Design 101: Back-to-School Basics

Posted on August 26, 2011 by jbutler in Trendy Tips

The first day of school is like New Year’s Day. Just ask any parent – like Denise Alala, our chief fashion guru and mother of two. In celebration of this “new year,” we asked Denise to share some resolutions on how to make homework a little less like work (for everybody):

Idea #1: Workspaces need to be flexible and so do you.

Don’t limit your hardworking student’s creativity by confining homework to one room or one spot. Today, everyone is a multi-tasker, especially your kids. Be happy homework is happening anywhere! Denise recommends keeping things uncluttered and ready for work, just in case. It could be an oversized ottoman in the living room or rugs and pillows on the floor. Denise says, all space is workspace!

Idea #2: Take one for the team!

Be open to group workspaces, as school projects are often team-oriented (kids learn about collaboration early)! This means the kitchen or dining room table should be ready for work on a  whim. Denise works hard (it looks effortless) to make her house kid-friendly and welcoming. And it’s great to be the hub, she says. You don’t have to wonder where your kids are!

Idea #3: Embrace battle scars; they’re memories.

If your dream home is perfectly appointed with every item in place, “get over it” advises Denise. We love fine furniture and beautiful interiors,  but we love our kids more. “Furniture is for living,” to quote Denise directly. Accidents will happen. Follow furniture care tips and embrace the little nick or smudge of tempera paint. It’s a memory in the making.

And while learning can happen anywhere, we can’t forget the classic desk and chair combo. Denise recommends the Bailey Desk paired with a custom upholstered chair. A dynamic duo for homework for kids and parents alike.

We hope these tips will inspire you to create a home environment where learning is not only the norm – it’s fun. Class dismissed!

Channel Your Inner Designer

Posted on August 18, 2011 by jbutler in Fashion and Design

So, you’ve stumbled across a beautiful sofa frame, chair style, table or chest that you’d love to take home to live happily ever after with your other furniture … only if it were in a deeper, darker finish, or had a track arm instead of a rolled arm, or a skirt set off by nail trim instead of exposed legs. Don’t settle for a less-than-perfect piece! Customize it to reflect your own personal style.

Choose from our colorful palette of 40-plus custom wood and paint finishes, and more than 1,500 fabrics, leathers and trims. Options abound including a variety of base profiles, seat and back options, and arm and pillow styles. The opportunities for customization and personalization are nearly limitless.

After you’ve selected your must-have pieces, use the interactive draping tool on our website to choose from our endless selection of frame, body, pillow and trim applications. Let your imagination run wild. Enjoy the opportunity to experiment. It’s a lot fun! Be bold and mix and match patterns and textures.

Add a flirty skirt or a modern nail treatment. Be creative with welt and cord applications. We challenge you to go outside of your comfort zone. And hey, who knows, you might just surprise yourself by falling love with a color combination or fabric you’d never thought possible.

We did some experimenting of our own and included a few of our latest creations.

Design Dictionary: Marquetry

Posted on August 12, 2011 by jbutler in Design Dictionary

Marquetry is a term often used in the fine furniture world, but what, exactly, does it mean? While its exact origins are unknown, it is believed to have first appeared in Egyptian palaces around 350 B.C.

This intricate technique involves cutting a design out of a veneered surface and then inserting and gluing a contrasting material, such as woods of a different grain, figure or color, to appear flush with the surrounding surface. Our Holloway Chest of Drawers from our Et Cetera collection is a fine example of this highly-involved craft.

And while we’re on the letter M, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention our design philosophy of mixing and melding. In our last blog post, we gave you a sneak peek at our newest ad in the September issue of Architectural Digest featuring pieces from our Dalliance and At Home in the Wine Country collections. If you haven’t seen it, be sure to check it out here!

Mix and Meld

Posted on August 5, 2011 by jbutler in Trendy Tips

The September edition of Architectural Digest is about to break! In addition to terrific stories and ideas from our friends at the magazine, you’ll want to check out the Drexel Heritage ad on page 44. Here’s a sneak peak for our readers. The storyline? Getting a look that’s your own is all about mixing and melding – the Drexel Heritage way.

Denise Alala, our resident creative visionary, explained the idea behind the “melding approach.” With so many great items to choose from, plus more than 40 custom wood and paint finishes, and 1,500-plus custom fabric, leather and trim options, she couldn’t help but ask, “Why merely match when you can meld?”

Denise on set

Our behind-the-scenes shot shows Denise at work, mixing and melding unique pieces from Drexel’s new  Dalliance collection along with very earthy (yet sophisticated) pieces from At Home in Wine Country, also a brand new collection. Denise  specified a bold fabric for two of our custom upholstered chairs and added several contrasting throw pillows to complete the look. You can actually see some of the design process revealed in the magazine ad, as we’ve recreated an idea board that shows how the process unfolds, piece by piece, detail by detail.

The result? A beautiful landscape of self-expression.