Shaker vs Mission Style Furniture: What’s the Difference?

Last updated on March 13th, 2019 at 12:40 pm

Shaker and mission style furniture are often associated because both styles have been adopted by traditional furniture craftsmen. The Amish are often cited as the source of both design philosophies, although that’s not true in either case.

Shaker style furniture originated from the Shaking Quakers in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s. It wasn’t for another few decades that mission style furniture began to emerge. Both styles originated in New England.

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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.

Mid Century Modern Furniture: Vintage Style for your Home

Last updated on January 17th, 2019 at 09:58 am

Mid Century Modern Style Furniture
These  furniture designs in Walnut wood are classically Mid Century Modern . The geometric shapes and simplistic styling make them a favorite for the everyday modernist. Featured in this photo is the Estelle Chair with selections from the Catalina Collection.

Mid Century Modern, A Furniture Revolution.

Mid Century Modern Furniture is a furniture style characterized by clean simplicity and the integration of nature into the home. Gaining its popularity in the 1950s, Mid Century style was frequently used in residential/suburban areas with the goal of introducing modernism into the post-war American home.

The mid 20th century (1934-65 approximately) saw an extreme out-pour of creativity in graphic design, architecture, and furniture design– with styles unlike any before it.  In the book “Mid Century Modern: Furniture of the 1950s,” author Carla Greenberg officially cemented the term “mid century modern” into the interior design world, referring to the dramatic style of furniture, art, decor, and architecture borne in this period of American history.

World renowned for its innovative design and contribution to the American interior design and architectural world, Mid Century Style is still adored to this day. In the article Midcentury Furniture + Grandkid Nostalgia = Modern Trend,” author Andrea Hsu of NPR notes “Open a design magazine or turn on a home decorating show these days, and it’s clear: Midcentury modern is hot.”

So, if Mid Century Modern style is so hot– what exactly is it that people love?

Mid Century Modern Furniture
This beautiful hardwood Mid-Century Modern Bed is available in our online showroom. With smooth lines, and a simplistic style– The Soho Bed highlights essential elements of Mid-Century Modern Style.

Characteristics of Mid Century Modern Furniture

Lines: Ever watched an episode of Mad Men? Mid Century furniture is a lot like that. Clean, simple lines and smooth edges giving it a dramatically simplistic and sleek look. Before the 1950s, most furniture was intricately decorated with elaborate, complicated lines and adornments. But mid century furniture designers were modernists, they valued simplicity and created their furniture in accordance.

Color: Besides the variety of wood furniture used, other mid Century modern furniture makes use of beautifully vivid colors such as orange, red, yellow, and green paired with neutrals like tan, black or white.

Wood: Popular wood choices were walnut for its extraordinarily modern look, and cherry for its versatility.

Quality: Mid Century modern furniture is known for being expertly crafted by the best furniture designers. While this style of furniture is not as grand or bulky as popular furniture styles before it, it’s lightness in no way takes away from it’s quality or worth.

Many Vermont Woods Studios customers love  Mid Century Style– just this week we received a lovely customer photo from a client in New York who’s furniture exemplified the Mid Century simplicity. If you’re unfamiliar with our designs, feel free to browse dozens of mid-century modern furniture designs on our online showroom.

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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.

Escape the Vortex with 5 Unique Cherry Wood Furniture Designs

Last updated on June 21st, 2020 at 02:42 pm

Often, Cherry wood furniture lovers shop online or browse online furniture stores for home inspiration… and it can get kind of stale.

After looking for the same thing in so many different places you get trapped in this vortex of similar looking Cherry furniture that can be hard to sift through and find pieces that are truly top quality and extraordinarily designed. It’s hard to stay inspired, too!

But there are a few cherry furniture collections that will knock you right out of this Vortex!   Featuring pieces from some of our most talented craftsmen from across Vermont, these collections make up a handful of our most eclectic and inspiring Cherry Wood furniture designs for every room in the home.

So to help you break out of the typical Cherry furniture mold and give you a feel for just how magnificent your home can be, we’ve gathered 5 of our best selling not-so-ordinary Cherry wood furniture designs:

 

1. New York Contemporary Bookcase

Cherry Wood Furniture

Our high end, Arts and Crafts style New York Contemporary Bookcase is handcrafted in Vermont of natural solid hardwoods. This Cherry Wood Furniture piece features bold and straightforward lines, and complements a collection that emphasizes sturdy, unadorned, comfortable furnishings that are built to last and are as much about function as form. It’s unique in its strong simplicity & creative use of shape. See the rest of the collection here.

2. Copeland’s Estelle Dining Chair

Cherry Wood Furniture

Unique? Check. Retro? Check. Stylish? Check. This high end Estelle dining side chair from Copeland highlights the essence of mid-century modern, minimalist design. Sculpted in solid American Cherry wood, this unique side chair has a slender, vertically split back and finely sculpted seat for the ultimate in comfort. Rounded, angular tapered legs complete the stunning contemporary design. It’s sleek and geometrical and the perfect addition to any home looking to add some ultra luxurious cherry wood furniture to their decor. See the rest of the collection here

3. Contemporary Cable 10-Drawer Dresser 

Cherry Wood Furniture

This contemporary cable 10-drawer dresser is a subtly striking piece of cherry wood furniture. It’s sturdy, industrial inspired, and seriously sleek. The contrast between the large & small drawers create a visually compelling look, highlighted by the unique cable pulls and metal accents. See the rest of the collection here.

4. Monterey Platform Bed with Upholstered Headboard

Cherry Wood Furniture

The Monterey Bed fuses American Art’s & Crafts style with modern Japanese and Asian design. Japanese style legs support the sturdy Arts & Crafts build, with a luxurious leather headboard framed by Cherry wood in a subtle Asian design. See the rest of the collection here.

5. Macintosh Platform Bed

Cherry Wood FurnitureThis elegant Cherry wood bed is a mission inspired piece with some very unique styling. The square designs on the wood paneling gives you are visually inspiring piece with lots to look at. This bed takes a traditional design and gives it a subtly eclectic twist perfect for the modern or contemporary home!

So, if you’ve been stuck in the dreaded Cherry furniture vortex for too long– we hope that these pieces will get you feeling inspired again! Cherry wood furniture can be interesting, inspiring, AND Vermont made. These five pieces represent a small sampling of all of the beautiful & visually compelling hardwood cherry furniture pieces we offer, browse our webstore to see the rest.

What did you think of our top 5 unique Cherry Wood Furniture designs?

Let us know on Twitter or leave us a comment on this blog post!

 

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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.

Reclaimed & Live Edge Furniture: Our Top 4 Picks

Last updated on May 28th, 2019 at 08:10 pm

5 Best Reclaimed & Live Edge Furniture Designs
There’s something striking about reclaimed and live edge furniture—it’s imperfect but refined, aggressive but complementary. Perfect additions to any space needing a pop of organic style. Adored for its rustic charm and adaptability, reclaimed and live edge furniture has been a major trend in 2014.

 

1. Reclaimed Barnwood Farm Table With Tapered Legs

5 Best Reclaimed & Live Edge Furniture Designs

Our Reclaimed Barn Wood Farm Table is handcrafted in Vermont. With its traditional tapered legs this one-of-a kind farm table is a country home treasure! Table top is custom made in Vermont from high quality antique white pine or chestnut from reclaimed and recycled antique doors, floor boards, siding and other original components of historic New England barns.

 

2. Sutton Platform Bed with Reclaimed Headboard

5 Best Reclaimed & Live Edge Furniture Designs

Our Sutton Platform Bed with a Reclaimed Wood Headboard is a unique new addition to our line of handmade, solid wood beds. Each bed is built to order in Vermont using sustainably harvested woods.Contemporary clean lines and a platform base make this antique looking bed stylish for any bedroom. This bed is also available with a regular solid wood headboard.

 

3. Classic Country Buffet in Reclaimed Wood

5 Best Reclaimed & Live Edge Furniture DesignsHistorical romance embodies our Classic Country Buffet in reclaimed white pine or chestnut wood. Classic American country features blend with modern styling to make for a wonderful addition to any country home. This heirloom quality buffet is handcrafted from rare recycled antique doors, floor boards, siding and other original components of New England’s historic barns & wood structures. Reclaimed wood (either White Pine or Chestnut) is used for the top, drawer fronts and door panels, while the rest of the piece can be in your choice of Cherry, Maple or Oak.

 

4. Natural Live Edge Bench

5 Best Reclaimed & Live Edge Furniture Designs

 

Our Natural Live Edge Bench brings the beauty of the forest into your home. The base of this natural, eco-friendly bench is made from vertical slabs of whole trees. This process leaves virtually no waste. Handcrafted in Vermont, this live edge furniture piece is sure to make a subtle statement in any home.

Which piece of reclaimed or live edge furniture is your favorite? Let us know in the comments section! If you’re feeling inspired, feel free to browse our collections of reclaimed barnwood furniture.

 

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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.