There are few names as iconic in modern furniture design as Thayer Coggin and Milo Baughman.   Working on little more than a handshake, these gentlemen created some of the most fashion-forward, yet timeless creations over a fourty-year period.   We are truly proud to represent Thayer Coggin here at Carolina Rustica. 

Located less than an hour away from our showroom, Thayer Coggin is known as one of the fine names in residential furniture manufacturing. Entering into business in 1953, Thayer Coggin carved out an identity in the home furnishings market through a commitment to modern, classic design. Family owned and run, Thayer Coggin has 350,000 square feet of manufacturing space to produce some of the most recognizable furniture designs in the residential market, particularly sectionals, as shown to the left. Thayer Coggin's greatest association is with the designer Milo Baughman, one of the leading modern furniture designers of the late 20th century. His uniquely American designs were forward-thinking and distinctive, yet unpretentious and affordable. His prolific and highly influential work continues to be reinvented and revived by contemporary furniture designers and dealers alike. Baughman is most famous, however, for his longtime association with Thayer Coggin, which began in 1953, and lasted until his death in 2003. He also lectured broadly on the state of modern design, extolling the positive benefits of good design on the lives of human beings, and helping to define and shape the discussion for years to come.

We have several wonderful pieces of Thayer Coggin in our showroom. One of our favorite pieces is the Cloverdale Extension Dining Table. With its stunningly beautiful cross-leg base and sleek contemporary design, this table is a real eye-catcher. It is also incredibly practical. It is shown here with the Regency 2000 Upholstered Side Chair, which compliments this table design. This set is sitting in our showroom and it gets lots of attention.

Through founder Thayer Coggin's vision, and Milo Baughman's creations, a Distinguished Design Award honoree, Thayer Coggin has amassed a highly original collection of furniture. Now approaching its fifth decade of furniture manufacturing, Thayer Coggin is poised to maintain its position of prominence into the next century. For Thayer Coggin, very simply, creativity and purpose spell success.

Thayer Coggin is known for its outstanding, high quality furniture. They go an extra step with their wood frames so that each joint is glued and doweled, and then stapled. If that is not enough they add screws to give the frame even more strength. The Modern Step Console Table is one such piece. It has a simple yet stunning visual context of geometric design, which is reinforced by time-honored craftsmanship. This particular piece can also be viewed on our showroom floor. We also enjoy the quality of their upholstery. Their care in upholstery is exemplified by using the same person to upholster the entire piece – instead of having one person do the inside and someone else do the outside.

Thayer Coggin is a leader in design and in comfort as well. They use Polyblendown for most cushions, which is an innovative seat construction of feathers, down and polyester fiber wrapped around a polyurethane foam core. The feathers, down and polyester fiber are sewn into compartments to keep construction evenly distributed.   We would love to talk to you more about Thayer Coggin, so please give us a call at 800-205-7819 or start shopping on our website here.

Some information about BuySAFE, Our Consumer Confidence Solution

Many site visitors have commented on the presence of the buySAFE logo found in the lower right hand corner of our website. Moving beyond its origins on eBay, the buySAFE bonding service is now helping a broad range of e-retailers build greater confidence with the visitors to their web sites, especially sites like Carolina Rustica

Sales, free shipping and product recommendations don’t always do the trick when it comes to turning online shoppers into customers—security and confidence are also critically important, according to Jeff Grass, president and CEO of buySAFE, Inc.

The Arlington, Va.-based company provides a comprehensive consumer confidence solution that online retailers use to increase their web site conversion rates, sales and overall profitability. The buySAFE service provides an explicit third-party endorsement of a retailer’s reliability, stability and good performance via a buySAFE Seal. And it gives shoppers the option to purchase a bond that provides peace of mind over the three things they care about the most—that their personal information is safe, that they will have a good experience and get what they paid for and that they are getting the best deal.

Specifically, the bond provides a buyer identity theft protection, a full guarantee of their purchase up to $25,000 and a 30-day lowest-price guarantee. Online retailers like Carolina Rustica display the blue-and-gold buySAFE Seal on their sites. The buySAFE Seal includes a link to a verification page that includes merchant details, and the seal remains in view as consumers navigate through the pages of a site.

Via the buySAFE Seal, retail sites also display the brands of well-known insurance companies that underwrite the buySAFE guarantee, including Liberty Mutual Group, The Travelers Co. and Ace. The endorsements of these trusted companies also build confidence in the merchant. Displaying trust seals coupled with a broad third-party guarantee is a tactic that makes consumers feel more secure about their purchases and gives a competitive edge to merchants. While effective for merchants of all sizes, it's particularly helpful for e-retailers that are not household names and thus have yet to build confidence with a large numbers of shoppers.

"Not everyone who shops online feels completely safe and secure," Grass says. "When consumers perceive risk, they either avoid buying online, they go to a different merchant or they reduce the price they are willing to pay." In fact, the rise of comparison shopping sites makes that jump even easier. "If I'm a merchant with the same product at the same price as other retailers, but consumers don’t feel as confident buying from me, I either lose sales or I am forced to discount my price to get the consumer to buy—and that cuts right into my profit margins."

Shop By Room: Living Room at Carolina Rustica

The Living Room, also known at the Great Room, is where life happens in our home. Comfortable sofas accompanied by stylish end tables, elegant coordinated table and floor lamps to provide lighting, a matching ceiling fan circulating air, and a comfortable arm chair for Dad to read his paper. These are the elements of a true Living Room, and we have all them in our broad collection of furnishings for this most special room in the house. Browse our Living Room collections by product categories listed below.

Side & Accent Tables	Sofas & Loveseats	Coffee & Cocktail Tables	Loungers & Club Chairs	Ottomans
Indoor Benches	Table Lamps	Floor Lamps	Standing Shelves	Ceiling Fans
Entertainment Centers	Mirrors	Barcalounger Recliners	Lexington Living Room Furniture

Shop By Room: Dining Room at Carolina Rustica

The Dining Room is where we gather with family and friends to share a meal and conversation. Whether your lifestyle is casual and your dining room is a well-traveled room, or you are more traditional and your dining room is for occasional use, we are sure you will find some outstanding dining tables, chairs, buffets, and other selections for this hallowed room. Dine in style, converse in comfort, and enjoy your surroundings! Browse our Dining Room collections by product categories listed below.

Dining Tables	Dining Chairs	Sideboards & Hutches
Bars & Buffets	China Cabinets & Curios	Dining Room Chandeliers
Lexington Dining Room Furniture	Hekman Dining Room Furniture

Win a FREE Chandelier from Carolina Rustica.....

Last year, Sheila Hickman was extremely happy when she wone a $440 Emerson Ceiling Fan. This time you can win the gorgeous chandelier shown above. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, Carolina Rustica is one of the most diverse vendors in My Secret Database. And besides that, their one of my favorites too!

Carolina Rustica has one of the most extensive collections of chandeliers, sconces, and other fixtures available online. From the very highest-end lighting manufacturers like Fine Art Lamps, Currey & Company, and Hinkley Lighting to hand-forged lighting like Northeast Lanterns, Arroyo, and Hubbardton Forge, you can find something for every room, style and budget. And right now… All Lighting and Ceiling Fans Ship Free!

Click Here to Read More on My Design Secrets and to Enter Our Giveaway.....

Rustic Cedar Natural Furniture

One of my favorite suppliers from our old store, Himal Home Gallery, is a company called Rustic Natural Cedar Furniture. For over 35 years, Rustic Natural Cedar Furniture Company has been manufacturing quality Cedar Looks brand products for the home and garden. Their broad variety of products includes bedroom sets, tables and seating groups, gliders, rockers, swings, arbors and other garden products. These fine furnishings are handcrafted with care in Quebec and British Columbia and shipped worldwide for your enjoyment. They age to a natural silvery finish when left unfinished and exposed to the natural elements. I can tell you from firsthand experience that these products have lasted over 12 years in my backyard here in North Carolina.

Outdoor Furniture

Rustic Natural Cedar Furniture is excited to announce that they are now offering a clear coat finish on most indoor pieces. They have living room furniture, bedrooms, and dining sets, all coated with a clear protective lacquer that accentuates the natural beauty of their quality White Cedar furniture and provides a protective surface for the piece. The smooth, clear finish blends perfectly with log cabins, summer homes, beach houses, and campgrounds. This finish will add aesthetic appeal as well as a protective coating to keep your furniture looking great for years to come.

Rustic Natural Cedar Furniture has introduced this finish simply to provide more options to the consumer. It is a multi-step process to ensure a quality finish.

-A sealant coat is applied to the sanded surface. This is the first of two sealant coats that is applied.
-Once the first coat is dry, the product is sanded to provide a more porous surface for the second coat.
-The second coat is applied and allowed to dry.
-The piece is sanded again to prepare for the lacquer coat
-The final, lacquer, coat is applied.

Once the product has dried, the parts are individually wrapped in corrugated cardboard and repacked into boxes. The cardboard helps to prevent the parts from hitting each other and causing damage to the finished product.

Caring for Finished Furniture

Assembling our finished furniture is slightly different from assembling our unfinished products. It is important that the pieces are not hit together as it will cause a scuff on the finish. The finish can be kept in its best condition by taking care to not hit any piece with a hard object or other pieces. It can cause undesirable mark in the finish.


Outdoor Finish

Unfortunately our new finish is not available for outdoor use. For those customers who desire stains or UV protection for outdoor furniture, we recommend Penofin®. We have tested this line of products extensively and have had great results. Penofin® offers a wide variety of stains and UV inhibitors for outdoor use in a variety of colors.

For those customers that are conservation minded, Penofin has just introduced the Verde finish, a sustainable vegetation-based treatment that is environmentally sound and safe for children and pets. To read more about what Rustic is doing to go green, visit Carolina Rustica

Click here to shop for Rustic Cedar Natural Furniture

A Hugely Successful NC Marathon Effort!

It was a picture-perfect day, and the upbeat mood and wonderful organization made the Third Annual United HealthCare North Carolina Marathon a HUGE success, for so many reasons!

First off, the beneficiaries of this effort....Foster Friends of North Carolina. This is an extremely important non-profit dedicated to enriching the lives of children in foster care, right here in North Carolina. I cannot think of a more worthwhile organization than one that is committed to improving the life experience of kids who are challenged by the foster experience. Remember the expression, "Think Globally, Act Locally"? Well, Foster Friends of NC is right here in our backyard and if we want to improve our future, doing it one child at a time is a good start.

Secondly, I am so proud and thankful for Team Carolina Rustica! We had an outstanding group of individual running in green Carolina Rustica jerseys, and our presence was made known! This team not only ran for personal goals, but they ran knowing that their participation would result in a donation by Carolina Rustica to the Foster Friends of NC. A challenge was issued to finish under a certain time period, for which our company would donate an additional $100 to Foster Friends. However, given the heat, the hills, and the tremendous effort that all runners on the team exhibited, we have decided to donate $100 for each runner who participated, in addition to donating some entry fees direct to the organization. By this calculation, Carolina Rustica will be donated about $1,500 to Foster Friends of NC.




Lastly, a big congratulations and thank-you to the organizers, sponsors, volunteers, and other runners. It takes a huge effort to make a race event successful, and on this sunny saturday, all the efforts came together for an outstanding series of races, from the 5k to the half-marathon to the full-marathon. Starting with the moving trumpet playing of the "Star-Spangled Banner" and an exciting start, the race proceeded without a hitch. The local police support was phenomenal...they were friendly, professional, and enthusiastic. The volunteers were absolutely indispensable, and so much appreciated. And of course, without sponsors like UnitedHealthCare, BB&T Bank, the City of High Point, and Showplace....the race simply would not be possible at all.

Again, a hearty congratulations to all runners, and a sincere THANK YOU to Team Carolina Rustica for their participation. We will see you again next year, with an even bigger team!

Ceiling Fan Season Is Right Around The Corner

Here in the south, ceiling fans are used almost year-round, since the cooling season can start as early as March. Ceiling Fans are part of life here, in fact, conjuring up images of slowly rotating fans cooling you on the front porch. Today's ceiling fans offer a near-infinite number of functional and decorative possibilities, and are now considered an integral part of any room's decor. Another reason ceiling fans are enjoying unprecedented popularity is that they are extremely cost-effective, costing just pennies per hour to operate. Even better, some ceiling fans are now Energy-Star Rated, so you can operate them with peak efficiency to minimize your cooling and heating expenses.

Energy Star ceiling fans offer attractive ways to reduce energy usage without sacrificing style or comfort. Energy Star ceiling fans move air about 15% more efficiently than a standard ceiling fan, resulting in an estimated savings of $20 to $30 per year. When you factor in the reduced energy cost of the efficient light fixture, you'll save significantly more. 

Styles
There are as many ceiling fan styles are there are decorating styles themselves.   The most popular styles are Contemporary, Victorian, and Tropical.   

Contemporary Ceiling Fans emphasize sharp lines, use of Brushed Nickel, aerodynamic lighting treatments, and lighter woods or finishes for the blades.   The blades can also be unusually-shaped, while still fulfilling the function of air movement.  One of the most ground-breaking companies in the arena of modern ceiling fans is a company called Fanimation.  They have set the standard for ultra-modern designs that create a statement just by themselves.  Kichler, known primarily for their expansive lighting collection, also has a fine collection of contemporary offerings that match their lighting groups.

	Fanimation Celano Ceiling Fan
	Kichler Lighting Structures Ceiling Fan

Victorian-style Ceiling Fans hearken back to the early days of air movement, with use of elaborate castings, large fan bodies, traditional geometric blades, and dark finishes such as black, oil-rubbed bronze, and rust.  Some of the best-selling fans in this category are from Casablanca and Emerson.  Both of these companies have a century of experience in the design and manufacture of ceiling fans, and some of their earliest designs are still their most popular, believe it or not!

	Casablanca 19th Century Ceiling Fan
	Emerson Cornerstone Classic Ceiling Fan

Tropical Ceiling Fans, or what we sometimes call Exotic Ceiling Fans, are perhaps the fastest-growing category of fans, as homeowners in the Southeast and Southwest continually search for cost-effective and stylish ways to cool their homes and provide a design focal point.   Exotic Ceiling Fans almost always make use of natural materials for fan blades, such as woven bamboo, palm leaf or abaca.   Additionally, they make use of lighter finishes to compliment the overall organic look.   Some of the best-selling fans in this category are made by Hunter Fans, which offers a variety of Caribbean-inspired designs, and Fanimation, which has pioneered the use of woven material for a number of exotic fan blade creations

	Fanimation Islander Ceiling Fan
	Hunter Royal Palm Ceiling Fan

There are, of course, many other designs for ceiling fans, and they can be further specialized by the use of light kits. Ceiling fans light kits are sold as either glass bowls which hang beneath the fan fixture, or as individually-armed lights which have a glass light shade, usually a three or four-light configuration. Many ceiling fans include a light fixture as part of the design, and some include both an uplight (which illuminates above the downrod) and a downlight, which provide ambient light.

Regardless of your choice (and there are many!), there is no reason to experience energy savings and an enhanced room decor with a beautiful, quality ceiling fan.

Another Helpful Article on Redecorating With Antique Wall Clocks

Here is another great article we found from Home Decor Unleashed, a great blog on all things for the home, including furniture, decorating, and in this article, Wall Clocks. This is an especially useful article because we have a large antique reproduction clock section, with outstanding manufacturers such as Uttermost and Cooper Classics.

Without further ado, then, from Home Decor Unleashed, here is Redecorating With Antique Wall Clocks:

If you want to redecorate your home and if you want to do that in a vintage or in a classy style, an antique wall clock will perfectly match with the décor of your new living room. Antique wall clocks are very famous because they add an air full of history to the room in which they are placed. We all know that wall clocks were created to help us in our ability to know the time, but there is more to them than that.

There are many models of these old wall clocks, things that make your job hard when trying to purchase one. Choosing a wall clock it’s not as easy as it seems. A clock like this has to match with the décor of a certain room and that’s why you have to be very careful when you purchase one. I will offer you some tips that will help you in order to choose the perfect antique wall clock.

In case you didn’t know until now, wall clocks can be found in a wide range of colors. The difference between them and normal clocks is represented by the fact that the antiques usually come in dark colors such as brown, black or wood colors while more modern clocks also come in strong colors, such as blue or yellow. This is just one example of what makes an antique a more refined look.

If you want to purchase a clock like this for your living room, before you do it, you should measure the free space that’s available on one of your living room’s wall. If you do that, you will be able to choose the correct size for the clock that you intend to purchase. You can choose a clock like this that matches with the color of the furniture or you can choose one that matches with the color of the walls from that room. If you choose the second option, you have to know that if the walls are painted in white, it’s not so difficult to choose the right one. On a white wall any color of these various clocks will work – some will stand out more than others.

Depending on the size of the room in which you want to place your new clock, you can also choose its shape. Some wall clocks have a round shape and others are square. There are also clocks that are like the ones your grandparents used when they were young. A truly unique, antique clock like these can be quite expensive, depending upon the quality and shape it is in. You can find knock-off antique clocks for under $50 USD. However, if you are looking at a real find and one that you intend to pass down to your grandchildren, you can spend over $1,000 USD on some of these antique wall clocks.


Shop for all clocks here on Carolina Rustica:

Standing Clocks

Wall Clocks

Antique Reproduction Clocks

A Great Article on Travertine Tile

Here is a great article we found on Home Decor Unleashed, an all-encompassing blog about the many aspects of home furnishings, design, and maintenance.    We thought this article was particularly helpful because one of our favorite suppliers, Bago Luma, uses a lot of travertine tile in their wrought-iron designs.  It creates a striking and dramatic contrast.

From Home Decor Unleashed:

Travertine Tile: Information from Me to You

After living in a house for a length of time, it’s nice to be able to create a new look to come home too. Using travertine tile is a great way to accomplish such a task. Travertine comes in many different finishes, colors, and sizes. Because of that, it can be used in many different places throughout the home. Popular choices to use travertine tiles are around a fireplace, in bathrooms, and as kitchen back-splashes. To get you more acquainted with travertine tiles, here are some facts and helpful tips.

Travertine is a natural stone, but can be man-made by heating supersaturated alkaline waters, with high pCO2 levels. This stone comes in many colors including red, yellow, brown, beige, white, and gold. There are many different ways to finish the surface. Naturally, this stone has holes in the surface. Depending on how it is finished, the holes are either filled or left unfilled. Having the holes filled gives the stone a more modern look, and comes in either a matte finish or a polished finish. When the holes are left unfilled, this look is more rustic and is usually not polished.

There are a few helpful tips when planning on where to install travertine tiles. This type of stone is not as hard as other stones. With this in mind, it takes special considerations and care when installing it as flooring. This makes areas of high traffic not a very good place to install this. High heels or animals (like dogs that have nails) can cause scratches on the floor if walked on frequently. Also, this type of stone is very sensitive to acidic substances such as orange juice, lemon juice, and many cleaners. Because of this, if used in the kitchen, it is important to clean spills up as quickly as possible. Otherwise the tile can be damaged. Cleaning with hot water and a sponge is sufficient. There are also special stone cleaners that can be used that won’t damage the stone. With these things in mind, travertine is a great stone to choose to decorate your home with. It has a natural beauty that will create a wonderful atmosphere to come home to.




Shop Bago Luma Here:

Dining Furniture	Living Room Furniture	Tables
Seating	Home Accents

Read more from Home Decor Unleashed Here!