Solid Wood Dining Furniture | Tips and Advice for Buyers

September 14, 2021September 14, 2021 Megan Fulton Leave a comment

Buying High Quality Handmade Solid Wood Dining Furniture at Affordable Prices

Looking for high quality, handcrafted, real solid wood dining furniture at great prices? Here are some tips and advice I’ve collected to make your shopping experience successful and fun.

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This blog is written by your friends at Vermont Woods Studios. Check out our Vermont made furniture and home decor online and visit our showroom and art gallery at Stonehurst, the newly restored 1800s farmhouse nestled in the foothills of the Green Mountains.

Trees Improve Your Memory, Health & Happiness

September 7, 2021September 7, 2021 Peggy Farabaugh Leave a comment

*Trees have been scientifically shown to improve health, wealth and happiness. Who knew? Check out the scientific studies below that make it official.*

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Where to Buy Used Vermont Made Furniture?

August 10, 2021August 19, 2021 Riley Farabaugh

Last updated on August 19th, 2021 at 09:22 pm

Vermont has a reputation for building super high quality products, especially wood furniture. And that reputation has been sculpted over hundreds of years, as there are thousands of woodworkers in the state whose families have passed down woodworking skills through generations of talented craftsmen.

The quality of furniture that comes out of Vermont is so high that we even offer a lifetime guarantee on all our wood furniture. Everything we sell is built to last a lifetime and then some.

Because Vermont made wood furniture is of such high quality and holds its’ value over time, there is a surprisingly strong market for second-hand or used wood furniture that is made by Vermont craftsmen.

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Fine Wood Furniture: Top 5 Tips for Shopping Online

July 28, 2021July 28, 2021 Peggy Farabaugh Leave a comment

This is part of a series of posts on how to buy fine wood furniture online. Bookmark this page or sign up for our newsletter to follow related posts.

Experts Provide Value

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Is Palm Oil Bad or Good for the Environment?

June 23, 2021July 12, 2021 Alexandra Thompson

Last updated on July 12th, 2021 at 03:14 pm

The palm oil controversy asks why it is bad but is there any good from it either? We take a look at how palm oil affects the environment and communities.

An important distinction to make is that the crop itself is not inherently bad for the environment, but rather the way plantations operate. We believe it is important to make that distinction because of our own commitment to sustainable practices. Only reporting that palm oil is bad is a “black and white” mindset that leaves little nuance for the communities trying to change its production.

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Delivery Update as Covid Delays Persist

June 1, 2021June 1, 2021 Peggy Farabaugh

Thank You for Your Patience

It has been more than a year since the COVID-19 pandemic started causing chaos and it has been tough going for everyone. We deeply appreciate and cherish all our past, present, and future customers. We apologize for the delays that Covid-19 is causing. Like all of us here at VWS, our Customer Service Representative, Brian Doherty, feels your pain. He asked me to post some common Q&A about how things are going.

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Go Paperless: 10 Zero Waste Hacks to Save Paper (and Trees!)

May 24, 2021June 8, 2021 Alexandra Thompson

Last updated on June 8th, 2021 at 09:21 am

In 2018, people in the US threw away 18.35 million tons of paper and paperboard. Paper products made up about 12 percent of landfill waste (EPA). But it doesn’t have to be this way… adopt these zero waste hacks to go paperless and reduce your impact!

1) Reuse whatever paper you already have

First things first, reuse before recycling! Those junk mail envelopes you’re planning to toss? Use them for your grocery list. Other paper items you can reuse are shipping mailers and cardboard boxes, paper bags, and documents with printing errors. Make sure you’ve used them until they’re no longer functional before recycling them!

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Common Wood Finishes for Furniture & Flooring

May 14, 2021May 14, 2021 Riley Farabaugh

Beyond their capabilities to create biodiverse ecosystems and turn greenhouse gases into clean oxygen, trees also provide one of the most versatile materials on the planet- wood. In addition to being used by carpenters and builders for framing houses, wood is perhaps most commonly used for furniture and flooring, here in the US and around the world.

When properly maintained, wood lasts a long time- generations. But part of maintaining wood means adding a finish. Using a finish on wood furniture and flooring helps modulate the humidity content of the wood. When wood dries out too much, it is prone to cracking and splitting, so it’s important to seal in the appropriate moisture content.

There are lots of options for finishing wood, but when it comes to furniture and flooring, most products fall into one of these categories: oils, varnishes, polyurethanes, lacquers, and waxes.

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How is Furniture Made in the USA Actually Sustainable?

April 22, 2021April 26, 2021 Alexandra Thompson

Last updated on April 26th, 2021 at 11:40 am

How Overseas Furniture Production is Problematic

Fast Fashion Furniture

A lot of the wood furniture you see in stores today is manufactured overseas. Fast fashion furniture is designed to be made as cheap and quickly as possible by cutting corners in the production process. Often the wood is harvested illegally from one of the world’s rapidly disappearing rainforests.

Not only is fast fashion furniture contributing to deforestation, but some brands are abandoning solid wood altogether. Brands like Ikea use particleboard and vinyl designed to look like wood in order to reduce overseas shipping costs. All of our furniture, except for our recycled plastic outdoor chairs, is made out of solid wood because of its long-lasting durability. Our furniture is meant to be enjoyed for a lifetime, not end up in a landfill like 80% of furniture.

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Green Team Profile: Alex Chisholm

April 21, 2021July 8, 2021 Riley Farabaugh

Last updated on July 8th, 2021 at 03:47 pm

Alex joined our sales and operations team in early 2021, and she’s been busy taking orders and soaking up as much training as she can from the rest of the team. We are growing quickly, so Alex is being pushed into the deep end and learning how to swim as she goes. Luckily, she comes to us with some great prior experience, including an interest in furniture and experience in marketing and sales.

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