New Photography Studio

September 6, 2011 BY Carrocel Interiors | Leave a response

A few weeks ago, the Carrocel Furniture Store web team and I moved our headquarters into a showroom converted into our new office. Then, we gutted a neighbouring showroom and converted into our much-needed studio! Equipped with professional cameras, expert photographers, lights, and backdrops, this new studio has allowed our photography to really take off. We are now able to post more items to the website as well as make each piece radiantly glow! It also helps our photographers achieve the true colours of the piece they're shooting in each photo. ...

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How To Choose The Right Dining Set For You

July 14, 2011 BY Carrocel Interiors | Leave a response

Whether you've just renovated your house, purchased a new home, or simply looking for a fresh look, how to decorate your dining room with proper furniture selection is an important consideration. It is the place where you invite your friends and loved ones to share a lovely dinner and where you enjoy the company of your guests in comfort and style. It is one of most used rooms in the house where your guests spend a lot of their time and a place that should reflect your own style & personality. Here are some tips that I hope will help make your decision easier: Dining Table Size: The very first step to take is to assess how much space you have in ...

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Facebook ‘Like’ Giveaway

June 16, 2011 BY Carrocel Interiors | Leave a response

Here's the deal: Once we hit 100 'LIKES' on our Facebook page, we are going to give away 5 free bottles of polish to 5 randomly selected people who have 'Liked' the page. We're getting close...only 26 more. And then once we hit 500 'LIKES', we are going to give away a free piece of furniture to one lucky winner! And then after 1,000 'LIKES...who knows! So start clicking that 'Like' button folks! ***Free piece of furniture to be chosen by Carrocel and in existing condition***...

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Collaboration With Style At Home Magzine

April 14, 2011 BY Carrocel Interiors | Leave a response

A few weeks ago, Lauren McPhillips (a web editor and blog author for Style At Home ) gave us a refinishing project that we would document for her readership. She gave us a chair she purchased for $30 at a small consignment store and asked us to completely restore it and bring it back to life. Well, we did that and have many pictures and videos (to come later this week) that detailed the process. [gallery columns="3]                       Tomorrow, check back for the Part 1 of our three part video set!      ...

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What To Look Out For When Purchasing Antique Dining Chairs

March 30, 2011 BY Carrocel Interiors | Leave a response

As a continuation of our last Carrocel post, this entry is to do with buying dining chairs. Apart from style and aesthetics, the most important thing to consider when buying a chair is its construction. Above all, a quality dining chair should be a solid hardwood, like maple or beech wood. There can be no exceptions to this if you are looking to buy and paying good money for antique dining chairs. I specifically aim to drive this particular point home because of the influx of so many poorly made chairs made in Asia that look stylish and solid but are made from MDF or a very soft lumber like gum wood. They can be purchased at a quarter or so of the price ...

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What To Look Out for When Purchasing Antique Dining Tables & Case Pieces

January 31, 2011 BY Carrocel Interiors | Leave a response

When purchasing fine furniture for your home, it's important to know what you're getting and that what you are paying for is worth the money. Today's furniture market is littered with misrepresentation, ambiguous terminology, and even deceit in some cases. Given these unfortunate facts, understanding what to look out for when purchasing furniture is more relevant than ever before. You want to feel confident with your purchase and happy that you have a new piece of furniture without any regret or buyer's remorse. So, I've come up with a few pointers to keep in mind to help guide you in your search for quality furniture. Construction The construction of a piece is the most important thing to inspect. Ideally, the piece should be made from ...

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Carrocel At Home

January 6, 2011 BY Carrocel Interiors | Leave a response

We have some beautiful pictures of our work in our customers' homes! Check them out here: Here are some previews... ...

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European Beech vs. North American Beech Wood

December 10, 2010 BY Carrocel Interiors | Leave a response

European beech is a wonderful wood. All of our newly made chairs are made in Italy from European beech and so this makes it an important topic for us and our customers alike. For starters, it's necessary to make the distinction between North American and European beech as they are different despite originating from the same family. In fact, there are several differences between the two, however, for our purposes we'll simply focus on their properties and uses. They are both classified as hardwoods but their appearance and workability are not quite the same. For instance, North American beech is mostly a reddish brown and has a considerable colour variation between boards. The grain is usually very straight, closed, and much coarser ...

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Furniture Woods

November 15, 2010 BY Carrocel Interiors | Leave a response

Today and in the next coming days, we will be exploring the most commonly used woods in fine furniture. From dark to light woods, these posts will offer useful information on the origins, purposes, and characteristics of the woods used in fine furniture. So, let's begin. Mahogany Perhaps the most widely known wood for furniture, mahogany is our starting point. Even if you don't know much about wood furniture, chances are you've at least heard of mahogany. As previously blogged about, mahogany is part of the dark-coloured hardwood category of woods. True mahoganies belong to the genus Swietenia which are found in the Caribbean and in Central and South America. Mahogany also, however, can originate in Africa in which they belong to the genus ...

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Wood Types

October 26, 2010 BY Carrocel Interiors | 1 Comment on Wood Types

When working with wood or buying wood furniture, it's best to know what you're working with or spending your money on. Understanding whether you are dealing with a hard or soft wood can dictate the wood's appropriate purpose, how they take to stain or lacquer, and how durable it is. Here I put together a brief explanation of wood basics. In the next post we will visit specific wood types and their roles in furniture. Hardwoods vs. Softwoods Solid woods fit into two categories: hardwood and softwood. A hardwood is extracted from a broad-leafed tree (i.e., no needles) and include mahogany, oak, teak, birch, walnut, ash, beech, poplar, rosewood, elm, etc. Not to get too scientific, but specifically hardwood trees are angiosperms (plants that ...

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Furniture Leg Glossary

October 20, 2010 BY Carrocel Interiors | 6 Comments on Furniture Leg Glossary

Fellow furniture enthusiasts visiting our Furniture store in Toronto here is a quick run-down of some furniture leg styles and their names. Always useful to know the name of the leg instead of saying... 'yeah, I like the piece with the thingamajiggy leg!'" [caption id="attachment_210" align="alignleft" width="300"] 1 - Bobbin 2 - Baluster 3 - Twist 4 - Cup and cover 5 - Flemish scroll 6 - 'Square' 7 - Louis XV 8 - Plain cabriole 9 - Carved cabriole 10 - Taper 11 - Chippendale straight 12 - Hepplewhite 13 - Hepplewhite decorated 14 - Adam 15 & 16 - Sabre 17 - Pre-Victorian 18 - American fancy 19 - Windsor 20-23 - Victorian 24 - Modern Cabriole[/caption]...

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Art Deco Shipment From France Just In!

October 15, 2010 BY Carrocel Interiors | Leave a response

Big news...Art Deco shipment from France has arrived! We have dozens and dozens of beautiful antique Deco pieces.  We have custom fine dining tables, sideboards, end tables, armoires, living room chairs, sofas, commodes, you name it! Check it out. ...

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Furniture Styles

BY Carrocel Interiors | Leave a response

Art Deco Art Deco furniture is characterized by the use of metals, dark and exotic woods (rosewood, ebony, mahogany). It was popularized in the 1920s in Europe and in the 1930s in the United States. It not only influenced furniture, but fine art, jewelry, and cinema. It has its roots in architecture and Deco furniture captures the same lines and curves. In many pieces, the darker aspects of the grain of the wood are highlighted to give the piece a certain striking appearance. In North America, Art Deco furniture and architecture were symbols of strength and optimist during the end of the War and the Great Depression. An example of this symbolism for hope is the sunburst motif often found in ...

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More Furniture Styles!

October 6, 2010 BY Carrocel Interiors | Leave a response

Regency Furniture This style of furniture is known for its simplicity and elegance. It was the last true furniture style that was readily identifiable before the excesses and incoherences of the Victorian era. Inspired by classical forms from Egypt and Greece, nearly all Regency furniture were veneered. Surfaces were kept plain and decoration was limited to turning and brass inlay in rosewood and other exotic timbers.  ...

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