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Furnitureandliving.com has the wide range directories about furniture and categorizes for easy find your requirement. There are many type of furniture up to where to placing and how it functions, indoor or outdoor.

    Maintenance and cost must be considered too with compatible with your existing furniture or your room spacing. If you have child in you home, you may provide suitable one set for them, it is a reason from human scale and safety for use.

Specsources Catalog Library Reaches 100,000 Pieces of Furniture Specification Data

By Anonymous



February 23, 2004--Specsources, Inc., a leading provider of interior design furniture specification and project collaboration solutions, announced today that its catalog library component had reached over 100,000 items. Interior designers can now have access to an enormous amount of dynamic specification data, as well as a tool that will allow them to incorporate it into their design projects.

Available along with the specification information are over 100,000 2D and 3D CAD symbols.

Using Specsources’ furniture specification tool, designers can take this information and create specification sheets, manage a budget, and share their project information electronically with dealers, sales reps, and clients.

Wade Ballance, Vice-President of Operations commented, We’re always striving to increase the functionality and usability of our product. Providing an increasing amount of spec data to the designer is a big part of that.

There is no cost to the furniture manufacturer to place their specification data on Specsources.

About Specsources
Specsources, Inc. is located in Atlanta, Georgia. The company strives to provide a complete front to back furniture specification and project collaboration tool for the interior design industry. For additional information on Specsources, Inc., visit their web site at www.specsources.com or call 404-250-4369.

CrossCheck Eases Ashley Furniture's Payment Issues

By Anonymous



ROHNERT PARK, Calif. (PR WEB) ; CrossCheck, Inc., the nation's largest privately held payment guarantee-company, is now providing check services to seven Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc., locations. Ashley Furniture is a leading manufacturer of quality furniture products.

Ashley Furniture's new suite of check services includes protection against stop payments, a guaranteed high percentage of check approvals, payment on interest and bank fees accrued during check recovery, the ability to accept multiple checks for a single purchase, and giving customers the option to use multiple forms of payment for a purchase.

Our Multiple Check premium will enhance Ashley Furniture's excellent customer service and help them make more sales by letting customers spread check payments out over time, said CrossCheck's President and CEO J. David Siembieda.

Ashley Furniture, founded in 1945 and headquartered in Arcadia, Wis., has grown to become the third-largest home furniture manufacturing company in North America. It is committed to being the best furniture company in the industry and continues to make improvements in all phases of operation, while striving for complete customer satisfaction.

Founded in 1983, CrossCheck provides payment guarantee solutions to more than 79,000 retail and dealer outlets nationwide and handled more than $10.2 billion in guaranteed transactions in 2002. Its goal for nearly two decades has been to provide merchant customers with increased profitability while reducing their financial risk. CrossCheck is known for industry firsts and cutting-edge technology in the point-of-sale financial services marketplace. For more information, visit CrossCheck's Web site at www.cross-check.com or call (800) 654-2365.

Metal Outdoor Furniture - Explained

By Debbie Rodgers



Mention metal patio furniture and you probably think of the light, fly-away aluminium loungers of your youth or that half-ton cast iron table and chair set on your neighbour's lawn.

But metal outdoor furniture has come a long way. Here's a quick primer on the available types and their care.

Construction Methods
Metal is fashioned into furniture in one of three main ways: extrusion, casting, and welding.

Extrusion forces melted metal through long pipes and forms long narrow tubes of metal, sometimes solid, but often hollow.

Casting metal involves a form, or cast, shaped like the finished product. The molten metal is poured into the form and then the form is removed when the metal has solidified. Cast pieces are almost always solid.

Forging, a process in which metal is heated and hammered into shape produces the type of furniture known as "wrought" metal. It uses pipes and various solid pieces of the metal and joins them together by welding or bolting.

Common Materials
The most common metal outdoor furniture is made from iron or aluminium, although the use of steel, especially stainless steel, is growing.

Iron is a chemical element that is naturally malleable and rusts easily. Vintage pieces, usually in black or dark green, can be found at premium prices and must be carefully maintained to prevent further rusting. Modern reproduction pieces will usually have a rust-resistant finish or coating that protects against chipping, scratching and corrosion. There are a variety of finishes available such as primer and paint, powder coatings and galvanizing. They are available in a range of colors and styles.

Since iron is heavy and solid, it is well-suited for windy spots where light furniture might be blown away. Don't expect it to be highly portable, though. Well-cared for, iron furnishings can last for 100 years.

Much of the iron furniture available today is wrought iron, rather than cast iron. When you're buying wrought iron, look for pieces made with solid metal rather than hollow tubing, and that are welded, rather than bolted, together. Generally, the better furniture is North American made.

Iron furniture requires more maintenance than other types of metal furniture. Clean it regularly with warm soapy water and then dry it thoroughly. Wax the smooth surfaces and apply mineral or baby oil to textured surfaces. Oil springs and moving parts once per year. Immediately touch up any scratches or rust by lightly sanding the spot with a fine steel wool. Then apply several thin coats of metal paint, letting each coat dry well before applying the next. If you're using a spray paint, apply with short light stokes.

Aluminum is a silvery, lightweight and easily worked metallic element that never rusts. Much of the early aluminum furniture from the 1960s was made from hollow-core extrusion tubing. Such furniture was extremely lightweight but not exceedingly wind-stable. Such pieces are still available today and are best used around a pool area. Cast aluminum is better used in outdoor dining or sitting areas.

Whether you're looking for extruded, cast or wrought aluminum items, there are a few items that indicate a quality piece. As with wrought iron, joints should be welded (preferably full-circumference welds) rather than bolted. If bolts are used, for example to connect webbing, they should be made of aluminum or stainless steel. Otherwise they will begin to rust even though the main frame does not.

Best quality aluminum pieces have a powder-coated finish, which determines the final color of the piece and the durability of the metal. Powder coating is a process in which colorful polyester powders are applied and then baked onto the frame.

If you're buying aluminum furniture with vinyl webbing or straps, look for vinyl that has been processed with mildew inhibitors and ultraviolet stabilizers. Any wooden pieces mounted on aluminum frames should be treated with a finish to guarantee durability.

Suntan oils, human perspiration, car exhaust and salt spray can all eat away at the powder coating on aluminum furniture. To ensure long life, clean your aluminum furniture twice a month with a solution of mild dish detergent and warm water. Rinse well. You can then apply paste car wax to any smooth finish frames.

Steel, a hard tough metal, is an alloy of iron and various small percentages of metallic elements. The alloys produce hardness and resistance to rusting. Galvanized steel has been plated with zinc; stainless steel has been alloyed with chromium and is virtually immune to rust and corrosion.

Before the production of aluminum furniture in the mid 20th century, steel furniture was common, dating from popular French-made items manufactured in the later half of the 1800s. American companies used solid steel until the Second World War when the heavy military demand for steel dictated the use of lightweight tubular (hollow) steel in outdoor furniture. Vintage steel sets can still be found at flea markets.

If you're looking at modern steel furniture, be sure the product is either stainless or powder-coated and that any hardware used is also rust-resistant.

Metal outdoor furniture in its many shapes and designs can be a wonderful addition to your outdoor living space. Choose wisely and enjoy!

Debbie Rodgers, the haven maven, owns and operates Paradise Porch, and is dedicated to helping people create outdoor living spaces that nurture and enrich them. Her latest how-to guide Attracting Butterflies to Your Home and Garden is now available on her web site. Visit her at www.paradiseporch.com and get a free report on Eight easy ways to create privacy in your outdoor space. Mail to debbie@paradiseporch.com