Williams wanted a chair for his home. Primarily for visitors to squat when the come to his place. Now being in a temporary accommodation, Williams was not sure what kind of chair to buy. So after weeks of postponement, we finally decided to indulge in some shopping.

First we visited a store on Cathedral road near the famous chat shop called “Gangotri”. The shop was on the main road and had an impressive line up of wooden articles. Unfortunately he did not have a decent chair. He showed us a two piece “garden chair” (sorry no pictures) which cost approximately 1800 rupees. The piece was so flimsy that it looked like it would fall apart any moment. Plus it was too low, as in had a fairly low ground clearance. The second piece we saw was more fashionable and less practical. A kind of wooden folding chair. This was quoted at 2000 rupees and we knew we had to move on.

We wanted to head over to Royapettai next as it was the furniture centre of the city. We visited a store on Peter’s road which had a good and crowded store. The chairs over there were different. We could see quality in them but the prices were too high.

Our next stop was another small store on Royapeth high road. This store had a steel chair - powder coated for around 600 rupees (without arm rest) and 800 rupees(with arm rest). These are the kind of chairs which you would see in railway booking counters and banks.

Just across this store was a shop which dealt with moulded plastic furniture. He had two (three actually) models of chairs. One was from Nilkamal and the other one was from Supreme. The former cost 420 rupees and the later cost 400.

There was a third model (not in store at that moment) which was having ventilation holes on the sitting area. The cost for this was around 450 rupees and we decided to get this one instead as it would have more ventilation for the person sitting on it in an otherwise hot city - CHENNAI!

Having made the purchase we came home and were sure that it was value for money than the wooden and steel chairs.

The one we did not buy (420 rupees)

The one we did buy (450 rupees)

Images courtesy : nilkamalplastics.com

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Here are details of some of the stalls:

Cinebels-The Jamo Shop

A music related stall that had products including speakers, home theatres, amplifiers…etc. Brands on display included Jamo, Sherwood and BenQ.

Some pictures form the stall:

   

Links to Official websites:

Sherwood

Jamo

Cinebels

Tele Shopping

This stall appeared quite crowded. On display was a mini sewing machine shown below:

 

Lazy Bag:

A stall sporting bean bags which have become common place these days. The price of one bean bag would be around Rs. 2000. The dealer I spoke to claimed that it was pure leather. You might want to check the authenticity of the claims if you decide to go in for one though.

Pictures of the same are presented below:

  

Tata Sky

They featured the Tata Sky DTH. There are many schemes that one can choose from.

You can check all the details here:

Tata Sky

Softlink Panasonic:

Featured were kitchen appliances like electric rice cookers and mixers/grinders. Some images of the same are made available below:

  

Panasonic Kitchen Appliances

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Often people are wondering what kind of wood should go into their furniture or wardrobes. What made us write this piece today was for the very same reason. Most of us hear “Teak” as the first choice of wood. Of-course there are other types of wood out there as well. We covered MDF boards on Aavaas in the past. Today we hope to give a small brief of the other types.

Image Courtesy : buildingconservation.com

a) Teak

An undisputed first choice for making furniture and doors, Teak has come a long way from being a practical choice to a lifestyle statement. Its prices are always on the rise and coupled with the fact that it’s maturity time varies between 50-70 years, purchasing it is easier said than done.

Teak is classified as a hardwood due to it’s properties. It is famous for its weight (heavy feeling) and durability.

b) Rosewood

If teak is the king, then rosewood would be considered to be the queen of wood. It is heavy and hard. Rosewood is noted for it’s stability and resistance to decay. Being dark reddish brown in color has perhaps earned it the name. Good quality rosewood also possesses a distinct fragrance.

c) Rubberwood

A new entrant into the furniture scene in India, Rubberwood is from the same tree which is used to extract latex for manufacturing rubber! It is sturdy and cheaper compared to the king and queen woods we mentioned above. Very few people are even aware of such types of wood.

It is estimated to be nearly 30% cheaper than traditional types of wood like teak or rosewood which are also tough to source. Although lighter than teak, rubberwood still has a good density and is quite resistant to screw and nail withdrawal. This means longer life for your fixtures. Rubberwood is also easily available as its maturity varies between 7-16 years.

d) Plywood

The first three wood types are naturally occurring. Plywood like MDF is artificially created.

Plywood is preferred by many carpenters because it is cheap, resistant to cracking, shrinkage and has a high degree of strength.

You can read all about Plywood at Wikipedia - - > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plywood

More on types of wood can be read here, here and here.  We will cover laminates in the coming days.

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Owing to comments that the cryptic clues were both tough and slightly absurd, we have done away with cryptic clues for this week. This weeks crossword is “know your furniture” and the clues are straightforward and very easy to crack. So happy solving and hope that this time the responses will be more enthusiastic. You could leave the number of clues you solved and the time taken in the comments section.

Please click on the picture to open in a new window

Clues

Across

1. It has a backrest that can be tilted back, causing a footrest to extend from the front [9, 5]
5. A chair whose seat turns around horizontally on its base [6, 5]
9. A low table usually placed in front of a sofa for holding ashtrays snack bowls magazines and beverages [6, 5]
10. A backless and armless single seat supported on legs or a pedestal [5]
12. On which several seated people have a formal meal [6, 5]
18. A light portable bed which maybe collapsible or foldable [3]
19. Furniture having a broad usually level writing surface as well as drawers or compartments for papers writing materials (pl) [5]
20. A desk for writing [7, 5]
21. A tapestry, carpet or similar object hung against a wall as a decoration (pl) [4, 8]
22. A bag or a case made of cloth that is filled with feathers or other soft material (pl) [7]

Down

 2. An upright cupboard like repository with drawers, shelves …etc (pl) [8]
3. Furniture for displaying articles [4, 4]
4. A piece of furniture consisting of a set of drawers in a frame [5, 2, 7]
6. A thin slab of wood metal etc fixed horizontally to a wall or in a frame for supporting objects (pl) [7]
7. A table or stand usually surmounted by a mirror in front of which a person sits while applying makeup [8, 5]
8. Chair with two curved bands of wood attached to the bottom of the legs [7, 5]
11. A long seat often without a back for several people (pl) [7]
13. A small three legged table or stand [6]
14. A piece of furniture upon which a person sleeps [3]
15. A stock of clothes or costumes (pl) [9]
16. A picture or design executed in paints (pl) [9]
17. Decorative cover for a bed [3, 5]

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