The husband and wife team of Peter and Linda Saloom have maintained a solid reputation for producing bold and durable dining room furniture designs since 1982. Peter began building his initial models in his father’s basement, but today the company maintains two full-scale factories in their native Massachusetts.  Saloom’s classic style is forged from a number of influences that combine European, colonial, and modern features. They blend a number of wood grain finishes and a choice of stone or wood table tops to make a custom design that suits the taste of individual customers. Clients can even provide their own fabric for chairs and stools that personalize the product they buy even further.  One of the company’s more recent innovations is a method for marking furniture with levels of distress that can be placed into the wood to give it a more authentic, time-honored feel. Three grades of markings can be applied during the manufacturing process to impart your chairs and table with small scratches, worn edges, and subtle wear marks that give each component its own rustic flair. See more of Saloom here.

Robert M. Cain is a small-scale architect who has thus far concentrated on building a local portfolio in and around Atlanta, Georgia. Many in the architectural world have not yet seen the results of his handiwork, but his projects have satisfied clients as well as industry professionals, who have recognized Cain’s expertise in transforming living spaces.  Cain built a trio of shotgun houses for Briar Creek Farm in South Carolina, utilizing the cross ventilation of a coastal plain to supply structures that took in the summer breeze and limited exposure to the afternoon sun. The project won his firm a 2008 Custom Home Design Award from the Washington, D.C. publication Custom Home.  The Folk Pottery Museum in northeast Georgia is another one of Robert’s vernacular structures that benefit from his unique approach to architectural design. The clients were very pleased with Cain’s ability to match the museum building with the character of the pottery it contains in an artistic way. The Georgia Association of the AIA agreed, giving Cain’s practice an Honor Award for Excellence in Architecture in 2008. View Robert M. Cain website here.

U.K. based Caple believes that kitchens shouldn’t have to sacrifice style to remain functional. Their product line of kitchen furnishings has grown considerably from humble beginnings in 1990 as a source for quality appliances. Their new collection of printed glass splashbacks is one way the business is expanding to give homeowners freedom of expression that accent their modern appliances well.

Modern installations are dominated by cookers and hobs that together form a single unit where most of the cooking takes place. Caple bridges the gap between these two pieces with either a simple stainless steel, colored glass, or printed glass splashback that can add tone or texture to an otherwise drab counter space.

The colored glass comes in ten opaque shades, and all the glass installations are backed by a lifetime color guarantee. The guards are reinforced with an acrylic adhesive backing that is easy to install and shatterproof.  Learn more here.

To some, a radiator is a necessity, providing local heat on cold winter mornings. To others, like the London-based firm Accuro-Korle, a radiator is part of the artistic expression of individual spaces.

Design models like the Tango and the Ecstasy are dramatic, free-standing structures designed for both electric and central heat applications. Their construction is no small feat either, requiring hundreds of precision welds and many hours of labor, in some cases. Their size and power ranges from the small Centurion, which emits just 600 BTUs to the monstrous Bermuda, which stands five feet tall and is capable of a toasty 16,000 BTUs.

The company’s use of brushed stainless steel for its radiators presents an economical, environmental, and efficient heat source that adds warmth and personality to the rooms where they stand. You can find them here.

Poltrona Frau has a long and distinguished history with a classic collection of fine leather furniture. Over the years, the firm developed a patented Pelle Frau Leather that undergoes strict processing and constant research to bring forth the best quality available.  The Frau collective evolves through research and development, testing new materials for applications in homes, hotels, restaurants, theatres, airports, and auditoriums.  In the 1930’s, the company began supplying furnishings for cruise ships and ocean liners, and their contract division is still a vital part of their business today.  This year’s collection features the Flavia bed designed by Patrick Norguet and the Massimosistema sofa, a design that came out of Poltrona Frau’s tireless research and development project.  The Flavia bed has an elegant soft leather headboard, which is padded with polyurethane foam and polyester wadding for extra comfort. A solid poplar frame can be adapted to fit a container unit that lifts the mattress to access extra storage.

The Massimosistema sofa has a sturdy structural base made from beech wood and poplar, and the interchangeable seat and backrest cushions are padded with polyurethane foam and goose down. Check out their website here.