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Roseville location

November 9, 2010 by admin.

As most of you know, we recently opened our second loction at the Roseville Galleria sandwiched between Louis Vuitton and Burberry. We are preparing for the opening of our third location at The Fountains in Roseville.

Our showroom at The Roseville Galleria will feature Italsofa (a Natuzzi company) and lots of fresh accessories. At The Fountains showroom you will see the hand crafted furniture of Natuzzi Italy. Each piece is made by one man, is hand tufted and has distinguishing characteristics. Natuzzi furniture pieces are truly one of a kind.

As always our showroom at the Town and Country Center has an assortment of Natuzzi Italy, ItalSofa, Excelsior Designs, Casa Novalia and Caligaris. Come see us… we can change your quality of life!

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Designer Spotlight: NATUZZI ITALY

May 20, 2010 by admin.

Natuzzi Italy is one of the most well known and successful furniture manufacturers in the world. There quality is unmatched and there attention to detail in every design creates a piece of art for your home. The Natuzzi Italy line is 100% designed and made in Italy. Each frame is made by one person which obviously adds quality and integrity to your piece of furniture.

Natuzzi Italy is widely known as the most comfortable furniture on the market and they offer styles from ultra modern to transitional frames to match your decor. As well as offering all pieces of a total “lifestyle” such as rugs, tables, lighting, and accessories to match perfectly with your Natuzzi living furniture.

The Natuzzi Italy collection can be yours today… contact us at Furnitalia or come by our brand new Natuzzi Italy Gallery!

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St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway

May 7, 2010 by admin.

Furnitalia has been privileged with the opportunity to stage and design the Dream Home project for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. We have furnished the entire lower level portion including Home Office, Living Room, Formal Dining Room, Family Room with Media, and Dining Nook. We have partnered with Natuzzi Italy to provide the best in Contemporary Italian Furniture and to bring new life to this home. We also created a Guest room and Media room using Natuzzi Italy Sofa Beds and ottomans and a beautiful Master Suite using the Capri Collection from Excelsior Designs.

The Dream Home will be open for public viewing every Saturday from 9 am - 5pm and Sunday 12 - 5 pm starting May 8th through the conclusion on June 27th with a 2 hour Live Telethon on CBS Channel 13.

You can purchase a $100 ticket and have the chance to win this $425,000 home. Go to www.DreamHome.org for more information.

Thank you for supporting Furnitalia and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital!

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Integrity of Polyester

October 13, 2009 by admin.

Most exclusive furniture today looks elegant when you see it displayed in the furniture showroom. But will that furniture have that same elegant look five years from now in the home……. or ten?

All of us at Furnitalia feel it should and in order to achieve this we use only a premium polyester finish on all surfaces. This exclusive finish will enhance and protect your investment for years to come. Many of the xciting characteristics of this type of finish are as follows:

Finish Durability:
A polyester finish is much more resilient than a plain lacquer application. It will be more stain resistant to alcohol and water and more resistant to scratching and fading.

Finish Brilliance:
A polyester finish has much more dept, clarity and luster than a plain lacquer application. This glasslike finish is most evident when applied to exotic wood veneers.

Finish Cleaning:
For routine care of the polyester finish, wipe with a clean damp microfiber cloth. The use of microfiber cloths will prevent scratching. For more thorough cleaning, a household glass cleaner can be used. Preferably one that does not contain ammonia.

Finish Repair:
Surface scratches can be removed by using a mild polishing compound. Deeper scratches or more serious damage to the finish can also be repaired by the proper technician.

By using a polyester finish what results is furniture that takes longer to produce but is also uncompromising in its finish and design.

These were just four of the main reasons that the furniture provided by Furnitalia will maintain its new showroom feel as time goes on.

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3 Tips on Contemporary Furniture Shopping

February 28, 2009 by admin.

Contemporary furniture is growing in popularity as homeowners and decorators want to create a modern appearance. Contemporary furniture can be identified by its sleek designs, clean lines and abstract appearance.

Determine the Current Style of Your Home
Are you seeking to update your current style? Consider the style of your home and how contemporary furniture will fit into the space. Eclectic styles can be created from the use of a combination of contemporary, modern and classic pieces of furniture. Cutting edge designs of contemporary furniture can be used to create a style that will become the envy of everyone in your social group.

Use a Complimentary Texture Pallet
Using a pallet of textures allows for the decorator to give a room depth, using nothing more than just the fabrics. Plush fabrics like velvet can be combined with leather to create a contemporary look. Many furniture pieces use a combination of two varying fabrics and can be found in Houston contemporary furniture stores. These fabrics are often combined with contemporary materials such as steel, chrome and metal with traditional wood pieces.

Take Measurements and Plan the Room
Planning the room should be completed with careful consideration of the sizes of the room. Taking a measuring tape to the store to measure the furniture will ensure that the contemporary furniture will fit within the room. Plan which pieces of furniture will be used within the room, in which areas to create a layout that can custom created to create a contemporary appearance.

Using a camera can be helpful to compare certain pieces of furniture. The camera can be taken along to any furniture store to ensure that the item will work well in the space. Use the dimensions and appearance of the furniture to determine if it is indeed a good fit with your room contemporary design. The use of a camera or even print outs from the web, can also provide colors samples that you can match to paint and other furniture in the home.

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“An Evening In Italy” Holiday Event

November 28, 2007 by admin.

Dear valued clients and friends please join us for an evening of inspired design and splendor on Tuesday, December 18th, from 6-9 pm in our new 12,000 sqft. Sacramento Showroom. Please stroll our Italian Showroom of fine contemporary furniture and reminisce about your last visit to Italy. For your enjoyment we will have for you food, wine, champagne and espresso inspired from different regions in Italy. Gain Inspiration from the innovation, craftsmanship, quality and pure beauty of our classically modern showroom. Be romanced by music from the Sacramento Opera House and our fine Italian furniture brought straight to you from Italy. Imagine what it would be like to have a permanent piece of Italy in your home. Whether it be a sleek new leather sofa from Nicoletti, an exquisite bedroom from Excelsior Designs Italia or a timeless and fashionable dining room collection from Nicole Miller, we at Furnitalia will meet and exceed your expectations.

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Solid wood vs. Veneer

June 9, 2007 by admin.

In the ongoing battle between solid wood versus veneers, there is actually a place for both. Having made that statement, most of my friends in the unfinished furniture industry will probably want to hang me out to dry. This article aims to educate customers on the differences between solid wood and veneers. It used to be quite easy to tell the difference between the two because veneers typically were not done very well. Over the years, it has become much more difficult to distinguish between the two because manufacturers have developed the art of veneering. It often takes a trained eye to see the difference between solid wood and veneers.

SOLID WOOD

There are three different ways solid wood can be assembled to make furniture – plank, laminated or butcher block. IF the furniture uses solid wood boards glued together at random widths for the full-length of the top, then it is called a plank. Laminated solid wood has boards that are the full-length with similar widths. Butcher block is when the solid wood has similar widths and shorter lengths. With solid wood, you will always be able to see the end grain and the grains will match in width with the top.

VENEERS If there is a very wide width on the furniture, like a table top, and it has a painted edge, a veneer edge banding, or a solid wood piece going in an opposite direction of the grain, then it is most likely a veneer. Also, anytime you see book-matched pieces or a sunburst patter, it is a veneer.

Veneers have been around for hundreds of years. They have been used in some of the most exquisite antiques you will find in museums, but problems can arise if they are used in the wrong type of situation with furniture. They depend on substrate material and certain types of joinery. The best use of veneers is on large surfaces that will not get much heavy use or require substantial tensile strength.

They lay nicely over particleboard or MDF. Also when veneers are used around solid wood as edging, it can help protect the item against damage.

PROBLEMS WITH VENEERS AND SOLID WOOD One of the main areas where veneers, and the materials they are used to cover, run into problems is with fasteners. Screws, staples and most other fasteners do not hold well in particleboard or MDF. If you are putting screws into particleboard where the joinery must be able to move or hold a lot of weight, the screws can work loose. If a piece of furniture requires movement or heavy weight, solid wood should be used since the screws will hold much better.

Of course, solid wood also has its problems and difficulties. While it will hold screws and other fasteners much better than items made with veneers, solid wood boards may move or warp due to changes in the temperature and humidity levels. When solid boards are cut from trees, they usually contain about 85 percent water and need to be dried to contain about 6 percent water for furniture manufacturing. If this is not done properly the wood will continue to dry, causing it to warp or split as it shrinks.

As mentioned earlier, manufacturers have made it much more difficult to tell if an item is a veneer or solid wood, so it is important to learn the differences and inform your customers if they ask. To identify solid wood remember to look for the end grain to show at the end of the boards and count the number of boards that are glued together to make the top. Finally, pay attention to the price. Solid wood is more expensive than most veneers; therefore, many inexpensive furniture pieces will be made using veneers with finishes that look like wood. Remember knowledge and education is the key to satisfied customers.

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Sweet Retreat - An article on Contemporary Italian Bedroom

May 22, 2007 by admin.

Reprinted with permission from Excelsior Designs. Furnitalia (www.furnitalia.com) is the only authorized retailer of Excelsior Designs and Nicole Miller Furnishings in Northern California.

Whether your getaway is a second residence or the bedroom down the hall, you can break free of the decorating doldrums.
The hot news on the home front these days is that everybody wants seconds. In fact, according to the National Association of Realtors(NAR), second homes accounted for four out of every ten residences sold last year.
Not surprisingly, affluent baby boomers are dominating the market. “Boomers believe in diversifying their assets, and most second-home owners see their purchase as being a better investment than stocks,” notes David Lereah, NAR’s chief economist.
Even so, the purchase of a second home, whether as a vacation getaway or an inestment property, is a big move for most. Among the many questions that need to be addressed before making the leap: Will the home be used a few times a year and rented out to others the rest of the time? Will it be used occasionally for business? Will you have time for routine upkeep? Do you plan to retire to the home someday? And, once all of these questions have been answered, and the second home is purchased, it’s time for yet another really big decision: just how will you decorate it?

For many people, a second home represents a second chance, and they tend to shape the new residence by a wish list of things they don’t have in their primary home. Still others see a second home as an opportunity to simplify busy, everyday routines. In search of peace and relaxation, they want to throw off the bonds of heavy fabrics, trims, details, fussiness, and the traditional decor of their “formal” residence in favor of clean-lined, contemporary, and low-maintenance surroundings.
Whichever description is more apt, the important thing to remember is that a second home is your opportunity to experiment and have fun. It’s a chance to express yourself via decor in ways that may be completely different from your everyday environment. It is, after all, an escape.
If a vacation home is not in the cards, or you’d prefer to retreat on a more regular basis, it’s possible to create a haven right down the hall.

Given its orle as a private space far away from the maddening crowd, a bedroom is ideal for self-expression; a place to spread one’s decorating winds, so to speak. And the calming effect of streamlined, contemporary furnishings can be the perfect antidote to busy, over-programmed lives.
Redecorating may actually be good for your health, particularly if you’re among the millions of Americans suffering from insomnia. If you’re lacking shut-eye, experts suggest taking a good look at your sleep environment.
While it may seem obvious, those who study sleep for a living say it’s important to ensure your bedroom is, first and foremost, a place to sleep. This means anything that dows not promote sleep and relaxation needs to be banished from the room. Clutter is a no-no, but so is taking your work to bed. Relocate the bills, desks, laptops, and baskets full of correspondence.

Than, have at it. Opt for the highest thread count linens you can find, simple, but beautiful fabrics, and clean-lined pieces with a modern, minimalist sensibility and enough storage options to keep surfaces clear. Just as in a vacation home, the idea is to make maintenance a snap, so make “less is more” your manta!

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Successful shopping means being prepared…cont’d

January 6, 2007 by admin.

3. MEASURE UP.
Measure the room where your new furniture will be placed. Draw a simple diagram of your room and remember to include window and door placements as well as any permanent fixtures, such as built-in bookcases, fireplaces, etc. Note the location of heat and air registers, as well as electrical outlets. Ceiling heights are important if your shopping list includes entertainment centers, armoires or china cabinets.

4. SAY CHEESE!
Take pictures of your room, from various angles and views, to use as an easy reference when you’re in the furniture store. Later on, they could also become a great addition to your “before and after” album.

5. JEEPERS - KEEPERS!
For any pieces you plan to keep, gather swatches and finish panels (or small drawers) to take with you - having something in-hand will help when deciding if the “old” will work with the “new”.

6. TRY IT ON.
There are lots of websites with free Interactive Room Planners that allow you to create custom room layouts. This gives you the opportunity to try out several looks without lifting a finger!

7. SHOP!
Gather all the information you’ve collected, don some confortable shoes, and then shop with ease and confidence…you’ll be organized and well-prepared to find those furniture treasures that will make your “Dream Home” a reality. Happy hunting!

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Successful shopping means being prepared

December 22, 2006 by admin.

Beautiful homes don’t happen by accident. Representing a significant portion of any redecorating budget, furniture is the anchor of every “dream” room. Purchasing new furniture can be an exciting - and overwhelming! - experience. But, by donig a bit of homework and with some basic preparation, your search will be much less daunting and far more enjoyable. Let’s get started with creating your “Dream Home” tote bag. You will need the following items.
A roomy and attractive tote bag
Note pad, pen, and pencil
A file folder for each project or room
Tape measure
Camera

1. MAKE A LIST OF WHAT YOU WANT.
Notice I said, “want” and not “need”. Home furnishings should reflect your personality and make you feel good each time you enter a room. You may “need” a dining table and chairs for eating, but you “want” a gathering place for memory-making with family and friends. As you walk through your home, jot down your “wants”.

2. WHAT’S YOUR STYLE?
Pick up some home design and decorating magazines and tear out the things you like, whether it’s colors, shapes or styles. Notice if an underlying theme or pattern emerges from your selections. Let your imagination run wild…if you are drawn to the picture, add it to your collection of tear sheets. If multiple projects are in the works simultaneously, stay organized by setting up a folder for each.

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Archive for the Furniture Shopping Category

Roseville location

Designer Spotlight: NATUZZI ITALY

St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway

Integrity of Polyester

3 Tips on Contemporary Furniture Shopping

“An Evening In Italy” Holiday Event

Solid wood vs. Veneer

Sweet Retreat - An article on Contemporary Italian Bedroom

Successful shopping means being prepared…cont’d

Successful shopping means being prepared