The specialists guide to Chinese antiques. » Design Ideas

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

Roger — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 15:52:52 +0000

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.

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.

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.

The rest of the photos are on their site at:

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

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Fun and funky distressed finishes to brighten up any room

Roger — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:50:40 +0000

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.

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.”

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

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

Even darker browns and “plain ol” black and white take on a new life with a bit of hand rubbing to add character.

The effect shows just nicely on this unusually shaped Chinese bookcase.

So? Why not brighten up your own rooms?

Integrating Asian style furnishings: Practical ideas from real homes.

Roger — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:14:06 +0000

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).

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.

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.

Sometimes showing a piece in a unique way, suggesting a purpose for which it wasn’t originally intended, may give a customer an idea of how to use it at home. Transferring the piece to the clearance area is certainly easier, but in the end, it may sit for quite a while and ultimately be sold for much less.”

So with that said, the following are real examples (take from Flickr) from real photos of peoples homes.

This item was in a store… and they were considering purchase…

A great blend of European and Oriental style

Stools make easy plant stands…

One of my favorite ideas for a rustic farm table.

If you have more examples, please feel free to send them.

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

Roger — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 13:04:41 +0000

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.

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.

Basic materials needed are usually just lime, wax and often some wood stain depending on the desired final color. The process (in brief) tends to be as follows:

In order to enhance the effect, the grain of the wood is exposed sometimes with a wire brush.
The surface is then dusted clean and color then applied is desired.
After any applied color is thoroughly dry, a coat of lime and wax is also applied and hand rubbed into the grain of the wood.
After the lime and wax is dried, any excess is removed and a final top layer of wax is applied.

For a more detailed overview of the process have a look at this page.

Its also worthy to note that limed and bleached finishes are a different then finishing effects achieved using lacquer like this antique sideboard which has a faux limed finish, achieved with white lacquer hand-rubbed into the grain of the wood.

Who is selling whitewashed furniture?
Lets look at a few nice examples.

Warrenton Tea Table from tomlinsonerwinlambeth

Low coffee table constructed from old doors from ACF China

Contemporary entertainment console from bungalowclassic.com.

Better examples? Comment them!

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

Roger — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:48:21 +0000

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.”

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.

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:

Antique / Vintage: Often these are antique farm items which have simply been given a clean up. In other cases they have been stripped down and their original finish removed. Often traces of the original finish & color remain giving each piece its own unique “hue.”
Salvaged & Rebuilt: Old doors converted into tables tops with bases added are a good example of this. The prime element here is that a good portion of the piece is in fact antique and can be distinguished as so.
New designs from old materials: These are basically new pieces built with primarily reclaimed materials and its for this reason that the line between salvaged and new can become a bit blurry. The dining table below from ACF China Co as well as the “Haider Natural” Dining Furniture from Horchow Collection & Four Hands are good example of this. The design on the Horchow table has clearly been updated for the western buyer as the bottom stretcher would not an original feature on a Chinese type of table.

So, where is it reclaimed wood furniture being sold on the web? What are the popular looks?

Here are a few nicer examples:

“Haider Natural” Dining Furniture from Horchow Collection & Four Hands

Reclaimed Elm Table from Neiman Marcus.

Blue Wash Console Table from Wisteria

Reclaimed Elm Doorwood Coffee Table

From the The Olde Good Things Webstore. Looks so similar I wonder if it originally came from us?!

RECLAIMED WOOD FURNITURE from GreenTea Designs

Other nice pieces of reclaimed wood furniture out there?

Share them with us! Send them in or post the links here…

More on Asian-inspired interior design…

Roger — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 09:29:20 +0000

A while back in our post “Are Asian design influences here to stay?” we were discussing the longevity and staying power of Asian Design Influences and Asian Decorating Style. I must say, that when poking around in the interior designer blog community this really seems to be the case. Asian style furniture is really here to stay and as the world continues to become a melting pot due to the internet and global travel I think this will become even more so. Today I stumbled upon another excellent Interior Design Blog by Los Angeles-based celebrity designer, Mark Cutler who has a good post on the “ Asian-inspired” look. Some of the looks are difficult unless you are on the west coast or in say, New York but nevertheless its great stuff.

I absolutely love the Buddha bedside lamps with the black edges on the shade. I think its a perfect example of the “zen look.” Very contemporary! Asian, but yet not too Chinese – this look seems to work in a modern home without any trouble whatsoever. Seems the ceramic garden stools are another hot item that keeps popping up. Take a moment and have a look at the rest of Mark’s blog for a few other good examples of whats “hot.”

A few more items coming up on the radar recently:

Fu Dogs are still popular…

Katie, over at “katiedid: diary of a design devotee” has an interesting post on Fudogs and their recent popularity…

Check it out along with the rest of her post here…

Scroll Tables are in too…

If you haven’t figured this one out then you must be blind. Scroll Tables are low, they are curvy and they just plain neat. And apparently timeless classics which can can go modern to antique to European. They fit with almost anything. Katie over at Girl Meets Glamour puts its just right:

“Hi my name is Kate and I’m addicted to any furniture with a scroll! Doesn’t matter the shape, size, color, I just love them. It’s been a problem for a while now, but I’ve just started to seek help. “

Check out her posting Come scroll with me… for some great examples of what people are doing in the home with scroll tables. She also has an article on Chinese “Chippendale” chairs which I find interesting…

What Chinese Style Furniture is hot this year?

Roger — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 20:08:46 +0000

There is a great little blog apartmenttherapy.com which covers New York, San Francisco, Chicago & New York. Its really less of a blog, and rather more of a series of columns written and posted by interior designers.

We love the look of antiques or imports mixed with more modern furniture. One piece that almost always fits right into a modern setting is the Chinese console table. Originally used as altar tables in homes and temples, their proportions make them the perfect console. Styles vary widely, from plain and simple to extremely ornate. We like to see one beautifully carved elaborate piece in a minimalist home, or you could go the other direction and keep it simple with a spare wooden console.

Definitely worth taking a look at to see what the popular looks are at any given moment. By the way, the searches and content vary depending on each city – great to see the differences in say Chicago vs New York. Anyways, I did a search on Chinese to see what comes up. Here is a sampling of what people seem to be interested in this year:

Chinese Console Tables 2007 year end round-up

Chinese Table with 3 Drawers, at Golden Triangle

Vintage Cabinet from Jayson Home & Garden, $1,395

The pair of Chinese antique red lacquer cabinets shown above is from Pagoda Red.

Red Lacquer Cabinet from Antiques on Old Plank Road

Painted Chinese Side Tables from Pagoda Red

Integrating Tibetan furniture into the home

Frederic — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 06:31:27 +0000

Chinese furniture is becoming more and more popular, surely about 50% of the decorated homes have an item one or the other Asian style. Before the 90’s Asian furniture used in western interiors was often of a abstract, cold, zen style. Mono-colored cabinets, without any curls. Often plain red or black lacquered. But in the past 10 years there has been a change, and the ‘new’ antique styles became ;more popular. It is a trend in general that since the start of the millennium fashion became less sober, minimalism is over it’s top. Now, colors, ornate carvings, flower scenes, … became possible again.

Mongolian and Tibetan styles are the newest fashion. It are items where colors are very vivid and contrasting. At first glance people often are shocked by the used of yellow with green and red, saying that could never integrate into their classic living room. But that is a false idea. Instead, it will apart from adding color, life and variety to your room. Placed correctly they can be an anchor between 2 places with different color and style.

Interior designers and stylists can again use their skill for combining the right colors. The picture here shows a perfect integration of a Tibetan antique sideboard with strong contrasting colors into a classic country style western dining room. The piece is not screaming out for attention, but subtly adds movement to the space.