Momma Told Me: modern contemporary furniture

Momma Told Me: Furniture should function, first.

I won't lie, I've always been attracted to furniture for it's design elements, not necessarily it's functionality. Bright colors and interesting shapes, or textures, draw me in every time. I've always dreamy of having a chic avant-garde living room full of modern contemporary furniture, with sweeping bucket lamps and a Union Jack Couch. Maybe it's because I spent my childhood amidst the Spice Girls invasion, or the numerous pieces of blow-up furniture that constantly rotated throughout my room. I know it didn't come from Momma; who will offer a 'That's cool' when we'd pass such pieces, but secretly meant 'That's cool for someone else, and you will never see it in my house.' In fact, furniture is a topic Momma and I have long disagreed on. My tastes vacillate between country rustic to bright and modern, depending on my mood, and the room.

Given an unlimited budget, I would outfit my entire home with Zuo Modern Contemporary furniture. It's not that Zuo is outrageously priced, it's that one's design priorities simply change on the outer stretch of their twenties with kids and pets afoot. So I pick and choose my battles wisely, and compromise with the slow transformation of my single father's home. (Though I fully intend to invest in a piece of the brand's Union Jack furniture by the end of the year, as a special treat toe me.) But I digress, Zuo is an impressive meld of Ethan Allen meets IKEA, with their two vastly different Modern and Era collections. Covering everything from seating and lighting to outdoor and storage, I would wager money in Vegas there is a piece to be fallen in love with for every taste and style. In fact, it's hard to believe the same design brand that brings you the Artemis (Gun) Table Lamp is the same that sells the Haight Ashbury antiqued elm table. Zuos styles vacillate from Country Royalty to 60s British Glam, and I find it striking that I can't take sides with one over the other!

Just one click over to the Zuo catalog and you're sure to lose a good hour of time Pinning and dreaming of your perfect space. When the opportunity arose for me to select a piece of modern contemporary furniture to review here on Momma Told Me, I found the task too overwhelming. I decided the opportunity would be best taken advantage of with yet another upgrade to my father's home space. When my parents divorced, some 10+ years ago now, my father remained in the house I had spent the second half of my childhood in. It's a newer (built in 2ks) single story 4BR, with plenty of white walls and the slightly light lavender carpeting my mother had picked out when it was built. In fact, Momma had picked out all of our family's furniture, including floral window treatments with lace accents. It was, by no means, suitable for a bachelor pad.

Of course, my father is no 'ordinary' bachelor. I inherited many of my 'Type A' tenancies from he, who tends to over-think decisions the average person takes for granted, and has an innate need for crisp and harmonious design. That is to bluntly say he is a man that appreciates order, yet the finer notes of design as well. So, while the seafoam green, cream, and pink Southwestern (you know the print) sofas remain in the secondary living space, his main living room has been slowly transformed into a more rustic aged wood and Lazy-Boy den. This living room opens up into the kitchen via a breakfast nook, which has long been plagued by the inexpensive painted wood stools Momma picked up when we had moved in. Even worse, my Pop had left the burgundy red pillow toppers on these stools for 'comfort,' throwing the entire design of this section of the house off.

But have no fear, this loving daughter, with an eye for design, and a love for her dad, stepped in with the Zuo catalog to save the day. I daresay he spend well over an hour combing the various furniture options himself. Barstools alone take up an entire search results page on their website. But there was one option that stood apart from the chrome accented rest; the Distressed Natural Twin Peaks Barstool. With a solid Elmwood seat and antique metal base, this stool utilizes the same mechanisms as drafters chairs from the early 1900s. When the set arrived I was initially surprised as to just how antiqued the metal was, and how rustic the seat appeared in person. We had ordered a pair, and one of the seats featured two panels of wood noticeably darker than the others; so showroom shopping would be best for those picky about notes like that. For us, it was an instant hit; we loved the character of both pieces, and I knew it would fit in well with my father's 'rustic' living room accents.

The Twin Peaks Barstool arrived fully assembled, nestled amongst a sea of packing peanuts (so do unpack these outside). They have a very simple 'spinning' design that enables the seat to move up or down, depending on the direction you rotate it. This means these stools easily transition into numerous bar heights, and accommodates several size humans. I was surprised to find just how comfortable these solid wood seats were, but attribute that factor to the generous width of the seat. I was also happy to note that the mechanism, which changes the height of the stool is whisper quiet. In all honesty, the only issue we encountered was a need to find some feet pads for the angles metal legs, that might dig into the plush carpeting over time. Other than that, this Zuo find has been a huge hit, garnishing compliments from friends and family alike.

I've now made it a point to follow Zuo's new furniture releases, and look forward to that time in the not-so-distant future when I can acquire my Union Jack piece.

What Daughter Says: Don't choose function over style, have them both, with thoughtfully designed pieces from Zuo.