Today's blog comes from David Ramsey, Central Library staff:

Do you find today’s mass market furniture too commonplace? Are you looking for seating with a unique style? Are you bored with IKEA ubiquity?

Check out a recent addition to the Arts collection: Furniture with Soul: Master Woodworkers and their Craft by David Savage.

The author, whose work is also profiled, delves into the lives and work of ten furniture makers. No assembly-line designs for them; these creative types eschew the ordinary. For these artisans, form follows function – but at a distance and with a detour or two.

These innovators tapped their imaginations in the creation of a wide range of furniture. And what imaginations they have! Inspiration comes from many sources including nature, civil engineering and modern media.

These talented woodworkers could have followed the straight and narrow and produced conventional pieces; but something inspired them to change course, be it flora or fauna, whimsy or fantasy. They followed their hearts and forged a new path.

Their designs require labour-intensive, exacting work, not suited to endless copies. The pieces produced according to their heart’s calling are rich in detail which couldn't be justified on a purely functional chair or table for mass production.

Some call them furniture sculptors. Is their work art or craft? Can an art form have function?

Maybe it depends on the amount of soul….

- Dave

For many years I used a trunk painted Chinese red as my coffee table. When I moved to my condo, it no longer seemed to work. If it sat too close to the sofa, you couldn’t stretch out your legs. When it was pushed more to the centre of the room, it blocked the path to the balcony.

I experimented with several smaller tables which made the room feel more spacious. However, with more than three people visiting, serving drinks and snacks was fussy and annoying.

After much agonizing, I chose a lovely 19^th Century Chinese bench and it feels perfect for the room. I wish I had seen this new book in our collection. It would have made the decision easier.

Good Bones, great pieces: the seven essential pieces that will carry you through a lifetime is the new title by designers and bloggers Suzanne and Lauren McGrath. They identify seven essential pieces of furniture that can be used in many different ways and move successfully from house to house along with the owner.

Those seven pieces are loveseat, bench, side table, slipper chair, occasional chair, dresser and demilune. For each piece, they demonstrate multiple uses. They also provide a glossary that shows nine versions in different styles, such as traditional, modern or country.

They show a bench in an entrance, on a porch, in the living room, dining room and at the foot of a bed.

The demilune table snugs up against the wall in a tiny kitchen to provide a charming breakfast spot. It tucks into a hallway or onto the landing of a staircase. A pair of them flanks a fireplace in a living room and another works as a lovely little desk for laptop use.

This is a great source to help you plan major furniture purchases or rethink the use of a favourite piece that you already own.

Today's blog comes to you from Linda Bolstad, Central Library Staff:

Clean, sleek lines. Beautiful wood. Minimalist. Well-constructed. Some of the reasons I like mid-century modern furniture. In particular the Scandinavian designers such as Finn Juhl, Arne Jacobsen, Hans Wegner and Greta Jalk. Teak was a favorite wood used for this style of furniture, but walnut and rosewood were also popular. Some of the pieces are strikingly sculptural.

My husband and I have several items we bought when we were first furnishing our home back in the 70s and 80s, including a rosewood dining table and chairs, and they have withstood the test of time. Lately there is a resurgence of interest in this furniture and I have collected a few more items. It is getting more difficult to find, but I have had some luck finding pieces in thrift stores and on kijiji. Almost my entire living room is now furnished with mid-century teak. My husband is very understanding.

If you aren’t familiar with this type of furniture, here are a couple of books on the subject.

Danish Modern by Andrew Hollingsworth has lovely color illustrations of lounge chairs, sofas, tables, sideboards, etc with lots of information on the designers. A section on using the furniture in contemporary spaces is well worth paging through and makes me wish I could refurnish more of my home.

Mid-Century Modern by Bradley Quinn is another interesting book. It deals with more than just furniture. Many of the ceramics, glass and metalware from the 50’s and 60’s are to me lovely and graceful, and would fit beautifully into most homes. I think these will definitely be on my radar during my next forays into the world of second-hand shopping.

And one of the best things about locating and purchasing mid-century items is that you are recycling. Rather than buying something new, why not check out the variety of used items that are available.