Barewood Furniture

So, let’s get down to business, and to the real meat of what this blog is about. If you’ve read my profile, by now you know that I work for Barewood Furniture in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and that I have a pretty varied design background.  The main reason that I started this blog is to let the public know about Barewood, and what design services we offer.  Although Barewood started over 17 years ago as a ‘bare wood’ furniture store, we have grown, moved, grown, moved again, and grown some more, and are now located in a 10000 s.f. showroom at the corner of 11^th and Fort William Rd. 

Although the name has remained the same, what has changed are the varied home furnishings that we carry. We have upholstered furniture, which you can buy from the floor, or from a catalogue, as well as bedroom suites, accent pieces, rugs, and now drapes and blinds. There is a lot to see, and we are constantly updating our stock, so I strongly urge you to stop in and see me, or any of the very helpful staff at Barewood, and see how we can help you. I will periodically post bits of info about the many many many different lines that we carry, and how these can be incorporated and used to finish any room.

The lost art of the design sketch...



From schematiclife.blogspot.com
Image by Michelle Morlan


I started designing as soon as I could hold a pencil. Co-incidence? Not neccessarily. I've always found that the two go hand in hand, and have never quite understood how one can bring their ideas to life without having some ability to draw them, even if only for themselves.
In surfing around for some new material for my new (very, very new, with much, much, MUCH room for improvement) I came accross this very interesting blog by a very talented Interior Designer, who happens to share my love of sketching. Her name is Michelle Morelan and her blog is called "A Schematic Life". She says


"I had a discussion with a design professional the other day. He was saying that he overheard a seminar of designers talking about the act of drawing and how it’s attached to the design process. One designer in the crowd said that they don’t draw, and never have, and didn’t see the importance of it. The rest of the room disagreed, and lumped the skill of drawing directly to the process of design.

I personally, don’t know many designers that can sell a concept to a client without some type of drawing as part of the presentation. It’s a designer’s chance to look at the details, work out standard dims to address budget issues, and check proportion. I depend on my hand, experience and intuition, which comes from putting pen to paper.

When you hire a designer, please appreciate all of the hours that go into lining things up perfectly, into appropriate specifications of FF&E (furniture, fixtures and equipment), and perspective drawings that show you how the surfaces will work together.

So, I would say WHAT? Design without drawing? How did you arrive at the design plan? How do you get your client to sign off…and where is the joy in the process? I have just seen too many filler panels between bathroom vanities and bathtubs to be convinced otherwise. Work it out on paper first."


It is the designer or decorator's ability which will help to eliminate needless mistakes in any project, and will help to create spaces that the client has envisioned, but has never been clearly able to communicate.  When the chemistry is right between the designer/decorator and the client, and the d/d is listening, and is able to communicate back to the client through sketch, even if very rough, beautiful things can happen. Something as simple as sketching out an alternate floorplan, or showing the proportions of a piece of art in relation to a fireplace, can be those details that lead a home to design greatness.  Or at least to look like someone was paying attention!
So get sharpen those pencils and get to sketching everyone!!!

Simply Amish = Simply Divine!

To see the full line of Simply Amish Furniture, download the online catalogue at www.simplyamish.com


Amish in the City.
The Simply Amish story begins in the 1970s, an era when bellbottoms and short shorts could be spotted just about everywhere. Except in good Amish homes where, ironically, the children were finally thanking their parents for not letting them dress like everybody else. Across the nation, a new age of convenience had arrived. Microwave ovens were becoming commonplace. And fashion-forward housewives were ordering the latest kitchen appliances in a wide range of deceptively tasteful sounding colors, like Avocado Green and Harvest Gold. But in a time of amazing change and progress, no one in the city could pick up a beautiful piece of Amish furniture without a long trip to the country. Until a couple of guys from the country came up with a novel idea.

It all started in 1979, when Kevin Kauffman and his brothers joined their dad, learning the finer points of furniture construction on the family farm. Putting his experience to good use, Kevin soon joined forces with his uncle, John Mast, to start a company that would pursue a much larger vision. Together, the two partners eventually linked an entire network of traditional Amish workshops with a modern distribution system. And furniture lovers everywhere rejoiced. Joined later by John's brother, Butch, and a fourth partner, Kent Patterson, they soon found their stride, transforming an innovative furniture distribution system into a great American brand. And Simply Amish was born.

By handling orders and warehousing finished products, Simply Amish solved two problems. It gave the outside world instant access to the work of skilled Amish craftsmen, and it allowed the Amish to work undisturbed, making beautiful solid wood furniture. Built to order. And made to last.

The Tradition Continues.
Today, Simply Amish furniture is still made by authentic Amish craftsmen, working on more than 50 family farms scattered throughout the heartland of America. Most are small family shops with only four or five craftsmen, while some shops might employ as many as 30 skilled workers. But regardless of the size, tradition still dictates the construction of every design. Each piece of lumber is still cut, shaped, sanded and stained by seasoned hands, using a keen eye to eliminate any imperfections and bring out the natural beauty of rich maple, solid oak and other select hardwoods.

I love Design Sponge!!!!

Just came across this great blog, called designsponge.com. It's full of everything that you can imagine, from diy ideas to tips and tricks for pulling a apace together. It features fabulous gift tips, follows current trends, and even has a guest blog, featuring some of today's up and coming designers. Definitly worth checking out...warning...expect to get lost in the many links and side bars (don't forget I'm a new blogger, and have no idea yet how to navigate around this crazy thing called the blogosphere). So pour yourself a good cup of coffee, sit back and enjoy!

P.S. It is my age-ist assumption that Design Sponge will appeal mainly to the 20-something to 30-something group of design lovers out there :} But fear not all others, there are plenty more design blogs, photos, ideas out there, so if you're not into painted vintage pieces, and Irish printed cotton, I promise to find something for you too...just promise me you'll stay posted!

Patti's Powder Room

Okay, so another Tucson space, I know, but most of the projects I am working on here in Thunder Bay are not complete, or a photo-less. And since I want to get this thing up and running, I searched through my archives (not really, just through old photos), and came up with some. So without furthur adew, I present Patti's Powder Room!!!

Kiva fireplace

For starters, thanks Lindsey! I love the way that this turned out. Great client, not afraid to take a chance on colour. This to me embodies style. Take something in your home and embellish it, make it your own. Before the custom painted fireplace surround, this was a beautiful kiva fireplace. But the client punched it up several notches by having us paint it in these bold colours, and then dressed it up with Mexican serapes. She took it from beautiful to memorable. Ole, I say!

My Dear Tucson

It is with sadness that I begin what is to be an otherwise happy blog. A native of Thunder Bay, Ontario, my family and I were proud and happy to call Tucson, Arizona our home for almost eight years. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to, and I miss Tucson and the amazine friendships that I gained there. Out beautiful children were born there. I wish peace and healing to the families of the lost and hurt on that tragic Saturday, and may Tucson come together at this sad time, to put its true face forward, and show the world that kindness and peace are stronger than hatred.