The Book Shelf

Alison Johnston General

FACTORY MAN Last year I read the book Factory Man by Beth Macy. Her book chronicles the collapse of the furniture industry in Virginia and the Carolinas and one man’s attempt to save his company and his town. As someone who relies on the furniture industry to make our designs great, I was fascinated by her story.   Beth Macy …

The Art Files: Artist Name

Alison Johnston General

Artist Name Artist Home Town Quick intro of Artist, followed by HEAD SHOT Interview Questions with IMAGES Jennifer Collier makes wonderful pieces with paper. Other items include children’s dresses, typewriters, and even a vacuum cleaner! Christine Berrie does a wonderful study of old cameras in this print. It is available through 20×200 in several sizes. And Pamela Stretton takes this …

Home Office is Number One!

Alison Johnston General, Home Office

Guess who has the #1 Home Office on Houzz for 2016! Our homework space in the Modern Farmhouse project went viral this year with over 100k saves. We are so grateful that one of our spaces inspired so many people to think about how they work at home. The Study features 4 work stations with green linoleum tops for a …

Art for All

Alison Johnston General

FINDS FROM MINTED.COM I am currently designing a modern ranch house with a Swedish vibe (think cool grays, bright whites and lots of natural wood.) I can’t read a thing in Swedish, but Elin Lannsjö speaks my design language! Currently I am looking for artwork to finish up my furniture presentation.  I always encourage clients to look for art on …

What does it all cost? (part 4)

Alison Johnston General

Let’s look at a high end furniture budget. (For inspiration photos return to Part 1.) We’ve examined a low end furniture budget at $13/sf and a middle range from retail sources at $50/sf.   You’ve paid good money for a house and are ready to do it right.  Would you spend 5-20% of the purchase price of your home to furnish …

What does it all cost? (part 3)

Alison Johnston General

Last week we looked at low budget options for furnishing a 250sf living room. When you shop at Target and Ikea, you can expect to pay around $13/sf. Today we will look at all of the amazing retail options. I designed and priced these rooms based on Pottery Barn. But this range includes Crate and Barrel, Room and Board, West …

What does it all cost? (part 2)

Alison Johnston General

In my last post we started an exploration on determining the right furniture budget for you. Today we are going to look at what it would cost to furnish a 250 sq ft living room, soup to nuts or “sofa to candles.” Here is the floor plan for our new room.   We looked at three lovely living rooms last …