Gresham House Furniture

This morning I had the opportunity to visit and take a tour of the Gresham House showroom and workroom where all of the beautiful furniture is made.  They create everything from sofas, sofa beds, ottomans, chairs, headboards, bed rails and so on.  Yes, it is Canadian made hardwood with all of the very best in construction as well as fillings.

It starts with Canadian hardwood which is corner blocked, dowelled, screwed and glued.  Sinuous springs and web and coil are offered.  The arms and backs are padded with cotton felt and green soya foam to offer comfort that lasts.  A single upholsterer works on each piece individually from start to finish. 

The seat cushions are made with eco friendly foam, soya, which is extremely durable and is wrapped in a soft fibre channeled so that it won't move around, and finished in a cotton casing to ensure futher durability. It is much nicer if one opens the outer fabric to see a nice white casing rather than just the foam.  

If you prefer feather cushions, for their luxuriousness, there is a feather blend.  100% waterfowl feather wrap for seats with a foam core and 60% waterfowl feather, 40 % fibre for the backs.  The ultimate in luxury is down fill (20% down, 80% waterfowlfeather in the backs and enveloped wrap on seats.

Each piece is hand cut individually in order to ensure that patterns are matched and then passed to the sewers.  The sewers do their part and then it is passed to the upholsterer who as mentioned earlier does the entire piece.  When sewing, the piping is cut on the bias for a better look and fit.

Along with the warm and hot weather this July, came some visits to CDECA Affiliates in Vaughan.  A group of decorators from the GTA West Chapter as well as from the Toronto Chapter made the trek to Vaughan and it was well worth the trip.  Our first stop was at Zilli Home which was an amazing showroom.  We were offered refreshments along with some information about Zilli and then Anna Staggopoulos gave us a tour of the several floors within the showroom.  I have to say it was difficult pulling the ladies away from this location.  Great deals, Great product lines and they look after our interests.  What could be better!  Here are just a few of the many photos I took that day.

Second on our list was a visit to the Prima Lighting showroom which rivals Elte in the lighting department and has some product lines exclusive to them.  All I can say is "Gorgeous"  We were given time to browse and then had a tour of the showroom by Sam Folino and he shared information on some of the different aspects of lighting, including the new types of bulbs and where they should be used.  The final stop was a concealed room which Prima is in the final process of readying for designers and decorators to use when they bring clients.  It will offer total privacy, WiFi, fabric samples, computer, AND refreshments.  How better to show a client your ideas.  Prima is also delving into furniture lines as well.  It is definitely a place to go.  For those who like to shop on line, Prima has the sister company 'Click Lighting'.  Check both out.

Of course we had to have a little nibble so off we went to Grazie Ristorante on Jane.  Absolutely fantastic Italian food and wonderful service.  Thanks to all who took care of us.

     

Last, but not least on our day was Orro Mosaic.  All I can say is Wow!  Michael Shikan gave us time to view the products and I can say I have never seen so many different, unique and fabulous mosaics available.  We were like kids in a candy store checking them out and then the best part was we got to select any samples we would like and they will be available to us in an easy to carry container for when we visit clients.  
Of course bringing clients to this showroom will really blow their mind.

All in all it was a great day and we are so lucky as a group of decorators to have such supportive and wonderful Affiliates.  Thanks to all