Monday, February 8th was a happy day for me. I was at the Saint Charles Farm in Campton Hills where I usually take horseback riding lessons but that day I was there to purchase our first horse ever. Jackelope is a 12 years old Bay Thoroughbred horse and is part of our family now.

Unexpectedly, the Kane County CHRONICLE's reporter happened to be there at the same time and took a photo of us :)

The 2009 Christmas House Tour was a success!
I received a lot of complements about the house and Christmas decorations. The house definitely smelled fresh thanks to all the beautiful Paper Whites, Hydrogenates, Orchids, Tulips and Amaryllis prepared by Town & Country Gardens on State Street in Geneva. My Winterberry and Red Dougwood containers prepared and delivered by The Pure Gardner also received a lot of complements.

Thank you for all the emails and phone calls with your complements. You shared with me that our house was very elegant yet warm and livable... also, that the 2009 Christmas House Tour was the best one!

To those who are still wondering about the number of wall colors, I admit, there are only five! The main yellow color used throughout the house is a Benjamin Moore's "Golden Hills" (#262) and the accent green is "At Home with Nature" (#1518).

Many visitors also noticed the dinning room table that separates the foyer from the family room. Very different, elegant and functional. I am glad you like it.

It was our first Christmas House Tour -- thank you once more for making it so memorable :)

The Geneva Christmas House Tour has a 42-year-old tradition. This year it showcases five distinctive homes dressed in holiday fare by selected designers. I am very excited to be among those five designers! The event is part of the Geneva's Christmas Walk and takes place on Friday and Saturday, December 4th/5th. For more information, or to order tickets, visit Geneva Chamber.

If you're fed up with your towel hanging ring, you may find this alternative interesting: Coolidge Iron/Brass Towel Holder. Ranked as The Best by House Beautiful, page 20 of September 2009 issue. [ more ]

Vanity tables have always held a special appeal for women. There is something magical about applying makeup and preparing for a special event while sitting at a vanity. It makes a lady feel elegant and a bit like a movie star. Hickory chair has captured this feeling in their Stephanie Vanity Desk and the companion piece, the Sue Ellen Vanity Chair. [ more ]

Suzanne Kasler is a familiar name to many. As a designer she is known for her attention to details such as fine finishes and classic shapes made modern with unexpected touches like curves and cutouts. The partnership between Ms. Kasler and Hickory Chair has produced a line of versatile yet elegant and sophisticated furniture for many rooms in your home. One fine example of this partnership is the beautiful Candler Twin Bed. [ more ]

Alexa Hampton's ability to design beautiful furniture pieces comes naturally as her father was the celebrated designer, Mark Hampton. Her classic designs with a bit of European flair can be found in the collection she has designed for Hickory Chair. One fine example of this collaboration is the Christiansen dining table. [ more ]

Minta Interiors was honored to receive the Kane County Chronicle's "Best of the Fox 2009" Readers' Choice Award, for the One of the Best Interior Designer 2009. What a way to recognize a hard year's work!

Thank you to all the readers who voted for us.

The American Empire style of furniture falls under the heading of Classical Style, which gained popularity in the early nineteenth century. Simple yet sometimes massive curves, the use of dark woods such as mahogany and decorative motifs like the acanthus leaf, lyre and rosette are all hallmarks of this design. [ more ]

Canopy beds have often been viewed as the ultimate in romance. How wonderful to snuggle up with that special person inside your own little space. And what little girl has not longed for a canopy bed as a spot to dream about her prince? But truth be told, these beds had a very humble beginning. [ more ]

Alexa Hampton is known for her classical designs and the Alex Cocktail Ottoman and matching tray are no exception. Ottomans have been around since the early 19th century as additional seating or a footrest. Their use as a multi-functional coffee table became popular several years ago. [ more ]

As promised earlier, we have completed another feature of our site: on-line shopping capability. I'm proud to report that it's among the most secure e-commerce engines available out there. Furthermore, we made the conscious decision NOT to store customers' credit card information on our servers. Repeated customers have to re-enter their CC info each time they place an order, which is a minor inconvenience, but it eliminates even the remote possibility of accidental or employee-made ?leaks? of private data. The rationale was that the best way to protect our clients private information is not to store it at all. The same applies to customers passwords, if you recall our privacy policy.

With any type of art, inspiration is almost always necessary for the creative process. The same holds true when designing furniture. This can come in the form of natural surroundings, previous designs or a specific period in history. When designing the Bristol Coffee Table, Hickory Chair was inspired by the simple and functional lines of the neo-classical period of architecture. This style was popular during the latter part of the 18th century and the early part of the 19th century. Some familiar names from this period include Chippendale, Hepplewhite and Sheraton. [ more ]

If you reside in Atlanta you are probably already familiar with Suzanne Kasler. She is an award winning designer who has created beautiful interiors for her clients in Atlanta since 1991. She has recently undertaken a new adventure-designing furniture for Hickory Chair. The modern/transitional style of the Prado Bookcase is a stunning example of her classical pieces with a twist.[ more ]

Mariette Himes Gomez is a familiar name to those in the design industry. Since 1975 she has been honored for her beautiful and classic designs by Architectural Digest, House Beautiful and the New York Times, just to name a few. Simplicity in line and attention to detail are hallmarks of her design. This is evident in the line of furniture she has created for Hickory Chair and the Bistro Banquette is just one example of this. [ more ]

After what seemed like an endless process of data entry, on March 25th we finally opened the Furniture & Accessories section of our website. In total, we cataloged over 5,300 products each with relevant description, specifications and images.

To make the navigation more intuitive, we decided to divide the catalog into three main categories: Home Furniture, Lighting and Accessories. Each of the main categories is further subdivided, so the number of relevant items a visitor needs to look at before finding what she needs is rather manageable. Additionally, the first page of the catalog is reserved for Deals & Promotions offered through us or our suppliers.

Although a lot of work has been put, there are a few things on our TO-DO list for the near future:

• on-line purchasing
• subscription to "Deals & Promotions" section for sending notifications via email

If you haven't seen it yet, visit our catalog and let us know what you think.

Anna

Six reasons why I chose Hickory Chair furniture when decorating my own house and my design studio:

1. Quality that is going to last for generations.
2. Big variety of different styles from Classical, through French Country, Traditional, to Contemporary, which all could be working together creating interesting interiors.
3. Lots of customization options, great wood finishes and fabrics.
4. Made in the United States by hard working, highly skilled, long-time employees.
5. Fair pricing.
6. Quick turn-around.

After living with Hickory Chair furniture and using them for many years, it was finally time to see how they are made. I have never visited a furniture manufacture before, and I have to say that if I had an opportunity to bring every client that is planning to furnish his/her home to Hickory, NC to see how Hickory Chair makes furniture, that client would be loving every Hickory Chair piece they purchase.

Hickory Chair was established in 1911. Since that time, the company has been through ups and downs. However, it was able to restructure (very popular, powerful, and very important word these days:) and thanks to its new program called EDGE (Employees Dedicated to Growth and Excellence), Hickory Chair has become the only US furniture manufacture that encourages their employees to make suggestions and see their improvement ideas implemented. EDGE also has helped the company reduce cycle times by 50%, speeding up deliveries which gave Hickory Chair more time to develop new products and, as a result, meet customer demands for quality and service.

Anna

After two months of hard work, we finally released our new website. It's not completely finished yet; we're still in the process of compiling our "Furniture & Accessories" section. Hopefully to be completed this month.

We hope you like it too...

Who is Candice Olson? Have you ever watched "Devine Design" show on HGTV? It is one of the most popular design shows and one of my favorites. It is funny, original and very inspiring. A group of skilled craftsmen and one talented designer, Candice Olson, transform their clients' interiors into beautiful, functional and very stylish spaces.

On August 1, 2008, I was able to meet Candice Olson at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, at an event sponsored by KRAVET. She is definitely as tall as you see her on TV!

Minta Interiors' recently opened showroom in a former candy store is an example of Interior Designer Anna Lisznianski's style. It's smashing, with wonderful understated colors and attention to detail. If the old candy store was a Goo-Goo Bar, Minta Interiors showroom is fine Austrian chocolates. Very tasty indeed.

Lisznianski, 34, handed me a silk fabric covered pillow she made in her off-site window treatment production shop, which she opened in 2005, "See if you can find the zipper," she said. I couldn't. The zipper was cleverly and artfully concealed in a seam, its small zipper toggle the same color as the silk.

Another of Lisznianski's talents is her color memory. When visiting a client's home to measure a custom window treatment job, the client asked if Lisznianski wanted to take pictures. "I did take pictures, but I didn't really need them. I have excellent color memory."

In her native Poland, Lisznianski was always the top student in her art classes, she said. She first discovered her talent for color and fabric as a child playing with dolls and making clothing for her dolls. "I grew up in the Communist era," she said. "My mother had to stand in a long line to buy me a doll."

She likes classic looks and does not really like to use what she says are sharp colors. "I can walk into a room and see what needs to be done to make it grand: move a wall, change the baseboard, different lighting."

Her philosophy of interior design is that one should walk into a room and see the room as one total effect. "It's all about quality. Less is better if it's high quality." She prefers smaller furniture pieces allowing for open space and groupings. Her furniture line is Hickory Chairs of North Carolina and she uses the resources of the Merchandise Mart. "I want to bring a little bit of the Merchandise Mart to Geneva."

Lisznianski immigrated from Poland in 1994 with her family. When she and her husband, who works in the Loop, were searching for a home, Lisznianski looked at the Metra map and began checking out communities along the tracks. "When I first came to Geneva, I just fell in love with it. It's very European."

Lisznianski will host a grand opening party at Minta Interiors, Thursday, June 12, with ribbon cutting ceremony at 5 pm. "We'll have a little party." Maybe she'll serve Austrian chocolates.