Tibetan painted furniture: Dinning table made from an old door.

asiatic table 1.thumbnail Tibetan painted furniture: Dinning table made from an old door.

We have a fair amount of Tibetan painted furniture, though most of it is not genuine Tibetan antique furniture (despite what many claim). Most are either new or vintage, though we do sometimes find real antiques. In general, it tends to be a bit too bright and colorful for my tastes, though nevertheless, Tibetan furniture does have its place and if the designs and motifs are subtle, they make beautiful accent pieces.

Tibetan painted furniture: Dinning table made from an old door.

A while back we had a few old door panels which went out in a container, and surprise surprise, I stumbled upon our doors, modified into dining tables and coffee tables on the website of J.W Kinsey’s Woodcraft (Cabinetry/custom furniture makers) in Modesto California. Looks like Josh Kinsey did a pretty nice job of both preserving the original items and turning them into something more functional in the home.

tibetan door asiatic table 2.thumbnail Tibetan painted furniture: Dinning table made from an old door.   tibetan door asiatic table 3.thumbnail Tibetan painted furniture: Dinning table made from an old door.

He did a nice job of solving the issue of how to mount the door on the frame without modifying it (notice the strut across the bottom of the door) . The table bases seem to work.

asiatic table 4.thumbnail Tibetan painted furniture: Dinning table made from an old door.   asiatic table 81.thumbnail Tibetan painted furniture: Dinning table made from an old door.

The rest of the photos are on their site at:

http://jwkinseyswoodcraft.com/jwkinseys%20woodcraft/projects%20portfolio/Portfolio.html

Hot Seller: Chinese paper and silk wire lanterns

chinese lantern with paper.thumbnail Hot Seller: Chinese paper and silk wire lanterns

Chinese wire lanterns seem to do well. In checking over our web analytics, I noticed we get quite a lot of hits for wire lanterns. Regular incoming request and price checks for them, confirm this is indeed the case. Whats not to like about them? They are cute, colorful, inexpensive and in addition to being functional, they make great impulse buys for any shop.

There also seems to be demand for them (hint hint retailers) as is evident by this blog post, as well as this one.

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Graham and Green does a very nice job in displaying these wire lanterns

The larger ones  range from 60 to 80 centimeters high while the smaller ones are as small as just 20 cm high.

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Fun and funky distressed finishes to brighten up any room

In this recent gloomy economic climate, it would be nice to add a bit of color and I though sharing some of the neat distressed finishes we have been working on, might brighten up the days a bit.

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img 0763.thumbnail Fun and funky distressed finishes to brighten up any room

 The hand rubber, distressed finish sky blue hutch adds some pleasantness to the room and may even pass as French Provincial, as does the lemon flavored traditional Chinese stool with a worn down finish for that “clean but aged look.”

 bench s6003562.thumbnail Fun and funky distressed finishes to brighten up any room

Lacquer colors like Popsicle, Cherry Candy, Green Apple and Salty Licorice bring more to mind then just plain old furniture.

Fun and funky distressed finishes to brighten up any room Fun and funky distressed finishes to brighten up any room

French country – Chinese country – whatever it is, its pretty cool. These pieces were on their way to new homes.

side table.thumbnail Fun and funky distressed finishes to brighten up any room

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Integrating Asian style furnishings: Practical ideas from real homes.

Any furniture retailer will tell you that, many times the “end all be all” for retail buyers will be just how the item integrates into their home space. Sure, comfort, durability and quality are all top consumer preferences but overall dimensions, depth and height along with usability all have a lot to do with furniture-buying preferences as well. According to High Point Market industry reports, “Foremost, you must understand that the typical furniture buyer is a she, not a he.” Which means “she” is probably not going to spend time attempting to fit a round peg into a square hole (Unlike “he” who will either just hammer it in, or pull out the tools and change the dimensions of the hole).

176898558 82af374ad6 Integrating Asian style furnishings: Practical ideas from real homes.

Sometimes though even the most experienced sales people need some extra help. So what better place the photo sharing site Flickr to see just how real people are integrating items into their homes then on. Unlike glossy magazines like Better Homes and Gardens or ELLE DECOR these homes are real.

840556675 fc40cb3e83 Integrating Asian style furnishings: Practical ideas from real homes.

There is a article by Jim Green in the furniture industry publication Furniture Today entitled “Knowing Too Much” which touches briefly on this subject.

” A nightstand is a small piece of furniture, with or without doors and drawers, normally placed beside the head of a bed. It provides a surface to set a lamp or place a glass of water, a book, or pair of reading glasses. BUT…a nightstand might not be a nightstand at all. It may, in fact, be a chairside commode. It also may be a telephone table or a stand for a small 20” TV set.

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Whitewashed, bleached and lime finishes are all the rage in furniture

Recently we discussed the popularity of furniture constructed from salvaged materials like this reclaimed elm wood dining table and therefore it should be no surprise that the according to House Beautiful, the whitewashed look along with lightened wood, bleached finishes and limed finishes are growing just as much in popularity as well whether in Asian home furniture or European styles. Known in Chinese as “Shi ni,“ Lime, is a naturally occurring calcium compound which has a wide range of applications and used from livestock products to concrete.

Limed finishes as sometimes also called Cerused or “pickled finishes” and vary depending on the nature of the underlying materials. Reclaimed wood will generally produced a more rustic and “aged look,” whereas new materials will feel a bit neater – even if deliberately antiqued. A look at two sample below illustrates the differences seen in materials. Both have been given a limed finished.

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The first board is reclaimed material. The second is new but “antiqued” to look more aged. The difference is even more pronounced when viewing whole pieces. A recent factory visit turned up these two examples. The first is a rustic farm table from ACF China and is constructed using salvaged materials. The second is a rattan chest on a stand from Four Hands and is from new materials. Both have pickled finishes.

s6001608.thumbnail Whitewashed, bleached and lime finishes are all the rage in furniture

Whitewashed, bleached and lime finishes are all the rage in furniture

 

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Trend Guide: Rustic furniture made from reclaimed elm and other salvaged woods

I was in the warehouse the other day looking over some pieces when I was reminded how much reclaimed, recycled and/or renewable materials are definitely a growing trend. A quick Google turns up a range of articles from Reclaimed furniture: Give trees a chance to buzz on various designer blogs. Even Furniture Industry trade publications are recognizing this trend which really started to take off last year. Furniture Today wrote an article entitled “Several sources introduce lines with reclaimed wood.” Another from FurnitureStyle Magazine is called “Las Vegas Furniture Market: Beyond Distressed.”

s6002602.thumbnail Trend Guide: Rustic furniture made from reclaimed elm and other salvaged woods elm table img 0186.thumbnail Trend Guide: Rustic furniture made from reclaimed elm and other salvaged woods

Reclaimed & salvaged materials are environmentally friendly in that there are no new trees cut down to make the piece. Sources of wood may be old railroad ties, beams from old houses that have been demolished or even old doors. Old elm tends to be a favorite as Elm in fairly common in China. Pine is also an option as well. Other woods are also used like cypress, walnut or beech though these woods are much less common and not available in large quantities.

common reclaimed wood types.thumbnail Trend Guide: Rustic furniture made from reclaimed elm and other salvaged woods reclaimed elm table s6001591.thumbnail Trend Guide: Rustic furniture made from reclaimed elm and other salvaged woods Trend Guide: Rustic furniture made from reclaimed elm and other salvaged woods

Since the material has been aged it tends to be more stable then new wood (which must otherwise be kiln dried and chemically treated before it can be made to be stable). In essence, pieces created from salvaged materials are antique in a very unusual way – as the materials themselves have their own story, rather then the finished piece. Finishes are less of an issue to as rather then spend time carefully creating the right distressed finish, the focus is on the already distressed natural appearance of the wood. Construction is typically using the traditional methods of tongue/groove and Chinese joinery.Reclaimed wood furniture tends to fall within either one of following three classifications: Read the rest of this entry »

The specialists guide to Chinese antiques is Stephen Fry proof thanks to caching by WP Super Cache