Transitional, modern looks continue in furniture introductions
By Lisa Casinger -- Home Accents Today, 10/1/2005
The move toward more contemporary looks that began in 2003 still is going strong in case goods introductions this market. Sleek, neo-traditional, cleaner rustic and contemporary looks prevail as manufacturers answer the demand for pared-down looks.
Typically the October International Home Furnishings Market has fewer sweeping launches than April, and this year is no different. The rising prices for fuel, offshore labor and finishing materials, according to some sources, may herald the end of case goods price deflation.
Manufacturers are using words like clean, modern, transitional, retro-modern, mid-century and Art Deco to romance their debuts, although many continue offering the tried and true traditional looks that are the backbone of the industry.
As the trend toward the use of more organic, earthy elements across all categories of furniture and home accents continues, buyers will see case goods accented with tufted leather headboards, leather bindings, marble accents, banana leaf, cocoa shell, mosaic stone and more.
A handful of manufacturers are rolling out statement collections. Austin Gray bows in with a 42-piece whole home licensed collection with artist Terry Redlin. Bernhardt has four new collections, including Opal Point, the latest Martha Stewart Collection; Martha Stewart also will make an appearance this market. Caperton Furniture Works brings the Joe Ruggiero Collection to town and Excelsior Designs teams with Nicole Miller for her eponymous collection. Kindel Furniture debuts a collection based on George Washington's home, Mount Vernon, and Magnussen Furniture brings its Biltmore Estate for the Home collection. Alexander Julian's longtime contract with Universal Furniture is up and he's now working with Manchester Furniture for his latest furniture collection.
Here are a few more highlights:
Abbyson, IHFC D337, is adding Tribeca to its Park Avenue collection. It's a clean, modern bedroom with satin-finish walnut veneers, tufted leather headboard and harmonious carvings and stylish curves.
American Drew, IHFC C926, debuts several collections. Sophisticated, Art Deco/mid-century influences for bedroom and dining; Citations, contemporary bedroom and Creston, clean, rustic bedroom, dining and occasional with Mission and Arts & Crafts influences.
Art International, MS 348, debuts Gentry Manor, 18th- and early 19th-century European styling; Interludes, a contemporary take on traditional heirloom pieces; Vernazza, Tuscan-inspired; and Forum, large-scale pieces based on European interest in Greco/Roman styles inspired by the excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Austin Gray, 100 S. Main St., launches American Portrait, a 42-piece collection licensed with artist Terry Redlin that includes coordinating leather upholstery and accent chairs. Boulder Ridge focuses on architectural elements from Redlin's home, with rustic traditional styling and Reflections is a bedroom group in clean, lighter-scale Arts & Crafts-influenced styling.
Bernhardt, IHFC D600, brings Martha Stewart back to town with Opal Point, an eclectic modern collection with updated traditional forms, hints of Asian and Art Deco, and a strong mixed-media element, as well as Stonebrier with its relaxed traditional English style, Market Street combining cleaner traditional with continental influences of Louis Philippe and Empire, and the clean, contemporary Illumina.
Broyhill, IHFC C600, launches Chateau Calais (Louis Philippe-style), Villagio (Northern Italian bedroom) Aegean Shores (Regency style) Peristyle (transitional) and Chandon Manor (Corinthian Old World).
Caperton Furniture Works, MS 401, bows The Joe Ruggiero Collection, a broad line of tables, chests, desks and etageres, to include bedroom and dining in future introductions; painted finishes for Tom Seely traditional dining rooms in six colors, strawberry red, willow green, midnight black, cornflower blue, mustard seed yellow, butter cream; choice of cherry or oak tops; choice of painted or wood-finish knobs.
Century, MS 500, brings two collections, Marisol (heavily distressed, big scale Radiata pine from South America, clean European style, with mostly Italian and Spanish influences) and Villa Cortona (named after a town north of Florence, noted for its antique Italian furniture market, very Italian in style, heavily distressed, with lots of planking)
Cresent Fine Furniture, HS 204, delivers Crossings, the first series of Rick Shaver Traditions, a new line licensed with the New York-based interior designer with style inspiration from traditional period furnishings and interiors of the great ocean liners of the 1920s and 1930s.
E.J. Victor, 116 S. Lindsay St., launches its first pop-up unit for plasma televisions in Regency-style crotch mahogany veneers as well as additions to its Julia Gray and Carol Bolton collections.
Excelsior Designs, IHFC D1110, launches The Nicole Miller Collection. It includes 43 wood pieces, 12 styles of upholstery incorporating 235 fabrics and an assortment of leathers with sleek contemporary designs. The collection bows Excelsior's first fabric upholstery and poster bed. The company also launches its gallery program with footprints ranging from 1,500 to 2,500 square feet.
FFDM, US P302, offers Mid-Century Moderne (contemporary pieces for bedroom dining and occasional in American and French style) and Meeting Street (inspired by traditional Southern antiques with classic silhouettes in a relaxed, distressed finish).
Hekman, 200 N. Hamilton St., presents Metropolis (dining/entertainment/occasional in urban contemporary/transitional style drawing from European designs of the 1920s and 1930s) and Maison de Provence (dining/entertainment/bar/occasional pieces in eclectic, casual country French style drawing on rustic antiques found in France's outlying regions).
Henredon, 641 W. Ward Ave., unveils a 44-piece collection inspired by grand formal resorts, a plantation sense, but classic styling, as well as campaign elements and two lifestyles for Ralph Lauren (Modern Hollywood and Villa American).
Hickory White, 200 E. Green Dr., bows Continental Classics (predominantly light Tuscan Italian, with mix of architectural elements), three freestanding upholstered beds and Skyloft (contemporary dining room, occasional and upholstery).
Lexington Home Brands, 1302 National Hwy., Thomasville, brings a new Bob Timberlake collection, Salt Aire, which has a more upscale cottage/coastal style; Woolrich Summerstone Falls, upscale Western retreat look; and Liz Claiborne Modern Elegance, in Art Deco/mid-century inspired transitional styling.
Magnussen Home, IHFC-M1010, debuts Biltmore Estate For Your Home in classic European traditional styling, based on furnishings and architectural details from Biltmore, America's largest private residence.
Manchester Furniture, 1515 W. Green Dr., presents The Collections by Alexander Julian, which includes six bedroom and dining collections covering a broad selection of fashion-forward styles with Alexander Julian signature design icons.
The Platt Collections, 200 N. Hamilton St., introduces a fashion upholstered headboard program with six design-oriented headboards with a selection of fabric options and matching cases, Arpege, a 10-piece bedroom with detailed carvings, graceful oval and serpentine case shapes, and Encore, a 12-piece transitional dining collection with aframosia veneers on hardwood solids.
Powell Co., NFM 100, brings The Michael Payne Mayfair Collection, a traditional collection in a rich cherry finish, Michael Paine Sloan home entertainment center, contemporary styling in rich Merlot-finish walnut veneer and solid African mahogany and Villa Della Luna dining, occasional and accent furniture, based on art by Jana Kolpen and Mary Tiegreen in the story Dancing With the Moon: A Story of Love at the Villa Della Luna.
Pulaski, IHFC M300, adds Ebony Carlton Manor, a scaled-down version of Carlton Manor, to the Antiques Roadshow collection as well as Casa Cristina Urbana, 74 pieces for bedroom, dining and occasional; cleaner, more architectural than the original Mediterranean-leaning introduction. It also bows major additions to the Keepsakes line of curios and display cabinets, with a particular focus on interior lighting, in a good, better, best story and extensive additions to the Accentrics line of home accents, with more attention paid to occasional and jewelry items at starting price points.
Shadow Mountain, MS 315, debuts Escala Home Collection (bedroom and occasional pieces in European Country style), Timeless Country Collection (dining room and occasional items in rustic country) and Timber Heirlooms Collection (dining room in rustic retreat-style).
Superior Furniture, 310 N. Hamilton St., enters the bedroom category, targeting primary and vacation homes, loft/townhouses and youth bedroom with the ability to dress up or down through selection of wood stains and painted colors, and to achieve traditional, country and rustic tones depending on finish and distressing level.
Universal Furniture, 2622 Uwharrie Rd., presents Hollywood, (contemporized Hollywood Art Deco style), Grand Palace (opulent traditional styling), Back Bay (architecturally oriented cottage look) and Contour (sleek, low-profile modern style).
