan".

Fortunately, you don't have to live with me and, with a bit of luck, you'll have use for a recipe for an"eclectic interior" once I've wrangled a formula for it. So far I have lots of scribbled furniture layouts and an increasingly complicated flow chart. This may take a while!

However, when planning an eclectic interior, I think it makes sense to start with an interesting object that you love. That's my current theory anyway. I hope that FOUND can be a resource for those inspirational pieces.

Occasionally I find objects that don't need to be "reimagined"; they are just fascinating enough on their own. I've added an item (or items) like that to the website and I'll continue to add them whenever I'm lucky enough for them to find me.

Bye for now, interesting people!

Sarah

The Need for a Dragon

Remember how I said that it was easy to decide how to refinish those green nightstands?

Well, I jinxed it.

You may have heard talk of "creative flow", a condition in which we are utterly consumed by our process and we achieve results without conscious effort.

This has been more of a "creative framp" a condition in which I am frustrated by my efforts to make something that I can't quite decide on.

For those who don't follow me on Instagram, let me give you a little background on the piece that has been causing me so much confusion.

I found a dresser at a local furniture auction. It had the shape of an Art Deco piece. I was excited to create a really bold and graphic design in the Art Deco style. But then there was some carving at the top of the piece that looked decidedly un-Art Deco. Maybe more Art Nouveau. Perhaps I could go more organic with the shapes?

After hauling it back to my workshop, I found this old piece of paper in a drawer:

I tried crowd sourcing the translation online and took it to the helpful ladies at the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park, but the most anyone could tell me was that it was a poem about feelings, written in an old Japanese script that most people can't read any more. The mystery deepened!

Fortunately, my husband had a contact in Japan who just happened to know the genius who once wrote a computer program to use artificial intelligence translate this old classic cursive Japanese. A few days later we received this poem:

It was accompanied by a reference to a website that said, "This is the song of His Majesty ... in 1945, that is, the year of the defeat. What was the will of His Majesty who wrote this song? When we workship this great song, we feel that we hear a tragic tune from this word-for-word, which is probably no more. In each word of "Kanume," "Kanfu," "Shimoya," "Moon" and "Hiroma," you can see the desoate world as far as the eye can see, where the pain of the crowd freezes as it is."

Wow. Now this Deco-Nouveau dresser had an Asian mournful soul. How on earth would I make this all make sense and do justice to the piece?

Much staring at the dresser ensued.

This continued until one morning when I was sipping (English instant - I know, it's coffee blasphemy) coffee in the kind of dream state which happens daily until the caffeine clears my head. Next to the coffee granules is a calendar. The calendar said it was coming up on St. George's Day (April 23rd).

St. George is the patron saint of England, but unlike St. Patrick's Day for the Irish, barely anyone in England can tell you when St. George's Day is, let alone celebrate it. This in itself, is very English.

As my (very Californian) husband reached for the oat milk, I resolved to do something about dragons. St George is famous for killing a dragon.

St George and the Dragon

We need more dragons on furniture, I thought. Then the caffeine kicked in, the school run was upon me and I forgot all about it.

It turns out that St George was trying to tell me something. That dresser needed a Japanese dragon.

As I did some research I discovered that Japanese dragons are often shape shifters. This seemed just right for my Deco-Nouveau fence-sitting friend. And as I read more about Japanese dragons, I discovered that emperors are said to be their descendents. Perhaps I could pay homage to the emperor who wrote the poem by featuring a dragon on the dresser.

And so, I have been working on dragon designs. I have a couple of videos up on Instagram (@foundbybashforddesign) where you can see some sped-up sneak peaks into all this dragoning. Of course, my lovely email newsletter friends (that's you) will be the first to see the full reveal!

Until then, a belated Happy St. George's Day to you all!

Sarah

“It’s Not Easy Being Green” - Kermit the Frog

It’s a running joke in my family that if I get to choose the color of anything, it will always be green.

After a few years of this teasing, I started to wonder if my love of green could be explained in any way. It always felt like everyone else’s favorite color was blue. It’s possible that I see green as the same color as you see blue (stop! philosophical rabbit hole!), but I think it’s more likely that moving to sunny and often parched California, part of me always longed to add back the green from the fields and trees of rural England where I grew up.

This was my home for the first 18 years of my life. Picture taken during a rare moment of partly blue sky.

Anyway, it’s a long way of saying that I’m going to be painting another piece green. This time a pair of nightstands:

Hopefully they will be finished in a couple of weeks and I can send photos of the result.

Here's how our favorite colors break down according to Hotdesign who have been collecting results since 2011.

If you have a favorite color and you know why you like it, I’d love to hear about it. Perhaps I’ll be able to crowdsource some insight into why we like the colors that we do.

Thanks!

Sarah