The Art of Gathering: First Look
Every piece is available now at our Shorewood store, just north of downtown Milwaukee, and much of it is custom furniture made to order.
Let’s Set the Scene
A modern ode to gathering, staged outdoors in an open field. A candlelit dining scene set for a crowd, paired with cozy living room vignettes layered in rich textiles, vintage rugs and custom upholstery. Together, they capture the warmth of being together, indoors and out. Because life shouldn’t be all deadlines and appointments. The real magic happens when we’re together.
All About the Furniture
The planning for our annual Fall/Winter campaign began back in April. We pulled out the swatch books, called our favorite furniture makers and got right to scheming. If you’ve ever stopped into our store, our picks won’t come as a surprise. Here’s the shortlist:
We chose these makers for their history, their craftsmanship, and the human touch that brings each piece to life. We know you’re here for the nitty-gritty, so let’s get into it.
The Sofas
CR Laine is a go-to for Stone House Collective, and here’s why. The family-owned company has been building upholstery in Hickory, North Carolina, since 1958, and a fourth generation is now learning the trade. Their craftspeople build each piece one at a time on eight-way hand-tied springs, a time-tested method that keeps a seat supportive for decades, and they match patterns top to bottom and side to side. Add an extensive range of styles, fabrics and custom options at an approachable price point, and it’s easy to see why we keep coming back.
Sofa One | The Callie Sofa in Foxcroft Fawn
The Callie is truly the people’s sofa. She’s comfortable, casual, and just tailored enough to feel a little sophisticated, and she toes the line between feminine and masculine. Both the seat and back cushions are filled with CR Laine’s signature Comfort Down filling.
Sofa Two | The Douglas Sofa in Finley Steel
The Douglas is a Stone House favorite, and not only because we covered it in a stunning steely blue. We also added a ruffled skirt, which completely changes the look and feel of an otherwise simple sofa.
When you shop for furniture at Stone House, your options are limitless. If you have a vision, we can bring it to life. That’s because we work with makers we trust, our staff knows furniture construction and fabrics inside and out, and you get dedicated one-on-one time with us to design your perfect piece.
The Dining Scene
The star of the show, truly, and not just because we decked out the table with terracotta pots of dried hydrangeas and flickering Trudon candles.
The Table
The Bok dining table from Ethnicraft is one we keep coming back to. (Seriously, we’ve lost count of how many projects we’ve sourced it for.) It’s solid wood in a varnished oak brown finish, and it extends to ten feet, which makes it a force to be reckoned with. Unlike a traditional extendable table, the Bok has no removable leaf. The extension lives right the table and simply slides in and out.
The Banquette
We know, we know. “The dining scene is the star of the show,” but the star of the scene is the custom banquette from Taylor King. We wrapped it in Degusta Cocoa, a delectable linen-blend fabric with a striped floral motif. Then we dressed it up with a contrast welt, a durable beige fabric on the seat and, of course, a ruffled skirt. (Who would we be if we didn’t add a skirt to something?) It’s gorgeous from every angle and every bit as comfortable as it looks.
The Captain’s Chairs
No dining table is complete without a pair of stately captain’s chairs, so we chose these from Taylor King’s Taylor Made line. Here’s something to know about Taylor King: there is one maker per piece. Each frame is upholstered by an experienced craftsperson, one piece at a time.
You may have heard the saying “made by a human is the new luxury,” and it couldn’t be truer in our industry. We purposely work with makers that have a rich, multigenerational history and a human touch. That isn’t possible 100% of the time, but take a stroll through our showroom and you’ll notice just how much of it was made by real people. It matters to us.
The Dining Chairs
Also from Taylor King’s Taylor Made line, we brought in dining chairs in two distinct styles to give you options. We chose classic shapes because most people don’t replace their dining chairs very often, and these frames will stand the test of time. We covered them in the same durable beige fabric as the banquette seat, a color that goes with quite literally everything.
The Ambiance
No harvest table is complete without a showstopping tablescape. Our designer Megan and our Brand & Marketing Manager KJ worked tirelessly on this one, foraging and dreaming up the perfect look. But florals aside, the real star here is Trudon. You may have heard by now: Stone House Collective is now carrying Trudon, widely regarded as the world’s oldest candle maker, and the history behind this brand is everything.
Trudon’s story begins in 1643, when Claude Trudon opened a little shop on Paris’s rue Saint-Honoré selling groceries and candles. Within a generation, the family had a foot in the door at Versailles. By the 1700s, they had acquired the Royal Wax Factory and become the official candle supplier to the French court and its major churches. They stayed with the monarchy to the very end, even supplying Louis XVI while he was held captive. Napoleon was a fan, too: he gave his newborn son a Trudon candle set with gold. Somehow, the company survived both the Revolution and the invention of electric light.
We urge you to come in and smell these fragrances for yourself. They’re otherworldly, and they’re selling fast. We carry everything from clean-burning, dripless, unscented tapers to scented candles, room sprays and even perfumes. Fun fact: we burned Trudon in an open field during the shoot, and everyone who walked by commented on the scent. That’s how powerful these candles are. You can smell them across acres of open land.
Stone House Made
We know you’re curious. Every pillow in the shoot was handcrafted by our in-house fabrication specialist: hand-filled, handsewn and intentionally designed to stand apart from the rows of throw pillows at big-box stores. (Trust us, these don’t even compare.)
A fall collection wouldn’t be complete without a little plaid, so we started with Maxwell‘s Brummell Plaid in Hazel. From there, we added a striped floral from Jasper, Red Oak Stripe in Burgundy. It’s 100% hemp with a block-printed effect, a printing method we’ve always admired.
To see the full collection, stop by the store and ask a retail associate. You’ll be the first to see, touch and take them home. And once they’re gone, they’re gone. That’s the beauty of handmade.
This is just a first look. The full Art of Gathering photoshoot drops in the coming weeks, so keep an eye on our Instagram and Facebook. In the meantime, everything you’ve read about here is waiting for you on our floor in Shorewood. Come sink into the Callie, pull up a chair at the Bok table, breathe in a little Trudon and see our Stone House Made pillows before they’re gone. We’ll save you a seat.
