Options for furnishing your home

This week, we redirect our focus from the outside to the inside. Much of our conversation lately has been geared toward helping you with bulk projects that involve either major remodel, or involved labor, but what about the aesthetics? Properly furnishing your home is probably the easiest way to not only make it more appealing to guests, but to create a comfortable living environment for yourself as well. To give us a hand, we brought in Mitch Setlow, a local entrepreneur and furniture buff who owns Leather’s Home Furnishings and Accessories in Issaquah (established in 1996).

Personal preference and price, of course, take precedence when you first start to look into home furnishings. Material primarily dictates price with options ranging from wood and steel to fabric, leather and even glass.

Fabric
Probably the most common, and most cost effective option for furnishing your home. Fabric has the benefit of being both durable and affordable depending on the type. You also have the added benefit of being able to select fabrics such as microfibers that have abilities like water resistance or can repel stains.

Leather
As one might expect, leather is a more expensive alternative to fabric, but it also offers some benefits you can’t get from traditional fabric furnishings. As Mitch recommends, Leather is a high end material that can be more costly, but you also receive a quality product that is durable and long lasting… A showroom like Mitch’s, “…boasts over three thousand top grain leathers and configurations from traditional to contemporary.”

Something you can do to prepare for the experience of buying a piece or set of leather furniture is to familiarize yourself with the terms used.

Metal and Glass
These options would most commonly be considered as outdoor furniture for your patio, deck, or sun room. They weather much better than fabric or leather which flat out would not survive in a constantly wet and airy outdoor setting. Interestingly enough, however, these products are used indoors and are seen commonly as cast iron and glass tables, or even metal sofa frames.

All in all, home furnishing comes down to a mixture of personal taste and cost, but you can help yourself by understanding some of the terms that come with the territory. Remember too that there are multiple pricing options for furniture much like with any other home project, but you shouldn’t get in over your head, and as always… you get what you pay for! If you would like to know more about Mitch Setlow and Leathers furniture visit www.leathersgallery.com.