Bedding 411

Researchers say that we spend 1/3 of our life in bed. Being the single mother of an infant and working a full time job, I question that number at 4:00 a.m. but.....whatever. Rachel and I are currently in the process of adding new bedding product to the InteriorMall.com website and revamping our whole bedding section. We are EXTREMELY excited to be a new dealer of SFERRA Fine Linens. For those of you unfamiliar with SFERRA they are one of the world's leading companies in luxury bedding. They were the first company ever to offer 1020 thread count sheets, all made from 100% Egyptian Cotton.

I know everyone always talks about thread count but maybe you don't understand what exactly they are referring to. I know until just recently the only thing I personally knew was that the higher the thread count, the better the quality and the better the feel of the fabric....and that is true to an extent. Thread count refers to the number of vertical and horizontal threads per square inch of fabric. What many companies do in order to show a higher thread count is double up the threads. So, if for instance the customer is buying 1020 thread count sheets, they are buying 1,000 thread counts but the quality is only a 500 thread count. There isn't 1,000 threads per square inch of fabric, there is 500 doubled. Just recently Linen N Things was sued over this very issue. A customer bought bed linens with the assumption they were 1,000 thread count sheets. As time wore on they noticed them depreciating faster than should happen. After testing, it was found that they were not actually 1,000 thread count sheets, they were 500 doubled and passed as 1,000. This is not to say that every set of sheets you purchase is fraudulent, however, it is something to be aware of. I can tell you this, SFERRA does not take part in these practices and stands behind there product 100%. Should you ever have problems with your linens they will test them for $100 and find out exactly what caused the problems and if it seems to be a manufacturers flaw, they will replace the sheets.

There's cotton and then there's Egyptian Cotton. Egyptian Cotton is the finest cotton in the world. Found a long the Nile River in Egypt it is used to make the finest linens in the world. What makes this the best cotton in the world? The length of the yarn and the growing process. Researchers have come to realize the longer the yarn and the longer the growing process, the better quality the cotton.

Don't forget to check out the InteriorMall.com bedding page for one of the best bedding selections around.

Retro and Vintage Fabrics

So, spending my weekend at The Paper Doll House rekindled my love for all things old (or old-looking, as the case may be). The love of vintage/retro items has grown exponentially in the design industry in the past few years. The old adage, "what once was old is new again" is showing its truth.

F. Schumacher has come out with some really neat "vintage" fabrics. These new fabrics are available through InteriorMall.com .

Another great source for vintage-inspired fabrics is Laura Ashley. Many of their patterns are reminiscent of days gone by and are great with the ever popular "Shabby Chic" look or a country-cottage scene.

Meet the Staff: Rachel

IT'S FRIDAY!!!! We're glad Shanna returned from her trip to Chicago safe and sound. This week I am introducing everyone to Rachel. She is "the new girl" around the office and we are lovin' her! She was hired on to help take up some of the slack from my job. We get so many new products everyday that need to be added to InteriorMall.com it was becoming difficult for me to keep up with that and the other jobs I do. Thanks to Rachel things are slowly getting better. She's only been here 3 weeks but she's doing a fantastic job!


Carrie: You've only been working here for a short period of time. What have enjoyed most about your job so far?
Rachel: Any job that you can wear jeans to is my kind of job. Everyone here has been so great to ask me about my family and what's going on. I love coming to work in the mornings.

Carrie: How would you describe your interior design taste?
Rachel: I really enjoy modern design. I love sleek lines and clean colors.

Carrie: How do you spend your time outside of work?
Rachel: I spend a lot of time with my baby 3 year old Rat Terrier, Princess. My husband and I got her right after we got married so she's grown with our marriage. I love my family and I look forward to the weekends so I can eat out with friends and relatives.

Carrie: One random question: What is the hardest decision you've ever made?
Rachel: Moving 5 hours south to attend LSU-S was probably the hardest decision I've had to make. I left my fiancee, all my friends, and my family. Everything worked out great though, my fiancee became my husband and we're enjoying being back home with everyone in a place we grew up and hope to raise our children one day.

Meet the Staff: Bruce

Last week we met Cady from the showroom. This week we're meeting Bruce. He works here at the office with myself and all the other girls you've met. He's our behind the scenes guy. If we have phone problems, computer problems, pretty much anything that could go wrong that we can't fix ourselves Bruce is the one who does.

Carrie: How long have you been working for Interior Mall?
Bruce: 4 years

Carrie: What do you enjoy most about your job?
Bruce: Solving lots of different problems and working with pleasant and friendly people.

Carrie: What is the most difficult task you've dealt with while working here?
Bruce: Connecting our office and store so everything worked seamlessly.

Carrie: How do you spend your time outside of work?
Bruce: I like to take photographs and do astronomy. I also like to do astrophotography.

Carrie: One random question: Who has had the most influence in your life and why?
Bruce: My father. He has taught me the value of laughter but also of responsibility. He has shown me how to be firm when needed but also loving and not stern. He has instilled in me the love of God, family, and those I meet each day on my adventure through life.

Next week "The New Girl"......Rachel!
http://www.blogcatalog.com/directory/home_and_garden/interior-design

Wow!

Hello from beautiful Sycamore, Illinois!

We all arrived safely and are enjoying our vacation. The place we are staying in is "The Paper Doll House" in Sycamore. The Paper Doll House is a scrapbooking-oriented bed and breakfast set in a quaint, historically appointed victorian-style home. The Paper Doll House was built in 1893 by Charles O. Boynton as a wedding gift for his daughter, and her husband-to-be, Frederick B. Townsend.

Many of the intricate details in this home point to the fact that this was a wedding gift. There are six fireplaces in the home, and each spectacularly crafted mantelpiece has something symbolic of marriage.

In the dining room are two mantels, one being an actual fireplace, on the outside wall. The details are absolutely amazing in these! They both have a carved rose motif on them and the one on the inside wall has a dragon on each side. The picture on the left is a close-up of the detail of one of the fireplace mantels.

The fireplace shown on the right is in the front parlour of the home. It has the atypical rose motif, along with cherubs on the brass fittings around the fireplace itself. All of the woodwork in the home is original and is in pristine shape.

Later, I will post about some of the individual rooms in the home, such as the Rose Room and the Master Bedroom.

To all y'all at the office - hope you're having a fabulous Thursday!

Goin' to Chicago

Vacation time is arriving quickly! I'm leaving this afternoon for an AWESOME weekend scrapbooking (I know, I know - a whole weekend scrapping????) in the Windy City! In homage to my trip, I wanted to shine a spotlight on some of our items with a Chicago theme.

Some of the manufacturers we deal with are located there, or at least have showrooms. A few you could check out would be Beacon Hill, Duralee, Stroheim & Romann and LumiSource.

I hope to make a few posts while I'm gone, just for a change of scenery. Y'all have a great week!

The Wonderful World of Tiffany

Home decor styles and trends change like the wind. Ideas, colors, looks, everything changes from season to season but the one thing that has stayed the same and stood the tests of time are Tiffany Lamps.

The first Tiffany lamp was created in the late 1890s by Louis Comfort Tiffany. He was the son of Charles Lewis Tiffany, founder of the famous Tiffany and Company.
Louis was a painter and became interesting in glassmaking in 1875. He worked at several glasshouses in Brooklyn until 1878 and then in 1879 he joined Candace Wheeler, Samual Colman and Lockwood de Forest to establish Louis Comfort Tiffany and Associated American Artists. The company thrived but Louis still had a strong desire to work in art glass. In 1885 the firm broke up and Tiffany established Tiffany Glass Company. It became known as Tiffany Studios in 1902.

When he first began his work with art glass he designed windows for some of the most prominent interior design companies in New York as well as church and cathedrals. Many of the stained glass windows seen today all over the Northeastern part of the United States were designed and created by Louis Tiffany. The Holy City
made in 1905 for Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church in Baltimore, Maryland is one of 11 Tiffany windows Louis designed for the church. Having 58 panels it is one of the largest ever made by Tiffany Studios.

In 1899 after a few years of working with windows Louis had the idea of creating lamps. The first Tiffany lamp was created in 1899 with a bronze base.

Every lamp is prepared by using the Copper Foil Method. First the pattern is drawn out on a heavy piece of cardboard. Next a number and glass color is written on the pattern piece. After the pattern is drawn and labeled, the glass is laid over it and traced. Once traced, the pieces are cut and grinded to the correct shape. Next the pieces are cleaned so the copper foil can be applied to the edges and the copper foil solution allows the pieces to adhere together. After the lamp has been placed and fully bonded, the edges are soldered together for a firm hold. Lastly, it is cleaned to bring out its magnificent beauty.

Louis Comfort Tiffany closed down Tiffany Studios in 1932. He is still to this day one of the most recognized artist in the world. His work with art glass has inspired the birth of some of the most well known Tiffany lamp companies still in business today such as Dale Tiffany, Meyda Tiffany and Paul Sahlin Tiffanys.

Tiffany Lamps are timeless, beautiful, and no matter what your decor they are the perfect accent in any room.

Fun fact: The record price for an original Tiffany Studios lamp at a public sale exceeds US $8,000,000.

New Product Spotlight:

There are some amazing new collections being introduced right now. I wanted to introduce you to one of my favorites, so far!

These are all new from Robert Allen! They have some FABULOUS new indoor/outdoor fabrics that you absolutely have GOT to check out! You can view the collections here, here, here and here. These collections range from fabrics to trim to drapery hardware!

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day!

Meet the Staff: Pam

It's been a busy week at Interior Mall. A lot has been going on. We will be featured in a large spread for the community magazine Entertainment Fort Smith. Make sure to check that out when it hits news stands. We also lost one of our office mascots Blackie. Despite the craziness around the office everything must go on as normal. Being that it's Friday it is time for a new Meet the Staff and this week it's Pam.

Pam's been working for Interior Mall as our accountant for 5 1/2 years. She's sweet, funny, hard working, and a junk food junkie. Although by looking at her you would never know that.....it makes me sick! =)

Carrie: What do you enjoy most about your job?
Pam: The challenge and the people.

Carrie: How would you describe your personal interior design taste?
Pam: Good. (I was told she has lots of beautiful antiques and LOVES roosters.)

Carrie: How do you spend your time outside of work?
Pam: Gardening, reading, and caring for my grandchildren.

Carrie: One random question: How would you describe your perfect day?
Pam: Meeting all of my deadlines with a little time to spare.