by Juanita | Nov 8, 2019 | Ava Lee's History Corner, Furniture Care
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 | Aug 9, 2019 | Ava Lee's History Corner, Furniture Care, Rocking Chairs, Tables
George’s designs have always focused on producing furniture that display the nature beauty of hardwoods while creating a strong, durable heirlooms that serve a practical function in daily life. He tried to address many of the problems that surface for furniture when they become antiques—loose joints, water spots on the finish, non-wooden parts that wear out, etc.
Humidity adjustment ability
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.
Strong rung joints
On chairs where is it 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.
Drawer strength
George’s commitment to solid wood construction has always included solid wood draw bottoms. As a result, customers have the advantage of not needing 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.
Non-Tip Rocker
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. Come and try the rocker for yourself or watch the rocker demo on our website.
George’s Difference
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 idea and desires for functional furniture and George’s craftsmen will make those dreams come true. Contact us today.
by Juanita | Apr 26, 2018 | Customization, Furniture Care, George's Furniture, Rocking Chairs, Stools, Tables
Caring for your piece of George’s Furniture is not like caring for just any piece of furniture. The finish used on each of our pieces is a durable, high-quality finish—and it is the best we have found for the following reasons:
NO MORE WATER MARKS
High Quality, Catalyzed Water-Resistant Finish
- The finish is both heat and water-resistant
- You do not need to use coasters for hot and cold drinks.
- Warm dishes will not make white rings on the table (however, when taking items directly from the oven, stovetop, or microwave, a hot pad is suggested)
- A good rule is:
If it is not too hot for your fingers, it will not harm the table.
Weekly Care
- Furniture can be washed with a damp cloth.
- Duster spray may be used (however, sprays that contain wax may cause an undesirable build-up over a period of time)
Occasional Care
- Polishing or to remove fingerprints, use a good grade furniture polish. Our favorite is Old English Lemon Oil, but Guardsman is also a good choice!
Note Worthy
- The finish will have a chemical reaction if it comes in contact with rubber cement, airplane glue, or similar products.
- Permanent magic markers and cigarette burns cause permanent damage to the finish.
- The finish will scratch and the wood will dent, so be careful not to slide heavy objects across the table, counters, dressers, etc. A staple or even a hard crumb could cause a surface scratch or indentation.
- This is solid wood furniture, and it can be refinished.
Damage Repair
Made in 1983. Refinished like new.
If the damage is a deep scratch or dent and the finish is broken, the damage can be minimized.
- First, soak the dent with a water saturated washcloth for several hours.
- Then, while protecting it with a damp washcloth, apply a steam iron to the dent and process will help swell the dent out to the original level.
- Please call us for advice on this process.
Restore to New
Having been in business more than 50+ years, we have families who bought a table when their children were small. Then, when their family grew up or the table passed to the next generation, they brought the table back to us and we refinished the tabletop to look as good as new.
If you have any questions, please call us! Our furniture is built to endure the test of time. A great heirloom to be shared over the generations.
