by Juanita | Nov 8, 2019 | Ava Lee's History Corner, Furniture Care, Georges Difference, Hutch
Commitment to Quality
From the beginning, George’s Furniture is committed to create quality, hardwood furniture, crafted by a single craftsman and safely delivered to the customer’s home. As a child, I heard George lament over customers requests to cut costs by utilizing a commercial delivery service. As a result, the furniture arrived in poor condition. Nothing matches the quality of furniture delivered and assembled by individuals who understand its design.
A typical delivery includes transportation from George’s Furniture to the customer’s home. The cost per mile includes assistance of George’s delivery driver. The customer will provide at least one individual to help carry furniture into the home. Additional delivery personnel can be requested at an additional cost.
Affordable Safe Delivery by George’s Personnel
George’s Furniture groups deliveries, going to a similar region, together to help customers share delivery costs. While viewing one of George’s 15 passenger vans holding 4-5 separate orders headed for a region, one person commented, “That looks like a tight fitting puzzle.” Yes, each piece is blanket wrapped and packed with care. During difficult corner maneuvers, desks and other large pieces are placed on their sides, protected by thick furniture blankets and escorted to their desired location.
Up Elevators, Over Balconies
Over the past 45 years of delivering furniture, we have encountered challenging situations navigating around unique house layouts. Creativity, persistence and strong skills in spatial relations served us well, resulting in satisfied customers. One challenging occasion, an executive desk was delivered to a customer’s home. Although George’s Furniture is designed to fit through a standard 30” door, this door was narrower. The delivery/craftsman personnel quickly ascertained that the feet could unscrew from the desk and the base placed on its side to maneuver into the office. A few minutes later, the reassembled desk brought delight of another satisfied customer.
A customer living Manhattan purchased two hutches. The flexibility built into George’s Furniture paid off when the elevator servicing the multi-story building was small. George’s design allowed the hutch tops to be disassembled from the bases. Each of the four sections fit snugly into the elevator. After 4 trips up and down the elevator, all parts arrived safely to the apartment. George’s delivery man secured the screws between the Hutch’s top and bottom as the delighted customer viewed the new edition.
Flexible designs inspired
Building flexible designs is a work in progress. During the early 1970’s, George designed a king size poster canopy bed. Upon delivery to her home, it was discovered that the hallways were too small to maneuver the large bed into the bedroom. She was so taken by its design that she stated, “I’ll just keep the bed and build a bedroom around it.” Following this experience, George redesigned the structure, allowing the bed to be a designed in smaller sections without compromising the strength of the bed.
An Ounce of Prevention….Measure
George’s delivery personnel are creative, however they do not know the dimensions of your home. Please measure all hallways, rooms and stairways along the path to the desired destination. I recall stories of a desk or bed entering a house over a outside balcony because the custom piece would not fit through the interior hallways or up the steep narrow stair steps. Pieces can be designed with increased flexibility, but these details should be discussed during the design process. George’s Furniture designers work hard to take all aspects into consideration when working along side our customers, Contact us to begin the design of your next new piece of furniture.
by Juanita | Oct 28, 2019 | Customization, George's Furniture, Gifts
Spanning centuries, the Hope Chest is an ancient tradition in which a wooden chest is filled with household items. This handcrafted chest would be prepared for a young girl to aid her for her eventual status as a wife. The term hope implied wishes for a good future for the girl who would receive the chest.
An Ancient Tradition
Traditionally, items such as blankets, towels, oil lamps, dishes, candles, and bedding would fill the chest. Often, the girl’s father would build the hope chest himself, decorating it with art or mosaics. Typically, mothers taught their daughters how to sew, crochet, embroider, and knit from an early age. The girl would then stock the chest with linens, towels, napkins, blankets, and other items that she had made herself. Filling the hope chest with these handmade items would be a blessing when she entered married life, and it would prove her abilities and skills. The basic idea of the hope chest was that the new couple would have the necessities they would need for their new life together.
A Tradition Worth Keeping
Is the hope chest is an outdated and obsolete idea? In a time where almost anything can be purchased online with the click of a button, why would we bother to handcraft a chest let alone fill it with handcrafted items? We’d respond with one word: Hope.
Despite the change in our culture over the centuries, as parents, we still have hope for our children’s future. We hope they marry and enjoy fulfilling and healthy relationships with their spouse and others. Hoping they will bless us with grandchildren and carry on the traditions, we’ve worked diligently to instill good habits. The Hope chest represents so much more than hope for a happy marriage. It is not an antiquated idea or an irrelevant tradition—it is reflective of the good we wish to see happen, and accompanied by our expectation of obtaining that good for our children and future generations.
A Blessing To This Generation and the Next
Naturally, if the chest is appropriately filled with practical and useful items, it can be a thoughtful blessing for a new bride and groom. In modern terms, a hope chest can also be beneficial for a young adult moving out from under his or her parents wings and into their own home for the first time. These chests can be an unforgettable gift to give, regardless of the circumstances.
Made of solid wood and guaranteed to last for years to come, George’s Furniture’s Hope chests are a versatile asset to any home. Traditionally used to store blankets and linens, these chests can store whatever you need them to. A hope chest is a good companion at the bottom of a bed to rest while putting on shoes. They can even become toy chests! All of George’s Hope chests are able to be engraved so you can relay a personal message to the person or people that will receive the custom-made chest.
See For Yourself
Stop by and visit us at the shop! We’d love to show you around! See you soon!
by Juanita | Oct 4, 2019 | Events, George's Furniture
Fall Is Here!
In thinking of Fall, we can’t help but imagine warm days and cool nights with brisk mornings. It’s the in-between weather before winter, when summer does its best to hang on for a few more days, overridden by the telltale nip in the autumn air. Folks will soon turn to their fireplaces for a gentle warmth of the evening and the night. The warm glow of the fire, the smoky smell of burning wood, and the crackling that accompanies it, draws us to rest after a full day’s work. Soon, the leaves will change, pumpkins will decorate porches, and families will begin to plan their holiday festivities.
Naturally, it’s a busy season at George’s. The kids are back in school, the shop continues to hum and buzz with activity, and we travel along the Mid-Atlantic area participating in craft shows. One of our favorite ways to meet new people is at the Sugarloaf Craft Festivals! Each of the 11 annual festivals is an experience like no other. Artisans curated from all over come together to highlight their expertise! The craft festivals showcase everything from pottery to jewelry, forged metal, textiles, and wood. Live demonstrations show the craftsman’s skill, while entertainment and food keep guests coming back for more! Visit us at any of the Sugarloaf shows!
George’s Furniture will be at the Sugarloaf Fall shows:
Oct 18-20 in Chantilly, VA
Nov 8-10 in Oaks, PA
Nov 15-17 in Edison, NJ
Nov 22-24 in Gaithersburg, MD
and Dec 6-7 in Chantilly, VA
Autumn at George’s Furniture
We do love Autumn, that’s for sure. Perhaps it is the anticipation of the coming holidays. Maybe it’s the hubbub of the travel schedule. It could also be the crisp Fall air that accentuates the fragrance of our wood-drying kiln. You see, we slow dry all of our rough-sawn walnut lumber onsite. We heat our kiln using the wood trimmings from our woodworking projects. This method of drying reduces stress cracks that can occur if the lumber is dried too quickly. It also decreases the moisture in the wood. This is the most important part of the hardwood crafting process. We choose to kiln dry our lumber to ensure that your furniture does not develop loose joints, split, and warp.
The Benefits of Kiln Drying
Interestingly, some of our lumber will dry for several years before it is ready to be crafted. Each piece is meticulously cared for, staying in climate controlled buildings to retain its quality. Of course, the integrity of our wood includes how our furniture is made. To us, integrity is a core value: how we do business. It means that our furniture is built with ultimate quality and little waste. For example, any unusable wood we have left over is chipped and used to fire our kiln and heat our wood-shop. Obviously, because we re-purpose the scraps, little is wasted. Unlike other furniture-making materials including steel, plastic, and others, wood is a renewable resource. When you buy a piece of George’s furniture, you are conserving natural resources and protecting our earth for future generations.
Environmentally Conscientious Craftsmen
We desire to be conscientious craftsmen. Kiln drying our wood is one of the best ways we are able to achieve this goal! This method of preparing the wood means less chance for defects and better color retention. Because we kiln dry, we can guarantee customer satisfaction with each piece of furniture we create. Stop in at George’s to visit us this Fall. We’d love to show you around!
by Juanita | Aug 10, 2019 | George's Furniture, Rocking Chairs
In the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, it’s hard to imagine the simplicity of “days gone by”. Often, it’s hard to even take a moment to sit on the porch in a rocking chair and enjoy the sights and sounds of summer! I’m sure we all have had an elder say to us, “when I was your age, I didn’t have ______.” In an ever-changing world, it’s hard to disconnect, unwind, and relax. Home is that haven for many people, a place to get away from daily demands. Many people choose furniture for its look or style to reflect their personality and individuality. However, most of us ultimately select furniture for comfort.
Craftsmen of the past knew how to make quality furniture.
Our elders knew a thing or two about furniture. Before big box stores and mass manufacturing, furniture had to be built for practicality and usefulness for sure! Furniture had to be durable. It also had to be functional for providing hospitality to visitors. The comfort of the guest and the ability to entertain were paramount! Quality furniture of the past reflected these values. The craftsmanship, of the past, even the recent past, speaks a standard that is, sadly, missing from today’s furniture.
Founding Father, Benjamin Franklin, once said, “A father’s a treasure; a brother’s a comfort; a friend is both.” At George’s, we know that high-quality furniture can be a treasure, a comfort, and a friend. Solid wood furniture that is built to stand the test of time becomes more than just a place to sit. Solid wood furniture becomes a place of happiness, reminiscing, making memories and cherishing every moment.
What’s the big deal about George’s rocking chairs?
George’s rocking chairs mean a great deal to us because an encounter with a rocking chair is how we came to be! In fact, when our founder, George, was young, he tipped his mother’s rocking chair so far back that he hit his head! As a result, he made it a life goal to create a rocking chair that would not tip. From this experience, George took up the trade of woodworking. Ultimately, he created our no-tip rocking chair to make sure that no one else has the poor experience that he had with rocking chairs!
Our no-tip rocking chair comes in various sizes. You can even choose the style of arms, the type of wood, and the color finish you’d like to have! But, most importantly, all of our rocking chairs are the most comfortable rocking chairs you will ever sit upon! Their low center of gravity enables supreme comfort and allows for a slow and gentle rocking motion. Our rocking chairs also have a contoured seat which means that no cushion in necessary! For a fluid, quality rocking experience, our spindle back cylindrical bars provide plenty of support for your back.
Discover George’s rocking chairs for yourself!
Of course, some don’t believe us until they experience our rocking chairs for themselves. So, come on over to George’s and try it for yourself! Stay and sit for a spell! You’ll find that our no-tip chairs quickly become the best-loved seat in the house for resting, relaxing, reminiscing, and enjoying these lazy days of summer.
by Juanita | Aug 9, 2019 | Ava Lee's History Corner, Furniture Care, Rocking Chairs, Tables
What do you love about your antique furniture? Sentimentality & nostalgia. Those nostalgic feelings probably trigger wonderful memories with your family. Maybe it reminds you of visiting for Christmas as a child or bringing your children over to play baseball in the yard with their grandparents. That is why it is so important to craft furniture that can withstand the years, the memories, the horseplay so you & your families can have visible mementos of those experiences. (Plus, it helps that our furniture is also super comfortable & durable!)
Even though antique furniture lasts longer than low quality furniture it also deteriorates. Some of the biggest causes of weakness in antique furniture include poor adjustability to extremes in humidity, weak joints or low-quality workmanship. In fact, today I want to share with you 3 of the biggest issues we see in antique furniture & how we design our furniture differently to avoid those problems.
Challenge 1: Humidity
One of the most common issues you may see in wood antique furniture is wear & tear due to changing humidity. Dry Forced Air heat will dry out furniture in the winter while damp summer weather provides extra moisture. Considering these two extremes, we specifically craft our wood furniture to handle changing humidity levels.
Because solid wood furniture is always expanding and contracting to adjust to the humidity levels of the environment, all joints are constructed with movement in mind. Wood is dried in George’s kilns and furniture is constructed in a humidity-controlled environment similar to most homes. This helps the furniture expand and contract as one unit with the seasonal changes of the environment. When the furniture can respond to humidity as one unit, it is more protected from warping or weakness.
Challenge 2: Weak joints
Let’s talk about rung joints. Maybe not a typical topic of conversation unless you have ever tried to pick up a chair where the back comes off in your hand or sat in a chair and the rung pops out leaving your chair in pieces. Aside from the frustration & inconvenience, this can become an expensive situation when your only solution is gluing the rungs for the rest of its life or replacing the chair. We avoid this situation from the beginning with our method of attaching rung joints.
On chairs where it is necessary to use glue rather than screws to keep joints together, each rung is hand-sanded to fit tightly in its hole. The joints are so tight that the chair can hold the weight of an adult even before any glue is applied to the joints. The glue is applied to the hole with a small paintbrush and the chair is clamped tightly together, forcing the glue throughout the pores of the wood.
George’s chairs do not need to be treated with special care to maintain their strength. They have held up over years of workmen leaning back on them during break time and children using the back of them for makeshift sliding boards. On the few occasions over the years when chairs have needed repair, it typically is due to a damaged rung rather than a loose joint.
Challenge 3: Warped wood
One final way we see weakness in antique furniture is simply due to thickness and the support of the wood. We have broken down our process of selecting & preparing the wood in this blog about our complete handcrafted method. The thicker the board the better however anything over 12 inches in width needs to be supported by a table skirt, wooden batten or toeboard. Learn about solid wood bottoms of the dresser drawers, the strength of a dining room table, & even in the durability of our non-tip rockers.
George’s commitment to solid wood construction has always included solid wood drawer bottoms. As a result, you don’t have to worry about drawer bottoms coming apart due to the weight of the contents in the drawers. In fact, George’s creative grandchildren have even used drawers as hiding places without harming the furniture!
Table Test
Strong construction extends into the tables – even when fully extended to 21 feet. The strength of George’s extension tables was tested. The first idea of placing a small vehicle on top of the extension table was considered. The logistics of how to get a vehicle on the table was abandoned for a new idea of standing people on the table. The final result of the strength test placed 14 people (1887 lbs.) on top of the table and the table stood strong. The center leg supports the center of the table without interfering with your guest’s legs. The Pentagon even commissioned one of our extension tables for their conference room!
Non-Tip Rocker
You can especially see the strength of high-quality wood in our non-tip rockers. When George was small, he was having so much fun rocking in his rocking chair that he tipped it right over. After recovering from the fall, he promised his mother that he would build a rocker that would not tip over. George built that rocker and now there are 7 different sizes from a child’s rocker to a rocker for the large people (300-400 lbs.) Large or small, tall or short, there is a rocker designed for you that does not tip over.
Ready for strong, heirloom furniture that does not wear with age or bad construction?
George’s unwavering commitment to building strong, hardwood, heirloom furniture continues with each new design. Each piece is signed and dated by its maker and finished with a water-resistant finish. Bring your ideas and desires for functional furniture and George’s craftsmen will make those dreams come true. And the best place to start when you are dreaming up your perfect dining set is knowing what to look out for. Start with our “Guide on How To Spot Quality Furniture” & give us a call as soon as you are ready to jump in to designing your own high-quality furniture.
