The Ciseal Journal

Part of the fun for me when getting ready for the holiday season is hunting for the perfect host or hostess gifts.  The least I can do is arrive at a party with a delightful gift in tow that says “thank you very much!” long after the dishes are clean and the party winds down.  It’s easy to assume that a modern design fan with a clutter-free home wouldn’t want more things, but these nine gifts are sure to delight all but the most stringent minimalist.

Whether it’s for a tiny New York City studio apartment or a 4,000 square foot McMansion in the far off suburbs, everybody needs furniture in their home.  Purchasing furniture is a rite of passage for every adult.  Today, the majority of us - at least in America - buy furniture from massive chain stores.  It's quick, easy, and they always have something that will work, right?  But when's the last time you stopped to think about where that fast and cheap furniture comes from?  How is it made, by whom, and from what materials?  These are questions the slow food movement has urged us to ask about the food we eat.  Isn't it time we give the same consideration to the objects that make our house a home?

If your space has the clean lines and plenty of natural light to pull it off, we think the exposed plywood look can be gorgeous!  Here are some ideas for how to make plywood look great.

The most common objection I hear about modern design is that it’s too sterile, cold, and soul-less.  It breaks my heart because that couldn’t be further from the truth.  The feel of a modern room that’s done right is relaxed, refreshing, and welcoming.  To achieve that easy, livable feel, check out these tips for creating a welcoming modern space.

It seems like wide open floor plans are everywhere you look these days.  They’re perfect for entertaining and keeping an eye on the family, right?  But what about those of us who can’t simply take a sledgehammer to our walls and create a wide open spacious living space?  Here are 5 tips to make your small space feel grand.

Here at Ciseal, we are constantly inspired by Mid Century design.  Each product we design and make has a Midcentury bent to it because we’re huge fans of the clean lines, natural materials, and useful elegance of so many of the classic Midcentury designs.  The best part is when we hear from customers that they’re going to pair one of our products with one of their cherished mid century pieces.  Here are some combos our customers have created that perfectly pair Ciseal products with classic Mid Mod pieces.

Sunken living rooms are a classic midcentury home feature that create a naturally cozy conversation area.  Back in the day, they were where the adults enjoyed a pre-dinner cocktail and caught up on life and where the kids enjoyed story time before bed.  When you’re in one of these conversation pits, it feels like an intimate, secluded space inside an otherwise wide open layout.  But what can you do if your home doesn’t have a sunken living room?  We’ve put together 5 tips for styling your living room to create the feel of an atomic ranch conversation pit - whether your home has a sunken living room or not.

Welcome back to the final article in our series on Mid Century Modern design. Today, we’re closing out the series with some practical tips for adding a little Mid Century Modern style to your home.

Welcome back to the second article in our series on Mid Century Modernism. Today, we’re going to share why we love Mid Century Modern design with some of the reasons why it inspires us every day.

Designing a room is like a balancing act.  Line, shape, form, space, color, value, texture: all of these elements work together to create a cohesive design.  It’s easy to consider the shape and color of the various pieces you include in a room, but when you throw some texture into the mix you really make the room sing.  Here are four ways to bring in some texture and add depth to a space.

Here are 5 wood furniture pieces that will bring that midcentury touch of wood to any room in your home.

Lets grab some sangria and look at four ideas to create the perfect mid mod patio for summer relaxing.