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2024 Trending – It’s not too late for Veganuary

Go Vegan box-light sign on pale wood table with plates of vegetables and half a grapefruit

Veganuary stared in 2014 when, after the festive excesses of December, a growing number of people chose to balance it out by opting for a plant-based diet throughout the month of January. Many people are opting to extend this well beyond January by sticking to a vegan diet, but then also opting for sustainable and animal-friendly purchases when it comes to furnishing and decorating their homes. Even though we are pretty much halfway through the month, it’s never too late to give a vegan diet a go.

Here are three ways that you can extend sustainable and cruelty-free practices into your home.

1. Reclaimed wood furniture

This really is the ultimate sustainable way to furnish your home. Purchasing furniture crafted using reclaimed wood is so much better for the environment. The wood used has often been reclaimed from old buildings and factories that are being demolished, re-using this wood in furniture production reduces landfill and saves new trees needlessly being cut down. A reclaimed wood dining table is also a fabulous way to bring a whole load of warmth and character into your home, forming a foundation to achieving a more sustainable lifestyle.

Photo featuring: Chelwood Reclaimed Wood Dining Table & Chelwood Reclaimed Wood Dining Bench

2. Faux leather dining chairs

Leather dining chairs look great and are very practical, especially in a family home, as they can easily be wiped down. Reclaimed wooden dining chairs or chairs produced from vegan leather are the perfect substitutes for fabric dining chairs. Although tan and grey remain the most popular, there are so many different colours and styles available you will be sure to find the perfect dining chair to complement your table and interior style.

Photo featuring: Cleo Faux Leather Dining Chair

3. Vegan paint

Many paints, although labelled eco-friendly, still have animal byproducts in them. In vegan paints, the animal products are replaced by plant-based alternatives they can then certify that they are vegan and cruelty-free – as they are also not tested on any animals. Switching to vegan paints around the home is a animal-friendly alternative leaving your family and friends in a eco environment.

A look at our top 2023 sellers

Wooden numbers saying 2020 on white washed wood with fairy lights behind and best sellers words

With 2023 behind us, we take a look back to see which furniture was the most popular with our environmentally conscientious customers. Our stunning range of dining tables (as ever) has again been at the top of the list!

Photo featuring: Standford Industrial Reclaimed Wood Dining Table & Standford Industrial Reclaimed Wood Dining Bench

Dining Tables

The Standford dining table – This is from our hugely popular Standford range which includes gorgeous reclaimed wood furniture pieces for just about every room in the house! This rustic dining table is available as a fixed top table or as a very handy extendable table. From wooden sideboards to beds, large chests of drawers to a small living room lamp table – everything in this popular wood furniture range is skilfully crafted from timbers salvaged from former factories.

The Chelwood – This glamourous dining table features in our top sellers list just about every year! The polished stainless steel legs provide industrial elegance while the unique, full of rustic charm, solid reclaimed wood tabletop completes its undeniable allure.

Photo featuring: Chelwood Large Reclaimed Wood Dining Table

Rocco Spider Leg – This industrial dining table features a sustainably sourced solid oak top which sits on a central and stylish industrial spider leg. Plenty of room around the table with no annoying legs in the way for diners to bang their knees on!

Dining Chairs

Allegro chair – Sit back and dine in a high quality, soft Italian leather dining chair. These modern dining chairs pair perfectly with industrial furniture as well as more rustic and modern dining room furniture.

Photo featuring: Allegro Leather Dining Chair

Standford Leather & Faux Leather chairs – These leather and faux leather dining chairs from the ever popular Standford range won’t disappoint – a hugely popular addition to dining spaces up and down the country.

Cleo Faux Leather chairs and benches – Faux leather dining chairs are becoming increasingly popular with our animal-friendly customers. Our Cleo range of dining room seating is available in grey or tan, you can choose from dining benches, bar stools or chairs which all have sleek industrial legs. For those who want a comfortable upholstered dining chair that can easily be wiped clean then faux leather is proving to be a top pick.

Bedroom furniture

Onslow bed frames and bedside tables – The glorious bedroom furniture from the Onslow range has proven to be a winner yet again. Handcrafted in the UK from salvaged railway sleepers, this chunky bedroom furniture adds a warmth to your bedroom that can only be achieved by a statement king size bed frame, caringly crafted using solid reclaimed wood.

Photo featuring: Onslow Reclaimed Wooden Bed Frame

Living room furniture

Oldman coffee table – We think this is a fine example of an industrial coffee table and our style-conscious customers definitely agree! As this is another of our pieces that are hand finished in right here in the UK, your coffee table can be made to bespoke sizes….meaning that you can have a coffee table that is perfectly in proportion with your living room.

Photo featuring: Oldman Industrial Reclaimed Wood Coffee Table

Barkby sofa – This gorgeous brown leather sofa has been a huge hit during 2020. This range is skillfully made to order, you get to choose from a 2 or 3 seater leather sofa with or without an armchair to create the perfect combination for your living room.

Chestey Velvet Sofa – The popularity of this stylish, industrial style sofa just proves how much style our customers have!

Oswald Armchair – The Oswald real leather armchair is just waiting to be sat in, in a cosy reading corner. Seeking the ultimate in comfort, our customers have also opted for the coordinating leather footstool. A 2 seater sofa and a 3 seater is also available.

Investing in furniture that will last a lifetime

Neutral scheme living room with light grey sofa

You want to invest in some quality furniture and you should choose these wisely – these will not be flat packed items or mass-produced – here we are looking at good quality statement pieces that you won’t regret buying.

Sandy beach with old wooden boat on shore

Reclaimed wood furniture

What’s not to love about reclaimed wood furniture? Environmentally it is the best type of wood to use, no new trees are being cut down to produce your investment furniture, it’s already had one life, maybe as a boat, a girder from a demolished factory or a railway sleeper, and now it’s being given a second lease of life as a unique furniture piece. Reclaimed wood is full of character, it’s already naturally aged with markings and indentations that give a small glimpse into its history – all this comes together to give you a durable, unique piece of classic furniture. A reclaimed wood dining table gives a room a warm homely feel, perfect for family dinners, along with a modern sideboard it is all you will need in your dining room.

Wooden dining table with white trestle legs and matching wooden bench

Photo featuring: Dorset Reclaimed Wood Extendable Trestle Table and Dorset Reclaimed Wood Bench

Classic designs

We suggest sticking to classic designs when shopping for investment furniture – nothing too fussy and definitely no impulse buys…! Reclaimed wood furniture tends to be hand made or at the very least hand-finished by “a person” rather than a machine – so your furniture has a personal touch. We suggest investing in pieces that can be moved around the house as your needs change.

Reclaimed wood chest of drawers with small dog of sheepskin rug on the floor

Photo featuring: Beam Medium Reclaimed Wood Chest of Drawers

Our Beam range includes chests of drawers, bookcases, bedside tables TV units and much, much more. A bookcase could be used in a teen bedroom, when they move out it can become display shelving in a hallway or living space, likewise, a large chest of drawers can be used in a dining room, kitchen, bedroom or living room! Simple natural style will never go out of fashion.

Brown leather chesterfield armchair and footstool in front of open fire

For a similar armchair see our Traditional Chesterfield Leather Armchair

Lasting materials

Choose hard-wearing materials like wood, metal and leather – you want your furniture to stand the test of time. Reclaimed wood already has oodles of character – if it receives a small knock, it won’t show but rather will blend in. Wood is also easy to care for, to keep it looking fresh and full of lustre you can easily add a thin layer of wax or oil from time to time. Furniture technicians are also more able to work with a solid reclaimed wood piece of furniture if more serious attention is needed. A leather sofa is a great choice – get a versatile brown, grey or black – you can style your investment sofa with a classic brown leather armchair and footstool or a bold coloured accent chair. You can change cushions, add throws and change your room colour scheme as several colours will work with a neutral colour. Leather gets better with age and you can purchase treatments for leather help it age gracefully.

Photo featuring: Luxe Kensington Reclaimed Wood Curved Coffee Table

Living room furniture that has stood the test of time

Brown leather chesterfield sofa with rustic coffee table and wooden sticks with blue candles

Living room style has changed a lot over the years – from a formal room used for special occasions and receiving guests, to the room many of us spend most our relaxation time in. Here we have a look at what pieces of furniture have stood the test of time and continue to be a living room favourite.

The Chesterfield sofa

The Chesterfield sofa started becoming popular in Victorian living rooms during the mid 19th century, the colours and fabrics have been changed to follow interior design trends over the years but the basic style remains the same. This classic 3 seater leather sofa is here to stay, it’s hugely versatile and continues to timelessly blend with ultra-modern, industrial or reclaimed wood furniture.

Photo featuring: Oswald 2 Seater Sofa

Wing back chair

This is another living room classic. The design of this armchair was initially driven purely by functionality not for comfort or for its aesthetics – they were designed with sides and a high back so that the person sat in it would not be affected by drafts, common in a 16th or 17th century house. Similarly, these features also offered protection from the blistering heat as they sat by the fire.

Photo featuring: Grayson Grey Fabric Armchair

A mid century sideboard

Sideboards were originally only for the dining room – initially just a table against the wall on which the food would be placed – then shelves were added below and then doors until they ended up being what they are today. Their storage capability was recognised and they made it into the living room, where they now store board games, DVD and console games, books and anything else you want to keep close to hand but hidden out of sight.

Photo featuring: Mitcham Large Oak Squared Industrial Sideboard

Faded rug

Faded pink rug with glass coffee table and pink velvet sofa

Photo featuring: Louis de Poortere Fading World Pink Flash Red Rug

The oldest known surviving rug is the Pazyryk Carpet which dates back to around 500BC – but textile floor coverings are thought to date back more than 4,000 years. With today’s endless fabric dyes and weaving capabilities, we have a huge choice when it comes to living room rugs. These are definitely here to stay, we love how Louis de Poortere rugs mix a modern faded finish with classic rug designs.

Wall mirrors

Hanging a big mirror above your mantlepiece is the classic way to decorate over the fireplace. Some suggest this was historically done as frames and wall mirrors would have been very expensive – frames were often made from silver, ivory, tortoiseshell or ebony – it was the done thing to display your most valuable pieces in a prime position so it would be the first thing people see as they enter the room. Of course, fine art was also displayed in this prominent position and now we often see a TV over the fireplace.

White living room with white armchair, mirror of fireplace and large green plant

Pendant light

Pendant ceiling lights are believed to have originated in ancient Greece where they started off as a clay pot hung up with animal fat in and a wick for burning….Luckily they have come a long way since then! Now they are a must-have in a living room with a high ceiling. In a living / dining space, you can hang one over a dining table or suspend one so it hangs over a sofa end lamp table as a stylish alternative to the standard table lamp.

For similar pendant light see our Karine Jute Pendant Light

Easy ways to make your dining space look more expensive

Open plan dining space and living room in front of large window with large hanging pendant light

Now that we are heading towards autumn, and with winter fast approaching, we are spending more and more time indoors. We might spend a bit of time on thinking how to give some of our living spaces a bit of a freshen up and upgrade – here we look at a few quick tips on how you can make your dining room look more expensive.

One statement piece

You don’t have to go out and buy a complete new set of dining room furniture! Just adding one statement piece can lift the room, something like a dining room sideboard will make a huge difference – plenty of space to clear away any clutter, an extra surface for when the dining table gets a bit crammed (will come in handy at Christmas) and also a surface to add a couple of ornamental items. Another option is to update just your dining table – a reclaimed wood dining table will make an instant impact. A reclaimed, or rustic dining table or an industrial dining table can be paired with so many styles of chair from leather dining chairs to upholstered dining chairs and look particularly good with dining benches.

Upgrading dining room seating

If you already have a dining table you love then you can just swap up the chairs you have around it. For a luxurious look choose a combination of a rich velvet upholstered bench and dining chairs. Dining benches are definitely here to stay, plus there are so many styles to choose from. Mix soft leather chairs like the Cleo Faux Leather Dining Chair with an industrial dining bench to add some loft style sophistication to the room. You can dress a bench with small throws and cushions to glam up your seating and give it the designer magazine look.

Photo featuring: Cleo Faux Leather Dining Chair

Add new lighting

Pendant ceiling lights are all the rage – decluttering your dining room and hanging a pendant light over the table will give you a quickly achieved chic new look. You can choose one large pendant or have a cluster of smaller lights. Natural bamboo is hugely popular right and eco-friendly.

Large bamboo pendant light over large wooden dining table with white spider legs

Photo featuring: Bamboo Sergia Large Pendant Light

Accentuate features

Make the most of the features you already have – dress up the fireplace, make the most of an exposed brick wall, add an accent chair. If you have French doors to the garden dress them with new curtains. You can add some wood paneling halfway up a wall or hang some glamorous wallpaper on one wall.

Dining room with exposed brick wall with large mirror and glass pendant ceiling light

Coordinated dining room textiles

Choose your favourite colour and have fun accessorising, add cushions on benches and chairs, get a new table cloth, placemats and napkins. Place a houseplant or two in matching pots or add a coordinated lamp on your sideboard. A silver rug set below a dining table with silver accents, will anchor the dining table and give you a base colour to accessorise from. And mirrors of course always look great!

How to create a Boho inspired Living room

brown leather sofa with large wall hanging and green plant

So, firstly, what actually is “Boho stye”? It’s busy, bright, patterned, colorful, eclectic, with plenty of natural materials and house plants thrown into the mix – it’s basically a decor style that is influenced by the hippies of the 60’s and 70’s as well as travelling artists. It’s also an interior style that has seen a resurgence over the past year.

With this in mind let’s take a closer look at how to easily achieve this on-trend look in your living space.

Brown leather sofa with wall boho wall hanging

Boho style is all about natural materials, so reclaimed wood furniture is a bit of a no-brainer. Eco-friendly and from nature, a rustic nest of tables is a great choice, easy to move around and to dot around the room where needed. The Melbury Industrial Nest of Tables is just made for this style of decor, industrial legs support the tabletops, which are created from gorgeous reclaimed wood railway sleepers, produced in a manner to showcase the natural beauty of the wood. For a lighter, more minimalist and lighter Bohemian style table, the Abingdon reclaimed wood side table is perfect.

Photo featuring: Melbury Industrial Nest of Tables

Photo featuring: Abingdon Reclaimed Wood Side Table

Seating

The Boho keywords for seating would be relaxed, casual and low level that encourages conversation and playing music together. So a brown leather sofa and leather armchair are a great starting point to achieve the look – add in some leather footstools and / or floor cushions and you are really making headway to achieve this style. The Maverick retro relax leather armchair should be at the top of any list of furniture to be included. Of course, you can add paisley or patterned cushions on the sofa as well as natural fibre sofa throws to reinforce the look.

Photo featuring: Maverick Retro Leather Armchair

Flooring

Patterned rugs are a must-have, choose a mix of natural and bold bright colours. You can layer rugs as well to add more interest to your floor space, start with an extra large rug, and layer on small rugs and don’t forget they don’t all have to match, you can have fun with trying out and seeing what works for you and your room.

Colours and textures

White walls with earthy colours like terracotta and brown are the base colours, but it’s the fabrics and accessories that you can play around with, a mix of leather, sheepskin rugs and different types of cushions. When it comes to textures you should add natural materials like wood, wicker, rattan and bamboo. Use wall tapestries, macrame wall hangings and pictures for extra texture and interest.

House plants

No Bohemian styled room would be complete without a few, and by few we mean a lot, houseplants. You can use the plant pots to add extra “Boho” to your room. Ideally, plant pots should be produced from natural materials like wood, wicker, rattan and terracotta. A macrame hanging plant holder would be right at home in the corner of your Bohemian influenced living room.

Let’s Hear it for Feel Good Furniture!

There are some items of furniture that ooze the feel-good factor. Every time you use it, it makes you feel good. It could be the old-faithful sofa, for example, that just gets better with age. But what other feel-good furniture items are there?

The leather armchair

From the traditional wing-backed leather armchair to a modern silhouette, the leather armchair is very much like its sofa cousin – is there anything better than being cocooned in its familiar warmth? We like it best with a cup of tea and biscuit or a good book.

The large rustic dining table

The dining table sees all of home life and that’s why the dings, the dents, marks and scrapes both infuriate us and make us feel warm inside. The family gathers around the table for everything from every day catch-ups and household disagreements to Christmas dinners and is the place where memories are made.

A coloured footstool

It doubles as an impromptu coffee table, the ‘something to stand out’ and, of course, a comfy platform for elevating your tired feet at the end of the day, a coloured and comfortable footstool is a must. As the feel-good factor goes, it’s at the top of the scale!

A large wooden bed frame

Along with a sumptuous, supportive mattress and high-quality bed linen, is there anything more heart-warming than a solid wooden bed frame? Strong, sturdy and the type of furniture you can always rely on, a high quality reclaimed wood bedframe will provide almost endless service for years on end.

The Welsh dresser

A large Welsh dresser solves a myriad of storage problems in the kitchen/diner in one swipe, but its grand stature in a room gives it a matriarchal presence. Its familiar shape is a nod to yesteryear, even if has a modern edge and design, that we instantly find comforting and familiar. Again, like a wooden bedframe, the Welsh dresser will instantly become part of the family, if not the head of the house, for years to come.

The dressing table

So far, we have looked at pieces that everyone will have a connection to, such as the dining table or the leather armchair, the place of comfort that the household often turns to. You may not have thought as the dressing table as being an obvious piece of feel-good furniture, but it is a truly personal space. From a slimline console table to a larger tabletop, this is a place in the bedroom where you can sit and reflect and spend time making yourself look great and feel good. Dress it with personal items and framed photos of your precious family to give a high-level feel-good factor about it.

Anything made from reclaimed wood…

The beauty of reclaimed wood furniture never tires and the range of choice is staggering – from coffee tables with storage to reclaimed wood large sideboards, open shelving display units and more – there is something for every style home. The feel-good factor is not just about choice and design but the fact that reclaimed wood gets better and better with age and use.

Reclaimed from its original use, the grain and patina of hardwood mellows and develop with age. Smooth to the touch, there is also a warmth to wood, a natural material that is nothing short of elegant. When it comes to the feel-good factor in our eyes, anything from reclaimed wood has it – but what’s your favourite piece of feel-good furniture?

Take Another Look at the Industrial Dining Table

Industrial dining table with matching wooden bench

The industrial style is a décor scheme that shows no sign of falling out of favour any time soon. But for many people, the belief that the industrial style is only about exposed brickwork and dark metal, which is not always true. When it comes to the industrial dining table, for example, they assume that there is a choice of one style and one only. But take another look as you’ll see that there are many choices to inspire the industrial dining room.

The classic industrial

Firstly, topping the list of our best-selling industrial dining tables is the classic industrial look.

This is the look that many people associate with the style – that is, the classic black steel leg frame with rustic reclaimed wood furniture top. It is a classic combination and one that epitomises the industrial style which is why the marriage of reclaimed wood and steel is still favoured by interior designers and style hunters looking for the archetypal industrial dining table.

Maintain simplicity around it too, so that the underlying principles of this style can shine. Opt for leather upholstered dining chairs, another classic staple that sits easily alongside all manner of industrial furniture. Choose chairs that have a classic simplicity about them to produce the streamlined clean look associated with this style.

The glamorous industrial look

The original industrial look was born from loft living in old, industrial buildings that have a long heritage in the industrial world. And so it’s no surprise that the raw materials left behind from this bygone time were – and still are – embraced.

That doesn’t mean that the industrial look, and industrial furniture itself, can’t enjoy an injection of glamour every now and then.

The glammed up industrial look has become popular in recent seasons with homeowners looking to add their own spin on this beautiful style. And so switching up the metal finish from black steel to polished chrome or gold-coloured metal is the perfect solution.

The combination of high shine metal finishes with a rustic reclaimed wood tabletop is sublime and gives a more polished and grown-up spin to the industrial look.

Match upholstered dining chairs with the same high shine finish as its industrial dining table counterpart or fabric chairs with studded detailing for a glam-rock vibe and you have a dining table and chairs combination good enough for the dance floor.

Industrial spider leg detailing

And finally, another notable change that is popular with our customers is extra detailing in the shape of spider leg industrial dining tables.

Sometimes it is the updating of the smallest of details that has the biggest impact. When you want something different but don’t want to leave the principles of the design scheme behind, then the spider leg table will be top of the list.

It is super practical too – you have more leg space beneath the small dining table, for example, as well as it adding extra notes of interest without cluttering the space or the eyeline.

Take a fresh look at industrial dining tables to relish the choice

From a round dining table to an imposing industrial dining table that commands attention, the choice of this style of table is much bigger than you may think. Time to take a fresh look, perhaps…?

Discover the timeless elegance of the wingback chair

Brick wall with electric blue velvet armchair and yellow cushion

It’s not a new shape by any means but the winged armchair never goes out of fashion. No matter what interior décor style you opt for, there is a place for this iconic armchair amongst your reclaimed wood furniture. And we’ll show you how to use it.

In the bay window

The bay window gives a sweeping curve to any room and whilst you may have fallen in love with it, dressing it can be problematic.

A sofa is too straight across it, swallowing too much floor space and other pieces of furniture are a mismatch too.

But now imagine two modern-shaped velvet winged back armchairs, with a reclaimed wood coffee table between them, complete with a pretty lamp and a rug to pull it all together. Wouldn’t that make a fantastic space to sit, to unwind, to chat, to relax, to read…?

Sofa companions

In many living rooms across the country, the living room furniture is placed to revolve around the TV. An important piece of equipment it may be but shouldn’t the living room space be about you, your family and the time you spend together.

If the have the room, remove the TV and make the living room seating area into a space where you re-connect.

With a large wooden coffee table as the centrepiece, place two leather winged back armchairs directly opposite your brown leather sofa. Immediately, you have created a seating circle.

If you don’t want it to look too matchy-matchy, stick with the same style of armchair but opt for fabric armchairs instead.

The statement piece

The high back armchair, as humble as it may be, can be the statement piece. And so if you want to create a space that draws the eye, a leather winged back armchair with generous proportions is a perfect choice.

Frankly, it will fit in any space in any room but there is something imposing about a single leather armchair in the office or in the reading nook. Emphasise its proportion with a small side reclaimed wood side table and a generously sized rug that will balance the setting. To give it warmth, add texture with a soft throw or a scatter cushion or two.

Remember – opposites attract

All too often, we are guided by designers and stylists to bring cohesion and style to a space by opting for items that are the same.

Whilst this can be pleasing to the eye, it can all look a little predictable. Or maybe your style is eclectic, the marrying of pieces into a combination that is stylish yet individual, balanced yet exciting.

And so fabric winged back armchairs playing against your leather sofa would work a treat as too would mixing styles. A modern, sleek sofa for example with the traditional-shaped fabric armchairs would be a case of opposites attract.

A worthwhile investment

There are some pieces of furniture that we invest that stay with us for years. No matter how many times you move home or change the décor, there is one piece that always seems to be fit in. The wingback armchair is one of those.