Trying to separate out quality wood furniture from cheaply made junk is as close to finding a needle in a haystack as you’ll get. Two pieces can look practically the same, but one will last a decade while the other will get wobbly within months. You can make it easy on yourself by shopping at a retailer like The Stated Home, which only sells well-made furniture made from real wood. But if you’re shopping somewhere else, here are the things to look for that will ensure you get something that will last: (more…)
Sagging Sofa Cushions: How to Avoid Them
Chances are, you don’t think much about your sofa cushions until they start to disappoint you. One day you glance over at your sofa and see that the seat cushions look like pancakes or your back cushions are full of lumps. The sad news: This can happen to even the highest quality cushions. That’s because most are made with a supportive core wrapped in a softer filling. These fillings compress and shift over time if you don’t take care of them. Now for the good part: You can keep yours looking like new with a little routine maintenance. (more…)
Types of Wood for Furniture
If you’ve spent any time on this blog or our online shop, you know that we think how a piece of furniture is made is just as important as how it looks. We’ve already covered the best way for a piece to be constructed with our blogs on wood materials, joinery, veneers, and finishes, but we haven’t talked a lot about the different species of wood. We’re going to fix that with this blog. The type of wood doesn’t just play a big role in how something will look or what it costs, but also how well it performs as a piece of furniture: how hard or soft it is, whether it changes color, and how long it will last.
Before we go into the common types of wood, we want to do a quick “Everything You Need to Know About Wood” lesson. That way you’ll understand what we’re talking about. (more…)
How to Buy a Sofa: 15 Must-Know Tips
Want to make sure the sofa you buy is comfortable and well-made? Take a look at the 15 most important things to look for while you’re shopping: (more…)
Made-in-America Gifts: Our 2017 Holiday Gift Guide
What’s that? You need an amazing gift to get your sister/brother/husband/wife/parent/best friend? We’ve got you! Each of these 10 gifts is unique, costs less than $100, and is sure to please anyone on your “nice” list. And don’t forget to get yourself something fun too! (more…)
Comfy Sofa Beds: How to Find the Right One for You
Anyone who has spent the night on a standard sleeper sofa can empathize with the character in The Princess and the Pea who tossed and turned thanks to the lump in her bed. We’ve lost hours of sleep too, trying to ignore the bars poking through a too-thin mattress. There is a solution – sleeper sofas can actually be comfortable for both sitting and sleeping – but you need to know how to find the one that meets your needs. (more…)