Eclectic Dining: Our Favorite Ways to Mix Dining Chairs

Everywhere you look these days, it seems dining chairs are being mixed and matched to create an eclectic look in the dining room. Whether your style is traditional, modern, bohemian or rustic, this trend works across all aesthetics.  Here is our favorite tip (and a few favorite articles) to help you easily achieve this curated look in your dining room.  

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NYCxDesign: Our Favorite Finds from BKLYN Designs

It's NYCxDesign Week here in NYC - a city-wide celebration of all things design. There are hundreds of events that give us the opportunity to see aspirational interior designs as well as the chance to do some serious Furn(iture) Scouting for our clients. To start, we kicked things off at Brooklyn Designs, a design fair focused on spotlighting Brooklyn-made home furnishings.

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3 Simple Ways To Be Earth-friendly When Re-designing Your Space

The Jax table by Jory Brigham Design. Image Source: Jory Brigham Design

The Jax table by Jory Brigham Design. Image Source: Jory Brigham Design

As you may have heard, today is Earth Day.  One of the best ways to celebrate is to look for ways that we can all be more earth conscious in our everyday lives - not just today. A great opportunity to do this is when refreshing the look of your home.  Whether you’re sprucing up your space for spring or gutting your place and starting from scratch, here are 3 truly simple ways to be environmentally-friendly in your re-design. 

Choose sustainable furniture brands

Finding new, sustainably-sourced, environmentally friendly furnishings is easier than ever.  Many large retail brands (including Crate + Barrel) now carry FSC–certified lines in addition to their traditional furniture lines.  Plus, there are a plethora of local and online retailers that offer exclusively sustainable furnishing options.  Try Brooklyn-based Urban Green Furniture, CA craftsman Jory Brigham, made-in-USA Lee Industries or family-run Copeland Furniture... or visit http://www.sustainablefurnishings.org for a lengthy list of sustainable furniture brands. 

The Mid Century Modern Couch via Urban Green Furniture. Image Source: Urban Green Furniture

The Mid Century Modern Couch via Urban Green Furniture. Image Source: Urban Green Furniture

The Catalina Dining Collection via Copeland Furniture. Image Source: Copeland Furniture 

The Catalina Dining Collection via Copeland Furniture. Image Source: Copeland Furniture 

Purchase previously-loved furniture

Whether your budget calls for high-end furnishings or wallet-friendly finds, there are tons of opportunities to buy fabulous second hand furniture on-line. Not sure where to start?  Try this list:

Viyet: Here you’ll find pre-owned, high-end designer furnishings for 50-80% off retail, all available for immediate delivery. 

AptDeco: Based in NYC and promising a positive buying and selling experience for its users, AptDeco.com now delivers pre-owned furniture to Boston, D.C., and Philly as well. 

Etsy: A solid go-to for vintage and refurbished furniture, Etsy has many shops devoted re-selling used furniture and, in many cases, it comes revamped with beautiful modern fabrics and paint treatments that bring these vintage pieces back to life.

eBay + Craigs list: These two standbys still have a wide variety of furnishings available at all price points.  For example, we found this fabulous, gently used midcentury couch and chair set from Kelly Hopper by Century on Craigslist.  (Hurry and get it! For Earth Day!)

HD BUTTERCUP COWHIDE CHAIRS via Viyet.  Image Source: Viyet

HD BUTTERCUP COWHIDE CHAIRS via Viyet.  Image Source: Viyet

LAZZONI L SECTIONAL SOFA BED IN GREY via AptDeco.com. Image Source: AptDeco

LAZZONI L SECTIONAL SOFA BED IN GREY via AptDeco.com. Image Source: AptDeco

Refurbish what you’ve got

Sometimes a coat of paint, new feet or some decorative touches like new knobs or overlays will make a world of difference to your old pieces. Reupholstering chairs and couches or sometimes just  adding new decorative pillows can really transform a piece as well. 

Let us know how you choose to add some eco to your home’s update!  In the meantime, we will be busy shopping….

Cheers!

E + M

Why we love a chic, simple dining room

Pinterest is a great source of inspiration when you're looking to design your home. At Spruce + Furn, we pin a lot of aspirational rooms to help clients discover what styles they like. One pin that we've seen "re-pinned" from our board over and over again is a very simple, Scandinavian-inspired dining room featured on Apartment Therapy.  At first we were surprised, but here is why we think this chic, simple dining room is inspiring the masses. 

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How to Define A Room

One of the most sought-after apartment layouts is the open loft.  With no walls to block light or take up precious square inches, there is a lot to love about living in a loft.  However, one of the frequent struggles with living in an open floor plan can be defining where areas begin and end. Here are easy 4 tips to help you define your space! 

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