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A8 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, December 6, 2000 Home & Garden An Oakville Beaver Feature To advertise in this section call 845-3824 Photos by Barrie Erskine Jennifer and Michael Haines sit at a teak dining room set in their Savanna Style home furnishings store, 1428 Speers Road, Unit 18. Also picture are other items available in the store. Savanna style rich in African heritage By Nancy Alexander SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Savanna Style, one of Oakville's newest home furnishing and accessories shops has a special feature built into every piece of furniture it sells--a bit of African history. This distinctive and vibrantly colourful shop features furniture from Zimbabwe created from reclaimed teak railway ties which were once part of the Cape to Cairo rail way line. The furniture is distin guished not only by its rich, warm, chestnut colouring, but by its den sity and weight. Just try to lift a dining chair and you'll see this is not just any piece of hardwood. No rambunctious child is going to topple these pieces. Savanna Styles owner Jennifer Haines says this particular type of teak is distinct from the variety with which most of us are familiar. It is so dense, she explains, that saw blades used in its manufacture must be sharpened every 15 minutes, as opposed to every six weeks with a wood like pine. Needless to say, durability is a major feature, but no more so than the beauty of the pieces which have a warm and classic appeal without looking overly formal. In addition to the larger dining room pieces, Savanna Style offers chests, cof fee and end tables, bookcases, blanket boxes and a butlers tray, all in the same Rhodesian teak with its beautiful, time worn patina. Smaller items such as boxes, CD holders, cutting boards, frames and even a briefcase are available as well. Although the furniture takes centre stage, each colour-washed room features unique African imports such as pottery, framed artwork, sculp ture, hand-woven bas kets, toys, bookends sta tionery and giftwrap. As interesting as the store itself is the story of how it came about. Haines, an Oakville native, was doing "the post-university travel ling thing" a few years ago when she met her husband-to-be, Michael Haines, who just hap pened to be her safari guide in Zimbabwe. As a result, she ended up moving there in 1995 and marrying two years later. Not long after, the couple decided to go into business, establish ing the first of two ven tures that involved man ufacturing, wholesaling and retailing small home accessories and T-shirts. Those businesses are still operating today. Having tasted success on one conti nent, the couple are now working hard to establish themselves here as well, both in terms of. the retail operation and in wholesaling their unique home acces sories. Savanna Style is located at 1428 Speers Road, Unit 18. Their preChristmas hours are 10-6, Tuesday through Saturday and 12-5 on Sundays. T)f H C T O R YM A YH A V EM O U E O ,B U T T H E C e n tr a l C le anin g HOLIDAY BEAM SAVINGS! STORE CENTRAL SPECIAL EDITION S ystem s ISS TtaH E R E T O S E R V EY O U 2YCM S m new VACUUMS BEAM · Central Vacuums · Powerheads, Hoses · Attachments & Accessories · Service & Installation · Beam basic Powerhead with 30' 2 way hose with attachments. · Superpowerful 136" waterlift canister S U P E RQ U IE TP E R FO R M E R| Model #2220 > Ultra quiet Super powerful 136" Waterlift canister · Complete with Rugmaster Powerhead >3 way electric hose & attachment set EUREKA V A C U U MC LE A N E R S PORTABLE VACUUMS Model 5185 Powerful 12-amp, two-motor system, Self-propelled, Toots-on-board REG. $450 M ig h ty m ite · Compact, powerful 8-to 10- j amps canister · Floor-to-ceiling attachments ( · Carpet nozzle with dual TRUE HEPA edge cleaning · Large dust bag capacity REG. $229 ISm art I la c M · Uprights. Stick Vacs ·Pow erTeam Canisters · Hand vacs ·Carpet Shampooers · Bags. Belts & Parts · Repairs C e n t r a l C l e a n in g Model 3685 ^ s 4 L E $ 179r^ Halton Vacuum Depot At:The Loblaws Plaza next to Pizza Hut S A E s 375 m l be TM HALTON 'I T 'S ' VACUUM 23T0 Trafalgar Road 2 5 7 -6 1 4 5 S IS S Sunday 12-4:00 ADVE! ING FEATURE R arely has the concept of instant gratification been applied so effectively to an age-old custom. W ith the flick o f a remote control, the natural gas now gives you the heat, glow, and realistic flam e of the traditional wood-burning fireplace. And it com es w ithout the cost and splitting of firewood, the dirt and cin d er holes in your rug, the maintenance of starting and keep in g up your fire, nor the concerns about air p ollution. T he only thing you don't get is the crackle, roar, and aro m a o f a real tire. 1 In N orth American homes, the advent of central heating m ade the fireplace more ornamental than func tional, several decades ago. But with its soothing `effect, the hearth remains a fundamental archetype in o u r lives. The fireplace h as always been the focal point," says Liz M artin, o f Hearth Manor Fireplace & Gift C entre, and h er husband Hans. "People seem to sit in fro n t o f a fire, and it kind of rekindles memories. It d o e sn 't m atter who it is." T hese days there's a vast vai of gas, and electric fireplaces to choose from. All hem are attractive, and many of them are stunning - like the modem black insert with gold accenting, the classic Vermont Castings natural vent gas, wood and electric stoves. "Cast non has been coming on stronger over the past couple of years, because it's more ornate." The mantle and cabinet surround is another fore most consideration, ranging in styles from swirling Greek stone designs, to warm hardw ood - accented by gleaming marble and tiles around the hearth. Operating in Mississauga since 1978. Hearth Manor has its own stone mason and cabinet maker on staff to do installations, or repointing of existing fire"A lot of people are into stone," Martin observes. Then there's the open flame gas log, and electric coal bed making the artificial fire look as authentic as possible. "With the gas you can zone heat, rather than run ning the whole furnace. Why heat the whole house, " Martin relates, "It's very inexpensive, reliable and clean." She notes that at 20,000 BTUs, gas costs just 11 cents an hour to operate. "People can save anywhere from 25 to 50 per cent on their healing bill simply by zone heating. They're turning down the thermostat." The trend to gas fireplaces is, you might say, booming - driven by empty nesters who no longer want to tend to a w ood fire, o r whose living space may no longer accom m odate it. There's a ls| the versatility factor. Martin notes the direct vent gas fire can be set up in any room in your house, with no need fo r a chimney. The electric fire place goes one better - you just plug it in. "Some people m ove out o f their house into a condo, but they d o n 't w ant to give up their fire place," shiejlays. "The am bience of an electric is great for any place." In an industrv full o f choices, make sure you get a fireplace that throw s o ff sufficient heat to warm the room in q jp stio n . It m ust have a proper variable speed fan. to distribute the heat evenly around the M an o r also has a truly staggering array from c u sto m g lass doors and fire 0 m antles and tools sets, log holders, fid m uch m ore. pig in things from Europe, the States, and [Martin adds. "M ost people, w hen they In 't believe w hat w e ' ve got." | affordable. I jT 'w m atter o f figuring out 1 o f firep lacef-y o ii w |n t. A lot o f people jze just^vhi [sses t :tion is offered before Sation.