Is New York recession proof?

Even though I only own a furniture assembly service, this is my life and I watch the housing market very closely because it plays a major role in what is to come. Kinda like a weatherman with the radar tracking a storm, or in this case a hurricane. I wish I could say i wasn't worried, but the weatherman has been predicting severe storms for weeks, but as usual the weatherman was wrong! Sure some little tinsel towns in California and the Midwest are becoming known for their foreclosure rate which has been as high as 2 out of every 3 homes in some towns in California. If you have followed the housing market to any extent you are well aware that many banks, lending institutions, new home contractors, and Wall Street were riding a big pink cloud where the banks were giving loans to anyone regardless of credit history or income, the new home contractors went from 1978 ford pickup's to dozens of brand new trucks, equipment, and experienced crews that could slap a home together just as quick as the ink dried on the loan approvals. Everyone thought that the market would just continue to grow and grow and grow except those banks that were giving away billions. I know your thinking that they should be the ones who have really taken the beating with the softening market where all these homes are being foreclosed, right? That's what most would think but the answer would be wrong! They knew what was behind door #3 and sold all the loans to big market houses and lenders on Wall street who in turn sold cut them up and sold them to their best clients all around the world. Everyone made money, from the lenders who got a % of every loan to the banks who made their profit in the sales, to the market houses in the city who dumped them on their clients in what I believe they thought was a good thing or they wouldn't have bought the loans nor sold them to their best clients. But like all good things, they all come to an end and eventually the real estate bubble busted! Before I really did my homework and found out all of this I was just looking at the news and the stocks and buckled down for the worst. After I read all this I saw that it would really play no role in the Big Apple where most real estate is markets are continuing to soar because there are soo many people and not enough houses. People will pay! And this last week I spent 2 days in the several malls and the lines were sickening. Not with returns, but with purchases! Yeah, the west might be under the gun but the city that never sleeps is still smiling. As usual, the last week just like every year our business started to pick up but this year with bigger jobs and longer projects which means more employees and more money. Nope, NYC ain't feeling a thing.

Written by:
Christopher Purnell
EZ Furniture Assembly & Interior Innovation

10 Things You MUST Know when Buying or Installing Kitchen Cabinets

Our company begun assembling & installing kitchen cabinetry about 18 months ago, and since then have installed hundreds of cabinets and learned a great amount of wealthy information we believe is a must for anyone buying and installing their own cabinets or having them professionally installed.

1. It is always best t start your search by looking for products that are certified by the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association which subject the cabinets to tests that replicate years of normal abuse. Certified cabinets must be able to withstand exposure to humidity, temperatures ranging from -5 degrees to 120 degree Fahrenheit and are subjected to normal everyday condiments such as vinegar, coffee, and ketchup without blistering or showing any signs of discoloration.
2. It is important to know the kitchen cabinet language. The most important is knowing that stock and and semi_stock cabinets are the most popular types available on the market. Stock cabinets is by far the leader because of it's very low price tag, availability, and never ending supply of accessories and hardware to make your cabinets more personal. Semi-Stock cabinets offer a much larger range of sizes, finishes, and styles. The obvious highest end cabinets are custom made to just about whatever look or function you want to obtain. However, the average time to complete these custom cabinets is 12 weeks and can run in price anywhere from $12,000-$75,000 depending on the amount of cabinets ordered,detail,features, and material used in their construction.
3. I believe that it is important to put your own touch into your kitchen, and keep in mind exactly what function it will serve. Most cabinets offer user friendly options such as full extension roll out shelves so you don't bang your hand as you reach for that can of tomato sauce that is buried deep in the back. Large drawers in the base can hold pots, pans, and other large cooking utensils which will stop you from having to store your pots and pans in the oven like I have seen many clients do.
4. I also believe that besides functionality it is equally important that you choose the correct look. Light colored woods like oak and maple make your kitchen seem brighter and larger. Where as darker woods like cherry and mahogany create a more dramatic effect. To give cabinets less visual heft, most manufacturers offer turned leg pieces that mimic the look of furniture. Also trim kits for appliances will help pull a kitchen together visually.
5. Make it a must to know exactly what your cabinetry is made of. The box is the cabinets backbone, the stronger the better. I prefer heavy boxes with at least a 1/2 inch thick walls or structural support that can be attached to wall studs with screws. Most cabinets today are made from MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard) or OSB ( Oriented Strand Board), but my favorite is plywood with dado or mortise joints and metal or wood corner braces with the drawer boxes being made of dovetail joints. These are only found is custom cabinets and will normally cost quite a bit more than cabinets from a big box store, but the old saying is in it's truest form in this case, "You get what you pay for".
6. Think ahead for repair and fixes sometime down the road by purchasing a repair kit before you leave the store with your new cabinets. A normal repair kit should contain items like colored wax, putty, or markers to cover set nails or repair dings or scratches. I always suggest buying a few extra hinges and drawer slides because these are the items that seem to go first.
7. Don't screw yourself. If you are installing the cabinets yourself make sure you use 2 1/2 inch deck screws, because drywall screws will snap under a heavy load of the upper cabinets. And always make sure you screw your cabinets in to studs which are normally 16-18 inches apart in your wall. Sometimes it is best to hire a professional for installation because they might have to cut open the wall and make a support brace to support your cabinets. I can't tell you how many times people called us asking us to help them after they installed the cabinets themselves or hired handyman Harry to hang them only to have then come crashing down ruining their counter, the cabinets and contents, and more than likely the wall.
8. If you are still hell bent on doing it yourself I suggest you screw a 1X3 cleat just below the bottom of your wall cabinets which should have a line. This will help support the their weight while you install the cabinetry. This hob normally requires 2 people when possible, but wall cabinets can be installed properly if you use cabinet jacks.
9. Always make sure your cabinets are flush and plumb. I normally attach a line of cabinets together using C clamps on the floor followed by wood screws and then lift the cabinets as one whole unit which makes it easier to install and make sure you are level.
10. If either you or a professional company are replacing your current cabinets do not just rip them down or let others do that because you can receive a tax write off by donating them to such charities as habitat for humanity and similar organizations that will help give your old cabinets a new life while getting you a nice write off and helping the less fortunate.

If you need professional assistance contact us at our website www.ezfurnitureassembly.com, or if you are doing it yourself and have a question feel free to post it here and one of our readers or expert technicians will publish your answer within 48 hours.

Thanks again!
Christopher C. Purnell

EZ Furniture Assembly & Interior Innovations is Going Green

Hello Everyone!

I am very pleased at the emails I have received in regard to our postings, thank you! We do our best to provide you with information that is important, intriguing, and a pleasure to read while providing our opinion or point of view. I, myself, try to stay focused on furniture assembly retailers, new ideas or products, and an interesting story or two which we believe you will find of interest as well. However, as many of you already know I am the President & founder of both EZ Furniture assembly & Interior Innovations, LLC. And for the ones who have followed my writings you know that I started with no more than a few screwdrivers and a passion to make my dream a reality. I worked very hard to get where our company is today, and give great thanks to my customers who have became friends, as well as my wonderful staff who took pride in what they did, whether it was returning a call or building a kitchen. I have learned a lot about myself, the business, and the industry as a whole over the last few years and have decided to make some changes.

We are the first furniture assembly and kitchen cabinet installation company to go Green. Until I really reached a level where we were noticed as a real competitor and serious business in this industry I was unaware of all the things we could be doing to help our environment. I began to receive publications from companies that produced periodicals that related directly to our industry as a whole. A lot of what I began reading was foreign to me because most of the companies were far larger than mine, and it was a bit hard to relate. However, it took someone outside my company to show us how much we have grown and how we really do relate to these companies. The most interesting fact I found was that the vast majority of the companies I was reading about started just like me. Then I felt the relation, not yet brothers but maybe a close cousin. Right now protecting the environment is a hot topic which I find several articles relating to it in every publication I receive. The more I read the more i understood how we could be a much better company by making just a few small changes that have actually benefited us more than I ever could have imagined. I have always frowned on litter bugs and people who dumped illegally and so forth, but never paid much attention to water consumption and using rechargeable batteries, or how much we were hurting our environment by using our older vans to go to each job site. The more I read the more I began to make changes within our company.

Today we are a Green company. I decided to sell all but one of service vans that is used only for jobs that are located where public transportation is no available, or is needed to pick up materials for a job in which we order all the materials at one time so we only use the van once. I drew up a blueprint of how to make a portable tool chest that actually was much more, and allowed our technicians to use it on every job and since it's base is a dolly or hand truck they can take on the subway or bus while still appearing professional and able to carry all the needed tools. We also no longer just trash our old cabinets, we take them down just as they were put up so there is no damage and donate them to a needy family. If we do a full renovation we try to use as much Eco friendly material as possible and educate our customers on the benefits of using certain green and energy saving products over more traditional materials. We are about to launch a new program where we explain to the customer that we do our best to be a green company and then tell them about the importance of recycling cellular phone batteries, and that if they have any old batteries we would be happy to take them to a local drop off center for recycling.

To many it may not seem like a lot, but I am happy with our progress and in time we will implement more programs and policies to do our part. If you have gone green and have any tips or suggestions please feel free to add your comment or feedback here.

Thanks again!
Christopher Purnell

Sweedidish Dish Attempts to Cloak Ikea Press Release in Half Hearted Story!!!

I would like everyone to know that we found this article on the SWEEDISH DISH. Hmmmmm. Kinda Bias since IKEA is from Switzerland? Anyway, from now on I will remain un-bias on how I feel about other peoples articles UNLESS I think it is a Press Release cloaked as a story. In which I believe this is! Very Pitiful for such a big company, but rough times call for rough measures. Anyway, you read the article and draw your own conclusions.

Christopher
EZ Furniture Assembly & Interior Innovations, LLC

10 things you should know about Ikea

By Brian Lindamood & Melissa Starker

The Swedish furniture seller is known for its affordability, its colorful, contemporary styles, and the for the cult-like devotion of its fans. Here are some reasons why shoppers love it so much.

1. Without Ikea, there might be no Martha Stewart at Kmart

Founded in 1943 as a discount store that expanded to carry furniture in 1947, the Swedish chain (named after the initials of founder Ingvar Kamprad and the farm and village where he grew up) was the first to put home goods of modern, high-quality design within the reach of most budgets. It took decades, but American retailers — through the likes of Michael Graves, Cynthia Rowley and Ms. Stewart — finally caught up.

2. The showroom is a candy store for DIY decorators

To show visitors the treasures that are packed up in the ground-floor warehouse area, the upper level at Ikea stores holds a massive showroom filled with setups for every room of the house. As you pencil in product details on sheets available at the entrance, you're free to touch, test out and be inspired by the items and how they're arranged. The showroom staff stays out of the way unless asked for help.

3. A world united in peace and cabinetry

The Ikea empire has grown to 270 stores in 36 countries. At every stop, the retailer spreads its message of hope for the un-handy and salvation for the un-stylish.

4. Learn to love the Allen wrench

The hexagonal tool is nearly synonymous with Ikea, since almost all the furniture requires assembly. It's amazing how little space is occupied by an un-assembled bedroom set. (This flat-furniture strategy — minimizing shipping and storage needs — is supposedly one of the secrets to the low prices.)

5. Lingonberries are delicious

The Scandinavian treat is available in the Ikea cafe, along with Swedish meatballs, Daim cake and more mundane fare. It's pretty good, considering the restaurant is located inside a furniture store.

6. It's about as environmentally friendly as a big-box retailer gets

The chain avoids old-growth wood in its products and touts its low-cost, flat-packing policies as resulting in less waste and less raw materials usage. Ikea is currently in the middle of a year-long initiative to cut back plastic bag usage at its stores by 50 percent, partly by charging for the bags. Proceeds in the first year (up to $1.75 million) will be turned over to American Forests, the country's oldest conservation nonprofit. Each location is also planting trees to offset CO2 emissions from the cars of staff and customers traveling to the store.

7. Ikea has balls

A whole cubicle full of big, colorful ones, in fact, part of a staffed playroom for kids who don't have their parents' endurance or enthusiasm for thrifty furniture finds. Sadly, stores have tight restrictions on the age and size of who's allowed into their playrooms, so adults are limited to observing jealously through the glass.

8. 344,000 square feet is a lot

It can take half a day to get through an Ikea store. You'll probably want to stop at the cafe for nourishment at some point, or at least rest your feet while "trying out" a living room display.

9. The crazy product names actually mean something

Unless you're up on Scandinavian languages, product names like "Klippan," "Flärke" and "Skruvsta" just sound nonsensically cool. But there's a method to the name game, which is played in Swedish, Finnish, Danish or Norwegian. For example, lines of shelving, coffee tables and upholstered furniture are named after places; chairs and desks take men's names; fabrics take women's names; and kids' furniture is usually named after animals or birds.

10. Yes, Ikea is coming to Ohio

The store in West Chester, off I-75 just north of Cincinnati, opens on March 12. If you really want to make sure you're first through the door, you can camp out there starting on March 10. For more info, click to ikea-usa.com.

ONE THING IKEA SELLS THAT WILL LAST IS THEIR REUSEABLE BAGS

When the grocery store cashier asks you if you'd like paper or plastic, more and more people are responding "neither."Most supermarket chains are now selling reusable, eco-friendly bags, and this week, Whole Foods Market announced it's doing away with all of its disposable plastic bags."And our customers, to be honest with you, have really been leading this effort," said Whole Foods marketing director Kim Wynnyckyi. "A lot of them bring their own bags on a regular basis."

"I do love that idea," said shopper Monique Mead. "As a matter of fact, I just spent 10 years in Germany where there ain't no such thing. If you want plastic bags, you have to pay for them."Furniture giant IKEA charges a nickel per bag, hoping to convince customers to turn to inexpensive, reusable bags.But skeptics might wonder how much the changes really affect the environment. On an individual basis, not all that much, according to some experts, however, "over time, as the numbers build, yes, it could be quite a significant impact," said Helen Humphries of the Department of Environmental Protection.Plastic bags are made partially from oil and can take hundreds of years to decompose. According to the state, most are never recycled, turning into environmental hazards or at the very least, eyesores.But paper, by most accounts, isn't exactly eco-friendly either."It takes 13 percent more energy to produce a paper bag than two plastic bags," said Humphries.And it takes even more energy to recycle, Humphries said.

Was this your IKEA Experience????

Hello Everyone! I was looking for a little tid bit to write about and someone sent me a post from another blog, assuming it's a family blog. Anyway, it appears they had a great time at IKEA. I guess because I am numb to the whole experience after being in the business for years, but it neither excites nor maddens me any more. However, I am interested to see if anyone agrees or better yet feels the same about IKEA as the person in this post, or do you hold less than love for IKEA and their products. Tell us!!!

Christopher
EZ Furniture Assembly & Interior Innovations

As our family grows, our home gets smaller, it seems. We haven’t started building the new house yet, so I’ve been trying to organize and de-clutter. We went to Ikea over the weekend, and I may as well have been in Heaven! I’ve only been to Ikea once and that was years ago. I don’t remember it being so cool. Much of the moderny furniture doesn’t really appeal to me, but I was able to find some cool fabricy-hangy skinny shelf things that were perfect for the girls’ closet to fit their shoes, diapers, etc. I previously had a changing table in their closet and used that as a shelving system. Man, those hanging shelves are awesome. It’s like they’ve got a new closet now with all the extra space! To recycle the changing table though, I moved it into the office/craft room, and I put these cool boxes on it. They were a 2-pack for something like $3! Very pretty, affordable, and useful! I would’ve purchased a whole lot more while there, but I was super hungry and the place was packed, and I was starting to get a stomach ache, so we had to move quickly. I can’t wait to go again!

Interior Decorating is finally in the air. Thank God!

Hello Everyone!

To all my fellow City Dwellers, all I can say is "BRRRRRRRRRRRRRR", it's freezing! Anyway, besides the brutal cold, today was the beginning of what I waited all winter for..... business calls. It has been a very long, painful winter for many of us in the home remodeling & construction industry. I would have loved to try some media marketing, but the local rags here don't believe in I.O.U.'s. However, I did what I could to flier the streets of Manhattan and am planning a Guerrilla marketing to pump up some leads. Anyway, today was like when the groundhog finally pops up. Our company received over ten solid quote requests that had me dancing the Irish jig. I hope that today was a sign of a trend of constant work because when you have spent thousands training a team of technicians who can assemble anything from an Ikea Pax unit to a Bo Concept and everything in between, never mind install the highest end cabinets with pure perfection in half the time of other installers which allowed us to give our customers a quality job at a fair price. I was really worried about losing my team, but they have been in this business for years in one fashion or another and knew what winter meant. Most of the vetrans either took on side jobs or hooked a painting gig while the newer guys searched wherever they could for work. I also was able to keep a majority of them working through other contractors that had contracts with large companies that kept them busy throughout the whole year. I am pleased to announce that I spoke with all our technicians today and they said they knew the call was coming and were ready to come back full-time once I gave word. That really made me happy, because this was a hard winter on all of us. However, I am still fearful that we are entering into a recession which will not allow us to reach our projected goals for this year. I believe we will make it because we have a high referral rate because of our quality workmanship and New York city has too many white collar citizens for us to really stop working even in a recession like the winter months, or at least I hope. Nevertheless, I am scared to death this year because I took this company from nothing to a professional service business that I planned to expand and reach certain goals. Now, just like every other business my fate lays in the hand of our economy. I am just grateful that business is picking back up and hope to be in full swing by this time next month.

Christopher Purnell
President & Founder
EZ Furniture Assembly & Interior Innovations, LLC.

IKEA As an Elective? IKEA makes it way into the University of Oregon

Well, I think it's safe to say that me and my team have Love/Hate relationship with IKEA. One day we love them and the next we hate them. However, IKEA for the most part is very modern, affordable, and the designers are way ahead of other companies in both design and functionality. My biggest problem with them is that they use Tremand do install their kitchen cabinets, as well study their products for overall workmanship, quality, how it will function, and then they provide their opinion and rating along with suggestions of course. I was going to tell you why I have a problem with this, but it is a story in itself which I will post next. I am sure many of you will read the post and say " hey, that was my problem" or something similar. After reading the next post you will understand that IKEA is not totally to blame since they hire another company to ensure everything is A plus. Stay tuned and you might learn something.

The following article is a great article in which I took parts from Oregon Life newspaper to write the article. If you are interseted in being a writer for the blog or have a story you want to share just email me at www.ezfurnitureassembly.com and I am sure we would be happy to add you to our list of contributors or post your story. As I leave to do my daily business I want to wish all you lucky souls with the day off a Happy Holiday, in which I hope you enjoy and remember to do or say a nice thing for someone today, because no matter what many people say or believe Martin Luther King only wanted us to be as one and continue to do the next right thing for anyone no matter race, color, religion, or creed. With that said, go sweep your neighbors stoop ya bum!

At first blush, it sounds like the kind of product placement that earns the marketing team a week in the Caribbean.

IKEA, that global purveyor of all things furniture, is stepping into the classroom at the University of Oregon. Tables, chairs and beds made by the Swedish sensation will be held up as models for students in the architecture department, who will spend the next two months analyzing the stuff as a starting point for their own creations.

You can’t buy that kind of advertising.

But assistant professor Esther Hagenlocher said her new course is anything but a 10-week IKEA commercial.

“It’s a little difficult to explain, because I’ve never done it before myself,” Hagenlocher said. “The goal of the whole thing is that we talk about design in various ways.”

Students will study IKEA designs, attempt to replicate them and then spin off into making their own original pieces. Hagenlocher (sounding a bit commercial-ish) said IKEA was the best brand to study because “they bring contemporary design to everybody and they’re producing a lot of good things for reasonable prices.”

Mind you, this is not the first time that the lines between commerce and education have been blurred (see: the UO and a certain shoe company). Nor is anyone suggesting there’s anything untoward about a major university using a major retailer in the fulfillment of a student’s major.

Hagenlocher was clear. “It’s not bringing IKEA and the world of commerce into the classroom,” she said. “It’s more looking at IKEA as the company who is bringing design to everybody, and to look critically at their product.”

Whoops — did someone say “critically”?

There’s an old saying, “everybody loves a winner,” and it’s entirely undone by the critics among us. You hear them sound off — online and on street corners — about the ills of all the commercial success stories of our time (just Google “I hate Starbucks” or “I hate McDonald’s” or “I hate Google” or ...)

IKEA has 270 stores in 36 countries and a laundry list of accolades (“100 Best Companies to Work For,” “100 Best Companies for Working Mothers” ...)

But it also has its critics. The Web is busy with naysayers nay-saying the names of IKEA items (“Lycksele” and “Bjursta,” for example) or the craftsmanship, or the stores’ meandering floor layouts (“There aren’t enough signs, arrows, guide dogs in the world to make IKEA easy to navigate,” one blogger wrote).

Hard to say how hard UO students will be on IKEA. Architecture student Jeff Hoge, 22, said IKEA is well respected in his crowd because it’s cheap — er, “inexpensive,” he corrected himself — and of good quality.

The IKEA name “has brought more publicity (to the program) than ever before,” Hoge said, and he’s excited about a change of pace from his main coursework in the design of mixed-use buildings.

Interior design “is such a different scale from designing a building,” Hoge said. “It’s so much more intimate and personal — it’s a complete breath of fresh air.”

Nor does the furniture giant appear worried about UO students picking apart the product. IKEA Portland store manager Ken Bodeen said he was happy to accommodate the university’s idea (and theycame to IKEA, not the other way around, he noted straightaway).

Bodeen made the trip to Eugene last week to lecture on the company philosophy — “It’s about creating a better everyday life for the many,” he said — then hosted a tour of the Portland store for the design students.

Bodeen said he hopes UO students will come away from the course with an appreciation for what it takes to design sensible, functional home furnishings.

“We’re very pleased to start this relationship with the University of Oregon,” Bodeen said. “It’s a win-win for both the university and IKEA.”

Indeed.

Michael Manucci

Contributing Editor

www.ezfurnitureassembly.com

Need To Find Honest,Quality, Contractor or Service Provider???

I STRONGLY suggest that if you are in need of a contractor, Handyman, Plumber, Electrician, or any other Trademan that you use Angie's List to see what other previous customer had to say about them. It allows you or any member to grade the provider on workmanship,quality,price,customer service,cleanliness, and much more. This is an unbiased network of actual customers who tell it like it is. Believe me, I am in the business and there are a ton of so called "Professional Referral Services" that don't do anything but take the company's payment and state they are a quality service without knowing nothing about the company or the workmanship of it's employees. I could write a book about how many jobs I ended up going and redoing someone elses work that was clear had no earthly idea what they were doing and about codes and safety precautions which in some cases could have cost sevberal families their lives, and the worst part is they all came from 3 seperate so called professional referral services that claimed to do background checks and license verification and so forth. Well, to make a long story short we did some homework and found 2 of the three companies were not even companies but a guy working out of his van with a cell phone which they changed the number every other month, and the third contractor wasn't licensed to do electrical work and was actually in the hospital at the time we bagn our investigation for severe burns as a result of an electrical shock which happened why he was rewiring a customers home. Click on the link below to see what Angie's List is all about and save yourself a lot of headaches, money, and maybe your life.




Eric Davis
Editor
www.nychandyman.biz

All New Furniture is Mass Produced

1/20/2008

All New Furniture is Mass Produced

By: EZ Furniture Assembly and Interior Innovations, LLC
These days almost all furniture is mass produced. Even furniture pieces at the higher end of the market generally come off a production line. This mass-production has obvious benefits in terms of both cost and flexibility of course, but there’s something a little impersonal about knowing that thousands of other people have the same bed, three-piece suite or dining furniture as you. The alternative is to buy Handcrafted Furniture from a specialist furniture manufacturer. Although significantly more expensive than a mass-produced alternative, and generally more old-fashioned in appearance hand crafted furniture does offer unrivaled quality and exclusivity.

Once upon a time, all furniture was handmade. You have seen this furniture of old in the homes of your grandparents or in antique stores. Each piece was lovingly crafted according to the desires of the craftsman and client, resulting in furniture that was wholly unique. Designs were intricate and often used more than one type of wood.

When you find a handmade antique table, for example, you know that there is no other table in the world quite like it. Old-fashioned standards for making furniture were rigorous, and the furniture of our ancestors was built to last. That is why so much of it continues to be handed down through the generations.
Assembly line furniture however often lacks character and is certainly inferior in terms of build- quality and materials. Because it is created by machines and set patterns that are repeated over and over, it has no distinctive qualities, nothing that makes it stand out. In addition, Assembly line workers and machines function on tight schedules which means they can’t afford to take the time to make sure every screw is tight and every joint fitted perfectly. The speed at which such furniture must be made also means that cheap and often inferior materials are used in its construction, resulting in pieces that tend to fall apart in even a few short years. As with everything though there are exceptions. The original Egg Chair of the 1950s and other mass-produced retro items from the 1950s, 60s and 70s have stood the test of time, and are much sought after these days as the fashion of these past decades becomes current once again.
Further quality issues have also arisen as a result of the recent self-assembly furniture revolution. The idea behind self-assembly furniture is that costs are significantly reduced and transportation of large items is easy, and as a consequence this type of furniture has revolutionized the furniture industry. However, assembling furniture at home with no expert supervision, following a series of often complicated black and white instructions does not guarantee correct construction. Even our Expert Technicians can spend hours assembling a new design from the major RTA (Ready To Assemble) retailers. However, we consider that a school day and after that we can normally cut the time down to at least half. The sad truth for consumers is in a recent study it was proven that it takes the average person six to eight times longer to assemble a piece of furniture than a professional and 80% of the furniture assembled was assembly incorrectly.

The ultimate luxury in furniture is handcrafted bespoke designs. Specialist furniture manufacturers can be commissioned to produce bespoke designs that fit exactly with the customer’s décor. Bespoke furniture can be very costly but can be viewed as an investment as well as a perfect interior design solution. In most cases, if treated correctly, this type of furniture will increase in value over time

I hate to shoot myself in the foot but I know my article won't change peoples minds or have a dramatic effect on our business, but the best furniture which was handmade from the 20's-40's still can be found and bought for a reasonable price at the right auctions. New York City is absolutely out of the question because you will pay more than what the piece(s) are actually worth. For a bargain on high quality antique furniture I strongly suggest you look into auctions in NE Pennsylvania in which are only a 2 hour ride from the city and can yield great buys for your buck. However, if you rather the modern chic furniture but aren't up for the assembly part you can contact us and we will be happy to assemble whatever you decide to purchase. We will also be happy to give our expert opinion on certain companies and certain products or models from our experience working with them. All you have to do is post your question here and one of our expert technicians or experts from various outlets will answer your question.

Once again, thank you for reading today's post and we wish everyone a happy holiday.

Christopher Purnell
Founder and President
EZ Furniture Assembly and Interior Innovations,LLC
www.ezfurnitureassembly.com

Children's rooms can be both sturdy and sophisticated

Friday January 18, 2008

Children's rooms can be both sturdy and sophisticated

by The Washington Post

When Sandra Meyer redecorated her family's Bethesda, Md., living room four years ago, she reupholstered the sofa in a creamy celadon-and-white silk blend. The fabric was expensive and delicate, but she loved it enough to take her chances.

The delivery crew was barely out the door when her 4 year old swiped a red marker across the seat.

That scenario is a nightmare shared by many parents who crave sophistication and style but believe their vision is incompatible with children and pets. They may idealize a home dressed in Farrow & Ball rather than Dora and Diego, but they don't want to invest in furniture and fabrics when spilled juice and muddy paws are just a mishap away.

For a fortunate few, there is little need to compromise. Consider, for example, Gwyneth Paltrow. Last year, House & Garden magazine featured the actress and her family's pristine and "sneaker-friendly'' summer home in the Hamptons, which included a designer chandelier, custom-made chairs and white carpet in her daughter's bedroom. (Besides fleeting glimpses of Paltrow herself, there was not a sign of life in the whole place.)

In the real world, things are never that flawless.

Some parents invest in design help and good-quality furnishings, then declare certain rooms off-limits to kids and pets. Some stick strictly with less-pricey pieces from big-box stores such as Ikea or Target. Others bide their time with parental hand-me-downs and college leftovers, deferring design until after the children have grown and gone.

That last choice is particularly incomprehensible to Sara Costello, creative director for Domino magazine and mother of two. "It's like the inmates have taken over the prison and you're a prisoner among them,'' she says.

There is a middle ground, design professionals insist. Stacey White and husband Paul de la Croix-Vaubois of Bethesda, Md., are a good example.

The couple have three young children, ages 8, 6 and 3, and an "almost house-trained'' 5-month-old puppy. But after years of moving around and living abroad while working for the United Nations, they wanted a grown-up home.

"We love our children to death,'' White says, "but we wanted to buy what we liked and have an adult house. I didn't want things I really didn't like because, at the end of the day, the cost is the cost, and you want to really love what you have.''

They asked Meyer, co-owner of the Bethesda home furnishings store Ella Scott Design, for help. With her encouragement they chose pale fabrics and carpeting for the living room, but with patterns to hide stains and grime. In the dining room they used faux leather and replaceable FLOR carpet tiles. For the family room, the couple opted for commercial-grade upholstery and stain-resistant carpeting and decided to do without a coffee table to leave room for the kids to play.

They splurged on designer fabric for two living room armchairs, but only on the front of the chairs; a less-expensive and sturdier material covers the chair backs, so if there's a spill, only the front will need recovering. A pricey silk was used for dining room window treatments, but in tailored Roman shades that stay out of reach of little hands.

Having adult yet child-friendly spaces is also important to Catrin Morris-Miller, mother of two daughters, ages 2 and 5 months. She and her husband furnished their D.C. home with a mix of comfy, stain-resistant pieces and upholstered antiques, including a vintage sofa, a pair of bergere armchairs and a Swedish chair with a white linen seat. No room is off-limits, but food and drink (except water) are restricted to just a few areas.

"My life is full of Play-Doh and paint and applesauce,'' Morris-Miller says. "I wanted to have a retreat from the pink, the bright colors and the functional. Everything with kids is so functional ... and there's a tendency to let that completely engulf your style. We wanted a retreat from that: grown-up colors, furniture and style.''

Megan Samuels, a designer and blogger in Manhattan Beach, Calif., opted for a more casual, yet no less elegant, feel for her family's beach bungalow. She said slipcovers are her key to maintaining a stylish interior with two children and three dogs. (Not the loose-fitting, shabby-chic styles of the early 1990s, she points out, but the more modern, fitted versions with straight, tight pleats -- and, please, no ruffles.) To keep the white covers fresh between washings, she has a bleach pen on hand for treating spills and stains.

Samuels fills her small house with light colors, simple window treatments, durable sisal carpets and a mix of nice pieces and inexpensive finds from eBay.

Designers agree that good-quality furnishings from secondhand resources that can be refinished and recovered over time are a better investment than flimsy new pieces.

Buying disposable furniture doesn't make sense financially and is bad for the environment, says Springfield, Va., designer Shanon Munn. "You'll probably want to freshen things up when the kids leave anyway, so buy quality, timeless pieces and refresh them'' when the nest is empty.

Munn uses an antique pine kitchen island as a changing table in her daughter's room. "I can always put it into an office if my daughter doesn't like it later,'' she says.

Another key to living successfully with kids, pets and fine design is to set ground rules. All the refinishing, recovering, fabric treating and patterned rugs won't help a home stand up to routine abuse. Design pros and child-development experts say that establishing basic guidelines -- such as no eating in the living room, no jumping on the couch -- is good for the furniture and for the children.

A child-centered environment, says William Gormley, co-director of Georgetown University's Center for Research on Children in the United States, "sends the message that children matter and acknowledges that children will be children. It has advantages, but it also has the disadvantage of not beginning to teach children the importance of boundaries. There are other ways to ensure a child-friendly and child-focused environment than to give them free rein in every room of the house.''

Another important thing parents and pet owners can do: relax. Accidents will happen when children and animals are involved, no matter how prepared you are, so it's best to accept that reality and move on. (And, Meyer points out, more often than not adults -- not children -- are to blame for the blunders: "Your friend is just as likely to spill a glass of wine on (the furniture) as your kid is to draw on it.'')

That easygoing attitude helps Meyer with her own challenges of living stylishly with children, including the sofa-as-art episode.

"Did I cry? Yeah, but now I don't even see it anymore,'' she says. She simply flipped the sofa cushion over to hide the red mark. And a year later, when another stain appeared, she hid that one under a throw. "I use what I love, regardless. Nothing stays perfect.''

Costello takes a similar philosophical approach. "Truly, the places that are the most comfortable are a little messy, everything isn't perfect and there are signs of real life,'' she says. "What's more stylish than that?''

Straight From The Design Pros

Thursday, January 17, 2008; Page H04

Have great-looking washable throws on hand to protect couches or chairs from spills, stains and paw prints. (Sara Costello of Domino magazine has one in a striking leopard pattern. "It's a sofa saver," she says.)

This Story

• Stylish, With Children
• Straight From The Design Pros: Straight From The Design Pros
• Just for Kids: Just for Kids

Leather upholstery is pricey but nearly indestructible; scratches, wear and even stains just add to its patina.

Have carpets and area rugs cleaned often, even three or four times a year.

Dirt, stains and pet hair show up more on very dark and very light fabrics. Medium tones and patterns provide more camouflage.

Use sisal or sea grass for wall-to-wall carpets or area rugs for their stylish durability. An Oriental rug or faux animal hide can add color on top.

Slipcovers today are less slouchy, more fitted, with a tailored skirt pleat and no ruffles. But they're as washable as ever.

When upholstering furniture, buy an extra yard or two so if mishaps occur, you can replace one cush ion instead of the entire couch.

Adding decorative trim to inexpensive upholstered pieces gives them a high-price custom look.

Windows can be well dressed without costing a fortune. Check Home Depot for inexpensive woven shades and Ikea and Target for simple drapery panels. The layering adds interest.

Choose (relatively) unbreakable accessories, such as baskets or bowls filled with moss balls, or books. If you like the fragile look, turn to eBay and flea market finds that aren't too expensive.

Shelves, bookcases and other ready-made case goods can get a custom look with paint, reinforced shelving and the addition of crown molding at a fraction of the cost of custom-built furniture.

A good time to invest in art is when children are really young. They can't reach it.

When furnishing a home where children live, less is more. They need room to move and play; add furniture as they grow.

Above all, declutter: Almost any room looks better with some careful editing.

Terri Sapienza

SOURCES: Sara Costello, creative director, Domino magazine; Sandra Meyer, Ella Scott Design, Bethesda; Shanon Munn, Ambi Design Studio, Springfield; Raji Radhakrishnan, Raji RM & Associates, Brambleton; Megan Samuels, Megan Samuels Interior Design, Manhattan Beach, Calif.; Claire Schwab, Claire Schwab Interior Design, Alexandria.

CB2 is Not the Quality of Crate and Barrel

Hello Everyone:

As many of you know I am the President and founder of EZ Furniture Assembly and Interior Innovations, and NYC Handyman INC. I started this companies myself with almost nothing but a few screwdrivers and a passion to succeed. Well, I can't believe we're going on 3 years and I have learned so much about every RTA (Ready To Assemble) company & their products. I have over 500 books related to furniture assembly, interior decorating, handyman tasks, remodeling projects, etc, and have become what many have called an expert in the industry. However, as I have mentioned several times that we basically follow the flow of general contracting in respect to our months of overwhelming appointments to months like now where we have to call our phone just to make sure it's working. Anyway, to date I have seven full-time technicians with a minimum of 5 years direct experience. I spent most of my time the last few years multitasking where I was doing everything from Project Manager, lead technician, Lone Technician, Accountant, and Customer service Rep. However, I dropped the ball in obtaining commercial accounts to keep us working in these dead months. Anyway, that is another story which should be interesting. The title of this story is " CB2 id Not the Quality of Crate and Barrel", so that's what I intend to write about. I think!

Anyway, all of my technicians work on a piece rate where we bid the price and they receive a % of the total. The faster they do the jobs the more money they make, but they are not paid a cent for any call backs that are a result of their workmanship. Thank God I have a great crew who very rarely gets a call back and when they do it is normally either a result of something they did, like put their bowling balls on a lack shelf from Ikea that is only attached to sheetrock and meant to hold only up to 10 Lbs. There are some companies that our company refuses to do and refers them to other assembly services, most are from Target and Walmart. They sell the same name products with a name that escapes me right now, but we have had nothing but trouble from their furniture because it is so cheap and poorly made I would actually advise the customer to return the item and spend the extra $50 bucks at ABC store and get a quality product. These products would come damaged, missing parts, made of the cheapest particle board, and use plastic slides for the drawers which never lined up with the holes or worked correctly. The bottom line was I felt in the beginning that we will do every job no matter the profit as long as we got our name out there and showed the public the quality workmanship we provided. Well, that didn't last long nor did many great technicians because they would be sent to do a job that required the assembly of two computer desks and one dresser, but what would normally take them 3 hours at most was taking that and sometimes more per piece. I had guys getting home three O'clock in the morning after working 17 hours and making only$70.00 with their % so i ended up giving them the entire amount so the company was making nothing. We were losing money!! I made a decision that we would no longer accept any assembly jobs from either target or Walmart except Walmarts outdoor swingsets and playsets that are high quality.

This brings me to the story about CB2. I have always recommended Crate & Barrel and felt that they made a top quality product that would last many moves and whatever else came it's way. They would sometimes use real wood or MDF ( Medium Density Fiberboard ) which many people get confused with " Fake Wood " or particle board, but in reality a good quality MDF can be much better than a solid wood piece for many reasons that I won't get into today, but believe me if you do your homework you will see why. Finally.... about 2 weeks ago we got a call to assemble a CB2 biscuit low dresser which was priced quite high, but you normally get what you pay for. Since it is so slow i decided to do the job myself because I hadn't done any of the CB2 products and secondly I needed the money. So I set the appointment and arrived at the customers home and was shown to the area they wished to have the dressers assembled. Each dresser was made up of two boxes which were heavy as hell which is a good sign of quality MDF. I opened the boxes which were not stapled but glued with a hot glue gun and made my job of opening the boxes pure hell because I couldn't just run the razor knife down the side in fear of scratching the wood. I finally got it opened and separated each piece which had no numbering or marking to identify which was which, but when you have been doing this as long as i have you really don't need them. I finally found the directions, only they were for a biscuit dresser that was not at all the same but they all work on the same concept. So I always start by inserting my cam screws and locks first and then put the puzzle together. This is my method others guys have their own. I am cookin' along and am down to 4 cam locks which is enough to do 2 more pieces but I had 6 left? Hmmmmmmmmm. So as I explained they had given the wrong directions which normally wouldn't matter except the two main pieces had about 20 holes each for cam screws but in reality after trial and error found they only took 8 each. Why might you ask, my guess is that like their competition many of their pieces are versatile and what makes a top to a dresser here might be the wall to an entertainment center elsewhere. After about 2 hours I completed the first unit and was left with extra pieces which is not a good sign, but they were actually doubles of 2 drawer sides that couldn't go anywhere if they wanted to because there was no room on the drawers and no more hardware. I inspected the piece and noticed that every piece had extra holes for cam screws and locks and some dowels. I went ahead and put the second one together with ease because I already finished CB2 101 an hour and a half ago. I pointed out the extra pieces and all the extra parts and the worst in which I forget to tell you, the bottom of the drawers were made out of what Crate and Barrel sometimes uses for a back piece because it holds no weight and is really just seen from the inside with the back against the wall. This is paperboard which is at best 1/8" think which they were kind enough to take to pieces glue them together and use them as the bottom of the drawers. I put my screw gun in as an example of the poor materials used and almost snapped the it. I also forgot to tell you that all of the drawer bottoms were short which showed about 1/16 of an " of peek through space which i recommended my customer's buy either an epoxy of black silicone to match and fill in the space in each drawer. Then they explained that's why it must have been so cheap at CB2 compared to the products at C and B.

My conclusion is this, which might be wrong so don't hold me to it. But it is my belief that CB2 which is a division of C and B is given last years leftovers, returns, damaged furniture and retain the good pieces, and maybe even extra stock and use this material to make CB2 furniture. I mean I see it at Ikea all the time where they use the side panel of a Pax unit in a entertainment center and a ton of other things, but they don't send extra pieces or have a unit with 3 dozen extra holes with the wrong directions. All b.s. aside, if they were able to figure it out and get it together it would take them at least 20 hours, broken up after work and weekends your looking two weeks of all their spare time assembling 2 dressers! That's nuts! C and B has a good idea to recycle and reuse their unsold furniture at a lower price by creating a separate division and utilizing what they already have, but this was not thought out all the way through and even though it is a separate entity everyone associates CB2 with C and B and with just plain out poor thought, workmanship, and respect for their name and product is just terrible for lack of a better word even if the furniture is cheaper, it's junk with their name associated with it. I seriously think it would have been much better if they opened up outlets that sold last years unsold, damaged, or returned furniture at lower prices then the customer would know what they were buying and do their best to separate the weeds from the flowers. But when you pay a nice penny for what you presume to be just a different style of C and B when it's nothing more than recycled leftovers, and returns, that's just wrong!

If you have experienced the same issues as me i would love to hear from you. And if you disagree i want your opinion too! I just simply drew a conclusion on what I saw and used my years of marketing and furniture assembly experience to arrive at my conclusion.

Christopher Purnell
EZ Furniture Assembly & Interior Innovations, LLC

Diary of a do-it-yourselfer: One year later

Diary of a do-it-yourselfer: One year later

By Julia Gerke, The Suburban

Photo by Rob Taussig, The Suburban The kitchen before renovation. Kitchen after renovation. Living room before the renovation. Living room after the renovation. It’s been one year since I started writing about our home renovation adventure, and this will be my last diary. My husband and I are done renovating for a while. Finito. Tired. Kaput. But also happy and proud. Week 50: Three weeks before the holiday deadline. The kitchen cabinets should be here any day now, and we still have to get the room ready. Everything’s been cleaned out and demolished. On Monday, a friend and I worked on the backsplash. I had never done any tiling before and was nervous because the walls in this old house aren’t that straight. We worked all day and it was great to see the progress made with every single tile. In the meantime, my husband and sister started putting down the kitchen floor tiles. We are going with a black and white pattern even though we’ve been warned that they will be difficult to keep clean — but we don’t care. We have always wanted the black and white pattern and designed the entire kitchen around it. After this much work, it’ll be fun to clean them — I hope. There’s absolutely no time to cook or even buy groceries. We’ve been living on a huge order of Chinese food for the past two days; tomorrow we’ll have pizza, and then there’s always bread and water. Week 51: Two weeks before deadline. I spent two days removing the dark green border in the kitchen and priming the ceiling and the walls. The green in the dining room has finally been covered and the bright white window frames seem to let in much more light. I am in love with the changes already. All the floor tiles have been installed (119 with none to spare) and the heating cables work. Lately, my husband has been busy finishing the backsplash and floors with the darker grout. I admit to not being good at it, so he had to do all the work again. Once the grout dried, we painted the walls white. Then we remembered that unopened can of paint in the garage, which we had bought on a whim a few months prior. We couldn’t have picked a better muted green to go on one of the walls. Sometimes I just love how everything suddenly fits together. But the kitchen cabinets are still not here and I am getting worried. Week 52: One week left. The cabinets arrived on Saturday. I had to make space in our garage and watched in growing despair as the men delivered 75 pieces of Ikea kitchen furniture, which we had to immediately put together. We also bought a new dishwasher to match the stainless steel appliances and some lights so we can actually see what we’ll eventually be cooking. Three days to go. The boxes are piling up in the garage; thank heavens recycling day is coming up. We have become experts at assembling cabinets and drawers. It now takes only a few minutes and we don’t even need the instruction manuals. The day before the big day. We took all of our dishes, cookware, food and glassware and pretty much threw it anywhere we could find a space in the kitchen. I’ll have to go back to it later and find the best space for each item. The floors are cleaned and the table set. We are ready to receive our guests! Epilogue I haven’t touched one power tool nor a single paint brush in the past two weeks and let me tell you, it feels great. Instead, we’re enjoying the new living quarters. We don’t yet have all the furniture, art for the walls and important additions such as the kitchen countertop, but we are happy with how everything has turned out so far. I complained quite a bit over the past few months, but all in all, this has been a gratifying experience. We may have lost some time — and a few fingernails — but it was so worth it! My husband and I not only crafted a whole new living space, we also built muscle mass, expertise, confidence and trust in each other. From now on we can concentrate on the finishing touches, on getting some rest and repairing our social network. We have a lot of making up to do with our friends. Thanks for reading, everyone, and a happy 2008.

2008-01-16 12:14:48

Now this is a Cool Ikea Hack idea

Hello Fans! No please.... no applause needed:) I hope everyone is pleased with my constant blog updates. It was one of my new year's resolutions, and since this is our dead season I have the time to share a few words of wisdom and cool things I have done or seen. Speaking of cool things I just noticed this cool hack on Ikea Hacker which is a great site that really shows you how far ones imagination can go.


Is this Turtle pad cool or what??

In my next post I want to share with you a story, or better my dissatisfaction with CB2 which is a division of Crate & Barrel. This was a simple unit that was just made of scrap pieces. That's enough because I really want to share this story. If you have a furniture assembly horror story please share it with us.

January Tool of the Month.

Hello Everyone! I am very pleased to see that we have finally begun to retain some readership on our blog. In my recent article which was posted in over a dozen papers in New York City it explains how I stated EZ Furniture Assembly & Interior Innovations, LLC. This is an article I suggest that everyone read so they know the man behind the blog. Anyway, as we continue to grow both EZ Assembly and our newest venture, NYC Handyman and all the extras including the blog there will be some learning experiences where we will try new things and ask feedback to see if this intrests you. My main focus with this blog is to keep our readers informed on what products are of value, difficult to assemble, overprices, and so forth. I also intend to share some stories, tips, and as of now the " Tool of the Month". These tools are not given to us, these are tools we purchased and used and give an honest rating. Right now it is our dead time so I will only post one tool this month but I am confident that in months to coe we will be posting "TOOLS of the month". The tool we felt was best was the Black and Decker self adjusting wrench which makes any job requiring a cresent wrench a breeze. On a scale os 1 to 10 I would give it a 7.5 only because we do not acually use this type wrench that much in our business, and a regular DIYer will even get less use out of it. But when it is time to use it you will be thankful you bought it. Please send any feedback or comments to us so we can get your opinion on the tools listed. Once again, thank you!

Christopher Purnell
EZ Furniture Assembly & Interior Innovations,LLC

Mark Malkoff still IKEA redisent!!!!!!!!

January 14, 2008
Mark Malkoff, IKEA Resident

In June of 2007, Mark Malkoff made news with his attempt, documented in a funny video, to patronize each of Manhattan’s 171 Starbucks in a single day. Now the Comedy Central staffer is back in the press with his latest quirky idea; he spent last week living in the Paramus, New Jersey IKEA to avoid his fumigated apartment. The strange experiment has been humorously documented on his website; we got him on the phone in IKEA before his stay ended Saturday night. What are you doing right now? I was just in my living room hanging with a friend who came to visit me. Now I’m escorting her to the escalators; I’d walk out with her but I’m not leaving here for a week.Have a lot of buddies come to visit? Yeah, a lot of friends and a lot of people who just heard about me and come bringing food items and living supplies. They’re concerned with my well-being. People brought me Starbucks because I did that other video and I guess they thought that was funny.
But aren’t you entitled to eat for free at IKEA? I am; I can eat whatever I want of the Swedish food they serve here. I’ve been vegetarian since I was a kid so they’re working on the first ever IKEA tofu meatball. I’m getting kind of tired of Swedish food and I may order Chinese or Dominos later today. I’ll have to give them the address of 100 IKEA Drive and hope they can find me in the bedroom set.
How have you been adapting to residing in a store and not going outside for a week? I had my personal trainer come in and we worked out all over the store so I could try and live a normal life. I played Lazer Tag with security guards at two in the morning. The fluorescent lighting is on 20 hours a day which is getting to me because I don’t have any sunlight. I wake up from naps and there are people staring at me and I feel like an animal in a zoo.
But I brought it on myself. The apartment I’ve set up is so much nicer than my own apartment; the only thing is none of the stuff works. The first night I got sick around 4:30am and I had to vomit. I had about 10 seconds to decide where I was going to go. I ran to the toilet and remembered, "Wait, this is a fake toilet!" So I ran to the kitchen and vomited in the sink, then I remembered the kitchen sink is fake as well. I went away for an hour and when I came back the puke was cleaned up. So whoever’s job that is in IKEA, I am really sorry.
Have the IKEA managers tried to curb any of your antics? No, I get full creative control, which is insane to me. I met with them in mid-December and they’re letting me do this weeks later. I own the content with no restrictions on anything. The only thing they said I couldn’t do is paint my bedroom walls; I wanted to paint them green yesterday. But everything else goes. I can do whatever I want. If I want a clean towel I just go down to the towel department and get a clean towel. There’s a price tag on it when I dry myself but whatever. Yeah, this place is very livable except for the fluorescent lighting coming on at 4:15. And there’s construction right by where I live with hammering and drilling at about 5am. I absolutely feel like I’m back in the city.
What’s the construction about? The workers are always constructing bedroom sets. I’m living in what looks like a functional living room, bedroom, spare bedroom and bathroom with two sinks. This would go for at least $4,000 in Manhattan. I have a fake door but the living sets are all around me and they’re constantly working on them in the wee hours.Do you think your experience is in any way a comment on the pervasiveness of American consumer culture? I’m a comedian and filmmaker and I just needed a place to live for a week. So I thought two things: If I can move in here I’ll have a place to stay and I can make videos.
How do you respond to people who think this is just some viral marketing thing? IKEA is not paying me anything. I have my friends working for free, including WGA workers who are not working but who wanted to participate in something fun here. I just thought it would be funny to live in the store. If you look at the videos, I don’t think IKEA looks good all the time. In the first episode there’s a joke about my IKEA furniture falling apart. They let me close the store every night over the P.A. and I say things like, “Get out! I want to go to sleep! This is the King of IKEA, the god of Swedish furniture!” Last night at closing I did Bon Jovi covers and addressed a man over the P.A. saying, “You, the man in the brown suit and the obvious toupee, William Shatner wants his rug back.”
So I’m saying these uncensored things and IKEA is obviously not paying me to do these things. I just thought it would be good video content. We have no budget and I think it’s remarkable we’re able to make well-produced, funny content with a turnover rate less than 24 hours.
What are some of the news outlets who have visited you? I’ve had everyone from Germany to Sweden to Israel; the AP and Reuters were here and that’s how we got worldwide coverage. But I’ve had every country you can imagine email me for a radio interview and I’ve been doing about 10 a day because that’s all I can manage. People are inviting me to other IKEAs to sleep. I don’t know if they’re official or not but I politely declined.
You don’t see yourself moving on to life in other department stores? I don’t. I’m sure Target’s going to call next week and offer me this but I don’t want to live in a Target. I just wanted to make funny videos and I didn’t realize how much stinking fun this would be.
You seem to have a knack for getting a lot of press with oddball ideas. Where do you see all this headed? I’ve been doing comedy videos since I was a kid. I do these comedy videos all the time; it’s just that the two I did involving corporate entities are the ones that got me the press. But most of the stuff I do does not involve corporations. I pick premises I think are funny and just do them.What does your wife think of this? Christine thinks it’s funny but she doesn’t want to sleep over in a store. I’m not sure why. But she came to visit me and we had a date in the store Wednesday when the store closed and that was fun. Our apartment’s actually fine now; I got a call we could move back in on Wednesday night but I’m having too good of a time here. I have to leave Saturday at midnight because in Paramus no stores are open on Sundays.

Stock toolbox with all the essentials every dweller needs

WHAT'S IN your toolbox?

No matter where you live, no matter whether you own or rent, what you need to keep your home in good shape should always be close by, so you can find it when you need it. That doesn't mean you should attempt jobs that are beyond your abilities. But really, if you want to hang a window shade, why not grab the drill and a hammer and do it yourself?

Need to know: You get what you pay for: Buy cheap, get cheap. But if you're attracted to shiny and expensive things, you're also likely to buy tools you'll never use. Better to have a few good hand tools and a couple of multipurpose power tools than a workshop worthy of TV's master carpenter Norm Abram.

Hammer time: At the very least, you should have three hammers: an 18- to 20-ounce claw hammer for pulling out nails; a 12-ounce hammer for pounding in nails to hang pictures; and a rubber mallet for putting hubcaps back in place or knocking in parts of must-be-assembled furniture that don't exactly fit the manufacturer's "easy-fit" directions.

Turn of the screw: Get a set of both larger screwdrivers with different sizes of slotted and Phillips heads and a set of precision screwdrivers (both Phillips and slotted-head) for removing the tiny screws that hold computer-screen covers. These small screwdrivers, once used exclusively by hobbyists, watch-repair people and jewelers, are also useful for tightening the screws that hold eyeglass frames together.

Power up: Battery-powered drill/drivers are no longer as expensive as they once were. These versatile tools are ergonomically designed and save wear and tear on hands, fingers and arm muscles. Buy a set of drill bits and another of screwdriver attachments and see how much easier it is to hang those window shades.

Tale of the tape: Tape measure, that is. The most versatile is 30 feet by 1 inch, locks automatically, is released by squeezing the bottom, and can be read on both sides.

On the level: Every toolbox should have one. It can be as small as 9 inches, but a 48-incher is more useful for getting pictures straight after you hang them.

Pry and pull: It's good to have at least one pry bar that provides the right amount of leverage for removing stubborn nails from lumber.

The old saw: Though power tools can be costly, a fully outfitted toolbox should include a battery-operated 71/2-inch circular saw. Given all the small jobs you'll be able to tackle around the house, you'll get your investment back quickly.

Assembly required: Because most inexpensive furniture needs to be put together after you buy it, make sure you have Allen wrenches of various sizes.

Wait, there's more: Locking pliers; a flashlight or work light; gloves; a utility knife; wire cutters; sandpaper (assorted grits); a putty knife; a speed square (a triangular measuring tool used to draw perpendicular lines on boards); a straight edge with right angle; screws and nails; wood glue; wire; string; WD-40 oil; duct tape; rags; safety glasses and ear protectors; chalk (easier to remove than pencil marks); and a sea sponge for smoothing joint compound in drywall repairs.

Helpful extras: Keep a plunger handy; you'll be happy you have one. And no matter what else you decide to keep in the toolbox, don't forget a first-aid kit and Band-Aids.

Stock toolbox with all the essentials

Contra Costa Times

Article Launched: 01/11/2008 02:57:41 PM PST

2008 means a new direction for our business and blog

I am still working on the right recipe to keep readers interested while providing informative, accurate, funny stories, tips, and now we are going to bring more of our business life into the blog to better help answer furniture assembly questions, and provide our Expert opinion on certain companies and their products. There are so many blogs out there that receive advertising from companies in which they will write about. However, we are independent and what we write is a result of our reports to obtained from a credible source. You may see banner ads from companies here and there as we grow, but you can bet you last nickel that we either use the company, it's products, services, or know from previous experience that it it a top quality company and, or offers products that are unique and of interest. We will be linking this blog to our website so we can receive feedback from our customers, and others just needing an answer. We recently opened a second company, "New York City Handyman" which mostly appears as NYC HANDYMAN. So whether you have a furniture assembly question, antique furniture repair questions, or any questions related to Handyman services please feel free to post your question and we will do our best to provide the best possible solution. My goal is to share ideas and stories from other city dwellers of how they transformed there closet home onto a unique work of art, or a cozy little cove to come home to. I intend to share many great tips, caution lists of products we assembled that were problems, as well as my experience in interior innovations where I will share color patterns and simple ideas to make your home more inviting and organized. I look forward to receiving pictures, stories, jokes, and whatever you would like to share that is in good taste. I have not set a schedule as to when I will be updating this, but I did note that I will update it once a week at the minimum. Until then, thank you for taking the time to read this and remember to view our websites for great deals as well as coupons for future work.

Christopher Purnell
EZ Furniture Assembly And Interior Innovations

EZ Furniture Assembly & Interior Innovations Recieves " 2007 Super Service Award" from Angie's List!

Christopher Purnell

Thursday, January 10, 2008 12:48 PM EST

Christopher Purnell

President and founder of EZ Furniture Assembly & Interior Innovations, LLC

BY TONIA N. CIMINO

Ozone Park entrepreneur Christopher Purnell, President and founder of EZ Furniture

Assembly & Interior Innovations, LLC, was presented with a National Award from Angie’s List for Super Service in the year 2007.

The Super Service Award is an annual award given to companies who achieve and maintain an excellent rating with Angie’s List, a national word-of-mouth network for consumers to find an unbiased report on companies in their area.

EZ Furniture Assembly & Interior Innovations specializes in professional assembly of RTA (Ready to Assemble) furniture and kitchen cabinet installation.

Angie’s List members submit more than 15,000 reports each month about the companies they have hired. They describe their project (including the cost), and grade the company’s response time, prices and quality of work. The Super Service Award is a major achievement because only five percent of all the companies listed in the entire United States are presented with the award.

“I can only thank God and my team of technicians for where we are today,” said Purnell. “I started this company with no more than a handful of tools, a shoebox of past due bills, and a passion to succeed.”

He continued, “This is by far the biggest achievement I have made in both my business and personal life. I made sure customer service was our number one service, continued to do the next right thing, and always stuck by the Golden Rule that the customer was always right.”

To find out more about EZ Furniture Assembly & Interior Innovations, LLC you can visit their web site at www.ezfurnitureassembly.com.