Furniture Stores Seattle, Green Furniture Maker Tacoma, Sustainable Cabinetry, Woodworking

María Volonté and her Blues-infused Tango return to the Madera showroom

May 19, 2013 in Blog, Feature, General

We are pleased to announce the return of María Volonté and her Blue Tango Tour to the Madera showroom Thursday May 30th at 7:00 p.m.

Winner of the prestigious Gardel Prize, a Latin Grammy nominee and member of the Tango Hall of Fame, Maria Volonte is an Argentine singer-songwriter celebrated for the intense passion and beauty of her songs as well as for her charisma and sensuality on stage.

After conquering the world of tango with numerous award-winning CDs, Maria’s new work explores the fusion of Argentine music with other Latin American rhythms, jazz and the blues.

Last year, her performance at Madera was amazing – everyone was blown away! Maria has such grace and charm as a performer and her music is simply delicious.

Tickets are $15 at the door. Join us and help us support this tireless musical adventurer!

Check out these two videos…

NPR Tiny Desk Concert…http://www.npr.org/event/music/144150225/maria-volonte-tiny-desk-concert

Beso Azul video…http://vimeo.com/intrepidpatrol/beso-azul-music-video

You can also learn more about Maria at her website…http://mariavolonte.com/

Tags: blues, Madera, music, performance, showroom, Tacoma, Tango
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Spectacular Bathroom Remodels – Custom Vanities and more!

May 19, 2013 in Blog, Feature, General

We are currently wrapping up a project for a Gig Harbor home that includes vanities and linen cabinets for the home’s 3 bathrooms. Photos of this fantastic project are soon to come. In the meantime here are some new photos from a couple of previous remodels we participated in back in 2012. In the “condo” project Madera built 2 custom vanities, a linen cabinet, 3 floating soffits and a cascading wall panel. For the “N.Tacoma residence” we built a custom painted vanity and a linen cabinet.

Both of these projects had one thing in common – drawers below undermount sinks! This meant that we had to fabricate U-shaped drawers to wrap around the plumbing. In both cases it was surprising to see how much room was still left in the drawers and how functional they would be.

These are the sort of custom details we frequently get asked to build. And we always love the challenge!

A custom teak vanity and hanging soffit.

condo mstr vanity

condo mstr bath – suspended soffit

condo guest bath 1

condo guest bath 2

wall panel detail

NTacoma custom painted vanity

NTacoma custom painted linen cabinet

Tags: bathroom, custom, custom cabinets Seattle, custom cabinets Tacoma, furniture stores Tacoma, vanity, woodworking
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A Reclaimed Wood Feature Wall

February 27, 2013 in Blog, Feature, General

One of the projects that wrapped up 2012 was this fabulous wall of reclaimed wood that was installed in a downtown Tacoma condominium. Measuring approximately 14 feet square, much of the wood we used came from a historic Tacoma building that had undergone a significant remodel several years ago. Fortunately the owners of The Passages Building (c. 1889) had the vision to save the old growth Douglas fir beams and framing. We supplemented this amazing old wood with reclaimed wood purchased from Rhine Salvage, a local demolition company. To tie the wall together with the color palette of the condo, we white-washed and distressed most of the boards before applying a light seal coat of finish. Some of the boards were left as they were…with stains, nail holes and burn marks…history best left alone.

photo by Dane Gregory Meyer

Tags: contemporary furniture Seattle, custom woodworking, feature wall, home furnishings Seattle, home furnishings Tacoma, reclaimed, woodworking Tacoma
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Great Collaborations = Great Results!

February 11, 2013 in Blog, Feature, General

South South Magazine has a splendid feature on a project in which we played a significant roll!

“Sensible Luxury” – South Sound Magazine, Feb/Mar, 2013

With Scott Neste, as the Maestro, orchestrating a symphony of local talent, this beautiful vintage home was tastefully updated and shows how well a team of committed professionals can create beautiful “music” together!

For more info visit – MinorDetailsDesign.com and TacomaDesignCollective.com

Tags: custom furniture, design collaboration, furniture maker Tacoma, interior design, sensible luxury
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Madera Furniture Company now on You Tube!

February 1, 2013 in Blog, Feature, General

With the help of our most recent SOTA intern, Stephenie King, we now have a short video documentary about Madera on You Tube. Check it out!

Madera Furniture Company documentary.

For the last several years Madera has hosted an intern from Tacoma’s School of the Arts. SOTA is a public high school that gives kids with creative inclinations a unique educational experience fostering their particular passions whether it is music, drama, writing or even video production!

Stephenie’s interests are, in some ways, polar. She loves producing videos and is considering pursuing a career in the field. But she is also interested in studying criminal psychology. She was excited about interning with Madera and making this video with the hopes that it might help her decide which path to follow.

Which ever way you choose, Stephenie, we have enjoyed hosting you. We wish you the best of luck as you venture down your career path. Thanks!

Tags: furniture, Madera, video, you tube
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A custom built-in designed to show off a glass collection

January 24, 2013 in Blog, Feature, General

Here is another project that shows off how a client’s dream get’s realized.

We took the designer’s vision, engineered it so it can actually be built, rendered the design to help the clients “see” what it will look like, coordinated things like the tile work and electrical with the contractor and then built their dream!

The results are spectacular!

Designer Concept

Rendering helps visualize the finished product.

A beautiful wall of art completed!

Tags: art display, built in cabinet, custom cabinets Seattle, custom cabinets Tacoma, custom furniture, custom furniture Seattle, custom woodworking, glass shelving, woodworking Seattle, woodworking Tacoma
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Introducing…

December 14, 2012 in Blog, Feature, General

As 2012 winds down to a close we are excited to begin implementing our new name and logo!!! After 6 years designing and building custom furniture and cabinetry as Madera Fine Decorative Furnishings, we are becoming Madera Furniture Company.

In the beginning a retail art gallery featuring our products and the work of local artists and artisans was located in what is now our woodworking showroom. We had “decorative furnishings” available and the name made more sense. With the tanking of the economy, running the gallery became more of a drain and through time the space has evolved into only our showroom (and the occasional shop over-spill!). In our opinion, the new name is way less froo-froo and hearkens back to a time when craftsmanship really mattered.

In the next few weeks the website will evolve, printed materials will arrive and mass emails will be sent. But that’s it. We will still provide the finest in custom furniture, cabinetry and architectural woodworking. We will continue to give our clients excellent value and the best service possible. That’s the Madera way!

Tags: cabinetry, furniture, logo, Madera, new, re-branding
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Looking back at a busy year…

November 19, 2012 in Blog, Feature, General

2012 isn’t quite over yet and we still have some amazing assignments on the boards. But looking back at our projects over the last 11 months leaves me feeling extremely proud of our team and the diversity of our accomplishments…

A gorgeous custom kitchen in Seattle completed in July…

touch latch operated cutting board hidden in counter top reveal

Below are photos of a custom timber mantel we created for a beautiful new home in the Dash Point / Redondo area.

Also I have included pictures of a custom dining table we collaborated on for the home of a local architect. The top was made from locally sourced/urban-harvested elm.

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Tacoma – The City We Build: Revisited

November 12, 2012 in Blog, Feature, General

Each month our showroom plays host to Lynn DiNino’s Tripod Slide Shows. Always on the 3rd Friday of the month, the Tripod Slide Show features 3 short presentations by members of our community with an interest in sharing about a passion. Topics have ranged from photo safaris from faraway lands to inside some of Tacoma’s most historic landmarks. We’ve seen images of hotel signs from across the west and explored the insects in a local yard up close and personal. We’ve learned about the cartoon architecture of Las Vegas and the incredible imagery of a Renaissance study in central Italy.

This month – in conjunction with Tacoma’s Art @ Work celebrations – Lynn is hosting a special presentation this Wednesday November 14 at 7:00 p.m. featuring Tacoma City Councilman, architect and Visionary (yes with a capital V) David Boe. Boe will present and energetic review of the urban planning visions for our fair city – from the historically rejected Olmstead Plan to Exit 133. $5.00 suggested donation at the door.

Tags: architecture, design, history, Tacoma, urban planning
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Heritage Distillery open for business and looking marvelous!

November 4, 2012 in Blog, Feature, General

November 3rd marked the opening of Heritage Distilling Company and the completion of the first phase of our installation of their custom cabinetry and furniture. This includes the most unique (and challenging) bar we’ve ever fabricated. Here are a few pictures of the tasting room and sales area. We’ll take some more and post them to our Flickr page soon.

All of the bar tops were made from locally sourced Western Maple and range in thickness from 1 1/2″ – 4″ thick. The cabinetry was made from domestically made maple plywood with no added urea formaldehyde. All of the stains and finishes Madera uses are waterborne, VOC (volitile organic compounds) and HAPS (hazardous airborne productS)-free.

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