Free Patterns

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Built With Care

Today Boyfriend and I are headed over to pick up my first piece of Stickley furniture!
Yes, I am a furniture snob. Hate cheap furniture. Would rather live without. Have searched for years to find just the right pieces to go in each room. It took almost 15 years to find the dining room furniture I have. But I love it!
My bedroom furniture? Same thing. For years my bed was a bed frame with a box spring and ma tress thrown over the top of it. Finally, after years of searching - 18 years to be exact - I found the perfect cherry sleigh bed. Now, 5 years later, I am still searching for the perfect accompaniments for the sleigh.
The furniture in the parlor is perfect as well. A huge overstuffed leather sofa and easy chair with an ottoman. An antique oak trunk for a coffee table. Simple, makes a statement, not over done.
But, I digress. Today is Stickley day! On Mother's Day, the Boyfriend and I took a ride. (I love riding through the NY state countryside.) Our wanderings took us over to Fayetteville where the Stickley showroom sits in an out of the way corner of a strip mall. We walked in and meandered about - the Boyfriend gazing and making comments about certain pieces, me drooling over everything. I had to jerk my leash back and think about what I needed in my home. Can't have it all!
To make a long story short, we purchased an entertainment cabinet to place in the front parlor. And, Stickley isn't the all assembly-lined, boxed in a warehouse, waiting to be purchased type of furniture! You see it. You say you want it. You select the wood. You select the finish. You pay...yes you pay, sorry. The sales person - for us the lovely Carmelita is our assigned salesperson. (yes, she is ours until she no longer works there) takes our order. Carmeltia explains the time it takes to construct it. The craftsman in the factory builds it. The factory sales person calls you when it is finished.
Truly handcrafted furniture. Made by hand in central New York state by someone who cares! Hand rubbed, solid wood. The kind of furniture that not only retains its value, but increases in value over time. An heirloom. The kind of thing you purchase to take care of for your children, whether they want it or not.
I believe I must have all my children over for the holidays so they can fight over who gets it when the parentals move on to greener pastures. Or maybe I will just tell them who gets this piece and get a few more pieces...I like that idea better.
I also believe I will take my knitting along for the ride to pick up my precious cargo.
Pics will be added later this afternoon - check back

5 comments:

CatR said...

I'm with you on carefully choosing furniture. Recently I've had the superglue out, sticking back veneers! Hope you love your furniture when it's ready.

Gina said...

At least I come by my disdain for prefabricated furniture honestly... And yet I love IKEA. Go figure!

Boondock Ma (Kim's Mom) said...

LOL The little message up top says my comment was published. And I hadn't even started yet! I guess it likes me!

Your newest purchase sounds wonderful, as does all the other furniture you described. I really like the idea of an antique chest for a coffee table!

Our furnishings, for the most part are basic early American garage sale but, like you, I appreciate good furniture, so what we have will do me until I happen across the perfect replacements, even if it takes me a life time (and it very well might! LOL) In the meantime, the search is fun..
I'm looking forward to seeing the photos later on!

Sigrun said...

I'm with you. DH and I have been married 43 years, and still don't have matching bedroom furniture. We bought a lovely pine, hand?-carved king-sized waterbed in 1978, but our 10'x11' bedroom didn't have room for the matching dressers, so we passed. Then we bought new birch dept. store furniture for the kids' bedrooms. When they flew the nest, we gave them our old mismatched bedroom dressers and took their "new" furniture. I've been visiting a lovely (can't make up my mind between oak or maple) suite, not hand-made, but made in Canada, made to order suite--but i want to paint the room first. I'm stopping now, this sounds like a good blog post.

Fran said...

I'm with you when it comes to buying furniture. Please post pictures when you get it.