It’s Time for Spring Cleaning!

Spring is here! Temperatures are rising, flowers are blooming and more people are outside enjoying the weather. But how about the inside of your house? Yes – we’re talking about the dreaded spring cleaning.

In this blog, we will be going through some practical ways to do your spring cleaning and our salespeople also have some tips to share!

Tip #1: After cleaning your rug, turn the rug 180 degrees. Why? Because sun hits the rug and can potentially fade the rug, so turning the rug will make sure the color quality of the rug is even throughout.

Tip #2: Switch out your artwork and bring in colors that excite you. It is, after all, your home!

Tip #3: Using a vacuum connector can help with spring cleaning tremendously! Use the connector to clean your blinds and lamp shades.

Tip #4: When cleaning your light fixtures, use vinegar water and a cloth.

Tip #5: Get rid of furniture you no longer need! A great way to do that is consigning your furniture at Anne’s Attic!

Let’s see what our salespeople are saying!

We have several products at our store to help you with your spring cleaning!

Be sure to visit one of our 3 showrooms and talk to one of our experienced salespeople!

Brrr It’s Cold!

During these snowy days, do you want to crawl into a chilly bed or a warm and cozy bed? The answer to this question seems pretty obvious to us! In this blog, we have five short suggestions for you on how to create that warm and cozy bed that can provide the warmth and comfort you need during these frigid and snowy days.

1. Choose flannel over cotton sheets. Cotton actually makes your bed cooler! Choose a flannel sheet that has a heavy weight, such as 4 to 6 ounces. The heavier the weight, the warmer you will be!
2. Use a duvet cover to keep you extra warm!
3. Fill your bed with warm colors and textures.

4. Wear warm clothing to bed – especially socks if you are one to have frozen toes!
5. Drink a hot beverage before bed – hot chocolate, tea, cider, etc.

For more design tips for your bedroom or any other room in your home, come visit one of our 3 High Country locations or visit our website!

Got the Winter Blues?

Weather got you feeling down? With this cold weather and the sun going down sooner, it’s easy for your mood to be affected.

Practically, you could take more Vitamin D and exercise, but we also think that there are ways you can design your home to boost your mood! Here are 5 tips to help you if you are feeling blue this winter:

1. Have plenty pictures of loves ones and favorite memories around your home. Take a look at these driftwood frames we have here at High Country!

2. Pick cheerful artwork for your walls. This barn painting above this bed in our showroom has many uplifting colors.

3. Bring nature into your home, like some greenery or flowers.

4. Make sure the heavy traffic rooms in your home have plenty of light. Light opens up the room so that you don’t feel so closed in. We have a lighting center at our location on 3232 Dellwood Road.

5. Select the colors of your room wisely. According to HGTV, “Color is a powerful design tool that can make the rooms in your home feel more calm, cheerful, comfortable or dramatic.” Red is passionate, orange is optimistic, green is calming, blue is tranquil, purple is creative, gray is sophisticated, and brown in natural. When deciding what color for each room, Freshome says that there are certain colors that are best for each room. For example, blue is a productive color so it should be used in the office and the color red encourages appetite so it should be in the dining room. Notice the subtle blues in this office vignette and the red accents in this dining room vignette.

Would you like to talk to our design personnel here at High Country about how to get out of your Winter Blues by incorporating some of these tips into your home? Come visit one of our 3 locations!

The Perfect Dining Room Table For You!

We sell several dining room tables at High Country. One of our top selling brands is Barkman furniture. Barkman focuses on creating quality furniture. In their catalog they state that “It is the mission of Barkman Furniture to produce furniture of the highest quality, always built to the most exacting standards in the industry, and worthy of being handed down from one generation of your family to the next.”

With Barkman, you can select and create the perfect dining room table for you! You get to choose the base, table top, size, leaf extensions, finish, and chairs. There are over 6,000,000 different variations you could order.

The Christy Dining table is one of our most popular here at High Country. In the Christy table shown, the grain of grey elm contrasts with an onyx finish on brown maple.

Have you ever had water rings on your furniture? Yes, you could try to use cleaners, baking soda, toothpaste, or mayonnaise to get the ring out, but with a Barkman Dining table you can lay a glass down on the table and it will leave no water ring – guaranteed.

Interested in learning more about Barkman dining tables? Call or visit one of our 3 locations and one of our design personnel would be happy to help!

Last Minute Gift Ideas!

Have you waited until the last minute to buy your Christmas gifts? Well, we have 6 more gift ideas for you today that will hopefully help you as you are scurrying to mark off everyone on your shopping list.

With cute phrases such as: “Friends always welcome, relatives by appointment,” “One Big Happy Family,” and “Live every moment, Laugh every day, Love for a lifetime,” these Decorative Towels make a great gift. $10.50

This Pine Bluff Soap Dispenser will fit right into your friend or family member’s cabin home. You could even pair this gift with a great smelling liquid soap! $19

A Set of 6 Wood Coaster is a practical, yet creative gift to give someone special. These coasters are live edge shaped teak wood. The visible grain, knots, and texture of the teak wood give these coasters unique character. $35

If you are looking for a creative kitchen accessory to give to the foodie on your shopping list, this Rectangular Deer Cutting Board with cheese spreader will make a great gift. It is made of mango wood and sculpted metal. $49

Buying for someone who has a rustic style? This Rocky Mountain Clock is just the gift for you! It is made out of reclaimed teak wood and can be used both inside and outside. $69

This Glass Bee Hive Dispenser is perfect for the person in your family who loves to entertain. Add your favorite beverage to this dispenser and you will not have to worry about refills for a little while! $69

Visit our website to get even more gift ideas! We also have a Gift Ideas Board on Pinterest.

Our December Giveaway is going on now until Tuesday, December 23rd! We are giving away SIX Luxurious Home Botanical Décor Bouquets! They smell and look wonderful for the season. For more details on how to enter, visit our Facebook page.

Merry Christmas from all of us at High Country Furniture & Design!

Gift Ideas from Anne’s Attic

In this week’s blog post, we are going to give you 4 more gift ideas. This time these gifts are from Anne’s Attic, our consignment store next to the High Country location on 3232 Dellwood Road in Waynesville.

Give a gift that will be used over and over again! These locally made, handcrafted mugs make a great gift for the coffee or hot tea lover. $16 each

This decorative bear bowl will make a wonderful present for someone who likes coffee table accessories. This bowl is very detailed and if you look close enough, you will see that the bear is holding a bee hive! $20

Do you have a geography buff in your family? This Great Smoky Mountain Topographical Framed Map will be a fitting gift! $45

This Butler’s Tray with Stand can be used as a serving tray for drinks and snacks or it can be used as a side table! Perhaps this tray will look good in the home of one of your friends or family members. $79

Hurry in to grab these great gift items before they are sold! To see a full selection of what is in stock at Anne’s Attic, visit their website.

Need a Gift Idea?

Have you started your Christmas shopping yet?  Having trouble coming up with gift ideas? We have 4 High Country gift ideas for you!

Fill your home with the pleasant aroma of spiced apple, vanilla, rose, pine, and cedar with this nettie bag. $12

Keep track of everyone who visits your home! This sign-in book has 50 heavy weight sign-in sheets with areas for visitor name, date, and comments. Wood display easel included. $39

Buy a bottle of wine, slip it into this wine bottle holder, and you’ve got the perfect gift! This stylish wine bottle holder has a faux brown fur cuff, velvet ties, and an embroidered pinecone on houndstooth patterned fabric. $12

Need a gift for the cookie monster in your family? This hand painted ceramic cookie jar will make a fun gift for someone special. Cookie jars also available in a black lab, golden retriever, and bear. $75

Visit www.highcountry.com to get more gift ideas!

No No’s In November

We asked some of our High Country sales and design team: What is your biggest design pet peeve or design “no no” that you hate to see?

Lydia
Being too matchy-matchy – I like to blend different kinds of woods and shapes. Think of a forest and how it has variety! A room should be designed the same way.

Linda
Furniture that doesn’t fit the room well – When people do not measure their room before they shop for the piece of furniture they need, they will either have to make several trips back to the store or they will end up buying a piece of furniture that is too big or too small.

Tricie
Hanging artwork too high – Artwork hung too high or low can really be a distraction.

Margaret Ann
Too many knick knacks – Clutter can overwhelm a room – go for a cleaner look!

Want to learn more about our High Country design services? Visit the Design tab of our website. Having company over for Thanksgiving and want to make sure your table looks beautiful? Enter to win our November Giveaway on Facebook and you could win a set of pinecone candle holders to dress up your table!

Watt lamp is right for you?

Shopping for lamps can sometimes prove to be a challenging task. Here are 5 steps to selecting the right lamp for your room:

1. Define your style
   What is the style of the room the lamp will be for? Are you more rustic or contemporary? These questions are important to ask yourself while you are lamp shopping. You may even want to bring in pictures of your room so that you can visualize if it will fit the style of your room.
2. Pick a color scheme
   What colors are in the room? Are you using the lamp to accessorize and bring out a certain color in the room? Depending on the color scheme of the room, you may want to select a lamp that has iron, glass, pottery, or texture that would complement the colors of the room.
3. Know the height you need
   Will the lamp be set on a table? Will you be using this lamp for light as you are reading? If you are buying a lamp to put on an end table by your sofa and you’re using the lamp to give you light as you read, the height of the lamp should usually range from 28-34 inches.
4. Decide on a shade
   How much do you want light to diffuse into the room? Many new shades are darker and are great for reading, but do not diffuse light into the room.
5. Understand bulbs
   One of our owners here at High Country, Anne, says that a good bulb for reading light would be one with at least 100 watts (incandescent). A lot of lamps now require 60 watt bulbs. They look great, but they may not be good for reading. These types of lamps work well on a buffet table and are good for ambiance. Need to know the conversions from Incandescent, Lumens, LED, or CFL? Here is a chart from Apartment Therapy to help:

This month at High Country there is 20% off all artwork, 30% off all mirrors, 40% off select lamps, and up to 50% off upholstered chairs and sofas. Now is a great time to shop for a new lamp at High Country.

You’re Invited…

This Saturday we are having a Hunter Douglas Open House. High Country is excited to host this event in our design center at our Dellwood Road location. Many people think that High Country only sells furniture, but we also have design services!

Hunter Douglas advertises their products as “Beautiful window treatments with amazing features. And each one is guaranteed for life.” We sell a variety of Hunter Douglas products!

To learn more, come to our Open House! Our Hunter Douglas representative, Debra, will be here to answer any questions you may have. This is an informal event, so you can stay 5 minutes or 5 hours! There is already a $100 rebate that Hunter Douglas is offering, but if you come to the open house and enter your name into our drawing, you have a chance to receive an additional $100 off your Hunter Douglas order. We will have light refreshment too! We look forward to seeing you soon!