The dining room is an integral room in the house. It's a space for gathering, eating, and bringing the family together for the holidays. Oftentimes the furniture you decide to buy, if it's high-quality and well-made, will last through generations. But how much will it cost?

There are numerous natural wood types used in furniture, ranging in density, color, grain pattern, and price. The more informed you are about the wood used in your furniture the easier your shopping process will be. It will also give you a greater sense of connection to your furniture.

I had the opportunity last week to journey up to Bradford, Vermont to attend Copeland Camp, a 2-day jam-packed instructional camp, hosted by Copeland Furniture Company.   Copeland has been creating sustainably harvested hardwood furniture since the 70's, and we've been working with them for nearly 4 decades.   On deciding to work with Copeland, Peggy describes, "One of the most important things for me is the care they give to the environment and their desire to protect it for future generations. Tim Copeland was also a founding member of the sustainable furnishings council along with Circle, and one of the first winners of the Sage award given by the National Association of Manufacturers back in 2008."     Copeland Furniture Company   Copeland Furniture has many attributes, they're ...

Harvard Square might be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about Cambridge, but there's so much more to the city. Sitting opposite Boston on the Charles River, Cambridge is a university community and a hub of innovation.     We have roots in Cambridge going back over 60 years. In fact, Circle Furniture takes its name from the location of the original store, in Putnam Circle (now Putnam Square) in Cambridge, MA. We still have a beautiful showroom in Cambridge right in Fresh Pond. Over the years we've discovered so many reasons to love Cambridge and we want to share them with you.     Why we love Cambridge   Heather, from our Cambridge showroom,  has "enjoyed walking around Fresh Pond for many years." ...

  Whether you're downsizing or you just don't have the space for a separate guest room, having an office that serves as a guest room is sometimes necessary. However, office spaces don't always lend themselves to being comfortable, homey environments for guests.   There are several steps you can take to create a multi-purpose space that acts as both a home office and a guest room.   What are the benefits of a multi-functional room?   In a lot of cases, you may not have a choice when it comes to deciding between a guest room and an office. Maybe you don't have an extra room but you want to be able to put up guests.   Or, you might have guests coming to stay very infrequently. So even ...

A home is only truly beautiful when it's functioning correctly. Space planning is the comprehensive organization and mapping out of your home design.   It allows you to make sense of your space, scale your furniture to your home, and take your design to the next level.   Space planning allows you to visualize, whether in an online Room Planner  or on paper, exactly how your space will function and where the furniture will be placed inside it.     What is space planning?   Will Correia, from our Pembroke showroom, describes, "Space planning is mapping out a room, figuring out your focal points, what the function of the room is, and determining the scale of the room and the furniture within it." When space planning, designers map out ...

  Downsizing can be very liberating. It forces you to think about what you truly need and it allows you to live the lifestyle you've always wanted, whether that means moving closer to the city or setting up camp by the ocean. It can, however, be overwhelming if you don't know where to begin. This guide will give you everything you need to know about downsizing so you're not making the move in the dark.   Plan ahead   With any major design project, whether you're remodeling or moving house, the first step is to take inventory and to plan as much as possible.   Take inventory   What are you keeping What are you selling, donating, or giving away   Take measurements   Do you have a floor plan or an architectural plan Measure ...