Blog

Spring is right around the corner, so pop some color with throw pillows!

Throw pillows aren't just to rest your head, or to elevate your feet after a long day anymore, they are a way to bring exciting colors, patterns, and textures into any space.  When sofas used to be purchased, the throw pillows came in the same basic fabric as the sofa, but those days are long gone.  Now there is an opportunity to select fabrics for your throw pillows that will add color, personality, and can dress up or dress down any space.  In fact, pillows sometimes become the focal point of your setting or furniture piece.  You don't have to bring in a red sofa to add color to your room, the pillows can do that for you.  With an endless world of fabrics, pillows can add contrast to your piece, mimic some patterns in your drapery, or simply stand on their own, the bolder the better! 

Contrasting Damask pillows add contrast and shape to this sofa

I have had the same Ralph Lauren sofa in my home since in moved in ten years ago and I was beginning to think it was time for a change.  I started looking at sofa's and fabrics I may want to change to and in that process I found a pair of beautiful Dransfield & Ross tangerine pillows that worked perfect with my rooms color scheme so I brought them home to try them out.  It completely transformed my sofa.  What I had originally thought was the problem, in the end actually wasn't.  It wasn't the sofa I was tired of, it was the same color I had seen for years, so a quick color transformation has added a few more years to my sofa.   I still have my eyes out for a sofa, but for a small investment I still can enjoy the one I already have. 

 Ralph Lauren Ayers Pillow adds interest to any piece

Nordstrom's leads our wardrobe into color come Spring, so let pillows do the same for your living environment !

The endless options pillows can offer

The common conception is, change the paint color and it changes the entrie room.  That can be true, but we all know how painful painting can be, especially when your friends offer to help. 

There is a simpler way.  Change out the light fixtures.  Doesn't that sound easy?  Well, it is. 

Light fixtures define a space and are as simple as home imporvement gets with a one sentence take old down, put new up instruction manual.  Lighting has come so far, and with LED introductions is only going to go further.  Spend some time looking around your favorite hotel, or a room that just feels right to you, and I bet the light fixtures will grab your attention in a way you never noticed before. 

Not only are light fixtures functional, as they are the reason we only use candles for decoration now, but they are historical and can carry a design style, era, or worldly location all in one fixture.  Other than furniture, there is not another item out there that can define all of that in one single fixture. 

Personality can really shine in light fixtures, no pun intended.  Vibrant colors, unique shapes, and facinating materials are all staples of light fixtures and if you look hard enough, you will find a light fixture, like a fine piece of art, that really speaks to you. 

So get out there and start looking around at chandeliers, wall sconces, or even architecural lighting and you will start to see the true beauty in light. 

Regards,

Brian Schoener

We get asked that question so frequently...that I thought I had to write a blog about it. 

At first glance, or maybe even second or third, Henredon & Schoener appears to be a furniture store, but the reality is that it is much, much more than that.  Unlike traditional retailers, our focus is on the big picture of an entire environment, wether that be a space, a room, or a whole house.  To be able to look at the entire big picture you have to be able to alter the envirnment as well, and not just what is in it.  When we dug deep with customes we would find, it wasn't just the sofa they didn't like...it was the hardwood floors that sofa was sitting on that they didn't like as well.  So we created our own Eastside design center in the back corner of our showroom. 

We didn't just decide to do this over night, as a matter of fact we have been dealing flooring, tile & stone, carpet, lighting, window coverings, and whatever your interior imagination can think of for the past 25 years.  We have an experience staff of interior designers, many who have owned their own firms at one point in their career, and we also are a licensed contractor with years of experience to make sure your project is done correctly. 

Being a hybrid retail store makes it very difficult to get the message across of what we can do, which is why I would invite all of you to come explore our back corner.  If you are thinking of remodeling, just want to change your carpet out, or even just want some inspriation but don't know where to start, then come see what we can do for you because I'll bet it will be a delightful surprise to learn what we can do for you. 

So the next time you are in, don't just walk past that corner, jump in and enjoy. 

Regards,

Brian Schoener

When I purchased my home in 2004, I did what most new homeowner's do, and I re-carpeted the place.  Not only was I put back by the condition of the carpet, but there was a phycological barrier that kept me from wanting to live on the previous owners carpet.  Since there was nothing in the home the day I got the key, the process was fairly straight forward. 

Fast forward 8 years with a 9 year old, and a dog that likes to dig, and that sparkling new carpet I put in back in 2004 had just about reached its return on investment.  That being said, the decision to re-carpet my residence was made.  Working with my wife in our store picking out what colors we wanted where, and what textures and construction would perform the best there, we came to a decision three different carpets for the house.  

A nice dark Dixie Home, loop and cut pile with texture on it, and a eurathane stain resistent odor free pad for the dogs room....to help hide his dusty paws, and any untimely accidents.  A commerical rated J+J Invision loop pile with geometric pattern and complimenting color ways that would handle the foot traffic on the stairs.  Lastly, a plush Masland cut pile with loop texture in the bedrooms to be soft on the bare feet. 

With the decisons made, we thought we were crusing down easy street...but what came next is probably what sways a lot of carpet changing decisions for most people.  What do we do with all the furniture!  Certainly I can't say to my wife..."grab the other side of that entertainment center and help me move it downstairs", well, not if I wanted to keep her as my wife anyway. 

The answer that actually made the entire process so easy, and makes me so proud to co-own the type of business that we are, was to provide that service to me, and to any of our customers.  Our team came to my home in the morning and moved all of my furnishings into other rooms that were not getting carpeted...and when the carpet was done at the end of the day, they came back and moved it all back. 

What I envisioned as a fairly daunting project happened without me even being home.  I left my house one morning with old carpet, and just like a magician pulling a table cloth out from under the dinner ware, when I returned the carpet was different, but the furniture was exactly where it was before (or anywhere you would like).  It made me think....getting new carpet isn't as tough as it seems. 

I thought it was important to tell this story because it wasn't something Henredon & Schoener provided for a client....it was something it provided for me, and the way it worked out made me very happy that we do what we do, which is make the daunting projects seem easy. 

I am available anytime to give advice on how to NOT move your wife's clothes out of the closets to recarpet them if you ever find yourself in the same predicament. 

Thank you for reading,

Brian Schoener