The True Meaning and Purpose of Furniture

I read this delightful article over at www.sfgate.com and thought I'd share it with you all. It's a very interesting and heartwarming piece which many people will agree with and many won't.
"Whenever I walk into my living room, it's apparent to me that furniture must have been invented for animals. I imagine that, long ago, those first proto-dogs who entered our caves to suck the marrow from bones they helped us bring from forest to fire pit, once sated, climbed onto the boulders we arranged for seating, looked down, and then howled in complaint. I'm quite sure they gently removed those furry loincloths from sleeping cave-people and set them in piles in the coziest cave corners.

Thus, I imagine, it was a wolf-dog's need for comfort combined with an early hominid's opposable thumbs that gave rise, eventually, to the invention of the couch.

Give a dog a couch, an overstuffed recliner, a bed, even a padded footstool and you will see a body and furniture locked in an embrace so natural, so symbiotically sensual, that you'll feel obligated to ask permission before ever again putting your own butt to upholstery. Dogs do not simply sit on a chair; rather, they wrap themselves into it, jowled jaw becoming one with the overstuffed arm, chintz pillows rearranged to happily ensconce the canine frame. A dog in a lounge chair is as naturally supported as a newborn baby in the arms of a doting mother, exhausted but happily asleep with her prize warm and safe in her arms.

Back to my living room, for the moment. As a dog reclines blissfully on the folded-up fold-out, his legs dangling somehow both awkward and graceful, his snoring, eventually, disturbs the two cats nesting in the armchair across the room. They wake, stretch, and dig their needle claws into the arms. Slowly, one undulates her body, then faster and faster, finally delivering a bile-wrapped hairball onto the seat. Feeling a bit lighter, the two cats burst from the chair and pounce like wild beasts from table to shelf to chair again, finally landing on the back of the sofa that cradles said sleeping dog.

Tigers now, they stalk down this upholstered jungle tree to attack the massive brute. He awakens, chases. But to no avail. His size and strength are no match for their cunning, and they have retreated to safety: one to a bookcase, hiding in the space made available when the collected works of Mark Twain were knocked to the ground; the other (fatter, slower, but still able to hide) to the cave under the coffee table. A simple beast, this dog, he returns to the couch. Surely this scene will be played out again and again before the day is over.

My living room, it seems, is not my own. It is their habitat. The dogs' for rest, the cats' for play (and for tormenting the dogs, among their favorite games). It is, after all, their home, too, and in this home, it is furniture's true purpose and destiny to provide solace and entertainment for dogs and cats.

So, human, do not complain if your ottoman smells like your companion animal; rather, rejoice that in this otherwise cold and lonely world, they have found each other."

Article by Ken White
Source: www.sfgate.com - read the original article here.

For many pet owners this probably rings true but on the other side of the coin letting our pet, or any animal, get that cosy on our nice new furniture is just something we can't bear. What kind of person are you?

Vacuum Packed Mattresses - What's the Deal?

Vacuum packed mattresses are something that almost all mattress manufacturers are beginning to stock and produce, assuming they haven’t fully embraced it yet, which many have. So what is so new and unique about them and what makes them so different?

Well what’s so new and unique about vacuum packed mattresses? Well if the name doesn’t give it away then let’s clarify; it is simply a memory foam mattress that is rolled up and then vacuum sealed to make it much smaller and easier to transport (most will fit into the back of a small car though larger widths such as king sizes may have some issues). It can also make moving it up stairs easier before it is used. In a nutshell that’s it.

So what makes them different? Well to be honest nothing!

A vacuum packed mattress is pretty much the same as any other memory foam mattress; they are just as comfortable, great quality and provide a great night’s sleep. The only difference is how they arrive, however once you remove them from the packaging it takes a few minutes to reach about 95% of its full shape and then after a few more hours it fills it shape completely and voila! One quality comfortable mattress

So if you fancy giving a vacuum packed mattress a try, then why not try one of our great range here at Furniture Store 247?

Reflective Dreams – Mirrored Beds from Furniture Store 247

A few weeks ago we introduced the Reflections range of mirrored bedroom furniture and it has gone down amazingly with our customers.

When you introduce something so radical and different you have to be a little apprehensive but our faith in how much people would love this radical bedroom furniture range with its designer styling and unique looks has paid off.

The Reflections range was a complete bedroom furniture collection with wardrobes, drawer chests, bedside cabinets, dressing tables and more all available to buy at our online store. However we have to admit that we were disappointed we couldn’t offer our customers a matching bed for this collection.

Usually when a bedroom collection doesn’t offer a matching bed as part of it, it is because many other bed types will compliment it just as well. For example many wooden furniture collections have metal or chrome handles thus chrome or metal bed frames fit in nicely, and darker wood finishes on furniture tend to compliment leather beds very nicely.

However we are very happy to announce that that has been remedied and we now have began to stock beds as part of the Reflections bedroom furniture range. At the moment we only have double beds and king size beds as part of this great range, but we hope than in the future we will be able to supply our customers with other bed sizes as well, though we cannot promise anything at this time.

So you can now furnish you bedroom with a complete set of Reflections mirrored bedroom furniture, bed and all, courtesy of Furniture Store 247.

The Right Mattress

Getting a great night’s sleep comes down to what you are sleeping on, and to be fair a new bedstead is only half the battle, the other half is what mattress to choose.

Now plenty of beds get a mattress bundle with it these days, but unless you are paying a premium it’s probably going to be a very standard sprung mattress. Why? Well simply because it is the cheapest type available and if you feel you are getting a mattress and a bed for a cheap price, you feel you are getting a bargain. The problem is a good bedstead with a poor mattress isn’t bargain at all; it’s just a recipe for sleepless nights and back ache.

The typical cheap sprung mattress (or open sprung mattress) is easy to spot. It looks cheap, feels very light and feels hollow and you can feel and hear the springs creaking as you lay on it, not to the extent the springs are sticking into you (though some really cheap mattresses may fall into this category), but it just feels uncomfortable. Many describe them as feeling unstable and like being on a rocking boat; you never seem to settle in the centre and it feels like its constantly trying to push you to an over the edges.

So what are the alternatives? Well there are many different types of mattresses available on the market today so let’s point out a few.

Pocket Sprung Mattresses
Often considered the industry standard these days, pocket sprung mattresses feel quite firm compared to other mattress types and this is because they provide excellent support and stability, this doesn’t make them any less comfortable, but if you are looking for something cosier you may need to look into other mattress types.

Memory Foam Mattresses
Memory Foam Mattresses are made to alter to the shape and contour of your boy as you sleep, making them one of the most comfortable mattress types available. The comfort that a memory foam mattress can provide is almost second to none, though some people find them a little strange to get used to as you feel like you are sinking into them, and this can lead to you feeling a bit warmer in hot weather. These are definitely one of the top end mattress types

Combination Memory Foam Mattresses
Also known as Pillow Top Mattresses the mattresses comprise of a pocket springs with layers of memory foam incorporated together into one mattress. It gives a degree of both mattresses benefits with the spring unit allowing air to circulate through the mattress and the memory foam contouring to the shape of your body and typically combination mattresses tend to be a little cooler than ones made of pure memory foam. These are often considered the pinnacle of mattress comfort and the prices reflect this.

Orthopaedic Mattresses
To b fair the term Orthopaedic can be applied to any mattress type, the only real difference is that those designated as orthopaedic are always designed to be firmer than a standard mattress of the same type and provide more support for those with back problems or other joint problems; they are also often taller to make getting up out of bed easier, and are commonly bundled with divan style beds as again these are taller in nature to make getting in and out of bed easier.

So there’s a quick summary of some of the best types of mattress for a good night’s sleep, and if you are planning on getting a quality bed, surely you want to ensure the mattress is going to be good to you as well?

For a great range of mattresses and beds, from singles to super king size, including our range of revolutionary vacuum packed mattresses, visit www.furniturestore247.co.uk