3 Must-Have Items of Hallway Furniture

February 23, 2011

Article Category: Hallway Furniture,Storage > Tags: console tables, hall mirrors, hallway decorating ideas, hallway furniture

Rustic Oak 2 Drawer Hallway Table

Hallway Furniture

The hallway is a frequently overlooked area of the home when it comes to furnishings. However, this shouldn’t be the case as we spend so much of our time passing through it and it’s the first thing our guests or visitors see. Items such as shoes, coats, keys, post and sports gear can seem to pile up in this area and without suitable storage furniture, things can become a little messy.

With just a couple of choice items of hallway furniture, the area can start to work a lot better for you. Invest in a little storage, somewhere to sit, and specific places for all the clutter and your hallway will begin to work better for your everyday needs.

Below we’ve outlined the three must-have items of hallway furniture:

First Must-Have Item of Hallway Furniture: Console Tables

The first piece of hallway furniture to invest in is a console table. A console table is a slim table which is best placed against a wall, perhaps with a large wall mirror above it. Often, storage is incorporated into the table with drawers built into the top and lower shelves suitable for storing shoes or boxes.

First designed in the early 18^th Century by French furniture makers, console tables remain as popular as ever in the 21^st Century. They take up very little floor space and offer an ideal blend of style and practicality.

Our range of console tables is wide and features a variety of storage options, styles and finishes. The most popular design is the Rustic Oak 2 Drawer Console Table; handcrafted from premium grade oak it features a traditional styling with rounded edges and chamfered legs.

Cairo Solid Oak Storage Trunk

Second Must-Have Item of Hallway Furniture: An Occasional Chair or Trunk

If you have the space for it, a tub chair or slim blanket box (which doubles up as a bench) would both make a great addition to the hallway space. As well as providing a place to perch when taking off your footwear, the latter serves as a great place to stash shoes and boots.

We stock a great variety of chairs – choose from solid oak, genuine leather scroll backed chairs in black, white or brown leather and many more designs.

Hallway Furniture: Leather Chair for Hallway

Leather Tub Chair for Hallway

Third Must-Have Item of Hallway Furniture: Mirrors

A mirror is always handy when placed near the front door – to give your appearance a last quick check on the way out, or to put on some last minute make-up; tie your neck tie, or style your hair! Hanging a mirror in the hallway can make a small, gloomy space look instantly brighter and more spacious. To make the most of the available light, position the mirror above a console table and lamp, or below a spot light.

Investing in hardwood furniture is a wise choice, especially in a hallway. With people passing in and out all day, hallway furniture needs to be hardwearing – and you don’t get more hardwearing than solid hardwood. Not only are oak, mango and mahogany strong, sturdy and durable woods, but they each have exceptionally beautiful grain patterns and colouring.

So, for more hallway decorating ideas, why not begin by taking a look at our selection of console tables. Remember, if you spend £1,000 you get a hardwood framed mirror worth up to £300 – absolutely free!

Technology vs Bookcases

February 18, 2011

Article Category: Bookcases > Tags: bookcases, bookshelves, eBook readers, fitted bookcases, oak bookcase

Tokyo Solid Oak Bookcase

Does Technology Spell an End to the Bookcase?

There has been much debate over the past few years as to whether the growing popularity of eBook Readers such as the Kindle or Nook is likely to spell an end to the traditional ‘dead tree book’.

Supposing, just for a minute, that eBook Readers continue to grow in popularity until the sales of traditional books fall into steady decline; what would happen to the humble bookcase? Is the bookcase purely an item of functionality – a case in which to hold books – or is there much more to it?

Bookcases for Displaying Books

To understand the popularity of the bookcase, we must consider the intriguing question of why we choose to display our reading material in the first place, rather than storing it away. Interior design writer, Leslie Geddes-Brown attempts to tackle this in her book ‘Books Do Furnish a Room’ (Merrell Publishers, 1 Sep 2009):

“Books were immensely prestigious. Not only did they show how very learned you were but they were also very expensive.”

Ms Geddes-Brown is referring to books in the 1930s, and while her comment may have less relevance to us in the 21st century when books are cheaper and readily available, it explains how the popularity of bookcases first came about. A bookcase was an excellent way to show off your book collection to guests and visitors, and perhaps we still use it for this purpose today. In an article entitled ‘What does your bookcase say about you?’ BBC magazine editor, Siobhan Toman, writes:

“It’s hard to escape the theory that there is an exhibitionist side to our bookcase obsession – it’s about showing off how much you have read, or plan to read, or pretend to have read.”

The Purpose of the Bookcase

In modern times, the average bookcase will often contain much more than just books; CDs and DVDs will find a home there too, plus ornaments, plants, plaques, trophies and photo frames.

A bookcase completes a home; it provides instant decoration and adds colour and personality to any room. The number of coffee table design books on how to decorate with bookcases is surely proof enough of its popularity within the interior design world!

In addition to its classic good looks, the bookcase has also been shown to play an important part in encouraging children to read. Studies have revealed that the presence of a bookcase in the home means children are more likely to choose reading over another activity.

Mantis Dark Solid Mango Bookcase

Popular Bookcase Styles

Bookcases come in a multitude of styles, shapes and sizes. There are tall freestanding bookcases, fitted bookcases and – if you’re a lover of quirky modern design – even round bookcases! Bookshelves have been incorporated into all sorts of furniture, from the coffee table, to the bed.

Oak has long been a popular material for building bookcases. This is due to its inherent toughness and durability, which enables it to support even the heaviest of hardbacks. Unlike cheap bookcases made from MDF and designed to be disposable, an oak bookcase is a true investment which can be passed down the generations along with the prized book collection.

Alternatively, other hardwoods such as mango wood or mahogany make exceptionally elegant bookcases. It really depends on the style of your home – mahogany would be ideal in a more traditional home while mango wood is great for achieving a modern yet rustic look.

The main advantage of investing in a freestanding bookcase over fitted bookshelves is that you can take it with you when you move, or shift it to the other side of the room if you undertake a spot of decorating. Fitted bookcases are best suited for creating ‘feature’ walls or for odd-shaped rooms to make the most of the available space.

So, in conclusion – we believe the answer to the original question ‘does technology spell an end to the bookcase?’ is a resounding ‘No!’ Regardless of how convenient eBooks may be, the general consensus seems to be that the popularity of books and bookcases is unlikely to dwindle. As a personal addition to the home, nothing can beat having all your favourite novels proudly displayed on the bookshelf!

Mango Furniture

June 7, 2010

Article Category: Guides,Mango Wood Furniture > Tags: interior design, mango furniture, mango wood bedroom furniture, mango wood furniture

Baku Light Mango Sideboard

Introducing Mango Furniture

Mango furniture is relatively rare when compared to oak furniture or mahogany furniture. This should not lead you to believe that it is in any way inferior to its more popular hardwood furniture cousins.

How do You Make Mango Furniture From Fruit?!

One of the questions that we are often asked is, ‘mangos are fruit, how can you make furniture out of fruit?’ The answer is quite simple – we don’t!

Mango wood is indeed the wood from a similar cultivar of mango tree as the fruit is harvested from, but rather than harvesting the fruit, the mango trees are grown specifically for their high quality furniture making properties. After all, virtually every tree produces fruit; it’s just that we don’t eat the samara from the mahogany tree, or acorns from the oak tree.

Mango Furniture is High Quality Furniture

Unlike inferior quality furniture made from pine, mango is a hardwood like oak, and is just as sturdy and hardwearing. Therefore you can be sure that when buying our mango furniture you will be getting the same high quality as if you were buying oak furniture.

In fact, when you see the beautiful grain patterns and colours that naturally occur in mango wood you’ll be amazed that mango furniture isn’t more popular.

Tokyo Teak Mango Dining Set

The Many Finishes of Mango Furniture

When unstained and finished only in clear beeswax, this variegated wood is, on the whole, slightly darker than oak with a more pronounced grain, but it also takes stain incredibly well, so at Oak Furniture Land we also make dark stained mango furniture and teak oiled mango furniture, each giving its own individual exotic charm.

Whilst unstained mango furniture makes a great alternative to oak furniture, dark mango furniture can bring a striking contrast to a white room or one that has a lot of bright natural light, whereas the warm glow of teak oiled mango furniture will instantly make a room cosier, making it ideal bedroom furniture.

The Charm of Rustic Mango Furniture

We also apply a rustic finish to our mango furniture. This can involve various forms of distressing, to give a ‘lived-in’ look. This can be very desirable when making a room look homely, or when adding a new piece to a room that already has older or antique furniture in. (a room filled with high gloss lacquered furniture can easily start to look like a furniture showroom rather than a place you want to relax!).

At Oak Furniture Land we make several ranges of mango furniture in various finishes and styles to suite any home. Each mango furniture range includes bedroom furniture, living room furniture and dining room furniture.

Why Oak Furniture?

May 13, 2010

Article Category: Guides > Tags: Bedroom Furniture, Dining Room Furniture, Guides, Living Room Furniture, oak furniture

Oak Living Room Furniture

Why Oak?

Whilst there is a huge selection of wooden furniture on the market these days, the wood that is most sought after is oak. So the question has to be asked: why oak? To answer that seemingly simple question we need to ask several others.

What influences us when choosing oak furniture?

It may seem obvious, but when deciding on what wooden furniture we want in our home, the first thing we think of is appearance. Oak furniture has a universal appeal that few other materials can match.

For example, there are those who see mahogany furniture as the height of opulence, but others don’t like it. This is probably because of it’s striking colour and generally grand designs.

Other people love the rustic appeal of dark mango furniture. But again, whilst it is undoubtedly beautiful furniture, it’s the sort of finish that appeals to those with a more exotic and adventurous pallet. Oak furniture seems to transcend this, but retains its luxurious charm.

Oak Bedroom Furniture

Is oak furniture is more than just a pretty face?

The grain of real solid oak, with its subtle variegation that hinges around a distinctive sumptuous light golden colour, is not just a thing of beauty. The tightness of the grain is a clue to its strength and durability. It also means that it can be worked into intricate forms without causing weakness.

Again, these intricate details needn’t be purely decorative. A feature of truly high quality wooden furniture is the use of hand crafted dovetail joints. Usually hidden away in drawers, these joints are traditionally very strong, and can only be made using high quality wood. Oak is perfect for this kind of joinery.

Is oak furniture easy to live with?

In a word, yes. In fact, as long as you steer clear of poor quality furniture (which is built using oak veneers, not solid oak), then you will find oak furniture is one of the easiest types of furniture to care for.

Simply dust your oak furniture without using spray cleaning products (these will crack the timber), and give it a light coat of Danish oil every so often and you don’t have to do anything else at all! Simple.

Oak furniture at Oak Furniture Land

As the name suggests, at Oak Furniture Land we have built a company around oak furniture. With hundreds of items in many different styles, and over 20 years experience in the UK furniture industry you can be confident that you are getting high quality furniture, backed up with our extensive specialist knowledge and superior customer service.

« Newer Posts — Older Posts »