Early blogging and Web reviews of the new furniture store Croft House have focused on the reclaimed materials — deeply patinated pine salvaged from a 1905 building, perhaps, or oak recycled from an 1880s distillery.

But two other elements may make Croft House's story different from all the other retailers hawking reclaimed-wood furniture these days: location and price. Croft House founder Riley Rea started making his designs at a warehouse just south of downtown Los Angeles, selling the pieces to whomever stumbled across his posts on Craigslist. Now he and a core team of about a dozen people still mill wood, weld steel, upholster cushions and deliver orders from 27th Street and Grand Avenue, keeping the new Croft House showroom across town on La Brea Avenue as much of an L.A. story as possible.

"When we started, it was important to use resources available here — work force, tooling, we wanted to keep it all local," said Rea, pictured above left with business development director Alex Segal. Though many companies consider overseas manufacturing as an inevitability, Rea points to the advantages of local production: better quality control, lower shipping costs (financially and environmentally) and a quicker turnaround for made-to-order and custom tables, seating, beds, bookcases and more. Shoppers might expect to pay a premium, but the prices — at least for now — are remarkably reasonable.

Step into the La Brea showroom and you'll see an 84-inch dining table crafted from strips of hand-brushed hardwood for $1,500, above right. You'll also see a reclaimed-plank coffee table for $775, rustic bookcases and consoles starting at $575 and industrial steel end tables for under $300 — all available for purchase online as well.

Keep reading to see more of the furniture, all made to order, in L.A. ...

Our yearly lists of most popular home photo galleries and articles certainly contained some surprises. Before we race ahead into 2011, here's one final look at five photo galleries that you might have missed the first time around:

1. Bali high: A Santa Monica family builds their dream tropical retreat. The gallery just missed making our year-end list, getting edged out by a nose. Credit: Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times

2. Remade modern: An L.A. couple dive into the remodeling business. Project No. 1: Their own home, updated for a new era. This gallery premiered in August but continues to draw readers; had we given it one more month to collect clicks, it probably would have cracked our top 10 for the year. Credit: Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times

3. Hacienda style: An architect, interior designer and landscaping veteran revive a 1920s hacienda with sophistication and a few visual surprises. In rankings dominated by modern design, this house still managed to hold its own. Credit: Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times

4. Popsicle-stick furniture: David Hrobowski builds tables, chairs, lamps and mirrors, stick by stick. See to believe. Credit: Ann Johansson / For The Times

5. Milan furniture fair: A photo gallery with our coverage from the world's premiere showcase of contemporary design ranked as our No.1 photo gallery of the year, excluding home tours. We'll be on the scene again in April (perhaps once again running into Philippe Starck, above). Follow our reporting from the 2011 show via our Milan Twitter feed. Credit: Franco Forci / For The Times

They sit, they stay, they never bark. These cardboard canines are the creations of artist Marc Tetro. Punch out the body shapes from a single sheet of cardboard, follow simple instructions on fitting the pieces together, and voila — man's best cardboard friend.

The artist has designed a dozen variations, including boxer, beagle, basset hound and golden retriever. We picked up the pug and Boston terrier pictured here for $10.95 apiece at the South Pasadena shop Marz, (626) 799-4032. The store reports that it still has Yorkies, schnauzers and Westies in stock.

Tetro's e-store has the whole pack on sale, $10 a dog, with shipping starting at $6.95.

If you're still shopping for a dog or dog fanatic, may we also suggest the Packabowl. The flexible food and water bowl can smush easily into luggage or be tossed into the back of the car. Given how dogs are on their way to supplanting babies as the ultimate objects of household obsession and paranoia, should we be surprised that the manufacturer touts materials that are "BPA and phthalate free"?

Packabowl is $18 plus $7.95 for shipping through manufacturer Polkadog Bakery. Angelenos will find it for $18.99 at Urban Pet.

You'll find more holiday shopping ideas in L.A. at Home's gift guide.

-- Craig Nakano

Upper photo credit: Bob Chamberlain / Los Angeles Times

Lower photo credit: Polkadog Bakery

If you like your wine with sweet oak notes, how about oak furniture with aromatic hints of a robust red? The latest design from Marina del Rey furniture maker Cliff Spencer sources its wood from Napa Valley wineries. Oak that's added to steel vats to flavor wine usually gets tossed, but these boards -- stained various shades depending on the varietal -- are then cut and reconstituted into handsome display boxes finished in beeswax. Price: $290, sold directly through Spencer's e-commerce site.

The wine rack is No. 47 in our gallery of 99 gift ideas for home and garden.

-- Craig Nakano

RELATED:

The 100% reader-generated Virtual Holiday Craft Fair

Holiday shoppers, how about a precious gift of time? At Gold Bug in Pasadena, owner Stacey Coleman swears that this hourglass runs on weighty silver-plated sand.

It comes in a wooden gift box, so you don't even need to wrap it. Price: $42. (Dismembered concrete hand sold separately.)

The store also is well stocked with the cheeky Lisa Wood insect dioramas we blogged about last year.

If the hourglass is more your style (and budget), the L.A. at Home crew has more finds just like it. The piece is No. 92 in our gallery of 99 gifts ideas for home and garden.

-- Craig Nakano

Photo: Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Modern Auctions sold about 70% of the 500-plus lots in its Sunday sale, and though that normally would be the end of the story, the auctioneer wrote a sequel.

Furniture, lighting, rugs, artwork and other pieces that did not generate bids high enough to meet the reserve -- the minimum price the owner was willing to accept -- are being offered for sale again, this time at set prices. Those no-bid prices are based on the reserve plus the buyer's premium the auction house charges on all sales.

What does this mean for would-be buyers? It means you're paying the lowest price for which you could have won the piece at auction, except you don't have to deal with competing bids or guessing the seller's reserve. You pay the minimum amount, the owner unloads his or her piece and the auction house gets its commission.

The idea came from Internet sites that not only solicit bids but also sell merchandise at set prices, LAMA Managing Director Shannon Loughrey said. She expects to field inquiries on the current inventory through mid-November.

Browsing the list of unsold lots and comparing the new set prices against the catalog's pre-auction sale estimates makes for interesting reading. Among the lots that went unsold is "Man's Face," above, a 6.25-by-4.25-inch earthenware tile by Pablo Picasso, estimated at $3,000 to $5,000. It's selling for $2,940.

The pair of 1960s modern end tables above, manufacturer unknown, had been estimated at $800 to $1,200  for the lot. Now it's selling for $490.

A Frank Gehry-designed snake lamp -- 5 feet, 7 inches long -- also went unsold Sunday. Circa 1988, the signed piece was one in an edition of 60. The pre-auction estimate was $18,000 to $25,000. The post-auction price: $18,375.

Believed to date to the 1930s, a drafting desk by the legendary Kem Weber was estimated at $3,000 to $5,000. The post-auction price: $2,450. Keep reading to see more auction leftovers offered at no-bid prices ...

The home decor industry may still be in a post-recession slowdown, but if fall furniture collections are any indication, consumers are supremely busy in one particular room: the home office. High demand for residential desks may not exactly bode well for the nation's workforce, but at least it has spurred more options for those setting up shop at home.

Manufacturers are rolling out a number of new desks tailored for house and apartment. British manufacturer Thelermont Hupton's latest, the Farm, above, consists of individual saw horses made of solid ash that can be topped with a work surface of your choosing. Buy some additional horses as sculpture, and you've got yourself a stable. The company will begin taking orders soon for delivery starting in January, a spokeswoman said. Keep an eye on the firm's website for pricing and availability.

For the stressed-out and overwhelmed, there is the piece of simple beauty to the right: the aptly named Covet desk by designer Shin Azumi.

The solid oak frame is open and airy while still providing a ledge for document boxes. A nicely angled drawer on the right provides a tad more stealth storage. London-based Case Furniture started selling Covet in September for 1,025 British pounds, or about $1,600.

Keep reading for more noteworthy designs — practical workhorses, budget buys and some inspired statements against cubicle conformity ...

Comparing dresses with dishes might not be the most obvious metaphor, but in describing his studio’s forthcoming Ovale dinnerware collection, Ronan Bouroullec summed it up perfectly: "It has an elegance and delicacy," he said, "but is still easy to wear."

Indeed, for top designers such as Bouroullec and his brother, Erwan, that is the challenge: crafting beauty and sophistication in a time ruled by practicality.

When the worldwide economic crisis began to deepen more than two years ago, the legendary Italian accessories firm Alessi approached the Bouroullecs (that's Ronan on the left, Erwan on the right) with a very specific question: Could you create tableware that incorporated stainless steel and thus provided workers at an Alessi factory with another project in the pipeline?

The Bouroullecs said yes, knowing full well that their task was further complicated by the fact that their client was best known for whimsical, often humorous pieces. Whimsy and lightness in such dark economic times?

The brothers found their answer in simplicity: a range of objects that are effortless in beauty and uncomplicated in spirit. "We wanted to do something for everyday, something you could use for your breakfast -- rustic," Ronan said by phone from the Bouroullecs’ studio in Paris.

Ceramic plates, bowls, cups and lidded containers ($14 to $85 apiece) bear gentle curves and ever-so-slightly asymmetric forms. Stainless steel pieces ($112 to $275) are double-walled, with an air pocket acting as insulation to keep soup warm and ice cold. Together, they form an elegant yet pragmatic collection premiering at industry shows this month and landing in stores and online this fall.

What’s next? The designers will have a retrospective of their work in fall 2011 at the Centre Pompidou, as well as a bevy of projects that include a sailboat for mass production.

"I am -- we are -- fascinated by objects," Ronan said. As their fame spreads, commissions roll in and long days end with phone interviews from editors half a world away, he added with a laugh. "I have to admit," he said, "I don’t like appointments. I’d rather just spend hours and hours just drawing objects. It’s my joy."

Alessi Los Angeles, 301 N. Robertson Blvd., West Hollywood; (310) 276-7096

-- Craig Nakano

Upper photo: Ovale collection. Credit: Alessi

Middle photo: Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec. Credit: Studio Bouroullec

Lower photo: Ovale detail. Credit: Alessi

Four years ago, before the words "salvaged" and "repurposed" had become as cliche as red coral and self-declared "curators," the cover of our print section featured three guys in Seattle. John Wells, Seth Meyer and Jim Newsom stood by giant slabs of discarded timber -- a tree cut that had been cut down by the city and later turned into the coffee table pictured at the bottom of the page. The caption pointed out that if you look closely, you can match the table's crevice to the right slab.

Since that issue appeared, the company has taken off. Last year Urban Hardwoods opened a showroom in San Francisco. Now their migration south includes a new storefront in West Hollywood, where they showcase their specialty: solid wood furniture made from salvaged city trees.

Spokesman Mason Goodhand said the 10-person team decided to expand despite the shaky economy -- and conventional wisdom, some might say.

"People have been telling us, 'Congratulations. I can't believe you're doing this, but good for you,'" Goodhand said, chuckling.

But the San Francisco showroom has done well, he said, and with a much larger market for contemporary furniture in L.A., Urban Hardwood is moving ahead with a mix that has worked well so far: tables, desks, stools and headboards -- some solid wood, some constructed with slabs set on blackened steel bases. Goodhand hinted that shoppers might see some variations on the theme in the months to come in the new store.

Open Tuesday through Saturday. 741 N. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles; (424) 204-9802.

-- Craig Nakano

Photo credit: Courtesy of Urban Hardwoods.

This just in: The Pet Gear Clip-On Pet High Chair.

Says the news release from CSN Stores: "This hilarious high-chair is a must-have for any dog who wishes to dine in style with the family and forgo the usual scraps from the floor."

Price: $36.95.

Is it just me or does even the dog seem to be saying, "Are you kidding me?"

Reader captions welcome. Submit them via comments.

-- Craig Nakano

Photo credit: CSN Stores

UPDATED! Check out the Hammacher Schlemmer variation, if only for the photo.

Dwell on Design opens to the trade on Friday and to the general public Saturday and Sunday at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Earlier this week we checked in with the man behind the show, Dwell on Design Brand Director Michael Sylvester. We asked what it takes to pull off what's billed as the West Coast's largest design event.

Question: Dwell on Design involves more than 200 exhibitors, dozens of speakers and two days of home tours, among other attractions. How long does it take to organize each show, and how many people are involved?

We start planning next year’s Dwell on Design before the current one has taken place. Our 2010 exhibitors will re-sign for 2011 while the current Dwell on Design is still underway. Programming of onstage content and home tours takes shape about six months before show. Our attendee marketing ramps up over several months and hits full speed in the last few weeks before show.

The production of Dwell on Design involves everyone working at Dwell Media in some way or another. Our core event team is supported by our editors, who provide content programming; our design and production specialists, who produce a huge volume of print and online material; and our marketing department, which takes on a diverse range of communications and operations tasks. We also have a passionate network of sales reps around the country who are great at selling integrated advertising and exhibiting packages. It's a team effort!

What’s the most difficult part to plan?

Managing the growth is a challenge. Our show has been growing rapidly, and making decisions about resourcing months in advance can be tricky. Also on another level, coordinating 120-plus presenters for a three-day show is a bit like herding cats. We have a small team dedicated just to that task.

The home tours are always popular. How do you go about selecting which homes will be featured?

I like to present a diverse selection of homes that represent thoughtful examples of modern design in a variety of aesthetic styles. In programming the tours, I like to develop some contrast, for example, by selecting a polished high-budget project that is starkly different from a more modest, small-scale home. Once I commit to one home, that house has an impact on the next selections. I like to balance new construction with remodels, if possible. There is so much great architecture in this city, it is sometimes challenging to keep track of all of the new work.

What are you most excited about this year?

I enjoy seeing Dwell Outdoor take shape -- the full-scale prefabs in a garden setting -- you can forget you’re inside the convention center. Also our Asia Now exhibit curated by designboom will be popular this year, I am sure.

When the show closes on Sunday, what’s the first thing you’ll do?

Start packing up the show, which takes a couple of days. Then I’ll go home and sleep for a week.

-- Craig Nakano

Photos: Architect Rebecca Rudolph's remodeled Atwater Village house, part of Dwell on Design's Eastside Home Tour on Sunday. Credit: Los Angeles Times.

The results are in from the Important Design sale last week at the Chicago auction house Wright. We previewed some of the lots earlier. Here are some of the more notable bids, starting with: 

George Nakashima's 1958 walnut-framed Origins lounge chair and ottoman, above, had been estimated to go for as much as $7,000. It sold for $5,000, the low end of the pre-auction estimate.

Meanwhile the Jean Prouvé desk, right, had been estimated at $40,000 to $50,000. Standard Desk, No. 21, a 1940s design constructed of enameled steel, oak and limestone, ultimately sold for $57,500.

For more results, including eye-popping prices for a Michael Graves tea set and George Nelson clock, keep reading ...