When it comes to redecorating a room, it can become frustrating when you can’t find a set of furniture that seems just right for your tastes. Maybe the table is the right shape, but you don’t like its legs; or the chair has the edges you want, but it’s not the right color. Why settle for a set that doesn’t appeal to you on every level? At Walter E. Smith, a leader in furniture retail, Chicago customers don’t have to settle thanks to our Bon Appétit custom dining selections!

In France, ‘Bon Appétit’ means ‘Enjoy your meal’ and that’s just what we think you should be able to do with your specialized dining room set. Chicago shoppers searching for their personalized furnishings should look no further than Walter E. Smithe! Our Bon Appétit custom dining collection is unique because it offers customers the opportunity to tailor their selections to meet their specific tastes, without ever feeling like something just doesn’t fit.

Whether you’re looking to create a casual environment or a more luxurious, high dining setting, the Bon Appétit collection can help. The collection is both inspired by you, and made for you! Click this link to experience Bon Appétit for yourself! We know you’ll appreciate the site’s user friendly format, which allows you to go through the customizing process at your leisure. You’ll be able to select features such as surface type, shape, model, and edging on any of the following pieces: table, chair, stool, buffet, corner, server, or bench.

With Bon Appétit, you can also customize dimensions, colors, finishes, you name it! You can make changes at any time, and save, print, or email your designs. You can even create a wish list to send to your better half!

Don’t settle for a cookie cutter dining room set from one of our competitors! To truly enjoy your meals in your ideal and personalized setting, choose from our Bon Appétit collection! To learn more, stop in or make an appointment with one of our friendly associates. They are happy to assist you throughout your furniture selection process so stop in today! Act fast and you can even take advantage of some big savings at Walter E. Smithe!

In case you haven’t heard, people are going “greene” at home – that’s right, green with an “E”! In addition to doing things like driving hybrids, using reusable grocery bags, and recycling, you can help the environment by making your home greener (And no, you don’t have to buy furniture that’s the color green!). Today we’d like to give you a few reasons why you should consider making your home more eco-friendly and also let you know where a good place to start would be.

Let’s start by talking about why you should go “greene.” First, you would be helping out the environment! Our eco-friendly products come from recycled materials and well-managed wood products; this conserves natural resources and limits the volume of waste sent to our already overloaded landfills. Beyond the environment, there’s your health to consider. By choosing furniture that’s manufactured with sustainably sourced materials, your indoor air quality will improve making it easier for you to breathe; this will contribute directly to a more healthful lifestyle for you and your family!

Now that you know a few reasons why you should go “greene,” where can you start? How about with one of our OMI organic mattresses? This is something that you may never have heard of, but an organic mattress is simply one that is made from all-natural materials. Organic Mattresses Incorporated (OMI) mattresses in particular are constructed with Eco-Wool, certified organic cotton, and 100% natural rubber latex.

Here’s a few more details about the materials in their mattresses:

• The Eco-Wool is sheared from free-grazed California sheep.
• The cotton is grown and processed without chemical pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or fertilizers.
• The rubber is naturally anti-microbial and dust-mite resistant.

At Walter E. Smithe, we specialize in the best furniture Chicago has to offer and we are proud to offer products from OMI. They are a company committed to supporting American organic farmers and their products are top-of-the-line. When you choose an OMI mattress, you can also have the peace of mind that comes with its industry-leading 20-year limited warranty!

If you’re looking to do something for yourself and your environment come see us at Walter E. Smithe, a leader in furniture retail. Chicago customers won’t be disappointed when they choose an OMI mattress or any of our other “greene” products! Come see us today!

At Walter E. Smithe, we are proud to offer a diverse selection of collections and designers. No matter what your styling tastes may be, we are sure to have exactly what you’re looking for! One collection that we would like to showcase today is Avalon, a part of Lauren by Ralph Lauren.

When some people hear “Ralph Lauren” they immediately think of apparel, but for nearly ten years the company has also been creating pieces for the home. Like their line-up of apparel, Ralph Lauren’s home collection redefines American style and exudes a relaxed elegance. Lauren by Ralph Lauren is classic and traditional yet also contemporary. It is made up of four unique collections: Avalon, Laurel Drive, Langholm, and Mitchell Place. The Avalon collection which we are showcasing here stands out because of its timeless glamour.

The Avalon collection is composed of Chicago contemporary furniture pieces that have dramatic architectural lines and art-deco touches. Whether you’re decorating a bedroom, living room, or dining room, the Avalon collection is perfect to create just the look you’ve been wanting!

The bedroom collection includes a king bed, a double dresser, a night stand, a marcel club chair, a cocktail ottoman, and a tri-fold mirror. All of the pieces complement each other beautifully and create the perfect space for comfort.

The dining room collection features a beautiful pedestal dining table, a buffet, and Colette dining arm and side chairs. The expandable dining table is solid wood with a rosewood veneer. A nailhead trim frames the top and adds emphasis to the angled corners. Chairs are covered in pale blue/green silk and also have a nailhead trim that echoes the border of the table. The buffet is versatile with two doors, one drawer, and six adjustable shelves!

The living room shown here completes and rounds out the Avalon collection. This contemporary room features a classic lounge chair and a unique tulip table. The chair is accented with stainless steel trim while the table has a rosewood finish as well as an inset dark smoke colored glass. The pair goes together perfectly!

All of the Lauren by Ralph Lauren collections are available exclusively at Walter E. Smithe, your leader when it comes to furniture retail. Chicago customers have trusted us with their decorating needs for years, and we hope you will too! Come into a Walter E. Smithe showroom to talk to one of our friendly sales associates and view the entire exclusive Avalon collection!

Why not welcome the green of spring by bringing a little of it indoors? Furniture retail Chicago buyers will want to check out not only the new furniture and accessory pieces available, but will want to try out some affordable color palettes at home.

Paint is one of the most inexpensive ways to change a room and it’s easy to change when you need a fresh look. Don’t be afraid of a little paint. It can be coordinated with accent pieces you already own to dress up a drab-from-winter room.

Pick your preference. Are you a Kelly girl, a sage kind of guy or just someone who likes a splash of lime? Then green is your springtime friend.  Personally, I prefer a muted sage in the living room with some accents of sepia, red floral prints and a hint of butter cream.

Lime is fun and cheery for a bathroom or kitchen. Because it’s bright and trendy, yet still a natural color, it can be mixed with contemporary pieces or surrounded by natural elements and not be uncomfortable.

Lime green is very effective paired with other flashy colors like hot pink or orange. Buyers of the best furniture Chicago offers will also want to consider the style of their furniture when choosing colors. Although any combination you enjoy is good to use, think about lightening up darker rooms or those with heavy furniture by incorporating lighter shades or bright, bold colors. When shopping for the best furniture Chicago buyers will appreciate the professional advice from staff.

Those with more casual taste might want to try a lime green, red and periwinkle combination. For those partial to a gentleman’s library look, try layering Kelly green with gray or sepia colors. A background of clean white with soft shades of blue and green will achieve the feel of a beach house. Try using natural elements like seashells and wheat grass to complete the feeling of the room.

We true Irish love our green year-round, so a palette layering various shade of green is always provides a fresh feel. Depending on which shades of green dominate, this can be elicit moods of sophistication and elegance; fun and flirtatiousness or the under canopy of a rainforest. For a more eclectic look, add in some bold black accents.

Pale shades of green paired with bright pinks or blues made wonderful backdrops for children’s rooms and furniture retail Chicago dealers enjoy helping customers design a personal space.

Have you ever had a room that was so cluttered with furniture you felt like Dorothy in Oz when she and her friends reach the enchanted apple orchard? Perhaps you feel the drawers are ready to fly open and bombard you with T-shirts and stray socks just like the tree pelted Dorothy and friends with apples.

Choosing bedroom furniture is important for just that reason and many times dressers are where we go wrong.  Deciding what, if any, dressers to purchase requires evaluation in several areas. The first area is the amount of clothing and accessories to be stored. The second is the available floor space in the room. Once these two factors have been determined, the questioning can move to size and style. When shopping furniture retail Chicago buyers want a variety to choose from and Smithe offers buyers of Chicago furniture modern and tradition beautiful custom pieces.

First, look at the amount of closet space you have. If there is sufficient hanging and shelf space in your closets to accommodate most of your clothing, dressers may not be necessary, or you may be able to get by with one smaller piece. Depending on the size of your closet, you might even want to consider placing a dresser in the closet for easy access and added floor space in the bedroom. Let’s face it, as buyers we want the best furniture Chicago retailers carry and we want it to fit perfectly in our room and our lifestyle.

If closet space is at a premium, you must decide on the style of furniture you prefer and evaluate whether one larger piece or multiple smaller pieces would better fit the size and style of the room. Several tall, dark pieces can be quite overwhelming in a small room (like Dorothy in and the apple trees). On the flip side, a large room with one or two small, low pieces may appear stark and under furnished. Sometimes the best furniture Chicago buyers find is when they seek help from an experienced decorating team at their Chicago furniture modern/traditional retailer.

Estimate the number of drawers needed, choose the furniture style you prefer and begin comparing pieces and sizes. Sketching out a scale model of your room with the pieces you like will give you a good idea of whether your dream pieces will fit in your available space. (Often they won’t except in your imagination!)

Take advantage of the decorating services offered at your furniture retail Chicago dealer.

You say there’s no place in your décor or even your lifestyle for a recliner chair? I once thought the same, but then I saw the modern selection of recliners at Smithe’s Chicago furniture sales and I had to rethink my decision. So the question of whether or not to recline was once again brought to the forefront.

This is not your father’s recliner. These days a recliner can be disguised to look like, well, a regular chair. Erase those images of the burnt orange or tacky plaid overstuffed, oversized take-up-half-the-room chair covered in chip crumbs and beverage stains. Think sleek profile, classic library, any color or fabric you can dream up – that’s what today’s recliner can look like and it can blend into my favorite room just like it was tailor-made, because it was.

In the business of furniture retail Chicago area buyers are seeking something unique and new, even if it’s old-world it must be a fresh take. The selection of recliners and choices of custom styles here include the best furniture Chicago has to offer.

There’s also the second question: To rock or not to rock? Once the decision is made to recline, the question of adding a rocker into the mix comes into play. The rocker, or even a swivel feature, usually adds a bit of bulk to the chair, so those looking for a cleaner line or more traditional style may want to avoid it. I have to admit I prefer the recliner without any added feature. This allows me to disguise it as a regular occasional or overstuffed chair. Of all the furniture retail Chicago sources I have shopped, this is by far the best for a diverse selection of styles.

So, if you want to recline it won’t cramp your style. If the man of the house insists on a place to kick back and read the paper or watch the game – offer it with style! Go in and see the best furniture Chicago buyers can imagine for quality and personal service.

After much contemplation I have to come down on the side of “to recline”, if only to satisfy the rest of my family. But we will recline in style in a custom chair from a top furniture retail Chicago dealer.