When a House Becomes a Home

A house is just a building until it’s transformed by a child’s laughter, a shout of joy in response to good news or a sigh of relief when a loved one walks through the door after being caught in a storm. But the furnishings we choose for our homes are also part of this transformation, enhancing our quality of life by creating a sanctuary that we can share with one another, both family and friends. Distinction Leather designs leather living room furniture with this transformation from a house into a home in mind.

The ideal starting point for any living room is of course the sofa. Well-designed, with softly rounded lines, the Distinction Leather Skirted Sofa has a casual, contemporary style that is warm and inviting. The plush cushion back is the perfect backdrop for curling up with a book or kicking back to watch a favorite TV program.

For those of you more traditional at heart, Distinction Leather has sofas for you, too. Sophisticated yet comfortable, the Distinction Leather Tufted Chesterfield Short Sofa includes classic decorative accents such as brass stud detailing and hardwood bun feet. Most of the manufacturer’s leather sofas are part of collections like the Distinction Leather Chelshire 4 Piece Leather Living Room Set.

If somewhere in the middle is more your style, the transitional Distinction Leather Brooke Chair will be the ideal choice for setting the tone of your décor. It has classic club-style rolled leather arms and an oversized wing cushion back. Like the other members of the Distinction Leather family, this club chair comes in a wide selection of leather color and wood finish choices.

No matter what the style, from contemporary to traditional, Distinction Leather, a family business, starts with quality materials and designs with today’s lifestyle in mind. The company’s product lines include leather sectionals and recliners. There’s a little something for unexpected guests, too, to make them feel at home. The Distinction Leather Regis Sleeper Sofa has clean, comfortable lines that are only enhanced by its genuine leather upholstery.

When decorating your living space, browse the fine selection of furnishings by Distinction Leather at Every Sofa to find those perfect furniture pieces that will make your home a welcoming place to be.

When the Puck Drops

So it's the end of August and with it sooner than later, the end of summer as well. No more barbeques on the patio, no more dates on the beach, and no more driving with the top down. Yes, around this time I always seem to have a certain feeling of sadness to befall me. I don’t know what it is specifically, but the sun always seems to have a cheery, happy-go-lucky effect on me. And when I wake up only to see and hear the rain (as it constantly does where I live), a depression-like mode seems to kick in. However, I remind myself that it aint all bad; after all, with the start of a new fall season brings about the one constant love that lasts with me for the next 8 months: NHL HOCKEY!!!

I understand the regular season of the greatest sport known to man (at least in my opinion) doesn’t start until October, but I can't help but get excited about the prospect of a new season and a new hope that my favourite team (the Vancouver Canucks) might finally win Lord Stanley's Cup! But the NHL season isn't quite complete with one important component: the hockey pool!

Since the NHL lockout a few years back, I've been involved in at least 3 or 4 hockey pools, but still have yet to win one. I'm not sure why that is exactly. I'm quite familiar with the rules of the game, what teams are playoffs contenders, and which players are going to 'rack em up'. I even play a fair amount of hockey as well; and although I'm no Alex Ovechkin (who'd be my first overall pick if I had the chance) I'm decent enough to show people I'm not a hockey newbie.

So why can't I win these hockey pools? I have the knowledge of the game and know how to play. Having said that, I should be a lock for at least 2^nd prize, which is usually a small cut of total pot. But alas, in the last 4 years, all I've seen is the basement of the pool and the ridicule of my friends for some of the questionable picks I've made in the past (ie – P.J. Axelson of the Boston Bruins….until this day, I still wonder what made me pick him, but what's done is done, and that pick was made at least a couple years back, meaning it's time to forget about past mistakes).

But this year I think I've found my secret weapon. And no, I'm not talking about sleeper picks (although I do have a couple up my sleeve this year, who I won't mention here). Rather Cymax Stores shall be the X-Factor that'll bring me glory. This year I think I'll be holding the draft at my place and I have the perfect idea to start making smart and intelligent picks: MoreConferenceTables.com. Here I can finally get me and my friends a nice, comfortable and organized place for our draft. No more yelling across the room for us! However, if they want the casual and often soothing ambiance of a living room, then I'm going to need some fine and dandy sofas, coffee tables, and possibly some bean bags to fully accommodate my guests, all of whom I'll be laughing at come the NHL Playoffs in late April and when they fork over the dough.

Yes, summer may soon be coming to a close. But as long as there's hockey, then I say let the rain fall down. Especially since this year I feel it in my blood that I'm destined to win my hockey pools, and my beloved Canucks will win the Stanley Cup. GO CANUCKS GO! Roberto Luongo for the win!!!!

It Isn’t Easy Being Green…Well Actually It Is

Goods and services that inflict minimal harm on the environment are gaining the attention of consumers as they continue to find ways to conserve the earth's resources and protect the planet from further damage. Eco-friendly furniture is becoming more and more popular, but what is, and what does it mean?

While there are currently no industry standards, many companies are now making a conscious effort to do business in an environmentally friendly manner. This not only includes how the products are made, but how they operate on a day-to-day basis. Klaussner Home Furnishings is one of these companies.

Proactive in implementing practices and procedures to protect the environment, Klaussner has been making eco-friendly furniture for many years. Frames for their furniture pieces are crafted from hardwood and engineered panels from suppliers that are a part of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), a program that is committed to the perpetual growing and harvesting of trees and protecting wildlife, plants, soil and water quality.

Klaussner uses heavy gauge tempered steel springs that are made from recycled steel to create a seating system that is eco-friendly. Chairs and sofas are comfortably padded with BioComfort Foam, made from BiOH™ Polyols, which includes the renewable resource, soybean oil. They also offer a wide array of fabric selections, including several natural and organic fabrics.

Offering a range of products for the bedroom, dining room and living room, Klaussner Home Furnishings is an eco-friendly furniture company that is not only good for the environment, but good for consumers too.

Office Waiting Rooms and Ice Cream Cravings

I absolutely hate the dentist. Like would-rather-scrape-my-eyes out hate. Like would-choose-to-stick-my-hand-in-a-tank-of-scorpions hate. But after avoiding the dentist for five years, it came to a point where it was too painful to eat ice cream, so I finally decided I had to go. Because really, who can live a happy life without ice cream?

So with a referral from a friend, I had an appointment. From outside the office, I peeked through the windows to search for torture devices (the windows were tinted, so I was unsuccessful and I’m sure my face, cupped in my hands and pressed against the glass was a treat for everyone inside). The receptionist had asked me to arrive early to fill out some forms, so with twenty minutes until my date with the devil, I anxiously entered the office.

I walked into bliss. I kid you not. This waiting room was incredible. I checked again to see if I had the right address, but was soon greeted by name and asked to take a seat. And what a seat! A wrap around black leather sectional sofa opened up the whole room; it gleamed at me and invited me to fall back into it. With plenty of room to spread out, relax, and convince myself that only a successful (and therefore good) dentist could have a couch like this in his waiting room, I felt better already. In front of me, a modern styled table that would emphasize any room made me feel as comfortable as I would be in my own home. After filling out my papers, I picked up a Time Magazine from a very chic contemporary magazine rack. And then my mantra started: This isn’t so bad. This isn’t so bad. This isn’t so bad.

Although a nice enough guy, with his mask on, the dentist bore an uncanny resemblance to the infamous cannibal, Hannibal Lecter. But as he came at me with drills and picks and all things horrible, I didn’t care. I didn’t care because I had a pair of headphones on, watching the comedy network on a TV, fixed above me on the ceiling by a TV mount. Escapism by means of Seinfeld… a perfect way to transform a dental-phobic into one of the easiest patients in the world. This isn’t so bad. This isn’t so bad. This isn’t so bad.

I left with a follow-up appointment to fill my (seven) cavities and a new appreciation for office waiting rooms. It got me thinking about other waiting rooms or lobbies that I’ve spent some time in: Doctors offices, real estate offices, my friends’ offices where I wait for them to get off work for coffee or dinner dates. Office waiting rooms should be inviting, comfortable, and relaxing; after all, people spend a lot of time in waiting rooms over the course of their life.

Deck out your office waiting room in furniture that makes your customers, clients, potential future employees, and anyone else who makes a visit feel at ease. At Cymax, shop online for chairs and sofas, tables and magazine racks, lighting, coat racks, and accessories that will make any office guest feel as serene as they would in their own living room. If they are comfortable in the waiting room, they will be easier to please once they pass through your office door. A happy guest equals happy business.

So is it the prospect of being able to eat ice cream again or the TV and couch combo that is making me return to have my cavities filled? I think it is a combination of both. My only suggestion to improve the dentist’s office: Free ice cream on the way out. That isn’t so bad. That isn’t so bad. That isn’t so bad at all.

The Second Generation of Kitchen Therapy

I remember trying so hard to sit still and calm down in school when I knew that weekend we were having company. Both my parents have a lot of siblings who, much to my never ending joy, produced multiple children per family. As a result, I am one of dozens of cousins within a ten year span. Needless to say, I’ve had built in best friends my entire life. When one of those glorious weekends would roll around and I knew we’d be having guests, it was the happiest I could ever be. For once in my lazy childhood I’d pick up the vacuum hose and haphazardly scoot my toys into one corner of my room in preparation. My mother would be looking haggard, to be quite honest, from the never ending cooking and cleaning, and my dad would be licking his chops over a new bottle or two of scotch to share.

Those weekends would come and go so quickly. There would be harrowing tales of love unrequited or denied and, without a doubt, a squabble or two over whose turn it was in the bathroom. People camped out on sofas and floors on a makeshift bed, yet no one ever complained. And everyone would informally gather around the table in the kitchen. Sometimes in packs, sometimes in pairs - all in search of a snack and some answers. Both were always found.

Saying goodbye on the sidewalk as family after family pulled away filled our entire house with quiet. Dinner that night was leftovers – but no one ever really ate much. By Monday the feeling was completely gone and would only return once the photos were developed; sometimes that didn’t happen for weeks.

Over the years we’ve done a satisfactory job of staying in touch, but the weekends of noise and laughter have never returned like they once were. The kids who once spent hours trying on each other’s clothes have all grown up and undertaken grown up jobs; their own families now taking precedence over aunts, uncles and cousins.

But now, I get to play host. It’s on a much smaller scale – just two of my cousins, but it will be the first time I’ve ever had overnight guests over to my apartment. The food is all prepared and fresh towels are folded nicely in the cupboard, but my home is missing something.

Everyone can agree that the house revolves around the kitchen. It’s where a kitchen chair can magically transform into a therapeutic leather sofa and the never ending grazing manages to whet your appetite even more. There being just two in our home generally means we eat in front of the TV. This scenario isn’t really conducive to company, so a proper dining table must be purchased from Cymax.

It might be a bit touchy-feely of me, but I already anticipate the exchange of news and wine over a comfortable, stylish dining table that will, with any luck, house a new generation of memories. Perhaps next time there will be children of our own . . . or better yet, an extra bottle of wine.

At Least Furniture Won't Pee on Your Rug

We humanoids have an important relationship with the animal kingdom. Pets have been a vital part of all cultures since prehistoric times, when Larry King kept trilobites for companionship as he shambled the lonely Paleozoic wilds. These days, many people feel their home is not complete without a pet -- trilobite or not.

But what if you can't have a pet? Maybe your significant other is allergic to cats. Maybe your landlord has a no-animals policy. Maybe you have an unreasonable phobia of dogs thanks to an Incident long ago. In any case, you long to hear the pitter-pat of little claws on the floor, but it's not an option. Well, Cymax is here to help you do the right thing: compensate by buying furniture.

Alternately, if you do have a pet, perhaps you’d like to find a piece of furniture to match. Why would you want to do this? For the same reason you dress your dog in little sweaters and take him to the spa to get his fur did, clearly. Either way, with a special focus on man’s best friend (the dog, not the awful Lance Henriksen film), our devoted team brings you the most pet-like furniture items you can buy.

Note the similarities:

And there you have it: a pet to match your furniture, or furniture to match your pet. Half of style is coordination, after all.