does anyone know anything about the williams sonoma home collection? i just got a catalog, and theres some reasonably good looking stuff in there, but they don't have an actual store or showroom anywhere. has anyone baought anything from them or know someone who has? i don't know how they expect anyone to buy furniture without physically expecting it first!

Sorry, can't help with WS home, although the catalog is gorgeous.

My Q -- has anyone ever used metallic glazes in painting their walls? I'm thinking that our bathroom might (?) look nice with a slight pearlized finish on the ivory walls, rather glam but also reminiscent of mother-of-pearl. I dont want a sponged or otherwise faux finish, just a smooth slightly pearly one.....

I have bought some smaller items... a wastebasket, frame, tissue holder, and was happy about the experience and product. I'd take some comfort in the W-S brand as an indicator of reliability, but agree taking the plunge on sight-un"sat" furniture is a risk.

me--
Ralph Lauren Paint has a line of slightly irridescent finishes that may get you there in one coat. Some gorgeous colors, too.

I haven't ordered from the catalog but have made purchases and ordered things through an actual WS store (Seattle) and found the staff to be extremely helpful and they didn't try ot "up sell" me on anything. The last thing I bought, though, was a Kitchenaid mixer so I can't speak for the WS product lines themselves.

FYI... the long-awaited appearance of MGR on Nerve.com is now up for our reading enjoyment.

www.nerve.com/regulars/sexadvicefrom/interiordesigners/

I think this deserves its own light-hearted, if only marginally design-related, weekend thread.

It's SO cute how MGR manages to work a little color theory into the sex talk. And high time to high-tail it to Paris to avoid the hordes of lecherous clients...

Maybe somebody knows? I have an older (20yrs) chair that is a floating rocking chair. It has large cushions on it and under the seat cushion the chair is built as a square, with a 18"x18" or so hole in the middle. There used to be 6 rubber straps that ran the length of the chair and hooked into a grove on either side of the vacant space. They were there to support the seat cushion as well as they gave a little bit to create a comfy seat. Over time one support snapped, then two, then three, then they all went. Does anybody know a resource where I can get these straps made? Or what they are called?

John, try canal rubber--329 Canal Street (at Greene)
212.226.7339

There were a couple of Ralph Lauren metallic colors that I used to use, but I thought they discontinued them. And really, no, I found that they did kind of tend to need to be painted with two coats.

I would say that if you want a smooth texture, you might need to use a spray gun. Seems like they even used to recommend that (may still, if I'm wrong about their discontinuing them). However, I used a brush; and I tried them 3 basic ways - 1) tiny little random strokes in all directions that KIND of evoked the idea of galvanized buckets; 2) stippling to kind of making a pebbled kind of metal and 3) long brushe strokes to make sort of a sheet-metal kind of thing.

The thing is, the sheen really makes anything you do to it VERY obvious, so you really have to be very intentional in whatever it is you do. These days, Janovic sells "Modern Masters" I think is the name, or something like that. There are a lot of shades of it, and they behave very similiarly to the Ralph Lauren ones I used to use.

The Ralph Lauren paints I was thinking of seem to have been replaced with a line called "Regent Metallics"...
rlhome.polo.com/rlhome/products/paint/tech_items.asp?haid=116&start=0&pg=1

Thank you for all the help with the paint! I will definitely check out Mr. Lauren's new offerings -- if its not for the bathroom it might look nice inside some cabinets/bookshelves.
In my local hardware store, there is a new (?) Benjamin Moore line -- "Studio Finishes" metallic glaze. It looks like you use this product with a regular glazing medium. Anyone have experience with this stuff?

me--
I think you should just hire Curtis.

Hi all,
Just wondering - has anyone here ever bought furniture from Storehouse, either online or in their stores? I fell in love with one of their sofas (saw it online) but would like to know about the quality. I didn't find any reviews of Storehouse at this site, but I always see them referenced in decorating magazines.

On another note, how do ya start a new thread here? Thanks!

me, P(too) -

Not a bad idea. And meanwhile, I'll start exploring those new Benjamin Moore ones myself as soon as I can.

Diane--
Just visited the relatively new Storehouse in Shrewsbury a weekend or two ago (also in Paramus and Seagate), and was nicely impressed. It is not the highest end (and I didn't think the store, or semi-desperate saleswoman did the furniture justice) but nor is it the highest priced.

I'd place it (in price, value and quality) above where Workbench used to fall, but below Room & Board and Crate & Barrel (and maybe *slightly* closer to the Workbench end). But a HUGE array of custom fabric options, and lots of interesting yet relativley clean-lined styles. Nice accessories, too.

As far as new threads, we have to wait for the AT powers-that-be to open a new one (they are like wormholes... we're never quite sure when a new one opens up). But as far as new tangents on an existing thread, we love those, so let 'er rip!!

I've bought several pieces from Storehouse over the years (sofa, complete bed, and several cabinets) and have been uniformly delighted with all. To my mind, they are on a par with Crate & Barrel in style and construction, but then again, all of my purchases were made almost 10 years ago. Their quality may have changed in that time, but their pricing seems to have remained fairly flat.

They've held up exceptionally well in both durability and style.