3 Bedroom Furniture Sets You Can Customize for Free

April 30, 2014May 7, 2014 Peggy Farabaugh Leave a comment

Last updated on May 7th, 2014 at 09:52 am

Custom Bedroom Burniture Sets — *The Contemporary Craftsman bedroom set is shown above in solid natural cherry wood with walnut pulls. Customize it for free with maple wood like in the customer photo below.*

Custom Bedroom Furniture

Have you looked around for ages trying to find the perfect bedroom set? If you’re picky about what you want (like we are) maybe it hasn’t been easy finding just the right style to match your vision. And the right woods to catch the light streaming through your shutters. And the right dimensions to fit perfectly into your space. And the right price to meet your budget. Well all that’s about to change!

At Vermont Woods Studios custom, made to order furniture is our specialty and we’re here to make it easy (and fun) for you to get exactly what you want. Check out these bedroom furniture sets that you can customize online or in our showroom.

Two Tone Hardwood Combinations

Custom bedroom furniture designed with 2 tone wood combinations, walnut and maple — This version of the SoHo bedroom set is designed with a 2 tone hardwood combination of walnut and maple. Many other variations are available to customize online or in our showroom (see examples below).

Vermont furniture makers often combine 2 or more hardwoods to enhance the design of a bedroom set. The SoHo collection in the photo above can be customized online with many different combinations of walnut, maple and cherry wood. The SoHo beds below are shown in all walnut wood (far left), walnut and maple wood (middle) and walnut and cherry wood (far right) combinations.

Custom Wood Beds — *Copeland Furniture’s SoHo bedroom furniture set can be customized online or in our showroom. Choose from walnut, maple and cherry wood combinations.*

Customizable Modular Bedroom Furniture

Copeland Moduluxe Custom Bedroom Furniture in Walnut — *Sectional Copeland Moduluxe Custom Bedroom Furniture is customized with your choice of dressers, chests, nightstands, bed and desk (shown in walnut, 35″ high).*

If you’re looking to customize more than the selection of hardwoods, check out Copeland’s Moduluxe Furniture Collection. It’s modern sectional design allows you to put together a unique combination of chests, dressers, night stands, desk and bed that fits into your space and looks built in. This bedroom furniture set is very popular in contemporary apartments and condos. It can be ordered in a low 29″H set, perfect for loft or attic bedrooms that are “vertically challenged” or in a slightly taller set that’s 35″H. There’s even a Moduluxe storage bed collection. You can customize the hardwood in maple, cherry, walnut or a combination of 2 or 3 woods. Many different stain options are also available ranging from a dark espresso to whitewashed maple– all at no extra charge.

Copeland Moduluxe Custom Bedroom Furniture in Cherry — *Here’s another arrangement of Copeland’s Moduluxe Custom Bedroom Furniture in cherry wood. Corner sectional pieces make it look built in.*

Custom bedroom furniture’s too expensive? I don’t think so. Check out the many affordable options Vermont furniture makers have for your bedroom today!

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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.

All Weather Adirondack Chairs: American Made & Guaranteed High Quality

April 23, 2014May 28, 2019 Peggy Farabaugh Leave a comment

Last updated on May 28th, 2019 at 08:21 pm

Today was the first day of 2014 that was warm enough (for me, anyway) to eat lunch outside on the porch. Hallelujah, Spring is finally here! The sun is shining, the birds are singing and the snow has melted off our stoic all weather Adirondack chairs. Yes we callously left them outside all winter long to endure the frigid temperatures, frost, ice and snow that only Vermont skiers can appreciate.

But when we sat down on our Classic Adirondack chairs chairs today they looked and felt like new. That’s because they’re made using an innovative new technology that takes recycled plastic drink containers and transforms them into plastic lumber that’s more durable than real wood. A company called POLYWOOD Inc, in Syracuse Indiana produces the furniture. To tell the truth, we were looking for something Vermont made when we decided to start carrying high quality outdoor patio furniture. But, after doing the research we fell in love with POLYWOOD for many reasons:

POLYWOOD is stylish, comfortable, durable and environmentally friendly
The many colors (red, green, blue, yellow, orange, white, black and more) of POLYWOOD are imbued throughout the recycled plastic lumber (RPL) which means scratches don’t show up and no painting or maintenance is required
POLYWOOD has coated stainless steel hardware that’s rust resistant so the furniture can be left outside all year long
POLYWOOD reduces the amount of plastic in landfills and helps preserve rare tropical rainforest woods that would otherwise be used for patio furniture
More reasons to love POLYWOOD here

Kids All Weather Adirondack Chairs — Parents love POLYWOOD kids furniture because of it’s high safety rating and compliance with American manufacturing standards. No worries about sharp corners, lead paint or other toxins found in imported furniture. Read more about child safety and outdoor furniture on our website.

Learn more about this versatile all weather Adirondack furniture on our website. Customize POLYWOOD online in the styles and fade-resistant colors that match the decor of your porch, patio, poolside, deck or beach front. Then rest comfortably all year long, knowing your American made outdoor furniture meets the high quality standards of our lifetime guarantee.

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Our Green Mission: Walking the Talk

April 3, 2014October 20, 2017 Peggy Farabaugh

Last updated on October 20th, 2017 at 03:17 pm

Stonehurst: A Sustainable Furniture Store with a Green Mission — Our sustainable furniture showroom at Stonehurst sits on a 100 acre wooded parcel in Vernon, Vermont. This is the view out our back windows– also a place for weekly meetings (weather permitting) and a backdrop for forest conservation projects.

Ken and I founded Vermont Woods Studios fine furniture store almost nine years ago. As a woodworker, Ken’s interest was in earning a living by promoting the tradition of high quality Vermont made wood furniture. For me, the project was about forest conservation and my desire to help protect forest habitat and wildlife for future generations*. Over the years it’s been a challenge managing this yin-yang pair of objectives but I think we’ve been able to maintain a pretty good balance.

Stonehurst Opens Up New Opportunities for Forest Conservation

This year we have a chance to bring a whole new dimension to our forest conservation mission through our newly acquired property at Stonehurst. The farmhouse we purchased and renovated into a Vermont made furniture gallery sits on 100 wooded acres in the foothills of the Green Mountain National Forest. In the past our environmental mission was largely fulfilled by donating to like-minded non-profits**, but now we can also also partner with them by providing forest habitat for various conservation projects.

Join Us!

Below are a few conservation activities we’re supporting for 2014:

Woodlands for Wildlife – Vermont Coverts educates landowners in sound forest management practices and the principles of stewardship for the enhancement of wildlife. Ken and I are attending their 3-day seminar on forest and wildlife management this spring to learn how to improve wildlife habitat and provide better conditions for native deer, turkeys, moose, bear, birds, bob cats, chipmunks, squirrels and other species that may be living at Stonehurst.
MonarchWatch – When Kendall and Riley were in elementary school we used to capture monarch caterpillars, watch their metamorphosis and tag the butterflies before waving them off on their epic migration to Mexico every fall. But for the past several years I haven’t seen even a single monarch. So this year we’ll support Chip Taylor at MonarchWatch by planting butterfly gardens (including milkweed) and encouraging others to do the same.
Vermont Center for Eco Studies– VCE is a group of Vermont’s foremost conservation scientists who inspire citizen volunteers across Vermont and around the world. We’ve been supporting them for years and are excited about being able to use Stonehurst as a place to gather data for their many programs including:
- Vernal pool mapping
- VT reptile and amphibian atlas
- VT breeding bird survey
Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center – BEEC’s annual Salamander Soiree is this Saturday April 5th from 6-8:30pm in Brattleboro at the River Garden on Main Street. We’ll be there to help recruit crossing guards for this year’s annual amphibian migration.

If you’re in our neighborhood and share similar interests, please stop by Stonehurst, give us a call or connect with us on Facebook. Let us know what you’re working on and how we can help. As the southern most corner of Vermont, Vernon can play a significant role in our state’s conservation efforts. Let’s make it happen!

* We are losing the worlds forests at a rate of > 1 acre/second. A major factor in deforestation is widespread illegal logging for timber that’s used to make cheap furniture sold by IKEA, Home Depot and other big-box stores. Our goal at Vermont Woods Studios is to help raise awareness about where your furniture comes from and persuade people to buy sustainable furniture made from legally harvested wood.

** The non-profits we’ve supported include the World Wildlife Fund WWF, The Nature Conservancy TNC, Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center BEEC, Vermont Center for Ecostudies VCE and others working to conserve forests and wildlife.

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IKEA Cuts Down 600 Year Old Trees, Suspended From FSC

March 13, 2014March 18, 2019 Kelsey Eaton Leave a comment

Last updated on March 18th, 2019 at 10:03 am

*Intact old-growth forest on land leased by IKEA/Swedwood in Russian Karelia. Photo © Robert Svensson, Protect the Forest 2011.*

IKEA: A Trusted Sustainable Furniture Source? Not so quick.

While furniture giant IKEA has been leading campaigns for their use of sustainably sourced cotton, and promoting LED lighting & solar panels in their stores– they apparently made the mistake of not paying attention to where their wood comes from. Already criticized for their staggering wood usage (IKEA uses a whopping 1% of the entire earths forests for their furniture), they are now facing harsh criticism for cutting down old growth trees in Karelia, Russia.

Swedwood, IKEA’s forestry subsidiary, was given lease to log 700,000 acres of Russian forest as long as they avoided old growth trees and trees in specified protected areas. A recent audit done by the Forest Stewardship Council revealed “major deviations” from regulations, including cutting down 600+ year old trees.

Environmental organizations had been voicing their concern about IKEA’s logging practices in Karelia for years– PFS (Protect the Forest, Sweden) apparently handed Swedwood over 180,000 signatures and a joint statement with criticisms of their forestry practices and demands to transform their habits to protect the valuable old growth forests over a year ago.

Protestors with a sign in Swedish that reads: "Hello, our furniture is made of old-growth forests. At IKEA you get low prices at any cost." Read more at http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0530-hance-ikea-fsc-logging.html#eUSKYJMi98gOhYLu.99 — *Protestors with a sign in Swedish that reads: “Hello, our furniture is made of old-growth forests. At IKEA you get low prices at any cost.”*

IKEA’s infraction resulted in the Forest Stewardship Council temporarily stripping them of their certification. Despite the withdrawal of IKEA’s FSC certification for their illegal logging, insufficient dialogue, lack of environmental consideration and work environment issues– many believe that FSC is not addressing key issues.

According to Linda Ellegaard Nordstrom, “The report raises several deficiencies, but does not describe the main problem, which is that pioneer exploitation, with fragmenting and breaking into the last intact forest landscapes and tracts, does not fit to FSC’s principles and criteria. Thus we believe that the FSC label is still far from being a guarantee for sustainable forestry, Together with Russian environmental organizations we have suggested to IKEA that they, as an influential multinational corporation, should set a good example by announcing that they will no longer log or buy timber from intact old-growth forests, whether the forests are certified or not.”

An Ikea spokeswoman told The Sunday Times: “We see the suspension of the certificate as highly temporary. The deviations mainly cover issues related to facilities and equipment for our co-workers, forestry management as well as training of our forestry co-workers,” claiming that they have already corrected most of the violations.

While IKEA announced plans to stop operations in Karelia in 2014, it’s important for consumers to be critical of all businesses claiming to practice sustainability. IKEA is a leader in the furniture industry, using resources unimaginable to a small business like Vermont Woods Studios. We would love to see them take true accountability for their actions.

logs.IKEASwedwood20.568 — *Destroyed old-growth forest with piles of timber on land leased by IKEA/Swedwood in Russian Karelia. Photo © Robert Svensson, Protect the Forest 2011. Retrieved from MongaBay.*

Responsible forest management is at the heart of our mission as the devastating loss of these old trees is irreversible, and we can only hope that more furniture companies will take note of the criticism that IKEA is facing and take steps towards sustainable forestry. It’s up to consumers to make informed decisions about where they buy the products that ends up in their homes. If certification can’t stop this type of thing from happening, then people must be more careful than ever in picking a company that they care about and trust.

What are your thoughts? Leave us a note in the comments section, or send us a message on Facebook or Twitter!

[Sources: Sustainable Brands, Triple Pundit]

|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.|

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Truly Green Furnishings: Chemical Free, Organic Furniture

March 11, 2014December 7, 2019 Kelsey Eaton

Last updated on December 7th, 2019 at 01:16 pm

Furniture is more than just something we sit on, sleep on, and eat on; our furniture becomes a part of our life story. It’s an integral piece of what makes a house a home. But for the chemically sensitive, or for those who are just serious about not bringing harsh chemicals into their homes, finding the right furniture can seem like an impossible task.

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Memories of Pine Top, Southern Vermont’s Lost Ski Area

March 10, 2014March 12, 2014 Peggy Farabaugh

Last updated on March 12th, 2014 at 09:22 am

For all you Pine Top alumni out there, here is a fun email I received from Sally Byrnes Magin who shares her memories of skiing here in the 1950s:

Pine Top Ski Area | Memories from Sally — *Memories of Pine Top from Sally Byrnes Magin: I love the pictures of the ladies sitting on the front porch and the one of Laddie, Elsie and Romey’s dog.*

Dear Peggy,

By chance, when googling “Pine Top” for sentimental reasons, I came across the Vermont Woods Studios and Stonehurst website. After spending many winter vacations as a child at Pine Top, I was so excited to see that you are keeping the memories alive! My family and our friends, from northern NJ, spent almost every President’s Week in February (from about 1950 until 1958) at Pine Top, learning to ski and having a wonderful time together. In fact, one of the trails that led from the top of the “Tobey” rope tow was named “Stoddard Run” after our friends the Stoddard family.

Eventually, as our skiing skills improved, we branched out to other Vermont ski areas. It was a magical time spent with Elsie and Romey (Racine), Laddie their dog, the kitchen staff, and the local ski instructors at Pine Top. Our group took over the entire house for a week, and expanded into the “new annex” when it was built.

Some memories that I have of Pine Top are: skiing down the Pelley and Tobey slopes, struggling with those rope tows, the Tiny Tot hill, eating “sugar on snow” in the old warming hut, being excited when the “new” warning hut was built, visiting the farm and cows up the road, the bell that signaled breakfast and dinner, playing board games in front of the fireplace at night, going into Brattleboro to see ski jumping competitions, and how cold the rooms upstairs were in the mornings before the heat came up through the grates. Also, walking back from the warming hut on a cold Vermont night with every star in the sky visible.

Memories of Pine Top | Now Stonehurst Fine Furniture Gallery — *The kids always ate first, and I guess we were celebrating someone’s birthday at dinner. I must have been sitting at the other end of the dining room table (so am not in the picture).*

I hope to visit Stonehurst some time in the future and perhaps walk around the property to revisit old memories. …..Sally Byrnes Magin Township of Washington, NJ

Sally Byrnes Magin | Memories of Skiing at Pine Top — Here’s a picture of me in early 1950’s ski gear, lace up boots, and cable bindings. Those were the days! By the way, one of those ski instructor’s last name may have been “Herbert”…he taught us all how to ski, and I am still going strong at age 70! … Sally Byrnes Magin

Well, thank you so much Sally for generously sharing your wonderful memories of skiing at Pine Top. We hope you’ll come up to visit us soon. I think you’ll enjoy the property and all the improvements we’ve made while transforming it into Stonehurst (a showcase for Vermont’s fine furniture and home decor).

Does anyone else out there have Pine Top memories to share? Send them along! We’ve got an online compilation of Pine Top stories and yours should be part of it.

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Slanted Headboards: Trending in Comfort and Style

March 3, 2014August 15, 2018 Kelsey Eaton

Last updated on August 15th, 2018 at 02:45 pm

Beds with slanted headboards are a book lovers dream! They provide maximum comfort as the naturally smooth headboard aligns with the curve of your back (or just gives you enough room to put your pillow against it and really relax)! While most of our Vermont made beds are made with traditional headboards, we have a couple of beautiful pieces that feature this headboard style. If you really love a bed but wish it could have a slanted headboard, contact one of our fine furniture experts and they will let you know your options for a custom furniture piece!

Here are 3 of our favorite beds with Slanted Headboards

1) Custom Incline Storage Bed

Custom Bed with Slanted Headboard — This beautiful cherry storage bed* is a customized version of our Modern Incline Bed and our Cherry Moon Dressers. It’s handcrafted in a small workshop in Montpelier, VT using solid cherry wood with black walnut accents, all coated with a hand-rubbed, natural linseed oil finish. This piece is sold, but you can contact one of our friendly sales members if you’d love one like it!

2. Modern Incline Bed

| 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. |

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Just Released: New Online Tool Tracks Deforestation in ‘Near Real Time’

February 28, 2014May 28, 2019 Kelsey Eaton

Last updated on May 28th, 2019 at 08:30 pm

Deforestation Tracker — *“Highlighted in red, the new tool can show the scale of tree cover loss between 2000 and 2012” — via BBC News*

Providing solutions to rain forest deforestation is a central part of our mission at Vermont Woods Studios. We’re inspired to do our part in making illegal logging and mass deforestation a thing of the past, so needless to say, we’re more than excited about this new tool that provides practically real time information on tree loss. Our furniture is never made from rain forest lumber, but we are looking forward to a day when other furniture (and various wood product companies) will join us in the mission for a more sustainable world.

According to BBC News, “Despite greater awareness around of the world of the impacts of deforestation, the scale of forest loss since 2000 has been significant – data from Google and the University of Maryland says the world lost 230 million hectares of trees between 2000 and 2012.”

Staggering Statistics: “Forest campaigners say this is the equivalent of 50 football fields of trees being cut down, every minute of every day over the past 12 years.”

As noted in the BBC article, one of the major problems regarding deforestation is the lack of accurate information. To take on this challenge of obtaining accurate and reliable information, ” the US based World Resources Institute (WRI) has led the development of GFW, using half a billion high resolution images from Nasa’s Landsat programme.”

This program will make it harder for illegal loggers to continue clearcutting without accountability or consequences, as this new technology is “a near-real time monitoring platform that will fundamentally change the way people and businesses manage forests,” said Dr Andrew Steer from WRI…From now on, the bad guys cannot hide and the good guys will be recognized for their stewardship.”

Tracking widespread illegal logging across the globe might seem like an impossible task, but “the technology is said to be easy to use and will incorporate information showing protected areas, logging, mining and palm oil concessions and daily forest fire alerts from Nasa.”

The tool will involve a global support system of concerned groups, citizens, and politicians. So “when tree losses are detected, alerts can be sent out to a network of partners and citizens around the world who can take action.”

So what does this mean for the wood industry, and the consumers who support it?

According to Unilever CEO, Paul Polman, “As we strive to increase the visibility of where the ingredients for our products come from, the launch of Global Forest Watch – a fantastic, innovative tool – will provide the information we urgently need to make the right decisions.”

For more info, check out the original BBC article.

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Vermont’s Luxury Linen Store: Anichini Inc.

February 24, 2014October 12, 2022 Peggy Farabaugh

Last updated on October 12th, 2022 at 09:21 pm

Anichini | Textiles and Linens | Luxury Home Decor from Vermont — “Think sublime style, unstinting details, old-world craftsmanship. The charm of classic lines and modern style. Sensuous textures and saturated colors that dress your home, your life. This is the essence of ANICHINI.” Check out their new design center in Quechee, VT where I took this snapshot. Every direction you look is more charming than the last!

No tour of Vermont’s luxury home decor brands would be complete without a visit to Anichini, Inc. The Green Mountain State is home to this mecca for high end interior designers who feather the nests of the rich and famous. The company, founded 26 years ago by Susan Dollenmaier, has become the “most prestigious brand of luxury textiles and home furnishings”. It is a full spectrum textile company specializing in rare and handcrafted fabrics and products. I visited Anichini’s new design center in Quechee, VT last week while on my tour of Vermont’s top luxury home decor brands. May I just say right here and now that I have never seen a collection of such beautiful and luxurious fabrics in all my life? What an indulgence for the senses. All of them… not just sight… so many different textures and subtle fragrances of linens, cottons, wool, cashmere and other fibers. Wow.

“In an era where the word “luxury” is used to describe everything from a bus ride to a bottle of shampoo, ANICHINI has raised the bar on the definition of “luxury” with textiles that are the ultimate in opulence and craftsmanship.” How would these luxurious Anichini linens, fabrics and textiles look in your home?

Anichini Inc. imports fabrics (Muga silks from Assam, Tibetan cashmere woven in Nepal, Ottoman inspired velvets and tapestries from Turkey, Renaissance replications from Umbria, Linen from Lithuania, Woven silks from Morocco) because they are simply unavailable in the USA. However, as shown in this video (The Craftsmanship of Rural Women) those fabrics are sewn here in Vermont by a group of talented seamstresses in Turnbridge.

Found in the linen closets of royal palaces and celebrities around the world, Anichini fabrics round out Vermont’s luxury home decor brand portfolio. They are future heirlooms that celebrate the “extraordinary designs, rare materials, and traditional techniques that are soon to be lost. ” Come see them for yourself! We hope to be featuring a nice selection of Anichini linens at Stonehurst, which will soon be your launch pad into the world of Vermont’s authentic, handcrafted home furnishings.

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Investing in the Community: VWS Donates to Windham County Humane Society

February 20, 2014October 3, 2022 Kelsey Eaton

Last updated on October 3rd, 2022 at 06:04 pm

Vermont Woods Studios Mission — Loryn, our community outreach coordinator, is passionate about the animals and used to work with WCHS before coming to Vermont Woods Studios. She loves getting out into the community and helping out a good cause; both at work and during her free time.

Supporting good community causes is a big part of our mission, and it’s something that each of us at Vermont Woods Studios is passionate about personally. So it makes sense that we didn’t hesitate to get over to the Windham County Humane Society, even during a snowstorm. If there’s one thing that separates Vermonters from the rest, it’s our ability to completely go on with our day normally in weather conditions that the rest of the country panics about. That, and our dedication to helping out our neighbors, of course!

_DSC0856 — *(For the record, none of us actually knew it would be snowing **this** much when we ventured out. Safety first!)*

Yesterday, Loryn & I visited the humane society to drop off our donations to their Wags to Riches auction and fundraiser–and to pick up our tickets for the event! I even got a new dog tag, for my darling Chihuahua, Pappy!

The WCHS team was super appreciative of our donation, and emphasized how much community support matters to them. Without the kind support of businesses and community members, WCHS wouldn’t be able to work as hard and help as many animals as they do. The Windham County Humane Society “is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the safety and well-being of animals and enhancing the relationship between individuals and pets through adoption, education, advocacy, compassion and promotion of animal welfare.” They help “stray, abandoned, neglected and surrendered pets by giving them a second chance at a healthy, happy life.”

We’re happy to support them, and are even more excited to attend the amazing Wags to Riches auction on March 1st. Loryn will be writing a blog about it when the date gets closer, so stay tuned!

If you’d like to contribute to WCHS, read more about ways to help out on their website!

| 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, a 200 year old farmhouse nestled in the foothills of the Green Mountains. |

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