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Inside design: East meets west

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Inside design: East meets west

Inside design: East meets west Author: Style At Home

Design Experts

Inside design: East meets west

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Only an avid adventurer and bona fide globetrotter could come up with a concept like this: creating a retail shop that connects us to the Far East through decor. In 2002, Shimon Finkelstein opened the doors to Artemano, a furniture and accessories store that sources its materials and inspiration from South and South-east Asia, bringing the exotic look we’ve come to associate with destinations like Thailand, Indonesia and India into homes across the country; he was joined in 2004 by Eyal Shoam. We love the artistic individuality of each piece, and we like to think of the journey each item took to land here in Canada. Here’s a closer look.


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Inside design: East meets west

A table tale

Artemano sources and creates furniture using wood that comes from all over South and Southeast Asia. Here we track the key production stages of live-edge dining tables from their beginnings in a Thai forest – it’s a process that can take more than five months in all!

Image by: Style at Home By: Erin McLaughlin Source: Michael Nangreaves

Inside design: East meets west

4 rules for decorating with raw wood

1 Strike a balance. Pair rustic rough-hewn pieces with clean-lined contemporary furniture. 2 Give it centre stage. Raw wood is an art piece in and of itself, so leave the walls unadorned and let the grain shine. 3 Mute the rainbow. Since there are already a handful of tones in many wood grains, keep other colours to a minimum. 4 Make it cohesive. Use two or three different woods and have more than one hit of each type.

Image by: Style at Home By: Erin McLaughlin Source: Virginia MacDonald

Inside design: East meets west

Wood 101

With renewal and rejuvenation top of mind, Artemano sources its exotic woods from forests that are certified sustainable and government regulated. Here are a few Erin loves. Rosewood Though slow growing, this wood is plentiful in India; grain varies from blond to burgundy in colour. Suar A fast-growing wood sustainably harvested from the limbs of trees grown for other purposes; grain boasts rich, high-contrast tones for an artful appeal. Recycled Salvaged from storm-felled trees, fishing boats, railways and old construction; features chipped paint and the patina of a storied antique.

Image by: Style at Home By: Erin McLaughlin Source: Style at Home

Inside design: East meets west

Furniture as art

What is it about natural-wood furniture that lends instant personality to a space? It could be that no two pieces are exactly alike, each revealing a unique grain and interesting knots – details that call to mind the wooded wonderland they came from. Nooks and crannies are welcomed and imperfections are celebrated, because they’re marks of character that can’t be faked. Whether it’s a sculptural coffee table formed from a solid stump or a salvaged-plank TV unit showcasing a rustic, rugged grain, raw-wood furniture like this proves Mother Nature is the best artist around. 1 Recycled-railway-wood TV unit with stainless steel legs, Artemano, $2,295. 2 Free-form mango wood bowls, Artemano, $75 per set of 3.

Image by: Style at Home By: Erin McLaughlin Source: Artemano

Inside design: East meets west

Tracking the production: Source

Wood is sources from a certified-sustainable forest in northern Thailand.

Image by: Style at Home By: Erin McLaughlin Source: Chris Terryn

Inside design: East meets west

Tracking the production: Measure

After being cut down, the trees are measured to determine what they'll be used for.

Image by: Style at Home By: Erin McLaughlin Source: Conteska

Inside design: East meets west

Tracking the production: Mark

Each log is marked with chalk to keep track of what each piece will become.

Image by: Style at Home By: Erin McLaughlin Source: Conteska

Inside design: East meets west

Tracking the production: Cut

The felled trees get trimmed down to their intended size with a chainsaw.

Image by: Style at Home By: Erin McLaughlin Source: Erin McLaughlin

Inside design: East meets west

Tracking the production: Fire

Smaller pieces are dried out in a temperature-controlled room or a kiln.

Image by: Style at Home By: Erin McLaughlin Source: Conteska

Inside design: East meets west

Tracking the production: Dry

Slabs of wood are left out in the sunlight to remove excess moisture.

Image by: Style at Home By: Erin McLaughlin Source: Conteska

Inside design: East meets west

Tracking the production: Stain

Slabs are stained with Artemano’s specially blended lacquer.

Image by: Style at Home By: Erin McLaughlin Source: Erin McLaughlin

Inside design: East meets west

Tracking the production: Show

After transport, finished pieces land in one of Artemano’s showrooms across Ontario and Quebec.

Image by: Style at Home By: Erin McLaughlin Source: Conteska

Inside design: East meets west

Tracking the production: Sell

The table is purchased, brought home, surrounded by other stylish pieces and admired by all.

Image by: Style at Home By: Erin McLaughlin Source: Michael Nangreaves

Inside design: East meets west

Tracking the production: Wild things

Artemano co-owners Shimon Finkelstein (left) and Eyal Shoam standing in front of a massive piece of wood they couldn’t leave without.

Image by: Style at Home By: Erin McLaughlin Source: Erin McLaughlin

Inside design: East meets west

Tracking the production: Nature's design

Snapped on-site in Thailand, this shot shows a sculptural piece of solid wood destined to become a console.

Image by: Style at Home By: Erin McLaughlin Source: Erin McLaughlin

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Inside design: East meets west

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