Wood goes with everything

I was in the midst of shifting furniture around to make room for my Christmas tree, with the help of a friend. When we moved my beloved curly maple end table next to my cherry tv credenza, she made a comment about my mismatched wood, "Why didn't you, of all people, build a credenza that matched the rest of the pieces?" she asked. I looked around the room and didn't see anything that didn't work, but then, I'm an eclectic. So, I asked her why she thought all the wood pieces in the room had to come from the same type of tree. We stared at each other in one of those Mars/Venus kinds of moments. It never occurred to me that putting cherry with maple could be considered like pairing stripes and plaids. I believe that wood's natural beauty and the common thread of the grain make them symbiotic, regardless of species. I asked around and discovered that most designers agreed with my take. Wood goes with wood. Wood, in fact, goes with everything. If you want to step outside the confines of convention, add an accent piece of a contrasting wood and see how it adds lie to the room.

Get a move on!

You can get very bored with a room — same thing, day in, day out — but not your furniture, if you buy classic styles that are well made. So, if you're feeling a little antsy and need a change, try moving what you have. Are you one of those "up against the wall" decorators? Well, give your furnishings a parole. Try placing an upholstered chair at an angle in a corner and create a reading nook. Move out your sofa, and put a sofa table behind it to add dimension. Break one room into two smaller areas, like a game table and conversation pit. Move your sectional, maybe breaking it into two smaller sofas. And, if you want a bigger change, add one new piece, whether it's a lamp, a different coffee table, a mirror, or an accent table. In my house, we seem to have an unwritten rule that as son as I can navigate the furniture in the dark without banging my shin, it's time to move things.

Afterglow or aftermath?

"Black Friday" sounds so ominous, like a disaster movie. And "Cyber Monday" seems like it should be a marauding video game. And with the horrific tragedy at WalMart in New York where impatient crowds trampled a security guard whose only crime was opening a door for them, maybe the concept of a shopping vigilante is not too far from reality. We are in tough economic times, and holiday shoppers are hungry for a bargain, but I have to wonder if retailers are feeding into this frenzy with the pre-dawn shopping extravaganzas and limited offers that are designed to turn consumers into sharks. Let's not forget what the holidays are really about. It is a time to celebrate the spirit of giving, one that has nothing to do with cheap televisions, laptops, and gaming systems. It's about giving of yourself, not your cash reserves. This season, please stop and take the time to do something kind for someone who will truly appreciate it. Donate a gift to Toys for Tots or your local shelter for victims of domestic abuse. Take some pet food to the humane society in your area. Spend an hour at a nursing home reminding the residents that someone cares. In the words of my beloved Linus, "That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown!"

Get your own private craftsman.

When I started ClearLake Furniture in 1992, I wanted the company to be different. I decided that it was important to have one craftsman handle a project all the way from wood selection to the final touches, rather than having an assembly line process where one person does the cutting, another does assembly, and someone else handles the finishing. This approach helped with quality control, but I also found that a craftsperson takes pride in creating a piece this way. They enjoy being hands-on, using their various skills, and not pigeon-holed into a single task that can get monotonous. Every ClearLake Furniture piece is a unique creation because we customize our furniture and craft every item to a customer's specifications. So, every project is a little different than the last. Some have more challenges, but our woodworkers tell me they enjoy that. I've watched them pick through the wood with a customer to find just the right pieces, with the grain or color they want. They get excited knowing that this raw material will become an heirloom in their skilled hands. When a piece is finished, the craftsman signs and dates it, adding the customer's name, because he has pride in the family heirloom he just completed. How many businesses are confident enough in their work to sign it? And I don't mean "Inspector 17". Wouldn't you feel a connection to that individual whose hands created your product? Doesn't it feel better to know that a person, not a machine, is on the other end? I thought so, and I still do.