Campaign Desks: Practicality, Functionality and Style all in one!

What makes these desks especially useful in today’s homes is the size and utility of them. They can be tucked in a corner and close compactly. They open easily and facilitate a laptop perfectly. The wood finish and tones complement any color scheme and since they are “historical pieces” they are timeless and blend nicely into the overall décor.

Picture a young officer on campaign in one of Britain’s many colonies, enduring the sweltering heat of Africa or India all the while missing the comforts of home. A campaign desk much like this one, decorated in burl and inspired by the Edwardian period would likely have accompanied him.

An antiqued wood fold-over campaign desk, the hinged top opening to reveal four fitted drawers, on twin baluster turned end supports and sleigh feet joined by a pegged stretcher. (a) Also available in 'faded chestnut' antiqued wood. CB71004

Campaign furniture was built to last and to fold up for ease of travel, as well as being able to withstand the rigors of the campaign trail. The box-like top protects the interior and folds open to reveal pigeonholes for letters and frames for photos – perfect places to keep pictures of a true love left behind.

An Edwardian cherry campaign desk, flip top enclosing fitted interior, square tapering legs, undertier. A in 'ashdown distressed' leather, 'buffalo distressed' leather and ‘oxblood distressed' leather. 7105-101

Perhaps late at night, by lantern light, the young man would sit at his desk, gaze upon these pictures and pour his heart and soul into letters destined for a lucky young lady waiting for him back in the gardens of England.

An ash burl campaign desk, the fold-over top opening to reveal a leather inlaid writing surface, on twin turned end supports with down-swept legs joined by a turned stretcher in 'ashdown distressed' leather. The original is 19th Century French. 7105-169AD

An ash burl campaign desk, the fold-over top opening to reveal a leather inlaid writing surface, with a frieze drawer on square tapering legs with spade feet in 'buffalo distressed' leather. The original is Edwardian. 7105-173BD

If you are drawn to more substantial sized pieces…

An Indian mahogany bureau desk, the sloping fall enclosing a plain desk surface and a fitted interior of drawers and pigeon holes above lopers and drawers with brass handles enclosing a concave knee-hole with further drawers, on bracket feet. The original late George III. 7105-163

A George III mahogany pedestal desk, brass gallery leather inset top, ratcheted reading slope, three frieze & six pedestal drawers, plinth bases. Available in multiple leathers. AL71015

Visit any one of our showrooms to view this exceptional fine furniture, along with many other tables, chairs chests…from Theodore Alexander – a name synonymous with quality and craftsmanship.

Atelier de la Madeleine Collection

Atelier de la Madeleine is a chic French inspired collection that evokes the romance of Parisian café society. The quirky élan of famous cafes of St Germain du Pres in the elegant 7th arrondissement infuses this furniture. Each item in the collection is painstakingly crafted and completely hand made. Atelier de la Madeleine brings a certain “Je ne sais quoi” and European flair to a discerning buyer's home.

View the complete Madeleine Collection Catalogue

Theodore Alexander Tables

An Empire Classical revival burl & brass engraved center table,
Greek key frieze, three bronze dolphin supports, plinth base.

A 17th century English walnut & burl oval gateleg dining table,
drop leaf top, two drawers, turned supports & stretchers.

A Regency walnut, cerejeira & burl inlay circular dining table,
four turned columns, downswept legs & bronze castors.

NW Rugs carries the largest selection of items from multiple Theodore Alexander collections of fine, handcrafted furniture, unique accessories and lamps. Visit any one of our showrooms to view these exceptional pieces. You will be impressed by the quality and selection.

Glitz & Glamour - Hollywood Regency Style

NW Rugs is delighted to announce the arrival of select pieces from THE HERMITAGE Collection by Theodore Alexander. THE HERMITAGE collection is innovative in style yet traditional in concept. It captures the history and elegant splendor of Russian design in luxurious materials such as Lapis Lazuli, Malachite, stainless steel and Karelian Birch. Using fine materials and traditional artisanship on each individual piece, Theodore Alexander has become eminent in its field – renowned as a unique brand embodying quality in design. The high gloss glamour and elegance of these pieces epitomizes the Hollywood Regency style created by designers Dorothy Draper, David Hicks, Billy Baldwin and Billy Haines. The exceptional quality, craftsmanship and beauty of this collection is available now for viewing and purchase.

CLICK HERE for the HERMITAGE COLLECTION

Theodore Alexander: Painted Finishes - Chinoiserie

Theodore Alexander creates stunning painted finishes, reproducing techniques used from Antiquity to the present day. The image above illustrates the age-old skill of Chinoiserie, a form of decoration that grew from Western interpretations of Chinese art in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Theodore Alexander’s craftspeople carefully paint thin layers of detail, until a complicated and unique design is realized. The end result is a raised and tactile painted surface. The intermingling of gold paint with red and brown tones against a black or dark brown creates a tonal and subtle finish.

The effect is stronger than that of traditional, 18th and 19th Century 'English' painted furniture, which tends to have flat painting on a veneered surface. Historically,

Chinoiserie as a style is a mixture of the beautiful and the striking. Visit any one of our spacious, well stocked showrooms to see more Theodore Alexander furniture.

Lazy Evenings at Home with Friends

More and more, people are inviting friends over for drinks and nibbles rather than going out to dinner or throwing lavish parties with large amounts of food. One of the easiest, most efficient and attractive ways to provide your guests with all they need in one accessible place is to use a multi-tiered table on wheels.

Put the snacks (small sandwiches, bruschetta, antipasti, etc.) on the top shelf; plates, glasses and ice bucket on the second shelf; bottles and mixers on the bottom shelf - good to go. How easy is that. If you want a more formal look, add a cloth and silver platter to the top shelf. Either way, it is sure to please your guests and it will make your job as host/hostess much simpler and stress-free.

Here are two wonderful choices...

Above: A French provincial oval three tier lamp or serving table, the partially turned gallery top & tiers on square supports & castors. (28-1/2 x 17-3/4 x 29-1/4 inches)

Above: A Victorian walnut & burl three tier oval serving table / lamp table, dished tiers, turned supports, castors. (26 x 18-1/4 x 27-1/4 inches)

You can also use these for coffee and dessert service, tea and sandwiches, or a birthday cake with the presents on the lower shelf. This is one of those all in one furniture pieces no home should be without.

CLICK HERE to view more end & side tables

Theodore Alexander Veneers

DECORATIVE VENEERS - HISTORY AND TECHNIQUES:
Theodore Alexander employs age-old techniques to create traditional and transitional furniture. One of the most technically challenging methods of embellishing furniture is to use veneers.

Veneer refers to thinly sliced woods that are applied to a thicker core, replacing the need to use solid woods. They can be achieved by slicing logs, branches, or even by rotary slicing a tree trunk. Depending on the type of cut used, any manner of interesting figures can be achieved.

Veneering techniques can be found as far back as the ancient Egyptians but started to be used in earnest in Europe in the late 17th century when Dutch marquetry in flowers became popular.

This technique is often used in marquetry and parquetry as the thinner veneers are easier to cut into the intricate patterns that are required of this technique of inlay. In fact – many designs would be impossible to achieve in solid wood. One also uses veneer in order to be able to use fine and exotic woods and especially particular grain patterns to their best advantage. A log or a particular part thereof can be used more often for their grain pattern as the yield of thinly slicing will be higher than a solid piece, placing less stress on the resource. A Burl is a good example of this, the burled part of the tree tends to be very small. Therefore using solid burls would be a very expensive way of showing off this beautiful grain. To slice the section into a fine veneer means one can make a half top of a chest of drawers out of one burl knot.

Unlike many modern furniture ateliers, Theodore Alexander hand-cuts veneers which ensures that every piece of furniture is both authentic and unique.

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