In an article posted at Casual Living “Joe Ruggiero makes music with Sunbrella fabrics”, Joe discusses how he was inspired by a musical theme for his fabrics debuting in High Point. The four new fabric groups are Modern Jazz, Italian Classics, Western Opus and Decor Crescendo and are predominantly meant for furniture applications.  At ccino we love the Sunbrella fabrics Joe has designed and feel that they are a wonderful option for all of our customers in Omaha, Council Bluffs, Lincoln and the surrounding areas.

Read the full article at Casual Living

At Sunbrella’s website, you can see a few of the new fabrics

Joe Ruggiero introduced new collections of upholstery frames and fabrics with classic origins and a more contemporary edge at the April High Point furniture market.

“I believe a new edgy approach to classic upholstery frames is needed in today’s marketplace,” Ruggiero said. “I have also designed new Sunbrella® fabric groups that are inspired by what I have seen on the fashion runways and inspired by my visit to the famous German Bauhaus School.”

Read the full article at Sunbrella’s website

Design blog Design Happens loves Candice Olson and wrote about her collection at the recent High Point market.  Of course, by Design is the only source in Des Moines for the Candice Olson collection of furniture styles and fabrics.  If you’re a Candice fan, be sure to stop into our store and ask one of our designers to show you the pieces on our floor and in the catalog.  Here are a couple of quotes from that article plus a link to the blog:

Design Happens » Archive » High Point: The Candice Olson Collection

by Chelsey Bowen in Furniture Finds, High Point Furniture Market

You didn’t think we’d leave High Point without giving you a peek at Candice Olson’s new pieces, did you? We stopped by Norwalk Furniture’s showroom yesterday and were greeted by her incredible new color scheme of truffles and ice. Candice’s combinations of serene blues, grey-browns and bright whites create a relaxing, yet sophisticated atmosphere.

The Ollie Sectional is the newest piece of her popular Ollie collection. With it’s sleek style and versatility in fabric, arm and leg choices, it’s the perfect addition to any family room.

My favorite new pieces is the Calvin chair. One of the things Candice does best is taking a classic style and adding her own unique touch to it. The Calvin chair is a tribute to the timeless wingback, but the deep pitch and exaggerated curves bring an updated, sexy vibe to the design.

We have an exclusive interview with Norwalk experts coming soon. Just wait until you see the Calvin chair in white leather!

Design Happens » Archive » High Point: The Candice Olson Collection

The debate over quality construction of upholstered furniture

Okay, debate may be overstating it. Nevertheless there are a lot of opinions about what features to look for in quality upholstered furniture. Here is ccino’s take:

We get the consumer’s problems:

1. You can’t see inside a sofa to see how it is put together.
2. The industry jargon doesn’t mean a darn thing to you.
3. Will it be as comfortable in a year as it is today?
4. Will the fabric last as long as the frame?
5. Will the cushions flatten?
6. And on and on…

We’ve looked on the web for consumer information on quality construction. And like all things on the web there is a lot of it. But, much of it is simple cut & paste journalism. Most of these “knowledgeable” people have searched the web for articles and simply regurgitated the standard pap:

“look for kiln-dried hardwood frames”

“Make sure the corners are blocked”

“buy only 8-way hand-tied spring frames”

“Custom-made sofas feature padding of horsehair and burlap, which retain their shape, topped with layers of goose down.”

This information is badly outdated! Besides, any list of even the best techniques can lead you astray. Because, in the final analysis, shoddy execution can ruin the best design. Your first defense is still to do business with someone you trust who offers great warranties. But, good construction does matter – so here are some things to look for as well as some expert information for you engineer types:

1. TAKE A LOAD OFF

• Sit on it. Each and every cushion. For a while. 5 minutes or so. Curl up if that’s your thing. Here comes the technical part: is it comfortable?
• Wiggle the back rail and arms. There shouldn’t be much.
• Give the frame a little twist by lifting at one front corner while someone holds down the opposing arm. If it twists very much – shout.
• Stores may have a cut-away section or an illustration of their construction techniques showing corner blocks, glue, screws and nailing details. If you are buying a floor model, you can probably get someone to remove the bottom dust cover near one leg so that you can see these details. Legs are screwed into the frame are fine. Legs that are part of the frame may be stronger but are harder to repair.
• As we said above, kiln-dried hardwood or furniture-grade plywood can denote high-quality materials. But they can’t make up for poor workmanship.

2. GIVE IT A SQUEEZE

• Run your hand along all of the “edges” of the piece: rails, corners, and arms. There should be a layer of padding to keep you from feeling sharp edges.

3. CUSHIONS – WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD

• Unzip a seat cushion and peek inside. Go ahead, you know you wanna. You should see foam covered with polyester batting, enclosed in a muslin or nonwoven pillowcase.
• Removable back cushions that contain loose filler should have a casing that is stitched into multiple compartments to minimize fill settling.

4. SPRING FORWARD, FALL BACK

(I always get that mixed up, like feed a cold, starve a fever. ??)

• Press down hard on the deck (the area under the seat cushion) to sense if seat springs are evenly spaced and equally resistant to pressure.
• Silence is golden — you shouldn’t hear any squeaks.
• “Eight-way hand-tied springs” are no longer synonymous with comfort or high quality. Other types of springs–coil, cone, S-shaped, and grid–can be just fine; they mainly influence how comfortable the sofa feels to you. We’re in subjective land here. The only thing that matters is your opinion.

5. TAILORED PERFECTION

• The best tailoring costs you more in three ways. 1) It takes longer to execute. 2) It takes more highly skilled, expensive workers. 3) It uses significantly more fabric to attain that flow-matched look. Your choice, but you need to know what that extra degree of excellence is costing you.
• Stripes and plaids should appear straight while other patterns should flow from one part of the sofa to the next.
• Welted seams should be straight, skirt pleats evenly spaced, zippers hidden or color matched to the upholstery.

Wood Industry site

In the home furnishings and interior design world the High Point, North Carolina market is widely acknowledged to be the largest, most important event of the year. And it happens twice a year!

Each April and October 85,000 buyers, manufacturers and members of the press descend upon this small city. They walk the streets between over 100 buildings showcasing every imaginable piece of home furnishings: upholstered furniture, wood furniture, steel furniture, living room, dining room and bedroom furniture.  Area rugs, cocktail and end tables, mirrors, wall art, bedding, botanicals, accessories and much, much more!  At over twelve million square feet of display, we know that we’ll never see all of the companies or merchandise displayed here.

Here are some of the exciting things that we discovered in the High Point market this April:

The Malibu leather sectional has a wonderful attitude. It has a unique adjustable back that is both simple and elegant. Just slide the back cushion up and back, put your feet up and relax. Combining plush lines and cushioning, the Malibu is a fabulous design.

Gray has been emerging as a powerful and functional design color. One of the best ways to accessorize grays is with silver and mirror finishes. A great example is the Metropolis round striped-base table. Deco-like lines finished in a polished pewter look make this a great accent piece in your room. It’s like adding a bit of jewelry!

The new curvy Tousley sectional adds dynamic lines to a room. It is a sophisticated design with thin track arms, tufted back cushions and tapered feet. A great design like this brings amazing drama and fun to a room. Never underestimate the value of either fun or drama.

These vases have a bright pewter finish with a black matte textured base. These great finishes and interesting shapes add texture, detail and personality to your room.

Dull brass is an emerging finish. It brings back the warmth of brass without the dated look of polished or highly antiqued brass. We loved the Miami Horn end table with its tapered, flaring legs and functional size. It’s a great accent piece.

We like the Breonna table lamp for its interesting shapes as well as the beautiful textured shade and great finish.

The Bellucci buffet lamp combines an elegant shape with unusual metallic shade and handsome design details.

Specialty fabrics often add the flair or punch to a fabulous room design.  At the recent fall High Point market those specialty fabrics frequently came from ikats and susanis.  There are furniture grade designs in these fabrics available.  Most often, fabrics with designs and colors this strong will be used as one of the accent fabrics in a room.  Perhaps on a chair or on some of the accent pillows.

Ikat Designs

The word “ikat” means “to bind.”  It is a very ancient way of creating designs in fabric by resist-dyeing (a bit like tie-dying) the threads before the fabric is woven.  In Thailand, villagers take the weft (crosswise filling threads) and tie tiny bits of plastic onto the threads.

The tightly tied areas of thread, when put into the dye pot, resist the color and create a pattern, once the plastic ties are removed.  Traditional Thai ikat cottons are often indigo-dyed in lively and engaging motifs representing the village life and beliefs of the people.  Modern Thai ikats in cotton and silk are brightly colored with good imported chemical or natural dyes.

This time-honored process creates a fabric that appears highly detailed, complexly woven and hand-crafted.  Ikats often have an ethnic look or feel to them.

In fact, Carole Sloan writing in Furniture Today said that many of the new ikats “in their latest interpretations evoke almost a Native American feel”.  Using this process with newer fabric design and fresh colors can provide a wonderful mix of traditional feel and contemporary fashion.  Take a look at the incredible black lacquered chairs shown here with a vibrant ikat fabric.  Wow.

Susani Textiles

Susani (sometimes spelled “suzani”) is the word for “needle” in Farsi, and the large embroidered dowry textiles of Turkic groups are so named because of the many hundreds of hours of needlework required to produce them.  Susani textiles originate in Central Asia: Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and other countries where Uzbeks and Tadzhiks share similar textile traditions with the Turkmen and other neighboring peoples in Central Asia .

Susani from the Uzbekistan cities of Samarkand and Tashkent have larger, bolder patterns than susani from their sister city of Bukhara, known for susani with smaller, very intricate flowers and tendrils reminiscent of certain Indian textiles.

Used in Central Asia primarily as bed covers, susani in the hands of Western collectors often are framed and hung as wall art.  Modern fabric designers are bringing this wonderful textile into our homes as accents and even core fabrics.  But… take a look at susani used in an upholstery application.

You can see why designers love to use this vibrant design and color to add excitement and personality to a room.

Specialty fabrics often add the flair or punch to a fabulous room design.  At the recent fall High Point market those specialty fabrics frequently came from ikats and susanis.

The word “ikat” means “to bind.”  It is a very ancient way of creating designs in fabric by resist-dyeing (a bit like tie-dying) the threads before the fabric is woven.  In Thailand, villagers take the weft (crosswise filling threads) and tie tiny bits of plastic onto the threads.

The tightly tied areas of thread, when put into the dye pot, resist the color and create a pattern, once the plastic ties are removed.  Traditional Thai ikat cottons are often indigo-dyed in lively and engaging motifs representing the village life and beliefs of the people.  Modern Thai ikats in cotton and silk are brightly colored with good imported chemical or natural dyes.

This time-honored process creates a fabric that appears highly detailed, complexly woven and hand-crafted.  Ikats often have an ethnic look or feel to them.

In fact, Carole Sloan writing in Furniture Today said that many of the new ikats “in their latest interpretations evoke almost a Native American feel”.  Using this process with newer fabric design and fresh colors can provide a wonderful mix of traditional feel and contemporary fashion.  Take a look at the incredible black lacquered chairs shown here with a vibrant ikat fabric.  Wow.

Susani (sometimes spelled “suzani”) is the word for “needle” in Farsi, and the large embroidered dowry textiles of Turkic groups are so named because of the many hundreds of hours of needlwork required to produce them. Susani textiles originate in Central Asia: Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and other countries where Uzbeks and Tadzhiks share similar textile traditions with the Turkmen and other neighboring peoples in Central Asia .

Susani from the Uzbekistan cities of Samarkand and Tashkent have larger, bolder patterns than susani from their sister city of Bukhara, known for susani with smaller, very intricate flowers and tendrils reminiscent of certain Indian textiles.Used in Central Asia primarily as bed covers, susani in the hands of Western collectors often are framed and hung as wall art. Modern fabric designers are bringing this wonderful textile into our homes as accents and even core fabrics.

But… take a look at susani used in an upholstery application.

Ottoman in blue susani

You can see why designers love to use this vibrant design and color to add excitement and personality to a room.