Believe it or not, we’re almost at that time of year again, when everyone breaks out their reddest outfit, buys a smattering of fireworks and celebrates what it means to be Canadian. Aside from the fact that it’s a wonderful opportunity to come together as a country and community, it’s also – let’s face it – a much-needed holiday, and if you live in Southern Ontario, that Canada Day Monday is a popular time to pack up the vehicle and head up to the cottage.

What you don’t want to do, though, is get all the way up there only to find a mess of cobwebs, dust, out-dated furnishings and an empty pantry. That’s no way to ring in Canada Day. Start getting your cottage ready early, that way when the summer rolls around you’ll be able to relax in style, instead of stressing out in a mess. Getting the cottage “Canada Day” ready starts by drawing your attention to these four specific areas: the cleaning, the décor (which will feature some Woodcraft furniture obviously), the pantry and the landscaping.

Cleaning

This is a full day job for most cottages, and might require the help of some family or friends (in the case of the latter, you can probably just pay them in food and drinks!). Sweep any debris that might’ve accumulated; dust the surfaces; check for critters that might have found their way in, laying down mouse- or bug-traps if necessary; scrub down the bathroom; and, if you didn’t do them at the end of the season last year, run any sheets and linens through the laundry. Whew, that wasn’t easy, was it? But at least you didn’t leave it until the summer.

Décor

The best way to liven up your cottage, décor-wise, is with solid wood furniture – if you read this blog with any regularity, that should come as no surprise. A cottage’s interior is meant to evoke the outside experience of being in nature; it’s meant to be a comfortable extension of the natural surroundings. So it makes perfect sense that a cottage be furnished with solid wood furniture. If you want to pre-order and choose your type of wood and stain, contact us anytime, or if you want to get a deal on a floor model and move your furniture up to the cottage right away, come visit us and one of our three showrooms – Whitby, Mississauga and Denison.

Pantry

That Canada Day drive up to the cottage with friends or family can be stressful and rushed. Wouldn’t it be wonderful, then, if you didn’t have to stop for groceries? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you got up there to find that the pantry was already stocked with key non-perishables, and that the fridge was already stocked with drinks? You’re already making the early trip up there to clean and redecorate; you might as well bring up some groceries!

Landscaping

You don’t have to go all out here, since the cottage is fundamentally about enjoying nature (and nature is fundamentally a little messy), but a quick pass around the cottage for large fallen branches and excess leaves wouldn’t go amiss by family and guests. If you want to bring a pair of pruning shears to scale back some of the overgrowth as well, that would also be a great idea. It’s a tiring job, for sure, so if at the end of it you need your new furniture delivered, we totally understand – just get it touch with us and we’ll work out a way to get your furniture to you.

May 24 may be the official kick-off of the cottage season, but Canada Day is its spiritual centre. The weather is hot, the jet-skis are roaring, the smell of barbecue is in the air and the Canadian flags are waving. In many ways, it’s the cottage event of the year, so make sure yours is ready for action!

With the oncoming glut of good weather and holidays, the last thing you probably want to think about is the office. After all, the sun is starting to shine through the window. But your office doesn’t need to be gloomy or drab, and in fact sprucing it up a little might change how you feel about the office in ways you hadn’t expected. Improving your physical surroundings can have a real positive psychological impact on the way you feel.

This is all to say that spring is the ideal time to start shopping for new office furniture, because if you can’t be out there, you might as well make in here as nice as possible. This article will go through a few office furniture ideas, each of which you can find at Woodcraft online or in the store, that are guaranteed to both improve your mood and impress your colleagues and clients.

A Unified Collection

In your surroundings, you want to aim for harmony, balance. The easiest hack to make this happen is to buy your furniture in a collection rather than piece-by-piece. At Woodcraft, we offer a number of office furniture collections, appealing to wide range of tastes, but all rooted in our core principle of timeless quality and design. Take for instance the Downton Office Collection, which includes a desk, file cabinet and a bookcase, each made in the classic West Indies style with rope trim and detailed rope knobs adorning the jutted edges and raised panels. Or consider our Prince Charles Office Collection, in the French contemporary style, making use of the sophisticated interplay between wood and brass. As with most our furniture, you get a choice of wood type and stain as well, meaning that you can tailor the collection easily to your office’s existing décor.

A Desk That Ties The Room Together

For a more streamlined approach, just go for a desk. In this increasingly tech-connected world, the need for paper storage is dwindling, so it might be the case thatyou only need a desk, one that sits a computer, a coffee cup and a stack of important books or document, and you’re set. The New Yorker Desk is an elegant, straightforward desk with a clean, modern design and brushed nickel knobs. It is a refined, simple statement that can easily tie together a minimalist office.

A Work Station

For more space, and a more undisturbed work environment, consider perhaps a work station. Essentially a desk with an attached hutch, the work station is meant to back against a wall, giving its user the ability to focus solely on they’re work, without the open view of a standard, room-facing desk. Our Georgetown Work Station, for example, features tapered feet and bevelled trim, with ample storage and desk space. If you want to see the Georgetown Work Station – or, indeed, any of our pieces – in person, call us anytime or come down to one of our showrooms.

A Modern Touch

Finally, for the metropolitan office you can’t go wrong with a modern collection of furniture. Modern furniture, with its clean lines and simple, natural designs, communicates to colleagues, bosses and clients that you approach your work in a similar manner – streamlined and contemporary. Take a look at our Modo Office Collection, which we’re very proud of, mixing together a sleek design with careful craftsmanship. If you want your office to be a tranquil place, with lots of open space, modern furniture is the way to go.

So, the weather might be warming up outside, but being inside doesn’t have to be all that bad. Your consolation prize is that you get to choose from a wide array of stunning office furniture to decorate your workspace. You might even notice that colleagues are spending more time in your office – that’s just the attractive power of solid wood furniture at work!

You can go one of two ways this Valentine’s Day: you can take the easy way with a respectable, above-average box of chocolates that comes with a printed ribbon on the box, or you can really wow your significant other. When you give someone the gift of solid wood furniture made by craftsman from Canadian wood, you’re giving them a gift that will last a lifetime, one that conveys all the things a strong relationship does: quality, care and a solid build.

Quality

We don’t remain too modest on the fact that Woodcraft wood furniture is high quality, from top to bottom – from the materials used to the expertise applied. If you’re going to get your significant other something special this Valentine’s Day – something, admittedly, that will benefit you both – check out our solid wood bedroom sets. Obviously, for reasons this article isn’t going to touch on, a bedroom is the locus of a good relationship, so ensuring that it’s furnished with quality pieces is pretty important.

Whether you’re going for a clean, sophisticated look, as with our Brent Bedroom Collection, with its abundance of dressers and chests and its urbane Brent Panel Bed, or something a little more rustic, as with our charming, Simply Country Bedroom Collection (perfect, too, if you’re shopping for the cottage), we’ve got bedroom furniture for all styles and settings. You can even stop by our showroom in Whitby to get a firsthand look at your potential Valentine’s gift. Coordinate with us ahead of time about delivery and we’ll make sure that the surprise is ready and waiting for your significant other when the time is right. When you see advice columns that say “shake things up in the bedroom”, we assume that this is what they really had in mind!

Care

As with a relationship, a piece of solid wood furniture requires a bit of TLC. In these frigid winter months (which, as predicted, has been pretty biting), try and control the humidity in your home with a humidifier, keeping it around 40 to 45 percent, making sure as well that the furniture avoids direct sunlight. A good dusting every now and again, as well as the occasional clean will see your gift stay in tip-top shape for ages.  Of course, when we say “care” we’re also referring to the care we put into each of these pieces, something that comes naturally with our over 40 years in the business.

Solid Build

Why do you think it is that diamonds are such a popular gift for spouses? It’s because they’re sturdy, solid, unbreakable, just like your relationship. Well, the same goes for solid wood furniture, which, unlike the mass-produced stuff, is solid enough to withstand a lifetime, even longer. Take for instance a reclaimed wood table like our Jackson or Portland table, where we use repurposed wood to create something wholly new and unique. Not only is reclaimed wood popular right now because of its rustic character, but it’s also a testament to the staying power and lasting beauty of solid wood. Diamonds are a little cliché at this point, but solid wood furniture isn’t – not only is it beautiful and elegant, but it’s functional and usable.

This Valentine’s Day, don’t take the path commonly travelled. Stop by our Whitby showroom, or contact us through our website to set up delivery or pickup of what is sure to be the ultimate Valentine’s Day gift.

A warm cup of mulled wine or cocoa, a wool sweater, a crackling fireplace and a home decked out in solid wood – what is it about these things that make them so lovely and inviting? There is plenty to complain about with these Ontario winters (the roads, the slush, the salt, the shoveling… you get it!) but one thing no one can be mad about is getting to cozy up indoors. It can be one of the absolute most comforting things in the world being greeted by a cozy home, something the Danish caught on to way back in the 1500s, even going so far as to give it a name – “hygge”.

What is hygge, exactly? Well, quite literally it means “wellness” or “contentment”, but its cultural meaning has to do with creating an atmosphere of warmth and conviviality, often at home in the winter. Imagine a wood cabin in Denmark filled with friends laughing and sharing stories and drinks – you’re closer to understanding the cultural significance of hygge. But how do you create such an atmosphere in your own home? Well, for starters, Woodcraft solid wood furniture certainly adds a warm, rustic charm.

It can be difficult to pinpoint exactly why, but solid wood adds to a feeling of warmth and coziness to a home. Perhaps it’s because it reminds us of log cabins and lake cottages, where there’s always an oven on and a fire roaring. Maybe it’s because the alternatives – metal, glass, brick – are literally cold to the touch. All we know is that it’s closely associated with comfort, warmth and, yes, hygge. If you’re looking for a new buffet hutch or a new dining room table in Mississauga this winter, go the cozy route with solid wood furniture.

For a table, if you really want to run with this hygge idea, check out our Acropolis Live Edge Table. Live edge, as we’ve discussed before on this blog, is when the raw wood texture is allowed to remain intact at the edges, giving the furniture a more natural look. This reminder of the outdoors, of the knotty texture of trees, adds a real sense of warm, countryside craftsmanship to a room. We offer it in maple, wormy maple, oak, vintage cherry and pine, as well as a number of different stains, so you can customize your table to fit your existing décor. Imagine gathering around that after a cold day outside – heavenly!

Another very warm and inviting type of wood is reclaimed wood, although its charm is different than that of live edge furniture’s. With reclaimed wood furniture, like our reclaimed wood coffee table or dining tables, we take wood used previously in an industrial setting and breathe new life into it by celebrating its timeworn features. Whereas live edge furniture gets its appeal from reminding us of nature, reclaimed wood takes its appeal from its industrial history, giving it character and depth. With a few hearty plants and maybe a ceramic bowl, this  kind of wood really adds to the cozy, warm feeling of a room.

The Danish know a thing or two about the cold, which means they also know a thing or two about making the most out of winter. So here’s the plan: wear your most comfortable clothes, your wool socks and sweater, cook a nice roast meal and pour a hot cup of whatever you like to drink, and cozy up around a solid wood table with family or friends. Living this way, the winter might even become your favourite season.

There’s a tendency to want to dismiss the dining room as purely functional – you eat your meals there, and that’s about it. But a dining room is a whole lot more than just a pit stop on your way to a more glamorous room; it’s a centre of conversation, a games room, and a place where your family gets closer together or your friends come to visit, all rolled into one room. Too often, the dining room gets a basic treatment, but if you want to really create a beautiful space, one you’re excited to entertain guests in, you have to modernize. Here are five tips for creating a more modern dining room.

Solid Wood Furniture

Of course we’re going to lead with this one! Any kind of quality made wood furniture like our Metro Dining Table with Chrome Base, is the perfect marriage of functionality and modernity. As the name suggests, the base of this one is chrome, which adds a metropolitan style of sophistication to the dining room, and its simple, geometrical top is striking and minimal. It would go perfectly with our Modern Ladderback Chairs, which sports a stylish open back and clean design.

Plants

For a more modern look, a lot of people are foregoing flowers for plants – the heartier the better. This site, rounding up last year’s hottest houseplant trends (yes, the internet contains just about everything, doesn’t it?) lists Fiddleleaf fig trees, ferns and various cacti and succulents as its top picks, an opinion echoed elsewhere in the home décor world. These tough plants pair perfectly with other modern flourishes, like glass bottles (see below), copper and wood.

Glass

The reason modern home décor experts love glass is pretty simple: it allows a room to remain open. Its natural transparency tricks the eye into thinking there’s more free space than there really is, giving the room a more expansive feel. If you want to cultivate this kind of openness in your dining room, take a look at our Bergen Glass Dining Table, which in addition to having a lovely glass top also boasts a stylish Scandinavian design as its base. If you’re into modern minimalism, this is the choice for you, and you can contact us anytime to talk about getting your hands on one.

Rethink Your Lighting

Not only are we talking about the quality of light in the room, but the actual fixtures themselves. According to Trendir, a leading voice on modern design, pendants, lanterns and metallic fixtures are all fantastic for a modern flair. But perhaps the coolest one on this list is the glass bulb, which is a glass sphere about the size of a basketball that hangs from the ceiling by a simple metal strand. The website recommends trying different coloured bulbs in these, but, um, we’re not so sure that’s an idea for everyone.

Reclaimed Wood

Finally, this hot design trend is an absolute must for the modern dining room. Centering the room around a reclaimed wood dining table will add immediate character and style, with its beautifully timeworn appearance. This kind of industrial look is really in right now, and pieces like our Jackson Reclaimed Wood Dining Table and Austin Reclaimed Wood Dining Table are stunning examples of the style. Pair one of these with those aforementioned bulb lights and maybe a nice fern centerpiece, and you’ve got yourself a striking, minimalist, modern dining room that your friends are going to drop their jaws over.

Creating a more modern dining room isn’t difficult, but it does take some though and consideration. If you’re looking to kick your dining room into the 21^st Century, come take a look at what we have to offer.

If you live anywhere in the GTA these days, you’ll understand that apartments are getting more, well… modest. As the price of real estate skyrockets, both renters and prospective buyers are looking at ever-smaller apartments and condos in which to make a home. But having a small apartment doesn’t mean that you can’t turn into a welcoming, festive space this holiday season and in fact, there’s a certain streamlined charm about decorating a smaller space. Your task of ensuring that everything matches, that all the furniture and holiday decorations pair well with the stock features of the place, is easier to pull off. Starting with our collection of solid wood furniture and then choosing smart accompaniments and flairs to accentuate, you can make even the most modest apartment into a holiday dream home.

Nothing makes a small space pop quite like the presence of wood furniture, which can turn an otherwise “small” apartment into a “cozy”, wintry apartment, all while lending grace and panache to the space. And you can utilize solid wood furniture to maximize the efficiency of your space, by choosing something that’s not only bold and stylish, but functional as well. If you have an apartment where the kitchen area and dining area are adjoined or belong to a single room, you need some kind of accessory piece of furniture to hold all the holiday knick-knacks, like festive place mats, candles and even indoor string lights. Check out our selection of sideboards and buffets, like our Downtown Two Door Buffet & Hutch, whose regal elegance masks its functionality nicely – not only does it help de-clutter your dining room, but it also works as a standalone piece of furniture.

If there’s one piece of furniture that you want to look great in a small apartment, especially during the holidays, it’s the dining room table. Since apartment dining rooms are often small, the dining room table – which is always the focus of attention in a dining room – is doubly important. It’s where you and your friends will gather around for Christmas dinner, where you’ll do most of your indoor socializing, so you want it to be good quality. An interesting trend emerging lately is to have tables made from reclaimed wood in your dining room, as these tables often add a rustic, lived-in look that adds character to an apartment.

The other main apartment room that needs some careful though put into it is the bedroom, which – let’s face it – you’ll want to show off when you give holiday guests “the tour”. Again, because of the small space, having economical, superior quality, matching pieces is important, which is why if you’re looking for a new bedroom set for your apartment, look for one that’s lovingly made, with solid wood. Our Kingston Bedroom Collection, for example, consists of a queen bed, nightstand, highboy, dresser and mirror, all expertly crafted from the Canadian solid wood of your choosing. You also have your choice of colours, ranging from a white stain to an ebony black stain, and many hues in between, so you can be certain that your bedroom set will match the stock features of the bedroom, like the wall paint, flooring or drapes.

Aside from solid wood furniture, accentuate your apartment’s natural beauty with holiday-inspired decorations, and make use of the wall space with racks and hooks. For the kitchen, try adding some rustic flair by mounting a magnetic knife rack on the wall, or hanging some copper pots by the stove. Hang hearty plants, like conifer branches, around the bedroom to remind you of winter. Making a modest apartment into a dream home is all about using space effectively, and not sacrificing on style and beauty. Happy holidays from everyone here at Woodcraft!

A question we get here at Woodcraft from time to time is how to match the colours in your home against different types of wood and different types of stain. All different woods are unique – their grain patterns and hues give them a distinct look – meaning that they’re bound to accent certain colours more than others. While there are plenty of competing opinions on the matter of what colours to pair with solid wood, we’ve noticed certain patterns, certain wood and colour combos that go particularly well together. And while we at Woodcraft are of the mind that any colour goes well with solid wood, we thought we’d take this article to spotlight a few combos that work particularly well together.

Reclaimed Wood and Beige

There’s a really big trend we’ve noticed towards old-fashioned things. You can see this in the proliferation of old-timey barbershops in the GTA, or the resurgence of plaid and beards as a fashion style. People crave the genuine article, so it’s no surprise that we’ve a lot of people to ask us about reclaimed wood, which is wood that’s been repurposed from another use (usually industrial, like a barrel or barn) and shaped and crafted into a piece of furniture.

It’s also no surprise that when pairing this unique style of wood, you want to go with other old-fashioned colours, like the beige of a burlap table runner. Reclaimed wood also pairs well with industrial style metals, like brass and polished steel. If you’re thinking about a new dining room table you should consider our Jackson Reclaimed Wood Dining Table, a truly unique piece of furniture that features a solid piece of reclaimed wood atop a metal base.

Cream Colours and Cherry Stain

This one is a natural fit. More amber colours tend to really go well with cream or off-white colours, creating a pleasing contrast. This is why you often see white drapes and tablecloths accompanying maple wood furniture. For an example of this, contact us to check out our Queens Table, which looks great in maple with a Red Cherry or San Miguel, and can be easily accentuated by cream coloured centrepieces.

Light Coloured Wood and Natural Greens

Decorating with houseplants has practically become an obsession with a lot of home décor commentators, especially succulents, like cacti and jade plants. These subtle, natural greens go great with a light coloured wood like pine. A simple piece of furniture like our Hastings Entertainment Unit, which borrows the curved edges and straight lines from Scandinavian design, would look exquisite adorned with a few carefully places succulent plants.

Dark Brown and Light Blue

Again, it’s the contrast here that makes such a striking impression, with the light blues really waking up the warmth in darker finishes like mahogany or gunstock. You can see this classic pairing in the traditional colours of Japan as well as in nature, when you look at, for example, a forest against the winter sky. It’s a very natural combination that combines warm and cold hues to create a dynamic creative expression.

If you want to start pairing solid wood with different colour combinations to add an extra element of depth to your home, you can start by contacting today to discuss the many combinations of wood type and stain we can apply to your favourite designs. Check out our dining room tables, cabinets, our selection of coffee tables and much, much more on our website to get some inspiration.

What we’ve listed here is just the tip of the iceberg! As mentioned, we at Woodcraft think that solid wood furniture has the potential to match with just about anything, and it’s only a matter of discovering your perfect colour combo. Maybe you like dark, almost black furniture with a pop of colour like turquoise, or maybe you like to keep everything mellow, choosing yellows and soft oranges to accentuate your wood furniture – you’re the boss!