Designer Spotlight: Cindy Walker Cox

Darby Road HOME loves to feature local designers and artists, and this month we are highlighting a piece by Design Walker Studios! Cindy Walker Cox specializes in refurbishing vintage and antique furniture, adding a modern flair to inherent vintage beauty.

Cindy’s process begins with allowing the piece to speak to her in order to determine the paint, stain and fabric selection that will best suit her client. Each piece is stripped to the bare wood and repaired as necessary. The majority of chairs are built with webbing and spring coils using the 8-way hand tied method (stay tuned for our next blog post which will be all about spring systems!). The piece is then painted and protected with varnish, polyurethane, or wax dependent upon the type of paint. Once the finish has cured, Cindy reupholsters the chair using high quality foam, cotton, and designer fabrics.

We spoke with Cindy about this piece and she gave us some great background information about it.

This frame is circa 1970’s and is a replica of Louis XV style chair. Coordinating fabrics and paint colors are the most exciting part of refurbishing my pieces. I love to transform vintage pieces using modern finishes and fabrics with complimenting colors, textures and patterns. I pull fabrics to enhance the personality of each piece. On this piece, the embroidery fabric on the inside and outside seat back is a dazzling embroidery with copper, gold, cobalt blue, kelly green, red and magenta. In selecting the fabric for the seat, I found a stunning solid blue velvet. Velvets hold such intense colors and are luxurious enough to enhance the colorful embroidery. The frame was painted with a white latex paint, protected with several coats of polyurethane.

How to Choose the Right Sofa: 8 Way Hand Tie VS. Sinuos Spring

So you just bought a new sofa and you know it’s great because the sales people told you it’s great and the price was right. Well you should know more about what makes this new sofa so great, and why you payed so much money for it! The two most popular spring systems for upholstered furniture are 8-way hand tied springs and sinuous springs. Let’s talk about those.

8-Way Hand Tie

Source

This method has long been considered the gold standard of sofa suspension and requires skilled craftsmanship. Laborers tie the springs eight different ways including side to side, diagonally and front to back. The springs are supported by webbing on the underside of the sofa, and the top springs are secured by twine (which is where the name comes in)! The twine is hand-tied at 8 different spots for each spring, and then attached to the frame. This method keeps the springs from shifting over wear-and-tear, and ensures that the suspension won’t squeak with use. This allows for a softer, supportive, flexible and comfortable piece of furniture. Because it takes more time and labor to build this system, pieces using this are generally more expensive. Even though you’ll spend more money upfront, this excellent quality allows for longevity (A.K.A. you won’t need another new couch in 5 years. #WIN)

Sinuos Spring

Source

This is the most common type of sofa suspension system used in low-to mid-range sofas. This system uses heavy-gauge steel wires formed into an S-shaped coil. Then, the springs are attached to the frame using padded clips or fasteners and is then reinforced with horizontal metal rods. This type of construction requires less labor and skill, and is cheaper to produce than an 8-way system. Despite this, over the last 30 years, sinuous springs have provided a comfortable sit, while maintaining durability and quality

Lesson here is don’t waste your money buying furniture only to replace it in a few short years. When you’re buying furniture with either of these systems, you’ll be buying a comfortable, supportive, and long-lasting piece.

January Spotlight with Angela

Hey there! This months blog post was written in collaboration with Angela, here at Darby Road.

Angela is sharing a few of her “favorites” with us including a recipe and playlist for entertaining.

Favorite Entertainment Playlist? Pandora station ‘Hipster Cocktail Party’

Favorite Entertainment Recipe? Tuna and Avocado Tartare! Find the recipe below.

INGREDIENTS:

Crisps:

• 12 wonton wrappers, each cut diagonally in half to form 2 triangles

• olive oil (for brushing)

• sesame seeds

Tartare:

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

• 1 tablespoon unseasoned rice vinegar

• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

• 1.5 teaspoons wasabi paste

• 3/4 teaspoons Asian sesame oil

• 8 ounces sushi quality ahi tuna steak, cut into 1/3” cubes

• 1 medium avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, cut into 1/3” cubes

• 1 cup of cubed seeded English hothouse cucumber

• 1 green onion, finely chopped

• toasted sesame seeds

• chopped fresh chives

• California caviar

INSTRUCTIONS:

For Crisps:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange wonton triangles on sheet; brush each with olive oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake until triangles are golden brown, about 9 minutes. Cool on sheet. Can be made up to 8 hours ahead.

For Tartare:
Whisk first 5 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Add tuna, avocado, cucumber, and green onion; stir gently to coat. Spoon tartare into bowl; sprinkle with sesame seeds and chives and place on platter. Spoon caviar into small bowl and place alongside. Surround with crisps.

Credit: Epicurious

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! We recently received the Best Of Boston Home reward for 2019 and we are crazy excited for the upcoming year, as we have lots of exciting things coming up, including our 5 year anniversary in May!

We also just opened our warehouse, which is located across the street from our main store, where you can find deep discounts on amazing pieces.

We currently are running a sale through the month of January which we call our countdown sale. This means that each day, the sale goes down! We started at 31% off and will work our way down to 1% through January, so if you see something you like, act fast.

We hope you all have a fabulous year and can’t wait to work with you!

How to Seat All Your Holiday Guests

            Many homeowners are forgoing the formal dining room in favor of an open-floor concept, opting to have a less formal dining area that can accommodate large gatherings, particularly around the holidays. Seating tends to become something that is overlooked- you find a great table that can seat 12 and have your heart set on it, only to find out that the cost of chairs is nearly triple the price of the table.

SOURCE: Black and Blooms

Now I bet you’re asking yourself “Why are chairs so expensive?” and there’s a relatively easy answer to this. Craftsmanship- a well-made chair requires serious craftsmanship and talent. Today, many chairs are stapled or glued together, resulting in a flimsy chair. By taking the time (and time is money!) to create more intricate joinery, the result is an expertly crafted, sturdy chair. Nothing would be worse than having a chair collapse on a guest!

How do we solve this dilemma? At Darby Road HOME, we often suggest a combination of seating options. This is a budget friendly option that creates a pleasing aesthetic when done correctly. As we mentioned earlier, homeowners tend to go for a less-formal dining area and bench-seating is a great option for this. A bench on one side of the table can accommodate several seats. Another fun method to break up the seating is by utilizing a mix of solid wood and upholstered seating. This creates depth and dimension in the space, allowing homeowners to add an eclectic touch through the upholstery, while also allowing for wiggle room in the budget.

SOURCE: SCHNEIDERMAN’S

Another fun way to add seating is by using ottomans, stools and sturdy side tables from your space. These pieces are versatile as they can work as tables or storage, while doubling as seating options for those big game nights and holiday gatherings when more people showed up than you expected! This type of seating can also be easily tucked away when it is not in use.

Let us know in the comments below what your favorite, creative solution is to accommodate your guests. We’d love to hear!