Cheers to 2013!

Send out 2012 with one final hurrah this year. Host a new year’s fete to remember with a few of our favorite tips!

Deck the Halls

Photo Credit: http://nyshowplace.com

Leave a few choice holiday decorations up for the extra week—a Christmas tree and string of lights add a festive touch, but add a little more glamour. Mini disco balls strategically strung around the party area set the proper mood. 

Maintain Culinary Simplicity

Skip the dinner hour. Kick off the festivities at 8 or 9 p.m., and make it a dessert and cocktail party. Either provide 3-4 simple desserts—cookies, brownies, trifles—or ask everyone to bring one of their favorites. Here’s an easy recipe we like for celebratory occasions:

Sparkling Glazed Apple Cider Pound Cake

Source: Chef in Training

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter softened                                                                    
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp. butter extract
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sparkling cider

. GLAZE .

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup sparkling cider

Instructions

1. Cream butter, shortening and sugar together in a large bowl.
2. Beat in eggs one at a time along with the butter extract.
3. In a small bowl, combine salt, baking powder, and flour and stir to evenly combine. Add alternately with 1/2 cup sparkling cider to the wet ingredients and beat until well incorporated.
4. Pour into a greased and floured 9 inch by 5 inch loaf pan.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 50 minutes or until the top is golden brown and until a toothpick can be inserted and come out clean. Let cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.
6. In a medium bowl, whisk sparkling cider and powdered sugar until smooth consistency is reached. Poor over cooled pound cake.

Easy Bartending

Don’t waste the party tending bar for your guests—they can manage just fine on their own. Purchase enough wine and beer for everyone, but keep the liquors and mixers simple. Purchase soda water, tonic water, cranberry juice and ginger ale, and have a bottle of vodka, gin, and bourbon available for people to mix their own favorites.

Cue up the Countdown

Photo credit: http://www.thedailygreen.com

Turn on Dick Clark just before midnight, and get the volume cranked up so everyone can hear it. Pass out cheap noise -makers and “Happy New Year” headbands, and encourage everyone to countdown to midnight together. 

We are looking forward to enjoying some New Year’s cheer next week, and can’t wait to see what’s in store for 2013. Happy New Year from all your friends at Hillsdale Furniture! 

Happy Holidays!!!!

Background photo credit: http://www.seoclerks.com/imagedb/2414/Christmas-Red

Banish the Holiday Blues

This time of year it is easy to get overwhelmed, over-anxious, and over stimulated.  With all of the gift wrapping, tree trimming, light viewing and party hopping, it can be difficult to find a moment to really revel in that holiday spirit. Here are a few of our favorite ways to chase away those holiday blues, and really enjoy the season:

Globe Trotting

Photo: http://avacationrentals.blogspot.com/

No better way to decompress than to skip town and holiday obligations all together. Save that cash that might have gone to fancy gifts and hosting a holiday shindig and book a weekend (or longer) getaway. Groupon and other deal sites often offer great deals on last minute plans to such places as the Riviera Maya in Mexico, the Virgin Islands, and California wine country. Or just book yourself into a plush local hotel for a night and imagine you’re farther afield.   

Take a Hike

Photo:  http://www.salzburgersportwelt.com/

We don’t always think of getting outdoors in the wintertime, but hiking somewhere scenic in the brisk air at twilight is one of life’s simple pleasures. Bundle up, load up your iPod with some of your favorite holiday tunes, and hit the local trail. Or just hit up your local tree farm, wander the rows for a bit, and revel in that iconic Christmas scent. 

Movie Night

Plan a special evening for only your nearest and dearest, and one that everyone can attend in their pajamas. Cue up everyone’s favorite holiday film—we like “Elf” since we’ll never be able to get enough Will Ferrell in our lives—pop some popcorn, maybe serve some Christmas cookies and milk, and snuggle in for a fun night at home. 

Plan Ahead

Photo: http://www.erincondren.com

Mentally skip a few months ahead, and start planning for 2013. Bust out a fresh calendar or planner (we love the Life Planners from ErinCondren.com), and start planning out how great 2013 is going to be. Book a summer vacation, start setting lunch dates and choose a date to host a non-holiday get together for your closest pals. 

Treat Yourself

Photo: http://www.erincondren.com

Your favorite shops, both of the online and brick-and-mortar sort, are full of deals and sales this time of year. In an effort to entice your gift giving dollars, cries of 20% off, BOGO and “gift with purchase” are not uncommon. Have your eye on something special that Santa may or may not know about? Have at it. Take a moment to reward yourself. 

Season's Greetings!

Tis the season. Soon your mailbox will be brimming with holiday cards and greetings from your closest family and friends (if it isn’t already). It’s not too late to mail your own, and we wanted to share a few of the most stylish, and well-designed, options gracing online stationers this year.

Holiday Wishes

Classic Christmas cards never fail. Here’s a few with some serious Santa-style.

New Year’s Cheer

The Happy New Year greeting card is one of our favorite recent inventions. It’s perfect for those who might be a little behind on getting the holidays wrapped up this year, and is appropriate well into January.

 

Custom Creations

There’s still just enough time to get a little creative and get something custom out the door. Here are a few of our favorite templates for your holiday photos and special messages.

We love holiday cards at Hillsdale Furniture, and we’d love to see what you chose this year. Share an image on our Facebook page of your 2012 edition, and we’ll show you ours. 

Happy stamping!

The Hillsdale Home Gift Guide

Black Friday (and Cyber Monday) may be behind us, but if you’re like many of us at the Hillsdale Headquarters, you likely still have some shopping to get done. In the grand tradition of holiday gift guides, we’ve decided to put together a compilation of some of our favorite things to give (or get). To put our own spin on the exercise, we’re going around the house to offer a suggestion for each room in the house. Happy shopping!

The Kitchen

So central to the holiday spirit, give the cook or gourmand in your life a gift that will keep on giving. We love Deb Perelman’s Smitten Kitchen blog, and she’s a special kind of genius when it comes to fancy meals and desserts perfect for the holiday season. This year she released her first cookbook, The SmittenKitchen Cookbook, and it’s so full of gorgeous photographs and amazing recipes, it’s already on The New York Times Bestseller List. 

The Bathroom

One of our favorite sites for customized planners, notebooks and stationary is ErinCondren.com. All of their products are custom designed and made in their California studio, and they recently started melding their colorful creations with acrylic materials. Their acrylic boxes and trays are the perfect tools for corralling perfumes, hair products, make-up and whatever else is crowding your bathroom sink or shelves. They are available in a variety of styles, and can be personalized with photos, names and monograms. 

The Hallway

Know someone with a bare hallway or a few empty walls around the house? Anyone who has moved recently likely has this problem to some extent. Jennifer Hill is an American graphic artist who has created a series of prints inspired by the places she’s never been before. There are several dozen options, and the prints come in a variety of sizes, all fully matted, and for a very reasonable price. They can also be customized if the occasion so calls. We’re of course partial to the Louisville print. 

The Bedroom

A throw remains one of our favorite winter gifts, based both on its coziness factor as well as its flexibility. It can be thrown over a chair, a couch or our preference, a bed (especially over a comforter that might be in need of a trip to the dry-cleaner). We like these options from West Elm that you can monogram. The quality and cost breakdown here are hard to beat.

  

The Office

Creatively disguised iPhone chargers are the new hit gift for 2012, and there are some really great options out there. Our favorite though would make the perfect decoration for a desk already cluttered with technology. Substitute another piece of sleek white plastic from the Apple store for a pretty stack of antique books that will amazingly enough charge your phone too! We like this option from Anthropologie, but there are lots of other choices on Etsy.com. 

The Living Room

With holiday entertaining on the horizon, perhaps the perfect gift to give yourself is the sleek Hillsdale Furniture Bardstown Bar, ideal for turning a small corner of your living area into the life of the party. You can turn any nook or cranny into a swanky (and practical) serving station with this simple, space saving piece, constructed of pewter-finished metal and wood in a rich cherry hue. The bar includes space for over a half dozen hanging glasses, eight wine bottles, and a glass platform for additional glasses and spirits. The bar is accompanied by two backless bar stools, with a glossy black vinyl seat covering. Some assembly required.  For details on where     to purchase, please visit www.hillsdalefurniture.com and click on the dealer locator.

We’ll be back in the coming weeks with some more fun thoughts on the holiday season, but in the meantime, let us know in the comments about some of your favorite gifts to give and receive.

 

Coming Soon...Woodridge!

As the theaters fill with moviegoers anxious for this seasons holiday blockbusters, our warehouse is awaiting one of Hillsdale’s coming attractions. The Woodridge Collection is scheduled to arrive at our door in early December, just in time for the holiday entertaining and gift giving.

A blockbuster in its own right, the Woodridge Counter Height Dining is a showcase for Victorian design ideals. The on-trend table is accompanied by elegant non-swivel stools that are adorned with a floral carving and lattice back. For added comfort, the seats are covered with a soft, ivory fabric that echoes the stools floral motif. 

No blockbuster is complete without a supporting cast, and for the Woodridge, the swivel stools and server fit the bill. With all the same elegant design elements of the non-swivel stools, the Woodridge swivel barstool or counter stools add the convenience of a 360-degree turning feature. Not to be outdone, the server enters the scene with two drawers, two cabinets, and an open shelving and wine storage unit making it an ideal piece for special occasion storage and flexible serving. And for an added touch of luxury, the server is accented by brushed pewter hardware, making it a timeless home furnishing.

The Woodridge Collection is available for families and dining room of all sizes, with sizes built to accommodate four, six and eight people. With its elegant, old-fashioned features, it’s the perfect piece to bring home and decorate for the holiday seasons. Turn in your ticket early next month at www.hillsdalefurniture.com, and keep an eye on our Facebook page for more new product announcements! 

Up and Snapping!

The Hillsdale Furniture in-house photography studio is complete! We wrote about the start of the project here (http://hillsdalefurn.blogspot.com/2012/09/after-nearly-two-decades-in-business.html), and after a few months of construction and finishing touches, we’re ready to go. In fact, we've been snapping our own product shots for a few weeks now, and we couldn't be more thrilled about the development. 

Our studio being prepped for
 shooting a new bar set

Here’s a Cliff’s Notes-version of how we did it: The Hillsdale team had 9’ high moveable walls built by a local contractor. They were then placed on casters and were designed so that both sides can be used; all we need to do is spin them around our 20’x20’ studio space. One side has a hanger system to let us use interchangeable chair rail/moulding panels and the other side is plain paint with a baseboard attached. We have several window sections, as well as a bookcase, a French door unit and a pass-thru section to give us a look into a second “room,” allowing us to give our customers a better feel for what the pieces will look like in their actual homes. 

Cheers to you John!

More importantly though, here’s the man who’s taking charge—professional photographer and newest member of the Hillsdale team, John Rott. Save for a six-year break as a studio photographer, his career has mostly been spent as a photojournalist for newspapers. John joined the team after more than a dozen years working at the Louisville Courier-Journal newspaper.  

The final shot of the Bardstown Bar Set.

We’re excited to have John on board, and we can’t wait to see how our visual portfolio develops as a result. Check out our website, Facebook and Pinterest boards to get your first looks at our new photography! 

Rustic Charm

Whether you live in the country literally, or just in your mind from time to time, adding a little rustic charm to your home can be a freeing exercise. Here are a few ways to bring a sense of that laid back, old world style to your abode.

Make peace with imperfection.

Reclaimed, unfinished wood, with its grains, knots and signs of often decades of growth, is an easy and often affordable means of adding a little rural, backwoods personality. Old doors can often make fantastic coffee tables.

Give unexpected elements new uses.

Photo credit: Katherine Wolkoff

Old mirrors are an illuminating design tool. They make natural light impactful, visually open up claustrophobic spaces, and make excellent catch-all’s for a variety of objects—beautiful perfume bottles, or picture frames, for example. Try using one (or a few) under a window as a tabletop. 

Treasure family history.

Photo credit: Katherine Wolkoff

Thrift stores can be a gold mine for inexpensive, vintage frames. When paired with older family photographs, they can pack a real nostalgic punch. Group a bunch together on a single table or dresser for maximum affect. 

Need a quicker solution? Embrace casual beauty with the Hillsdale Furniture Outback Collection. Crafted from high mountain ash solids and some select plywood, the Outback Collection is sturdy and stylish. The timbers are mill cut to give each piece an aged and distressed appearance. The warm chestnut finish is complemented by the natural imperfections of knots, cracks and blemishes, making it easy to make peace with its more charming imperfections. Check out the style in a bedroom collection available with two different beds—a panel as well as a slatted style—along with a dresser, bureau or nightstand. 

Check out more Outback pieces at Hillsdalefurniture.com

We’ve carried the popular Outback Collection into our dining side as well, creating a unique set of pieces around both a trendy counter height table, with four counter stools, and a more traditional height, rectangular dining table, with six chairs. Sideboards and dining room cabinets are also available.

However you achieve the look, be sure not to be afraid to be eclectic. Mix and match, take advantage of thrift stores, and don’t be afraid to wring every last bit of use out of both the plain and most artful objects around your home. 

Share your favorite rustic spaces with us on Pinterest!

Luxury for Less - The Wilmington Collection

Always dress to impress. This mantra should be applied not only to wardrobes, but to homes as well. Everyone should be able to enjoy beautiful interiors they are proud to bring friends and family home to, for the holidays, for the party, for the evening. Hillsdale Furniture is working to make luxury and elegance attainable, affordable, and easy to care for. Our products are designed in-house, and capture the trends, themes and styles popular with high end dealers and designers, at a price point that’s far simpler to stomach. Luxury for Less is a regular series meant to highlight some of our favorites.

Sleek and sophisticated, Hillsdale Furniture’s Wilmington Collection is the home design equivalent of an LBD or sharply tailored suit. Make any room in your house cocktail party-prepared with the Wilmington table and barstools.

 The Wilmington, available in both bar and counter heights, is a collection with serious style.

 The stools are constructed of solid hardwood and feature a 360 degree swivel seat. They are backless and have a lovely cappuccino-hued finish with either a black or brown vinyl seat covering.

 The Wilmington table, though splendid when paired with its matching stools, will stand just as fine on its own should a special event necessitate a little more space. Also made of solid hardwood, the table is a spot to gather for good conversation over a glass of wine or casual meal.

 

Both the table and chairs also have that effortless and easy-going style that make them easy to dress up for any occasion—centerpieces, table settings and chair drapes or garlands would be right at home with the Wilmington Collection. 

At Hillsdale Furniture, we make elegance attainable. For more information on the Wilmington Collection, please visit www.hillsdalefurniture.com. For more ideas on how to integrate our furniture into your daily life and special occasions, check out our Facebook and Pinterest pages. 

Halloween Memories

Here at Hillsdale’s corporate headquarters you’ll find touches of Halloween fun in all corners of the office. Desks are adorned with smiling jack-o-lanterns, wicked witches, and bountiful bowls of candy, while common areas are graced with ghoulish décor and devilish treats. Being the fan of Halloween that I am, I couldn’t help but ask my co-workers, “What’s your favorite Halloween memory, costume, or tradition?” Here are some of their answers

Tabatha, from accounts receivable, says her favorite part of the season is going to many of our Kentuckiana haunted houses and performing in a backyard haunt called the Hetzer Haunted House on Halloween night .This year they are taking food donations for the local chapter of Dare to Care.  

McClanahan dancers ready to perform in their Halloween best

A member of our sales support staff, Julie, spends a lot of time with her daughters at Irish dance competitions throughout the year. In October, she loves the Halloween competition when the girls forego their traditional dance gear for fun costumes. 

But costumes aren’t for everyone. So when our sales manager, Katrina, was asked to a costume party she was none too thrilled, “I hate dressing up for Halloween. But one year I had to go to a costume party when I was very pregnant, so I poked my legs and arms through a Hefty garbage bag, and stuffed it with newspaper, and went as a bag of trash.” 

Baby Jack's photo by Capture Me Photography

For Dawn in internet sales, this year Halloween is all about her baby boy, Jack. “As a huge fan of Halloween I started pondering Jack’s first Halloween costume in August.  The ideas were endless. Then, while having a conversation with a friend it hit me, it’s all in his name.  Over lunch my friend and I discussed all the wonderful “Jack” costumes we could think of.  We thought of everything from Jack-in-the-Box to Captain Jack Sparrow.  Brimming with this idea I went out and purchased Jack’s first Halloween costume, a fluffy soft Jack o’ Lantern.”    

A chainsaw pumpkin crafted by Jim Dethy

Laura, our international logistics manager, has a great family tradition. “For the past ten years, the highlight of our autumn comes in the form of Jim and Joan’s annual Halloween party.  Each year, they invite friends and family to enjoy an evening under the October moon.  We all bring our favorite dishes. There is music and karaoke.  This year my eight year old daughter, Isabelle, performed “Cowboy Casanova” and if you close your eyes you would swear it was Carrie Underwood. The entertainment is followed by a hayride around the farm complete with ghost stories. What better way to celebrate the season than with these wonderful friends!"      

Everyone at the Hillsdale Headquarters is excited to make more great Halloween memories tonight, and we’re wishing everyone a very Happy Halloween!

Scary Citizens (of the Hillsdale Headquarters)

In honor of the Halloween season, Hillsdale wants to spotlight an employee whose name has become synonymous with the horror scene, both locally (here in Louisville) and nationally.

By day, Jeff Gaither is our mild mannered Art Director, crafting beautiful catalogs and marketing materials. By night, he is a wickedly sinister horror artist bringing our worst nightmares into artistic reality. Jeff blends the aesthetics of the rock and horror genres into an intense visual assault of graphics and color sure to scare the pants off even the most dedicated fans. Whether painting, sculpting, or sketching, Jeff’s brand of work goes hand in hand with Halloween.

Introduced to art at an early age by his mother and aunt, Jeff has spent over 30 years honing his craft and unique style. You cannot mistake a Gaither masterpiece for anything else.  Intricate details, graphic imagery, and vibrancy of color are unmistakable Gaither attributes. His work has graced the CD/LP covers and/or shirts of hundreds of bands including The Misfits and Guns N’ Roses. Many local publications, such as Leo Weekly and Velocity, have featured Jeff’s art on their covers and he has designed all the posters, ads, billboards and shirts for Louisville’s Annual Forecastle Festival (ten years running). Jeff has contributed his art to numerous exhibitions , including the Kentucky Psychological Associations “Heads Up” project, an exhibit to promote awareness of psychological disorders and most recently the Thirty Three Quarters exhibit, which celebrates the iconic open faced motorcycle helmets of the 60s and 70s. His work has been called “prolific”, “unmistakable”, “disturbing”, and “sinister”, and he is a true “legend of the underground”.

Jeff's piece for the Thirty Three Quarters exhibit. Photo by John Rott

With such an eye for all things gruesome, I couldn’t help but be curious about what he might get into during the Halloween season. Though he says he’s not a fan of dressing up he will play along sometimes when we have a Halloween day at work. And in regards to his favorite horror flick, he’s hard pressed to single out one. The best he could offer is a three way tie between The Thing (1982 remake), The Exorcist, and Dawn of Dead (1978 original). And when I asked, “What is your favorite thing to do during the Halloween season in Louisville? “ his response was, “Same as any other time as it is Halloween year round for me.”

Don’t believe him?  Check out the photo below of Mr. Gaither just relaxing in his home sweet home.

Photo by John Nation

To check out more of Jeff Gaither’s wicked world visit his fan page on Facebook.   

 WARNING: Content is not for the faint of heart.

If you are looking more ideas for your Halloween festivities check Hillsdale's Halloween Pinterest board.

Spook City

All Hail All Hallow’s Eve! This year, leave no (head)stone unturned as you plan and perfect a spooky Halloween party that’s sure to cast a spell on even the most welcoming of spaces. 

1.       Start with a spooky invitation.

Photo credit:ohsobeautifulpaper.com

Whether heading the traditional snail mail route, or the electronic one, make a scary impression from the get-go. Purchase black envelopes and use chalk or a white marker to draw spider webs and ghosts on the packaging. Short on time? Download the RedStamp.com app on your smart phone and use their smartly designed e-invites to get the word out, fast.

2.       Décor to die for.

Turn the entrance of your “haunted” house into a clever cemetery setting. Install Styrofoam tombstones near the front door—preferably adorned with the names of party guests. Hang a canopy above the entrance for the full affect.

Photo credit: houzz.com

3.       Prepare a frightening feast.

Spooky snacks are a must at any Halloween get together. Think, cupcakes and cookies frosted and shaped to look like pumpkins, apples in a “witch’s cauldron,” or get your hands on a pack of disposable plastic gloves. Put a piece of candy corn at the tip of each finger (“the nail”), fill the rest with popcorn, tie at the end, and add a plastic spider ring on the finger of each “hand.”

4.       Initiate a ghoulish game.

Our favorite? Allowing your guests to get a feel of dead man’s “guts.” Turn off the lights, blindfold your visitors, then begin reciting Charles F. Smith’s circa-1930s “A Hallowe’en Post Mortem,” which he wrote for the Boy Scouts: “The truth it is, and not a myth/That once there lived a man named Smith,/And it became his mournful lot/To murdered be quite near this spot./ We now will pass out his remains,/You first will handle poor Smith’s brains....” At this point, “moist sponges are passed from guest to guest.” The verse continues, taking apart poor Smith bit by bit—his hair (corn silk), his windpipe (a length of uncut boiled macaroni), his hand (a glove stuffed with wet sand)—until there is nothing of him left.

However you choose to celebrate Halloween this year, we want to hear about it. Tell us about your favorite Halloween party ideas on our Facebook page. 

For more Halloween party ideas check out Hillsdale's Halloween Pinterest board at http://pinterest.com/HillsdalePins/

Upping the Autumnal Ambience

The colors of fall—golden yellows, vibrant oranges, deep shades of purple and green, among many others—are warm, comforting and popular for everything from clothing to seasonal menu planning. Here are a few elegant ways to work them into your fall décor, including a few that will work well year round if the mood strikes you.

Red

Ruby-toned, bright shades of red pop when used in moderation, immediately drawing the eye as one walks into the room. Paintings, especially when hung above a mantel, are a simple, temporary and fun way to add a punchy hue to dining and living rooms.  

Yellow

Bright, golden shades of yellow seem to set the Kentucky landscapes on fire (in a good way) every fall, and they can do the same for your home. Drapes and throws naturally lend themselves well to warming up a room, literally and figuratively.

Orange

It’s not just for pumpkins and Halloween candy. Purchase a few orange throw pillows or vases (without the witch and bat motifs), and an autumnal atmosphere can be enjoyed throughout the season. 

Brown

A neutral favorite year round, this hue’s at home in nearly every room of the house. Try out painting an accent wall in espresso or coffee tones, and if that’s too much of a commitment, graphic area rugs in chocolate brown are available in a wide variety of designs and sizes.

Purple

Deep plums and eggplants are very popular with clothing designers this time of the year, but try out the darker tones in your bedroom décor as well. Pillow shams and comforters are great tools for seasonally updating your style, and purple can be a calming color for the most relaxed space in the home.

The Hillsdale Team hopes everyone is enjoying some leaf peeping, hot apple cider and sweater weather wherever you are. Fall is definitely one of our favorites. 

For more information, find us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/hillsdalefurniture 

Headed for High Point!

The Hillsdale Furniture team is gearing up for one of our favorite events—the High Point Furniture Market. Old and new favorites have been loaded on the trucks are headed due east to our North Carolina showroom, where they can mix and mingle with the rest of the industry’s best and brightest. Here’s a sample of what we’ll be showing off this month:

Solid Wood Dining

Arback Dining with trestle table

Arback dining chair

This year our design team has been especially focused on the classics, particularly in our new solid wood dining rooms sets. The Arback Dining Collection, in a darker finish, includes a large, trestle-style dining table, multipurpose wine stand, kitchen island and a variety of china cabinets that are just begging to be dressed up for a Thanksgiving meal. 

Arback dining accents

Hamptons Dining with dark finish

Our Hamptons Dining Room Table is similar, but with a few whimsical touches in the chair backs to make it more the star of its own holiday special. 

Compact Dining

Harrods Creek Dining

Not everyone has a grand, old fashioned dining room space to fill, however. Tables for 8, 10, 12 people just aren’t doable for everyone, but comfortable dining and entertaining most certainly is.  The adjustable Harrods Creek Dining Room Collection has foldable leaves that make it a petite enough to feed four easily in even the tightest of spaces, but expandable to six should the occasion call for it.

Harrods Creek Dining with leaves open

Sarasota Counter Height Dining

 

The Sarasota Dining Room Table has a similar fit, though at a trendy counter height with wood and metal features to make it a stylish standout.

Industrial Stools 

Aryssa Stool

Also new to Hillsdale this year is a line of industrial-grade bar and counter height stools that can be used both at home, as well as in a restaurant, bar, club or commercial setting. The Aryssa Stool boasts a silver metallic finish and a 360 degree swivel stool covered in dark faux-leather that adds a touch of old-fashioned, soda fountain glamour to a piece that is durable and ready to support greater capacity and frequency of use.

 The Hyde Park is similar in style, but is backless for a more compact feel. Finally, the Dundee has a dark coffee, metallic finish and chocolate brown wood top that borders an Old World-inspired linear design sure to grab attention.

Dundee Stool

Hyde Park Stool

       

Come visit us at the High Point Furniture Market October 12-18. We’re at 401 South Hamilton, Spaces 112 and 113. Hope to see everyone there!

The Family Table

  As the technology age continues to encompass every aspect of our lives and the lives of our children, a resurgence of the “Family Table” has emerged. The call to unplug and engage has begun to echo through many homes, and nowhere more than at the dinner table.

  Growing up I remember arriving home from school and being greeted by wonderful aromas of pot roast, fried chicken, or joy of joys taco night! I would change out of my school clothes, wash up, and migrate to the kitchen to help or as mom said, “hover”. Once dinner was ready we’d fill our plates and gather around the table. It was during that time when we all talked the most as a family, unloading the stresses of our day or sharing funny stories. We laughed a lot during our family dinners so when we left the table we had not only nourished our bodies but also our souls. That is the magic of the family table.

  Even now, though my brother and I are grown with children of our own, we still love gathering around that same table. Though its years of use are showing, that old table still stands always making more room as the family grows. It’s the memories of those family meals that we hope to pass down to our own children and what better way to start than with the perfect dining table.

  Quickly becoming a tried and true favorite for Hillsdale Furniture is the Hamptons dining table. Made of solid pine, this table will stand the test of time giving your family years of joyous dining. The round top pedestal table will comfortably fit six with the leaf and four without. With a classic, weathered pine finish this table will transition through years of family dinners.

So let's slow down, unplug, and gather together at the family table.

To see more great dining collections visit www.hillsdalefurniture.com.