主题：世道不好啊... -- 煮酒正熟

昨天收到一个我们常去光顾的家俱店发来的信，说他们决定关张了，但为了感谢老主顾们的关照，会在公布这个消息之前，为老主顾们弄一个为期三天的清仓甩卖，现已停止营业，员工正在整理店面和商品，mark down prices...

原文照抄几句他们的信文吧：

Dear Customer and Special Guest:

For over 68 years, Kxxxxx Furniture has been serving Berlin and surrounding areas with fine quality home furnishings and impeccable service. It is with no small amount of soul searching that we announce the CLOSING OF OUR STORE, as I have decided to retire from the retail furniture business to concentrate on other interests.

On behalf of our staff, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your loyal support and patronage by having THREE PRIVATE COURTESY SALE DAYS before announcing our closing to the general public. WE PROMISE YOU THE BIGGEST FURNITURE INVENTORY BLOW-OUT EVER HELD IN OUR 68 YEAR HISTORY!

看了以后心里挺不是滋味儿。这家店我们一直挺喜欢。店面开在一个离我们10迈左右、有点破落贵族味道的白人老区，店老板是个老中。跟老板礼貌性地聊过两句，他一直用英文，所以聊得也不深。我猜这家店68年来就没动过地方儿，所在的小 town 衰落了，地价也没怎么太长，店租可能比较低廉，而且一直是靠老主顾撑着，所以业主也就没什么动力迁店。

这家店在 04年我们刚去的时候，还是 PH 的代理 (PH = Pennsylvania House，一家美国中高档古典风格的家俱厂商)。PH 比较白 --- 我指的是文化上。据说 PH 曾在它能控制的店面打过一段标牌：We proudly announce that all our home furnishings are made in U.S.A. 作为对众多从中国拿货的竞争对手的无声的道义谴责。可惜，商业社会的现实与残酷，是不会太理会文化和道德上的自命清高的。PH 无可挽回地

没落了。与 PH 价位同档但格调低俗的 Thomasville 且抖了几年，比PH高的 Ethan Allen 在 sub-prime 之前也是蒸蒸日上，就是因为它们没有那块文化道德标牌...

扯远了，拽回来，还是说那家小店吧... 不过要过会儿再叙啦

生存高于民主.

萨科齐也得对100架飞机低头.

EA刚把VERMONT的厂关掉，现在就剩北卡

的一个厂了。

我最近要更新主卧室家具，有什么好的推荐吗

现在我已经挑花眼了

To me, the item most difficult to find is the b-e-d. Remember I told you I was interested in a French classic cane bed in white wash at EA? I didn’t get to see the real thing until last weekend. When I was infront of her I knew she was not mine. The antique finish looks kinda fake and low class… and the price is outrageous…

I know another French bed within my budget, but it needs a little research, as it’s from some furniture dealer at High Point, NC. Actually it’s very close to where you live. Maybe you should just go there, explore, and talk to those dealers. That way you can get some really nice deal.

Other items (dresser, night table, bench, etc.) are relatively easier. But I wouldn’t recommend a whole set from the same brand. That’s just boring. Mix-and-match is always the best way (probably the only way) to get a high-end and sophisticated look. EA has a night table with neat and elegant simple lines… I’ll post a picture for you later.

看了很多，有些似乎还不错，但是就是没有找到那个 "the one"

我还在等一见钟情的感觉

对于整套的，我和你一样，也是缺乏感觉。

这个不太是我的style,不过你也许会喜欢?

I like this color. It’s fresh, crispy, airy, young, and modern. The four antique pieces (bed, night table, secretary, and arm chair) are the countervailing forces, so the space as a whole becomes diversified and thus highly sophisticated.

Having said that, this color is a bit too bold or crispy to me. It would take me forever to fall asleep in such an energized space. My dream bedroom color would be more muted and pale; kind of grayish blue.

The bed is pretty, with an old world charm and hand-painting intricacy, but not exactly what I’m looking for.

As for bed, what color are you particularly interested in?

可是某人那儿通不过，他喜欢mahogany - ish

上面那个图，我觉得比较特别，但是作为卧室不够舒服，我想要一种让人一下子就陷进去，温暖又浪漫的感觉

Just dump him.

Next one, please!

Just kidding. But I agree with you 100 percent that bedroom should be one’s retreat and therefore should be serine, comfy, romantic, subtle, fresh and airy. Mahogany may not be the best choice when it comes to subtleness, freshness and airiness. Antique white or pale grayish blue would be much better choices. I think in case of disagreement of this kind, the person who’s widely considered to be the one with better taste, deeper involvement, and more resources should have the final say.

then it's my turn~~~~

我现在觉得自己越来越没有感觉了，我的taste有被某人拐带走的趋势，他觉得high quality + clean cut就是好的，这倒是简单

更可气的是，小朋友现在也不听话了，我们也要re-do她的房间，她居然看中那种retro style, 我是怎么看怎么不顺眼

所以我来找你补课啦