plaza design

High Quality, Stylish & Earth Friendly

The makers of LEE fine upholstered furniture are innovators, custom creators and impeccable craftsmen. They are industry leaders who build comfortable furniture in fabrics and leathers that make a big impact on style and a small impact on the environment. And, they’ve been doing that since the day they started in 1969.

Like Plaza Design, LEE adheres to a set of values that focus on its customer, community, and the environment. In doing this, they have been committed to manufacture earth-friendly products, using sustainable processes by people who care about the environment. For decades they voluntarily chose to use products that eliminated the use of chlorofluorocarbon gases (CFC’s), which have been known to deplete the ozone layer. They are by far the industry forerunner in custom style with a conscience.

LEE has always been a pioneer of innovative styling, fresh fabrics and environmentally conscious measures. In fact, in keeping with their longstanding commitment to nature, they were the first manufacturer to use soy-based cushions. This clear vision is a testament to LEE’s unwavering leadership. By building an innovatively styled, high-quality product that is kind to the environment, LEE customers continue to come back to Plaza Design, time after time, for all their custom furniture needs.

Learn more about Lee’s environmental impact, heritage, and furniture styles.

We consistently stock and special order LEE furniture. Come in and check out LEE at any of our showrooms or call us at 707-441-1380 for more information.

Plaza Design carries the widest selection of solid wood fine furniture collections on the North Coast. We hand pick our merchandise from dozens of local, regional and global artisans. Every piece tells a story and fits a perfect picture. We carry both simple-construction and finely handcrafted furniture using time-tested methods of joinery and superior woods, including exotic, domestic, sustainably grown and harvested, and reclaimed hardwoods.

Our furniture is made in the tradition of some of the finest furniture ever created using time-honored joinery techniques, top quality hardwoods, shop-cut veneers, and traditional and contemporary designs. Our artisans use natural, hand-rubbed finishes that best highlight the beauty of the wood and the expert craftsmanship.

Come into any of our stores to see our collections and learn more. And, if you can’t find what you want, you can special order from our catalogs and local artisans direct from our stores.

At Plaza Design, you can update your upholstery with LEE fabric. LEE is an industry leader in custom upholstered furniture, fabrics and leathers that make a big impact on style and a small impact on the environment. And, they’ve been doing that since the day they started in 1969.

Come in and view our fabric walls, choose from hundreds of colors and textures, take samples to try in your home, and select the ones you love the most at 20% off.

You can order custom pillows, slipcovers and fabric by the yard at 20% off regular prices.

Click here to request up to 10 fabric swatches free of charge.

Click here to see suggested companions to help you visualize a well-correlated room.

Tips for Choosing Fabric

Cotton holds patterns well, comes in many finishes, and make up nicely for draperies, furniture covers, and accessories like pillows and table linens.

Velvets are formal and come in many colors. Though they feel luxurious and elegant, they are very durable. A chair or sofa upholstered in a cotton velvet will last through generations if properly cared for.

Nylon and polyester fabrics can be woven to resemble natural fibers. They can also be fashioned into interesting sheers for draperies. In fact, with modern finishing techniques, synthetic fibers can be made to look and feel like almost anything, including leather, suede, snake, and straw.

Denim gives a casual look and is durable for children’s rooms and family rooms. Though most often thought of as blue, denim can be dyed to many colors including black and red.

Silk is fragile but has a wonderful sheen and is available in a wide range of textures, from velvet to smooth, nubby to soft. It’s best used on pillows or draperies.

Linen looks beautiful when it’s just been pressed but will get wrinkled immediately. You have to love the wrinkled look or decide to not even touch it. It’s best for drapery panels that will not move–unless you don’t mind the wrinkles.

Bringing new color into a living space is an easy and fun design project. For a color palette to work in your home, it has to meet some criteria, from logical to emotional.

Styles & Themes

First, identify your preferred style (i.e., formal, semi formal, casual, eclectic) and themes (i.e., country, rustic, modern, etc.) for your room. Room styles and themes are all about your lifestyle, personality and the purpose of the room you’re decorating. How would you describe the styles and themes of your living space?

Anchor Fabrics

With style and theme in mind, choose 3 or more colors. One way to do this is to pick an ‘anchor’ fabric that best represents your style and theme. You can choose colors from a patterned fabric or choose solid fabric colors. We have a fabulous selection in our stores and you can order samples direct from our biggest supplier, LEE Industries.

In rooms that are not used as frequently, you might consider a chenille, linen or cotton fabric with some color or a pattern. For more frequently used rooms, you can still add color but choose durable, soft and stain-resistant fabrics. Click here to learn more about choosing fabric.

Space & Color

Lighter colors create a more open feel which most big rooms need where dark colors create an intimate mood that may be appropriate for smaller spaces.

Use your instinct to determine what colors you like and dislike. If you love yellow and hate blue clothing, you would most likely love a butter color in your living space. Also consider the wood finish that best suits your room. For instance, do you have wood floors or carpeting?

Use pictures or places you love to pull color from. You don’t have to be totally original when choosing combinations. There’s so much beautiful color in the world and you’re free to copy it.

Tips for Painting…

Repeat colors evenly throughout the room, and in at least 3 places. Adding details in cording and trims is one way to disperse color and add interest.

Divide color use to approximately 60% of the room in the background (lightest) color, 30% in the mid-tone color, and 10% in the brightest, accent colors.

If you’re not sure of what colors to use, there’s another method to finding out how a color will look in your room. Ask us for a cutting of the fabric you’re considering and keep it in the room for 24 hours.

Same goes for paint. Buy a quart and paint a small section of your wall and see if you still love it the next day. If you do, go with your intuition and you can start building beautiful color palettes for your living spaces.

More information…

Our designers are available to help you with your interior design projects. Please contact us for more information.

Holistic interior design is an approach to design grounded in ecology. Holistic concepts can be applied to building architecture as well as the design of living spaces. This approach to design incorporates concerns about the environment, considers how design impacts the natural world, and attempts to reduce environmental impact.

Holistic design is a different way of looking at how we live and work within the buildings we occupy. Its aim is to achieve a balance between ourselves and the natural environment. Most modern design looks towards fashion for inspiration, focusing on the creation of an investment rather than a nurturing living space. Holistic design considers form and function as well as the health of the space itself, and its effect on the occupants and the wider environment.

Greener Living

Reducing pollution is a key element of Holistic Design. Many “modern” materials are often non-sustainable and produce vast quantities of waste during their full life-cycle e.g. production, use and disposal. They can also ‘off gas’ producing atmospheric pollution which can cause many symptoms ranging from asthma to Multiple Sensitivity Disorder. In contrast, holistic interior design focuses on creating ‘therapeutic interiors’ using sustainable materials, color therapy & natural themes to provide a balanced and healthy living space.

Aesthetics

Aesthetics are central to holistic design. Designers consider how the design will look and feel, thinking about different ways in which people will view and experience a space. For example, when designing a room, a holistic designer reflects on the larger environment connected to the room, and how it will integrate and change depending on time of day. Holistic designers consider the intention, purpose and feelings a space evokes.

The integration of a consistent look and feel is an important aspect of holistic design. Holistic designers try to design spaces with future needs in mind so that additions which change the nature of the space will not need to be made. They make spaces flexible and easy to maintain to reduce the need to make major changes in response to changing needs.

If you would like more information on holistic design or need assistance designing your interior spaces, please feel free to contact us.

Every Customer Wins

Every day you can buy upholstered furniture and choose either a 30% credit or a 20% rebate. It’s our way of saying “Thank You.” Thank you for shopping at Plaza Design. Thank you for knowing quality when you see it. Thank you for taking the time to choose from among hundreds of fabrics to create furniture that is uniquely you. Credits and rebates are easy to redeem. Come into our stores in Arcata, Eureka and McKinleyville for more details.

Online Giveaways

We’re giving away FREE gift certificates to our online customers for helping us conserve resources and keep you in the Plaza Design loop. It’s easy to join our online community. You can subscribe to our newsletter. Sign up on Twitter. Friend us on Facebook. Register for gifts. Make a purchase from out online store.  The sooner you do, the sooner  you can win. Every month we’ll award four lucky online customers a $25, $50, $75 or $100 gift certificate.

Win a FREE Room Makeover

Gus Clark | Elizabeth Johnson | Linnea Tobias

Gus Clark | Plaza Design Eureka

Plaza Design Eureka is thrilled to welcome Gus Clark and his New Acrylic Paintings back for an exhibit during June and July! Clark creates in Eureka and specializes in Acrylic Paintings, Mixed Media Sculpture and Murals. He studied at UC Santa Cruz and at The Lyme Academy in Connecticut. As a muralist, his best known work is the GoFish Restaurant in Eureka. Please join him at Arts Alive! at Plaza Design in June and July. Come see Gus’s work at Plaza Design Eureka, and join us for live music and wine by the glass at our monthly Arts Alive receptions.

Elizabeth Johnson | Plaza Design Arcata

Plaza Design Arcata presents new work by Elizabeth Johnson for the months of July and August. Ms. Johnson has worked in a wide variety of media in recent years. This exhibit includes her latest series ” Emotions Covered,” Life Drawings made with charcoal and fabric on paper. Also on display is her Floral and Landscape Oil Paintings. There will be live music and wine by the glass at the Arts! Arcata receptions at Plaza Design in July and August.

Linnea Tobias | Plaza Design McKinleyville

Plaza Design McKinleyville is very pleased to present Acrylic Paintings that celebrate the blooming of Summer by Linnea Tobias during July and August. Acrylic Paintings with collage on panel feature Goldfinches amongst flowering branches, succulents, Robins, Ravens and California Quail. Linnea has painted for many years and has also worked with oil, pastel, collage, jewelry, and ceramics. Linnea has marketed her work through galleries, art fairs, retail and wholesale shows. She lives in Arcata with her husband and daughter. She has a BA in Fine Art from Evergreen State College in Washington, studied Painting, Art History and Printmaking at The Aegean Center for the Fine Arts in Paros, Greece, and Graphic Design and Ceramics at Humboldt State University. Come see Linnea’s work every day at Plaza Design McKinleyville, and join us for live music and wine by the glass at our monthly Art Night receptions.

Baroni Jewelry is designed for all the beautiful women who shine from the inside out. Look to Baroni for easy to wear styles, unexpected designs, and undeniable appeal.

Shop Online | Gift Registry

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Online Store | Gift Registry

Catlin Blair jewelry calls attention to small beauties… the quiet perfection of a polished beach stone or the soft shimmer of a tumbled shell. She is inspired by rugged coastlines that produce a stunning array of miniature cobbles, as colorful and tempting as candy. They are abundant in number, and like snowflakes, no two are exactly alike. Each hand-collected pebble and shell is unique and perfect in its own way. Catlin Blair jewelry celebrates this.

We have teamed up with local glass company Fire and Light and are excited to be hosting 20% off the entire collection of Fire & Light  in July.

We have a huge selection to choose from in all three locations, but hurry in because its selling fast!

Plaza Design Arcata is very pleased to announce a new exhibit of Wall Sculptures by well known local fine jeweler Catlin Blair Harvey. This exciting exhibit will be on display in May and June. Here’s what Catlin says about her latest sculptures:

“My work is about reinvention, changing the ordinary into the remarkable. Transforming raw materials, found objects and nature’s keepsakes into Art is my passion. I create a new context for these items by placing them in juxtaposition with metal alloys such as copper, brass and silver. My work reflects the remarkable, ever-changing relationship between Humanity and Nature. I delight in creating visually beautiful sculpture and jewelry that resonate deeply with the viewer.”

We welcome back local artist Allison Reed and her new collection of paintings at Plaza Design Eureka. This highly motivated, largely self-taught painter is well known for her portraits of roosters and chickens and dogs. Her latest animal paintings are also an exploration and celebration of the surreal beauty of Humboldt County.

Plaza Design carries a wide variety of gabbeh rugs made by Yayla Tribal Rugs.  The Yayla rug company was founded in the 1980s by an anthropologist and linguist who found a need for vegetable dyed rugs.  Working with native rug weavers in the Far East, he produces the best rugs and the best prices.

Gabbehs are made by the Qashqai people, who are of Turkic origin. They are woven of the fine wool that comes from Zagros Mountain sheep. The thick pile not only cushions the feet but makes them longer lasting.  Yayla rugs are spirited, vibrant, and affordable.  There is even the possible appearance of funny little critters.  For example, the giraffes on a rug in the McKinleyville store.

Best of all, Yayla donates a portion of their proceeds to help refugees and rug weaving peoples. They help build schools, health care centers, as well as help with re-forestation projects.

Plaza Design is proud to help support a company that exemplifies the best in East-West business cooperation.

Come see the colorful collection of dichroic glass made by local artisan Laura Wellman. Dichroic glass contains multiple layers of metal oxides such as gold, silver and titanium.  This allows Laura to create glass treasures that are vibrant with colors and textures. Her collections include bottle stoppers, letter openers, key rings, pendants, and purse hangers. They brighten up any room, and are a perfect gift and keepsake in both function and form.