Sunshine Lucy's: Tiny Apartment Furniture

This past fall Sunshine Lucy's in Somerville opened its doors to furniture scavengers, bargain hunters, and lovers of second-hand items. Located on Holland street, it offers an ever changing selection of vintage and slightly newer refurbished furniture. As the sister store to Eddie's Furniture on Elm Street in Somerville, Sunshine Lucy's exudes the warm and friendly nature of a family run business. Most of their furniture comes from estate sales and dates from the 1930's to the 1980's. It's clear that they take the time to meticulously select each item so that it reflects up coming style trends without looking run of the mill. Though their prices are not Target cheap, their craftsmanship and selection are well worth the cost.

I took some photos recently of items I liked and that were following popular design trends. Then I found similar items on CrateandBarrel.com and Potterybarn.com just to see the price comparison and the design comparison. I happily realized that not only were Crate and Barrel and Pottery Barn a lot more expensive, but the furniture felt too predictable, hotel-roomish, almost sterile. Don't' get me wrong, I like what they sell, but when comparing them to one-of-a-kind furniture pieces, it's easy to feel biased. Unique vintage pieces like at Sunshine Lucy's are stylish while also personifying a history and an experience. Click on the link to see what I found: http://www.flickr.com/photos/43093716@N05/sets/72157622737288523/

Sunshine Lucy's

93 Holland Street

Somerville, MA

02144

Other Vintage Furniture Stores:

Eddie's Furniture

95 Elm Street

Somerville, MA

02143

Artifaktori

22a College Ave.

Somerville, MA

02144

http://www.artifaktori.com/

Crate and Barrel

Pottery Barn

Boston Design Center Treasure Hunt

This past weekend I attended the Boston Design Center's Treasure Hunt where I was able to see new furniture products made by high-end designers. This seasons hottest trends seem to all be influenced by unique and luxurious textures, falling into three categories: Asian, organic, and modern-contemporary. The beautiful thing about these themes is that they are easy to mix and match and therefore are very versatile. The clean lines of the modern furniture offer a great canvas for incorporating the other elements from this season. Bold and rich paint color (bright greens, blues, reds), elegant light reflecting materials (glass, metal, mirrors, lots of vases), sophisticated light fixtures (made out of unlikely decorations), and three-dimensional fabrics enable the you to apply these aspects to furniture you already have, giving your style a personal touch. The furniture at the Design Center is a little expensive so I took photos of objects that represented the range of the seasons trends and other decor elements that could be easily duplicated. Many of the items from this weekend I have also seen available at used and refurbished furniture stores.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/43093716@N05/sets/72157622529694450/