Contemporary in wood spotlight
By Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, July 28, 2008
LAS VEGAS — Retailers seeking case goods geared toward younger consumers and those transitioning into smaller living spaces will find plenty of options at this week’s market here.
From AICO’s transitional, island-influenced Tides collection to the modern look and feel of Zocalo’s Avant, new bedrooms and dining rooms take the market in a more casual contemporary direction.
While there are still plenty of rustic styles and finishes to be found, vendors are balancing these out with cleaner-lined goods with dark espresso finishes or lighter finishes that highlight grain patterns.
AICO is a prime example of a company that’s offering a more transitional or casual contemporary lineup. It has 14 new collections this market, 11 of which are more transitional or contemporary. Its Lili collection, for example, is a transitional group with Asian/Arts & Crafts influences that is available in rub-through Dynasty Black or Oriental Red finishes.
The Tides collection features a shutter treatment with Bungalow Brown and Island White finishes. A platform bed has bamboo slats woven together with leather strapping.
The focus on transitional and contemporary is a shift for AICO. In the past, more than 80% of the company’s line was traditional with heavily carved and curved shapes, said President Larry Rinaldi. Now, with this latest round of introductions, just over half the line will be traditional footprints.
Companies like AICO also are adding more value to the product mix with multiple table configurations and tables and beds with storage. New furniture also is being scaled to fit in slightly smaller living spaces.
Eleven of AICO’s 14 new groups, including two traditional groups, also are about 10% to 15% smaller in scale than its typical product, which makes them well suited for smaller living spaces. Pieces also have plenty of function, including platform beds with underbed storage.
“It not only has to look right, but it has to be useful and functional and has to deliver on a durability aspect that says that this is made really well,” Rinaldi said.
Aspenhome’s Savvy Solutions program is a good example of furniture scaled for smaller starter homes, second homes and retirement homes. It includes the Cambridge group, which features a new panel bed and sleigh bed.
Fairmont Designs’ Concorde Suites is a contemporary bedroom, dining room and occasional collection made with anigre veneers and Asian hardwood solids in a cognac finish. It includes dining and bedroom pieces with flared brushed steel legs that match the hardware, and dining chairs with curved, brushed steel arms. The upholstered seats and chair backs come in textured oyster or chocolate colored fabrics.
The china cabinet has functional aspects such as lighted glass shelves, a center drop-lid surface, pull-out serving shelves, wine rack and lined silverware drawer.
The group aims to mirror the success of another more contemporary- leaning group called Caprice that Fairmont began shipping in February.
“Caprice was so successful with its easy, casual living design; we felt this was a great opportunity to follow up on a winner,” said Brian Edwards, president of Fairmont’s residential furniture division.
He added that the design of Concorde Suites reflects the company’s expertise on the contract side and the type of look it offers to higher-end hotels.
Fairmont’s Art Deco-inspired Dominique bedroom and dining room collection has more oval and serpentine shapes and other design features such as carved ribbon moldings and metal legs on select pieces.
Four different dining table formats, including a single pedestal table with a glass top, incorporate different aspects of these designs, giving each a distinct look.
Excelsior Designs melds its typical modern design elements with an Italian sense of style and craftsmanship. This is seen in a new upholstered panel bed in its Bella Vista collection that is available in four different fabric colors.
Ligna has two new clean-lined bedroom groups this market that are geared to buyers with more transitional or cosmopolitan tastes. These include the 10-piece Transitions in a rosebrown-espresso finish with charcoal-finished hardware. Made with Indonesian mahogany veneers and Asian hardwoods, a five-piece group retails for $1,499.
The Port collection has a cosmopolitan look and feel accentuated by its espresso and medium cinnamon finish. Made with Indonesian solids, a five-piece group retails for $1,799.
New product being brought out by SLF and sister company Pulaski also has a transitional focus. Pulaski’s Midtown is a lighter scaled, clean-lined group, while its Eastside bedroom is a transitional group with serpentine-shaped fronts and saber-shaped legs.
SLF’s Seascape is a transitional bedroom in a black rub-through finish that’s contrasted with nickel hardware. The group incorporates hidden storage features, including a bed with a storage headboard and footboard and sliding drawers on case pieces.
“People are talking about the storage aspect,” said Guy Walters, vice president and general manager. “It just seems like it’s a driving force. We continue to bring out groups with underbed storage.”
Klaussner’s Proximity is a transitional whole-home collection that also has storage elements. The bedroom has an underbed storage option and a nightstand with hidden charging stations for mobile phones and laptop computers.
Wynwood’s clean-lined transitional Westport bedroom has two beds, including one with three storage drawers in the footboard.
The company has added storage options in its beds over the last few markets and the approach has done well, said Sarah Balmer, merchandising and design coordinator, adding that Westport also is a modestly scaled set that can fit well in both master and second bedrooms.
Broyhill’s Loft Exchange is a contemporary bedroom and occasional table group featuring diamond-matched ribbon mahogany veneers in an auburn-brunette finish.
Las Vegas exhibitors aren’t limiting their new offerings to transitional or contemporary. For example, Klaussner’s Madison Lane is an updated traditional collection with a deep cherry Bordeaux finish and black nickel hardware.
Broyhill’s Southwest Casa Grande is a 30-SKU southwestern-inspired group built off a successful occasional group. Made with oak veneers in a distressed rustic finish, it also has multimedia design elements such as leather accent panels and nailhead trim.
Meanwhile, Lane’s Country Living Heritage collection features traditional American-style bedroom and dining room pieces made with hickory veneers in midtone brown and ebonized finishes. New pieces include a platform sleigh bed with a reversible headboard and an adjustable-height dining table for more traditional or casual dining formats.
Orleans takes a European traditional approach with Madrid, a Spanish-influenced bedroom and dining collection, and Le Palais, which features a dining table with carved top in a distressed antique chestnut finish and gold highlights.
Standard’s Churchill Manor is another of the market’s most traditional footprints. The European-influenced bedroom and formal dining pieces feature recessed inlays and antique brass hardware. A leg table in the group can seat up to six, while a larger double pedestal version can seat up to eight. The bedroom includes a sleigh bed with a high headboard and an oversized three-drawer nightstand.
Standard also is showing two domestic youth and master bedroom groups under its licensed Kathy Ireland brand that are more contemporary in nature. These include Sandalay, a nine-piece group in a cherry finish with cast-metal hardware, and Mandalay, a nine-piece group in a cherry finish with decorative geometric grill details.
Other exhibitors with a domestic production focus include Brown Street Furniture and sister company Vermont Tubbs, Legends, Furniture Traditions, Harden and Vaughan-Bassett.
