Erskine Chair: Why it Works
Posted on September 7, 2012 by jbutler in Fashion and Design, Trendy Tips
We love the fashion blog Who What Wear for so many reasons it’s difficult to list them all. But, we’ll start with this week’s “Why it Works” breakdown of Emma Stone’s trench coat as just one them.
The fashion blog Who What Wear breaks down why this fashion trend works
Just like Who What Wear’s tips to a simple and chic fall outfit, designing a functional, stylish room is a mix of classic pieces and clean details. Here is our breakdown of the Erskine Chair and why it works.
Our Erskine Chair
Timeless Upholstery: The chair’s tweed-inspired chenille upholstery is a classic. Super soft and super versatile, the Erskine Chair is neither too masculine nor feminine and, with the right accessories, looks great in any style room.
Simple Details: Forest green velvet piping highlights the Erskine’s subtle wingback design and adds definition to the form. Add in some tufting and buttons in the same rich green color, and we have a winning combination of subtle sophistication.
Geometric Accessories: Chocolate brown and crisp white geometric throw pillows are the perfect accessory. Eye-catching, but not overwhelming, the pillows’ upholstery complements the Erskine’s plaid design and adds just a touch of pizzaz!
Geometric throw pillows are the perfect accessory
These are a just few tips for achieving a timeless look in your home. We hope you can take these ideas and make them your own. Happy designing!
Design 101: Back-to-School Basics
Posted on August 31, 2012 by jbutler in Trendy Tips
It’s that time of year again: the first day of school. So, what better time than now to re-share some design tips from Drexel designer Denise Alala on how to create the perfect workspace for homework? Happy studying!
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!
Menswear Revival
Posted on August 23, 2012 by jbutler in Fashion and Design
As we’ve seen in previous blogs like Peplum Prediction, Tribal Time and Color Blocking, Again, design often gathers influence from fashion trends. But inspiration doesn’t strictly come from women’s fashion. Menswear has a commanding influence on designs at Drexel Heritage, including our new Vintage Originals collection.
Details like embossed leather drawer fronts bring a masculine polished look to traditional pieces like our Haberdashery Chest. The lighter scale drawer nightstand can double as an end table and offers a classic functional element to any room with a refined genteel style.
Our Haberdashery Chest
Custom upholstery options in rich colors and timeless patterns and textures offer the tailored look of menswear fashion in your home. Designed to mix and meld, Vintage Originals allows you to blend the tough and manly with the flirty and feminine. Our Wilhelm Sofa features a masculine silhouette, rounded out by its feminine button-tufted sides.
Our Wilhelm Sofa
Similarly, the Cartwright Sofa has a curvaceous, feminine shape perfectly complemented with leather embellishments.
Our Cartwright Sofa
And of course, we can’t forget our Pate Chair with rough, wire-brushed leather juxtaposed by a softer blue tweed. It is the ideal showpiece of melding elements that make up the New South – traditional but modern, masculine yet refined.
Our Pate Chair
Finishes are the final touch that makes our menswear-inspired pieces so stirring. Our glazed cordovan finish features a rich warm brown with dynamic texture. Layer upon layer of hand-rubbed stain creates a multi-faceted look that is completely one-of-a-kind.
Vintage Originals Nightstand in our glazed cordovan finish
Have you already incorporated menswear influence into your design? How are you using tweed and leather to create a refined look?
Vintage Originals
Posted on August 16, 2012 by jbutler in Fashion and Design
From music to fashion to food, classic southern staples are getting a whole new look, blending old traditions with modern and elegant details. Restaurants like Georgia Brown’s in Washington, D.C. and Gravy in New York City have welcomed this idea of the “New South,” reinventing classic southern dishes with fresh ingredients and a contemporary spin.
We, too, have embraced the New South and have used its inspiration to create something completely new for Drexel Heritage. Unlike any collection we have ever designed before, we’re excited to introduce Vintage Originals.
What is Vintage Originals? It’s your grandfather’s antique end table and your new floral armchair coming together to create the perfect reading nook. It’s the traditional chest custom finished with a bright paint, mixing traditional form and modern color to create the interesting juxtaposition of old world elegance and new world style.
It’s the perfect marriage of yesterday and today. Vintage Originals takes traditional forms and modernizes its details to create the perfect mixture of old and new in its designs. Pieces like the Vintage Originals china cabinet and secretary (which doubles as a bar) give you the freedom to mix your grandmother’s class with your sass to create your own interpretation of what it means to live in the New South.
Our Vintage Originals Secretary
While the Vintage Originals dining table features a traditional rectangular tabletop accented with modern square legs for the ideal balance of classic chic.
Our Vintage Originals Dining Table
So, are you up for the challenge? We’d love to hear how you are redefining your traditions to create a fresh new look in your home!
What’s New This Season: Part II
Posted on August 9, 2012 by jbutler in Fashion and Design
If you read our last blog, then you know we’ve been unveiling several new customizable collections for your home. We’ve already told you about new ways to get creative with kitchen designs, so next we’re going to share our new options collections for the living room.
Without further ado, we’d like to introduce new custom ottoman options. Select from varying shapes and fabrics to design a functional and stylish footstool for your living room, like the Stautner Ottoman in this beautiful python-inspired upholstery.
Our Stautner Ottoman
The beauty of our custom ottoman options is that you have the ability to create an ottoman that is uniquely you! Here our Keeshan Ottoman is the perfect match between classic and trendy with simple tufting and modern metallic upholstery.
Our Keeshan Ottoman
Or, try that same Keeshan Ottoman in a slate gray velvet upholstery with clean piping and feet for a completely different look!
Our Keeshan Ottoman
We’d also like to introduce our new upholstered bistro tables. Design and function marry to create a fresh take on a piece of classic furniture. An added bonus is that upholstery options are also available in our super versatile, multi-functional Sunbrella fabrics, which makes cleaning a breeze!
What’s your favorite new look this season?
What’s New this Season
Posted on August 2, 2012 by jbutler in Fashion and Design
From new colors to trends to styles, we’ve seen a lot of great ideas and designs in the furniture world of late. One of our favorite features this season? Drexel Heritage’s stylish new dining options with custom features that allow you to create rooms perfectly suited to your family’s needs.
Our new Gourmet Dining collection is all about customization. Choose between different bases, tabletops, chairs and finishes to create a table setting where countless family memories and traditions can be made. Select a stone tabletop for a more modern look or choose a glass tabletop and intricate pedestal to create a comfortable room for entertaining.
Our Violetta Pedestal Table Base
Next up: the finish. Our new glazed cordovan stain exudes elegance and strikes the right balance between rich masculine color and sophisticated feminine appeal. Going for a more casual dining experience? Our Aged Dove Grey finish lends rustic country manner charm.
After selecting the perfect table, mix and meld fabrics, trims and finishes to create chairs that perfectly complement. Channel your inner designer and craft custom dining seating for your home. Make your table even more unique by mixing up seating options like picking two different, but coordinating, upholstery options to use for your chairs.
Our Provence Arm Chair
Food brings the whole family together, don’t you think? We’d love to hear your favorite family memory or tradition from around the kitchen table!
Design Dictionary
Posted on July 27, 2012 by jbutler in Design Dictionary
Looking for that perfect chair to add style and, most importantly, comfortable seating to your living room? Then look no further than this week’s Design Dictionary term – the wingback chair, a large, often overstuffed chair with sidepieces attached to the sides of the back known as “ears” or “wings.” With its distinct style, it can give a sophisticated twist to any room without sacrificing any of the comfort that you are seeking.
For a classic wingback that will add traditional flare to your room, try our Leighton Chair. Elegant feet and custom upholstery create a refined style, while the characteristically over-stuffed cushions and wings create a seat so comfortable you’ll never want to get up. For more masculine appeal, upholster the Leighton Chair and matching ottoman in a rich brown leather that any man would approve.
Our Leighton Chair
Try the Stansfield Chair to add a more sophisticated vibe to your room (picture dark mahogany, plenty of book shelves and dim lighting). Beautiful nailhead trim accents the leather and adds just enough detail to complement the chair’s attention-grabbing shape.
Our Stansfield Chair
While the wingback is traditionally used in the living room, we love the idea of using a smaller wingback for dining seating. Our Bialy Chair puts a modern spin on this classic when used in a dining room setting. Smaller in shape and sans arms, the Bialy Chair is just the right size to fit around the table and creates a comfortable, chic style. Short on space in your dining room or kitchen? Try adding a small wingback chair just at the heads of the table to cut back on bulk without sacrificing any of the style.
Our Bialy Chair
Mix It Up!
Posted on July 18, 2012 by jbutler in Fashion and Design, Trendy Tips
It’s time to mix it up this summer! Think stripes and floral, polka dots and plaid, houndstooth and animal print. Do we sound crazy yet? Once considered a fashion faux pas, mixing patterns is now a lively trend that is all about experimentation and creativity. The trick is to use patterns from the same color family and designs that won’t compete, like these looks from the fashion and crafting blog Say Yes to Hoboken.
Liz Stanley from Say Yes to Hoboken mixes it up!
The best part about this trend? You can mix and meld pieces you already own to create a revamped style without breaking the bank.
As you know, fashion trends are often mirrored in design, and mixing patterns is no exception! This trend creates depth in any room, and at Drexel Heritage, our designer Denise Alala is always introducing fun and unexpected twists on traditional furniture upholstery.
By mixing patterns, a single piece of furniture can add flair to any room in your house. Try the striped Holloway Sleep Sofa with elegant patterned throw pillows for an effortlessly chic design.
Our Holloway Sleep Sofa
Or, for a complete room makeover, try contrasting our Millington Chair with plaid curtains for a polished, pulled-together look.
Our Millington Chair
Mixing patterns is the perfect trend to build off what you already own. Mix and meld new and old furniture to create a look that is more collected than decorated. If you already own a neutral sofa, try adding our Runway Chair in houndstooth accented with a bright floral throw pillow to give your room an unexpected pop of style.
Our Runway Chair
So, we must ask – are you up for the challenge? How will you mix patterns in your home?
Monogram It!
Posted on July 11, 2012 by jbutler in Fashion and Design, Trendy Tips
It’s time to get personal – with monograms, that is! A little individualization can go a long way to create a signature style that is completely yours in both fashion and design. We love the Max & Chloe monogrammed earrings as the finishing touch to a preppy, classic ensemble, and the J.Crew linen shirt with an added monogram is the perfect summer cover-up or casual weekend outfit.
Monograms are also being used by our talented upholstery designers for fun, but classic home décor. The custom-embroidered Clair Chair is a timeless piece that will enhance your dining or living room with an upscale, traditional look.
Our Clair Chair
Or, if you’re looking for a modern twist, try the Elaine Chair. The clean lines and bold stitching exude confidence and sophistication, and are the perfect balance to the bright upholstery of our Console Table.
Our Elaine Chair
For accent pieces, monogram decorative accessories like throw pillows, duvet covers, blankets or candles. This is a trend that will never go out of style!
We can’t get enough of the monogram craze here at Drexel Heritage. Won’t you join us? How do you plan to personalize your home?
Can You “Sea” Nautical in Your Home?
Posted on July 6, 2012 by jbutler in Fashion and Design
“Anchors aweigh” has a whole new meaning this summer with nautical-inspired trends taking over the runway and yacht club alike. We’re seeing everything from monkey knots to anchors to patriotic red, white and blue looks. We love this Ralph Lauren striped jacket with brass buttons, paired with trendy red cropped pants for a sophisticated approach to fashion.
Our designers at Drexel Heritage can’t get enough of this revived, bold look and are incorporating seaside trends into functional pieces for your home. The Selat Mirror is the perfect accessory for any room with its modern take on the elegant “rope look.”
Our Selat Mirror
The brass links on the Filigree Side Table compliment the dark wood finish for a complete and en vogue furniture piece.
Our Filigree Side Table
The key to nautical décor is to keep it clean and simple, which is why we love the beautiful Daughtry Sofa. The white sofa with blue trim and tufting is just enough to add a pop of color without going overboard.
Our Daughtry Sofa
If you’re ready to jump right in to the nautical trend, try adding a splash of red to your bedroom with our Urban Contemporary Bed.
Our Urban Contemporary Bed
Can you “sea” how to incorporate the nautical trend into your home? We’d love to hear you design ideas!