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High Point Market Highlights | CR Laine

The welcome upon walking into the CR Laine showroom at High Point Market is not only a warm one, it is a dramatic and engaging mix of definitive style, bold colour and incredible comfort. Knowing that CR Laine was the first furniture manufacturer to achieve Sustainable By Design registration back in 2008, they were on the top of my list of showrooms to visit . Friends, they did not disappoint. Just look at the stunning style statement made in the sofa and chair featured in the first striking vignette.

CR Laine‘s commitment to style, comfort and colour shone brightly with each furniture grouping I encountered. I wish I had a teleporter to take you there so you could sit in these pieces yourself. Each one passes the “tushie test” with flying colours. Pitch {the slope of the seat and back}, seating {cushion construction} and arm heights are all perfectly proportioned, creating a beautiful marriage between form and function. There’s also a healthy dose of sexy thrown in for good measure. Just look at these Mongolian fur-backed occasional chairs! {bites palm} To die for.

I loved CR Laine‘s fearless creativity with upholstery, showcased on pieces like this classic linen daybed, made modern and sophisticated with the introduction of a powder blue racing stripe through the middle of the piece.

A similar racing stripe created serious drama and contrast on the beautifully proportioned Oliver Swivel Chair {below}. At only 26.5″ wide, this chair is perfect for a condo or any other small dwelling in which space is at a premium. Tidy on dimensions, huge on style.

As a third-generation family-run company, CR Laine has grown into a full service upholstered furniture manufacturer producing totally customizable, bench-made pieces. What does that mean? Well for starters, they are extremely committed to environmental sustainability using sustainably harvested hardwoods for all of their kiln-dried frames. They use only water-based wood adhesives that are VOC-free, and even the eight-way hand-tied coil springs are made from 50% recycled metal. Seat decks and trim pads are made from 80% regenerated fibres and they use as much soy in the content of their foam as they possibly can without there being any issues with breakdown of composition over time. They even offer a lifetime warranty on the frames of their pieces!

Seating can be customized with envelope cushions {down/feather wrapped foam core} and bench seats {one solid seat cushion on sofas} which makes this designer very, very happy. Interesting headboard profiles and Custom nailhead details {available on chairs and sofas as well as headboards} make customization a dream. Want to bring a little bit of Steve McQueen runway fashion into your home décor? Not a problem.

{Translation: CR Laine clearly understands a designer’s need to personalize each piece for their client’s unique homes and tastes. Customization is de rigeur for this amazing upholstery manufacturer.}

I loved this Mad Men-esque, mid-century throwback arm chair – an incredibly comfortable and undeniably stylish statement piece.

And speaking of comfort, I found the dream nursery chair in CR Laine‘s beautiful showroom. The Heath Swivel Glider {below} has classic, modern lines that are married with what is honestly the most comfortable sit on a glider chair I’ve ever experienced. The swivel glider mechanism is not only seamless integrated into the design of the chair, but it also functions so fluidly that I have no doubt it rocks both parent and child to sleep effortlessly.

Given the timelessness of the design, this is also a chair that would transition out of a nursery and into any living room or family room design plan effortlessly, making it a practical and satisfying long-term investment. CR Laine‘s fabric selections are also impressive, including exclusive Sunbrella textures and prints and their own Infinesse performance fabric options. Oh yes, and remember all of those amazing details I shared about CR Laine‘s sustainable and environmentally responsible construction? It all adds up to make for one very happy designing mama.

You really don’t have to give up quality construction and environmental integrity for comfort, style and design. Cue Survivor’s 1985 synth-driven hit power ballad, because friends, the search is over. I have definitely found everything I was looking for, all in one chair.

{You can thank me later for having that awesome song stuck in your head for the rest of the day.}

xo
s.

PS – Stay tuned in the weeks to come for more of my favourites from High Point Market!

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|October 23rd, 2013|0 Comments

Suzanne Tucker Interiors | The Romance of Design

{Photo by Matthew Millman}

A gorgeous new design volume released yesterday, and I am beyond delighted to be sharing it with you. Suzanne Tucker Interiors: The Romance of Design pays homage to the love language of details. Offering entrée into exquisitely and elegantly designed private residences, this inviting and engaging volume chronicles the refined and sophisticated work of Architectural Digest AD100 Designer Suzanne Tucker of San Francisco’s Tucker & Marks.

{Photo by Matthew Millman}

{Photo by Vera Vandenbosch}

This beautiful book really is a study in the lost art of the mix. Each space feels as though it is a carefully curated story, each chapter artfully describing the journeys and experiences of a lifetime. And it is no wonder, for this highly refined “art of the mix” is a cornerstone to Suzanne Tucker’s design philosophy.

“My passion is for design, and for using all of the elements of design and the decorative arts to create homes that are personal portraits of my clients,” says Suzanne.

{Photo by Matthew Millman}

For the design obsessed, Tucker’s beautiful book is also a study in the spectacular use of architectural mouldings, exquisite floor details, stunning woodwork, custom cabinetry, fine art, luxurious materials and a vast array of antiques and modern furniture pieces expertly balanced to create these sophisticated yet approachable spaces. Far from austere or museum-like, these spaces invite, engage, evoke and compel, creating the context for lives lived with ease and elegance.

{Photo by Edward Addeo}

{Photo by Matthew Millman}

The spaces featured in this visually stunning book range from classic to contemporary and from casual to formal with a look inside an art-filled contemporary townhouse, a Normandy-style country estate and even a massive mountain lodge, to name just a few. It is the sort of volume one returns to again and again to soak in the details and to learn from one of the most recognized interior designers in the United States.

Be sure to check out Suzanne Tucker’s line of textiles and tabletop at Suzanne Tucker Home as well, available through luxury showrooms and stores across the US.

Wishing you a detailed and delightful Wednesday!

xo
s.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|October 16th, 2013|0 Comments

Getting Sexy + Bold with Black and Gold : How to Infuse Some Glamour Into Your Interior

Confession time. I have found myself increasingly drawn to the bold and sexy palette of black and gold of late, and here’s my theory: Knowing that I am about to have a second boy and will thus be officially outnumbered for the rest of my life, I’ve been craving ways to infuse more femininity into our home. Not the typical pink and frills, though. No, the kind of femininity that is strong and sexy and holds its own when married with masculine details as well. The kind of feminine that makes both men and women feel strong and safe in its context. So, I thought I’d pull together a little inspiration board of a living room concept that has all the elements I’m looking for.

First, the art. Art does so much to set the stage. It is really the soul of the space in so many ways, and I’m in love with these pieces I found at Art Interiors, especially the dramatic flowers on the black canvas by Madeleine Lamont.

{Painting by Madeleine Lamont}

{Painting by Maya Foltyn}

{Painting by Lindsay Chambers}

There are so many amazing pieces in this inspiration board! Take for instance this stunning Matis armchair from Brabbu.

There are so many details about this piece that have me swooning – the curvaceous lines, the tufted outside back, the Macassar Ebony deck and legs, the dramatic reptile print velvet. To my eye it marries masculinity and femininity in one sexy statement piece. Spectacular!

I’m also completely head-over-heels in love with the organic yet utterly dramatic Sequoia Center Table, also from Brabbu. Like any strong woman, this piece is a force of nature and glamour.

Inspired by the largest and tallest tree in the world, the wood veneer top and brass “bark” are nothing short of drool-worthy.

Next, the Cobblehill Sofa from ABC Home – it is both soft and modern with its clean lines and decadent velvet upholstery and the soft gold offers the perfect feminine contrast to the dramatic black chairs.

Toss on a couple of black Mongolian lamb fur pillows, add a hit of studded leather for good measure and then create a custom cushion with this stunning Kelly Wearstler gold serpent linen from Groundworks to finish the bold and sexy look.

{Mark my words, I will be working this Kelly Wearstler print into my home in the coming days!}

For side tables, I love the bold yet simple Martini Side Table from West Elm…

…offset by the tribal Abaidoo Stool from Pfeiffer Studio.

Throw in a hit of animal magnetism with sexy legs with a pair of Neta Benches from Oly Studio:

Light it up with the organic, edgy and glamorous Linden Chandelier by Charles de Lisle {already on my wish list}…

…and a graphic Serge Mouille one arm floor lamp…

…and then ground it all with a classic Moroccan Ben Ourain rug…

…and I’d say you’ve got yourself a pretty darn sexy, feminine and fabulous space!

What do you think? Are you into the high-contrast and drama of a black and gold palette? What are your favourite ways to infuse femininity into your space without going all pink and frills?

Hope my musings have left you inspired and thinking about what it means to be a strong, sexy and feminine woman.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|October 15th, 2013|2 Comments