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The Stickley Story, as told  by Bruce Johnson as he recounts his time at the Stickley Museum and place of the former Stickley factory 

Those of you who were reading this column last summer may recall my discovery of Gustav Stickley’s former furniture store and headquarters on 38th Street in Manhattan, now the site of Butterfield 8, a popular watering hole and restaurant. I only had time for a quick, cold beer that warm July afternoon as I sat at the end of the bar, visualizing what the main showroom in the Craftsman Building must have looked like in 1912 when it was packed with new Morris chairs, bookcases, desks and china cabinets.

While there is nothing in Butterfield 8 that provides any clue to everything that took place in that room nearly a hundred years earlier – from the excitement of the grand opening to the heartbreak when the doors were closed a mere four years later – just knowing that the building still stood, that the showroom still existed, that you could go in and sit down and, for a few minutes, roll back Arts & Crafts history was more than enough to draw me back a few weeks ago.

Again I sat at the bar where I could view the entire room, but this time I lingered over dinner and a few glasses of wine as I drank it all in. I shared with a 54-year-old Gus my own memories of once having bought a commercial building I could not afford, of countless nights and weekends wrestling with sheetrock and wearing out paint brushes, of filling the showroom with antiques and the backroom and basement with woodworking machinery, of agonizing over how people would perceive it, of how it would do financially, of how I would be able to repay a nervous loan officer at the bank.

I followed him out the door as he headed up toward Penn Station to catch the train across the Hudson River over to his home and farm in Morris Plains. Broad-shouldered, head held erect, this son of German immigrants who fought and drank and struggled to feed eight children on a worn-out patch of rocky ground in desolate Wisconsin had never finished high school, yet had risen to become a prominent businessman and magazine publisher with a twelve-story headquarters in midtown Manhattan. Alas, if only his business had been as well built as his Morris chairs....

The next morning I nursed a steaming cup of black coffee as I walked up 7th Avenue to the ‘new’ Stickley Store on 25th Street. The late Alfred Audi had, as a young man, worked with Gustav’s brother Leopold Stickley, before eventually buying what little remained of the Stickley furniture company and, in 1988, introducing an extensive line of new Arts & Crafts furniture based on the designs of both Gustav and Leopold Stickley’s companies.

The initial resistance on the part of antiques dealers and collectors to this new line of Stickley reproductions gradually melted as the Audi family launched an extensive advertising and public relations campaign that over the course of nearly 25 years has introduced more new people to the Arts & Crafts movement than anyone else.

I thought I knew what to expect as I entered their spacious, two-story showroom that morning: room after room after room of perfect Arts & Crafts settings – dining rooms, living rooms, offices, bedrooms, dens, family rooms, each meticulously outfitted with flawless new Stickley furniture and carefully-selected Arts & Crafts accessories. But - I was in for a surprise.

What you have to realize is that the Audi family has been very loyal to the designs of Gustav Stickley. While they have employed innovative technology to make the construction process more precise and cost effective, they have seldom veered from the original designs approved by Gustav Stickley.

Twenty minutes into my wandering through the store it hit me: I could stand in one spot and look to my right and see a 1901 Gustav Stickley bookcase, turn to my left and see a set of spindle furniture from his 1907 catalog, turn around and spot an experimental Harvey Ellis-designed music cabinet from 1903, look a little further and see exactly how Gustav’s sideboards had evolved from the 8-legged massive version in 1901 to the scaled-down model of 1915 with no strap hinges, a thinner top and no thru-tenons.

The furniture was all new, but the designs were original. And unlike in any museum, I could open the doors, I could pull out the drawers, I could run my fingers over the corbels, I could put my elbows on the table and my feet on the footstool in front of the Eastwood chair I would never have imagined myself sitting in at any museum exhibition.

It was a study in design, a complete collection of Gustav Stickley’s furniture designs, an evolution of Arts & Crafts history, from the dark, massive early years to the more refined middle period to the scaled-back later years. And it is all under one roof, it is open nearly every day, and it is showing in more than one city.

While I am sure Gustav Stickley would be honored by the homage being paid to him by the traveling exhibit currently on display at the Dallas Museum of Art and soon to be moving to San Diego, I cannot help but think that, as a manufacturer and designer of new Arts & Crafts furniture, he would be equally as proud of his designs being preserved, studied and appreciated each day in the Stickley furniture stores across the country.

And I’ll drink a toast to that… over at Butterfield 8.

To view more of Bruce's articles click here

The world of interior design is all about knowing the element of the room and how you can make your home furniture really work in the context of text, colour shape and form. There are a lot of things that go into the design of a home that you may never have considered before you really sit down and looked at all the options. You might be able to make every room in your home a symphony of the aesthetic with the judicious use of space and home furniture to enhance and own the space you live in.

If you want to better understand designers intention the first step is to understand how they will approach the way they will use specific furniture pieces to design your home. Design is a systematic process that requires a clear methodology that is discussed with the client to ensure the designer’s vision meets optimizes the client’s desires.

A quality designer will proceed with a healthy amount of analysis and research of the room an use the information creatively to arrange the room in an aesthetically pleasing manner that is in harmony with the clients vision. The key to drafting a design concept is to have a complete understanding of the goal of the project and to use home furniture to make this happen.

The point of using home furniture in the art of interior design is to create a sense of completeness in the room and in the home as a whole. Designers will often achieve this completeness by adhering to themes that have been discussed and selected with their clients, and these themes are often based upon classic concepts of design that have been established throughout the history of design; for example international design, Feng Shui, modern and minimalist design. After you have selected the direction you want to take with your overall design project, you designer will assist you as you chose your furniture pieces.

A fine example of a piece of that can quickly become useful to you interior designer is Stanley Furniture’s Bedroom Media Chest, which is meant to impart a sense of functionality, along with its evident utility in a way that will free up space and also calm the mood of the bedroom; with the added benefit of drawing the eye. The Chest comes with media storage trays and air vents for the electronics, as well as utility drawers and cord management vents that add to its economy. Because it is such an unassuming piece it is an example of home furniture that works in the favour of the designer.

Critelli’s Fine Furniture benchmark of Quality and Exceptional Service is unsurpassed and is reflected in the expression of our interior design services – feel free to call 1-877-322-1172 or browse our catalogue and have your dream space come true.

When people decide that they need to improve the look of their home, they may find themselves in a furniture shop with a slightly perplexed look on their face, wondering exactly how they might be able to make the look they have in mind work for their lifestyle.

The first step in making new furnishing work for you is to acknowledge the aesthetic that you have planned and weigh that against what sort of additions you would like to make and the type of additions you can afford and the tax that this addition will put on the room as a whole. Having that type of an agenda is the first step to becoming what is widely known as DIY designer. DIY of Do It Yourself designers apply all the tricks and know-how a hired contractor, but benefits from the fact that they are dealing with their own home and the capacity to manage the work flow and the cash flow for every visit to the furniture shop.

Knowing what goes into a design plan is the first step to designing a perfect room that fits your wants and needs without creating a impacted and cluttered area in your home by not listening to the formative rhythm of the space. Home design is all about everything in its right place and every DIY designer owes it to themselves to keep that in mind as they begin arrange a room.

Here are two good tips for creating a starting point for you room design:

Option 1) Gut the room at start with one piece of furnishing that speaks to your style and build from that considering colour shape and take those concepts with you when you visit the furniture shop.

Option 2) Strip the room down along with your design concept and try to find a way to make minimalist style work for you. Understanding the basics of your concept is the first step to making it successful.

The Bedroom Entertainment Chest is a fine example of what can be called the functional minimalism. This chest comes with wide open drop front drawer that add simple access to its list of very functional features and gives a few more ways and reasons to look for it in a furniture shop, and incorporate it into your bedroom scheme, and better your chances of making the whole thing come together. And when you consider the added convenience of the utility drawers and the functionality of the cord management system you can see that this is a space and labour saving option.

Another way you could go in you concept of designing your bedroom is the Marlow Iron Bed by Wesley Allen which is meant to be a focal point for the room more than anything else and is meant to allow you to work around a prominent piece without having to consider to the need to add more domineering objects to the room.

So as you design your next room consider what you want to make out of it when you visit the furniture shop. You should be looking to enhance your room and bring harmony to your home so when you have a look through our catalogue and visit the furniture shop have a vision in mind and not a wrecking ball.

Every gourmand loves a good buffet for the obvious availability to all kinds of flavours. But what they don't often notice is how these buffets are situated and accessorized. Buffets are usually found in hotel lobbies, casino and large institutional gatherings, but in some cases you may find yourself having to entertain a large group of people in your own home. When you consider how to display or carry off a proper large function and feed a good amount of people you will need to consider the necessities of a proper buffet. You need to appreciate what makes the presentation of food attractive to your guest and comfortable to your home.

A good example of how furnishing a buffet can be as important as what food you choose to stock and what cutlery and china you choose to utilize is the Lakeview Casual Buffet. This piece has modest table space and at first it may seem slightly diminutive but its look really makes it a worthwhile choice when arranging a gathering. It has three drawers, two doors and two adjustable shelves with a fine silver tray and a very dignified look that adds to its presence. This buffet is a fine piece that calls back to a time where a gathering was attended by servants and is a grand option for you next social exhibition.

Another way to go is the Oxford Design Master Sideboard, a fitting unit for any well stocked buffet, and a way to class up an engagement on the verge of being too relaxed. This piece has a lot more modern sensibilities that can easily inject some old world class into a buffet and let you arrange the day or evening the way you see fit. It comes in four finishes and nicely designed bevels on the legs and the lower compartment of the two shelves and two doors. It also comes with the option of a decorative pattern engraved into the table top. This piece has a lot of unique features that can add character to your home and also be a great feature in you buffet.

Any of these pieces can make your next buffet very worldly experience for you and your guest ~ have look through the catalogue and see which piece fits your style best.

A credenza is a very nice piece to have as it provides lots of storage in such a beautiful package. From modern to traditional you will find what you’re looking for.

Versatility is key, as credenzas can serve many functions: entertainment centre, dining room sideboard, foyer (makes for great storage), computer or laptop station as they make a great desk area as well.

For the home office, might we suggest the gorgeous Shelter Island Credenza Hutch by Stanley Furniture. Perfect for your laptop or computer, itboasts two glass doors, one backlit and one adjustable wood framed glass shelf behind each door, one can light and one adjustable wood framed glass shelf in center section, four drawers, one task light, one electrical outlet, cord.

Featuring the classic Country Estates Credenza, this high waisted credenza, fabulous with its mahogany top and black bass, is cross functional to many rooms: dining room, living room and even in a foyer. This unit has three doored sections with adjustable shelves providing plenty of storage height for vases and other tall items.

Need to pay for that credenza with a credit card? We have the ability to accept all major credit cards. We can even work with you to deliver it and more. All your needs are met when you shop with us. You can view products online or come to our store and we would be more than happy to assist you.

It’s time to give yourself a treat for your home.We have the styles you love and the brands you trust. When it comes to furniture and the credenza which you are looking for, then you have come to the right place ~ feel free to browse our online catalogue and choose from our fabulous collections.