Recently, I had the privilege to chat with John from NBFN- one of our newest lines.  He is one half of the brains behind the conception of these lovely pieces, and we received a personal delivery from him. (We’re in his neighborhood.)  From John’s description, it sounds like the other half, Alex, is the yin to his yang.  The furniture line melds John’s Arts & Crafts background with Alex’s European aesthetic to create a piece of furniture that could comfortably coexist in either setting.

These pieces are not only rethinking design, but also construction.  The most prominent visual feature is a dowel that negates the need for screws.  While this isn’t a new technique,  it’s certainly a fresh take on an ancient craft.  (Recognize the Japanese inspired – Arts & Crafts based – connection?)

Despite it’s stated origins, I still see a little mid-century in that angled table leg.  These pieces are a melting pot of sorts, and it is truly a pleasure to see something so new and vivacious.  Fortunately, the gentlemen at NBFN have a lot more coming down the pipe, so we get to anxiously wait and see what new furniture they bring us next!

See more NBFN pieces

At The Century House, we are extremely excited to welcome our newest line of entertainment furniture from BDI. This furniture is like nothing we have ever seen before. Never again will you be forced to squeeze behind your TV stand with a flashlight while cursing at the confusing jumble of cables connecting your entertainment system! BDI has created a line of TV stands that provides a solution for every aspect of technology management.  Here are a few of the things that make this product line so cool…

Flow Through Ventilation: Too much heat buildup can cause equipment to burn out faster. BDI has solved this problem by integrating flow-through ventilation in the shelves, bottoms and backs of their entertainment units.

Openings in the shelves, bottom and back panels allow for full ventilation. This ensures heat will not build up inside the cabinet, causing your components to burn out quickly.

Cable Management: The cables just seem to keep multiplying.  BDI has integrated simple, but effective Velcro loops in several places to make it easy to manage and organize cables.  This also helps to keep a clean looking entertainment set-up. Also, back panels are removable, allowing easy access to all of that wiring!

Velcro straps make it easy to guide and organize cables while removable back panels make it easy to access all wiring.

Hidden Wheels & Integrated Levelers: Nothing could be more annoying than a crooked TV and unfortunately, floors are often not level.  So, BDI has solved this problem by building in levelers that ensure your entertainment stand is perfectly straight. Also, many of the TV stands have hidden castors, which allow you to easily roll your TV stand away from the wall. Imagine how much easier life would be!

Levelers ensure that your TV is always on a perfectly straight surface while hidden castors allow you to roll the cabinet easily, allowing for easy access to wiring.

These are only a few of the well thought-out features of BDI products. Other useful features include tinted, IR-friendly glass, adjustable shelves with rubber pegs that absorb vibrations and specialized compartments for gaming systems, sub woofers and speakers.

To view the entire line of BDI products and all it has to offer, click here. Also check out the Sequel Office Collection by BDI, which offers the same smart design and technology management for the office!

1. When mixing patterns, using similar colors helps with cohesion. Even if the exact color isn’t represented in each pattern, using a series of the same color (3 or more greens) can prevent too many patterns from being overwhelming in a space.

2. Stripes and polka dots are the neutrals of patterns. If you are having difficulty determining what to pair with a more active pattern, a version of one of these may help. As a general rule of thumb, dots will work with other organic patterns (free-form, flowing shapes); and stripes will work well with geometric patterns (crisp lines, squares).

3. The more light in the room, the more colors you can get away with. Have you ever had the lights turned on abruptly in a dark movie theater? Not a great feeling on the eyes. Light mutes bright colors, so if you have a well lit area, it can handle bright colors. If you have a very dark area, bright colors can be harder on the eyes and not have the same effect. In those darker spaces, you may opt for a more graphic print surrounded by neutral colors to give the pop you are searching for.

4.  Combining a couple different white on white patterns will never be wrong. If you aren’t confident in color, using a few prints that are dominantly white and grey makes for an elegant look.  It works best in the bedroom because there is typically enough fabric in that room to give it an inviting feel.  It’s good to note that in other rooms, like the bathroom, it can feel sterile because of the harder materials found there (floor and wall tiles).

5.  Always go with what you like! Love what you are using and you will enjoy it.  The most admired interiors are the ones that represent the people in them, so picking what you love to decorate your space is never the wrong option.

As a relatively new employee, I am not as familiar with the traditions that make the Swedish holidays unique as most of my colleagues are. So if, like me, you have ever been in the gift shop and wondered why Santa looked a little different, or what that straw animal was, we have compiled a bit of history that will hopefully clarify.

Sweden’s version of Santa is known as Tomte, or Tomtenisse in some places. But unlike our jolly, sleigh-riding Santa, Tomte is a small elderly man who can shift shapes and even make himself invisible. Dressed in grey and red woolens, he roamed the countryside, making himself available to help Swedish farmers while they and their families slept. In the past, Tomte was somewhat of a mischevious character: with glowing eyes, he would take his revenge on farmers he thought were rude, even using his powers to leave damaging bites on violators of his mandated etiquette. Most important to him was that he be left a full bowl of porridge with a pat of butter on top. Today’s version of Tomte, however, is closer to the American version of Santa Claus, and would not retaliate if Swedish families forgot to put out his favorite dish. Our gift shop features several books telling the story of this friendlier Tomte, beloved by Swedish families.

Another staple of the Swedish holiday season is the Yule goat. A historic Swedish tradition, the Yule Sacrifice, necessitated the pretend butcher of a participant dressed as the goat, who was then ceremonially brought back to. Now, Yule goats are most commonly seen as tiny straw ornaments wrapped in red ribbons. Swedish families play tricks on one another by hiding the ornaments in their neighbors’ homes secretly. If a family discovers a goat in their own home, it is their job to covertly place it in a neighbor’s house in the same manner.

December 13 brings about what it perhaps the most famous of Sweden’s signature holiday celebrations. Saint Lucia’s Day, named for a Sicilian martyr, is a Church feast day in which the eldest girl of each family dresses up as the famed saint, donning a white robe and a crown of leaves and candles. The daughter then serves her family Lussekatt, or St. Lucia’s buns, a type of bun made with saffron. The daughters of each town then join together for a procession in which they distribute candy, sometimes accompanied by the young men of the town, who are dressed as Tomte or gingerbread men. St. Lucia’s Day (or St. Lucy’s Day) is even celebrated by American families of Scandinavian heritage, who set out buns on their mantels.

If you would like to celebrate this holiday season the Swedish way, the illustrations in this post are available as desktop wallpapers. Click the appropriate link below for a high-resolution image that will add holiday cheer to your computer’s home screen. And as the Swedes say, “God jul och gott nytt år!”

• Tomte
• Yule Goat
• St. Lucia’s Day

One item that has caught our attention this year is the Swedish Gingerbread House Cookie Cutter. We were hungry for gingerbread and feeling crafty, so I decided to test it out. I used this recipe from the Food Network, but any gingerbread recipe should do.

After mixing together the dry ingredients and rolling out the dough, I waited anxiously for the timer to tell me I could use my intriguing new cutter to make shapes from the unhardened dough. (There’s nothing like sitting in a warm kitchen and basking in the scent of cloves and ginger!) It’s important to watch the dough carefully, as the thickness required for a sturdy but lightweight structure is prone to burning.

Fifteen long minutes later, the dough was ready, and I was pleased to find out just how easily the walls and roof emerged. After cutting the shapes, I removed excess dough so that the architectural cookie pieces could cool on their own.

Assembling the house is the best part of the process, and luckily for me, I had a great partner in crime to lend a hand. Krista and I used store-bought frosting and icing tips to decorate and hold our cookie cottage together. Scandinavian sweets were the perfect decorations for this holiday tradition.

If you want to make a holiday house of your own, the Swedish Gingerbread House Cookie Cutter is available in the gift shop for $15. And don’t forget to show off your tasty creation on a Heath large platter ($70). Happy baking, house elves!

The Century House had the opportunity this weekend to create a space for the MMoCA Holiday Art Fair.  For this event, we pulled our inspiration from an existing room.  While the finished spaces look very different, the two core pieces in this design are the same.  Choosing different colors, switching leather for fabric, or adding festive accessories can make a familiar room look unrecognizable.

Our inspiration room used the O.P. Mobler Noon Sofa and the Knoll Risom Lounge Chair to create a sophisticated, modern living room.  Pops of color give this room an energy that’s great for entertaining.

Our inspired MMoCA space has been planned around the same two pieces of furniture.  We chose warm, fall color s, added more wood, and used the same sofa in brown wool to create our Holiday Lounge.  Add a bold Fatboy Beanbag, and you have created an inviting space with a more casual appearance.

Design is a process, triggered by imagination and inspiration.  People often use the phrase, “this room just came together”.  Just as often, what is missing from that sentence is the phrase “once we found…”  Here the same two pieces of furniture have inspired two different but equally beautiful spaces.  Finding your own inspiration can allow you to create your own unique and beautiful space.

To see more images of these two spaces, check out our page on facebook.

When you find yourself curling up under the throw that’s hung neglected since May, take a look at the book by journalist and cultural critic Winifred Gallagher called House Thinking: A Room-by-Room Look at How We Live (Harper Perennial, 2007). Gallagher will get you thinking about your current home, your previous homes, the homes of friends and family and acquaintances. Have you either lived in a place or visited a place that feels more like home than any other place you’ve lived?

Sorry, The Century House doesn’t count.

“How does your home not only reflect but also affect who you are? How you feel? What you think and do?” Gallagher asks in the opening line. Thoughts will begin percolating—thoughts about your favorite homes and favorite spots in your home, which might be exactly where you’ll curl up with this book. What draws you?

Gallagher says a home that feels right has a tonic effect on your behavior. You feel both interested and relaxed. Fascinated and sheltered.

And she says it has less to do with aesthetic fashion than with evolutionary, personal and cultural needs. (What? The Hans Wegner Wishbone Chair doesn’t automatically make a house a home? We’re aghast.)

Wherever you’re reading this, enjoy November and what’s to come. Like mice, enjoy the life spent more indoors than out, if only for a few months. And let House Thinking help you understand just what makes a house a home sweet home.

American Leather has done it again.  The new Comfort Recliner Collection eliminates all of the problems and discomfort found in a traditional recliner.  American Leather assessed every detail of the recliner, creating a system that is effortless and fully adjustable.  Aesthetically and functionally, the Comfort Recliner has it all.

Each style (there are Seven!) of the Comfort Recliner is available in three sizes, allowing you to find a chair that fits your body and preferences.  These chairs have a very special swivel function.  Swiveling or rotating the chair will actually raise or lower its height.  Simply turn the chair around 5 times to adjust the chair height by 1 inch.  The headrest also allows for full customization.  It can be bent forward for additional support and raised up to 2 inches.

And it doesn’t stop there.  The Comfort Recliners have a unique gas-assisted footrest that allows you to easily move the footrest into any position.  If you prefer to have your legs raised only slightly – simply lift the lever to raise the footrest until it is in your ideal position.  An extra long, continuous footrest will support you throughout the length of your legs.  The weight balanced mechanism allows you to stop the back at any angle when reclining.  Simply recline a few inches for watching TV or go all the way back to take a snooze.

American Leather has covered all aspects of comfort and fit.  They have also created a luxury recliner that will look beautiful in your home.  Choose from the 7 different attractive styles to fit your taste.  A huge variety of durable fabrics and leathers are available.  And because these are made in Texas, it’s only a matter of a few weeks before you can have a fully customized recliner.  The option of a wood, metal, or upholstered swivel base or wood legs gives you further control over how your Comfort Recliner will look.

If you get a chance to sit in a Comfort Recliner, I suggest you take a few minutes to relax and enjoy the perfection that American Leather has created.  We are happy to say that we have several on our floor (that I may occasionally sit in) at our 3420 University Avenue location in Madison, WI.  To view the full Comfort Recliner Collection, click here.

Of course, it is most fun to relax outdoors in style. There are a few outdoor furniture items that I find to be particularly cool and comfortable.

These Coco chairs are shown in Sky Blue with a little Satellite side table for drinks and snacks.

The Coco Chair by Loll mimics the classic design of the Eames Lounge Plywood chairs, but it’s got a fun and unique spin to it. Not to mention, it’s extremely comfortable to sit in. One of the things I love the most about Loll furniture is the fun selection of colors to choose from. And it certainly doesn’t hurt that all of their products are made out of recycled plastic, such as milk jugs and margarine tubs.This furniture is also made nearby in Minnesota.

This set of Ballare chairs are shown with the Ballare table. The set creates a gorgeous solid teak dining set that works both indoors and outdoors.

On the opposite side of the spectrum is the Ballare Chair by Skagerak of Denmark. This solid teak chair is comfortable and timeless. Its good looks also make it a worthy chair for indoor seating, whether its at the dining table or in the living room. Many other teak pieces are available from Skagerak, including benches and tables.
This set of Ballare chairs are shown with the Ballare table. The set creates a gorgeous solid teak dining set that works both indoors and outdoors.

The white Phantom chair creates a classic and clean look. It creates a sharp contrast against a green landscape.

The newest addition to our outdoor collection is the Italian Phantom Chair by Domitalia. I don’t even have to say much about this chair – it speaks for itself. I love that it manages to be fun, simple and slightly formal all at the same time. It is also available as a loveseat, in colors and with a lit option that makes the chair glow!

• How long will I be sitting in this chair in any given day?
• Will I be sitting for very long periods of time?
• What kind of activities will I be doing when I am sitting in this chair?
• What problems do I have with my current work chair?

If your current work chair is giving you trouble, it’s important to keep in mind what currently is not working.  Maybe you aren’t getting enough back support or maybe the back of your legs get sore because your chair is cutting off your circulation.  Your answers to these questions will help you rule out the chairs that are not ideal for you.

Finding the right “fit” is something that is very unique from person to person.  The best way to determine the best fit is to spend some quality time sitting in chairs.  There are a few things to focus on when you’re trying a chair out.  First of all, does the chair provide appropriate back support?  Important areas of the back to think about are the lumbar region and the upper back area.  Keep in mind that some chairs will have adjustable lumbar back support.  So, make sure you know how to play with this adjustment to properly determine whether or not you are supported and comfortable.  If you like to recline occasionally (or often), look for a chair that is high enough to support your entire back.  Some chairs are even high enough to support your neck.  However, this might not be a necessity for you if you spend your days upright.

Possibly just as important is seat depth.  A common problem for many people is the seat of the chair cutting off circulation in the back of the legs.  This is an uncomfortable problem and it’s not good for your body – the pressure on your legs is preventing oxygen from getting to your cells.  To avoid this problem, look for a chair that has an appropriate seat depth.  (Some chairs will even have adjustable seat depth or multiple seat sizes to choose from.)  Also look for chairs that have a curved seat front.

Another common issue is heat build-up.  If you are someone who tends to feel hot and/or sticky after sitting in an office chair, look for mesh-like materials that allow air to get to your body.  Foam and additional padding can retain heat and make you feel uncomfortable over time, especially if you’re sitting for eight hours!

Adjustments. I’ve already gone over a couple of possible adjustments, but there’s plenty more out there.  Think about whether or not you want to deal with a lot of manual adjustments.  Knobs and levers can provide increased control, but they also require a little more thought.  Herman Miller produces chairs with a lot of manual adjustments, while Humanscale designs chairs that adjust and move with you – these chairs tend to be a bit more intuitive.  Additional adjustments control the degree of recline, the tension of the recline, and the angle of the seat.  Also, some chairs will have fixed arms while some have fully adjustable arms that move in almost any direction.  Consider the tasks you conduct while sitting in the chair and whether or not they require different arm heights.  For example, some people like to have their arms at a lower position when typing and a higher position when chatting on the phone.

If you get overwhelmed when looking for an office chair, don’t panic.  We know chairs and we are here to help.  We have many options at our Home & Office location at 3420 University Avenue.  With a little information from you, we can help guide you to a chair that will make working a lot more enjoyable.