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INTERIOR
FASHION FOCUS
Ten
Furniture Trends Shaping American Homes
A snapshot of our lives, and how it's really lived, shows what direction
interiors are heading.
by Sharon L. Anderson
Consider the trends that
determine timbre and color of life: The advancing wave of technology
that relentlessly sweeps the old aside to make room for the new;
the ever-more-blurry lines between work and home; the jeans with
fleece tops that have replaced suits and power ties. Now, consider
the furniture we buy. See a connection? Furniture marketing specialist
Ed Tashjian does. Tashjian is vice president of marketing for Century
Furniture, Hickory, NC. He believes that nothing defines a society
quite like the surroundings we call “home.”
“Taken together, the trends that emerge from the millions of
transactions that make up the manufacture and sale of furniture
create a vivid snapshot of our world,” says Tashjian. “We
deliberately choose our surroundings to meet our daily needs and
to reflect our values, aspirational lifestyles and aesthetic preferences.
Think about it: what could be more suggestive of how we feel about
our lives than how we choose to sleep, dine, entertain and watch
the news?”
Esoteric, maybe, but it’s Tashjian’s job to think about
such issues. Representing a leading maker of luxury furniture requires
being sensitive and responsive to consumer trends. And while it
may not always be apparent why we gravitate toward soft champagne
sofas rather than bright red ones, or why we entertain in the garden
instead of the living room, there’s interest aplenty in noting
that we do.
So, what are the current trends in furniture? Tashjian identifies
the Top 10.
1. More options than ever. Today’s consumers tend to
be a pretty opinionated bunch. We like choices in everything we
buy—from new vehicle interiors to cell phone features and bank
account options—and companies are generally happy to oblige
us.
This is especially true for the furnishings with which we surround
ourselves. Take upholstery. To begin with, Century offers more than
250 frames ensuring customers can find the perfect style, both aesthetically
and ergonomically. Then come fabrics and leathers—more than
2,500 of them. There also are five different cushion fills for varying
degrees of softness/firmness. If that’s not enough you can
change the arm style, the skirt style and the finish on the exposed
wood areas.
Finally, there’s passementerie, the fringes, tassels, cords
and other glamorous trimmings. The point is this: a sofa can really,
truly, literally be one of a kind. The consumer decides which choice
best fits his or her home and lifestyle.
2. Lots of little drawers. Here’s a trend sure to appeal
to the inner child. Visit your local furniture store and you’ll
notice a sprinkling of small trinket drawers that pull out from
the sides of night tables, the fronts of dressers and other unexpected
places. It may be sort of a backlash against the current tendency
of manufacturers to make one big drawer that looks like three smaller
ones.
“Think of all the little drawers and cubbyholes on the old
roll-top desks,” says Tashjian. “People think they’re
fun. And that’s why we’re seeing them reappear, in moderation,
in today’s furniture.”
3. Fabrics warm up. A couple of years ago, people were covering
their upholstery frames in pale subdued fabrics: snow white, creamy
white, eggshell and so forth. Now, those light hues are slowly warming
up. Pale, buttery yellows and rich champagnes currently dominate
retail showrooms, perhaps accented with throw pillows in sage or
cornflower blue. Fun, bright, summery silks show up here and there
as well.
According to Anne Hood, senior director of upholstery merchandising
for Century, the upcoming market will find already-warm upholstery
fabrics becoming even toastier with hues ranging from brown sugar
to café au lait, apricots and burnt hennas. “We’ll
see lots of tapestries and paisleys in the spicy-brandy-rust-colored
families,” she predicts. “And accent colors are getting
brighter than ever with pinks, yellow-greens and oranges livening
up America’s living rooms.”
4. Function trumps beauty for beauty’s sake. Make no
mistake: looks do matter. If furniture is not beautiful and tasteful,
it won’t sell. But it has to be practical above all else. Fabrics
and finishes must be tough enough to withstand active children and
even four-legged friends. And designs must look warm and welcoming,
not museum-y or magazine perfect.
“People seem to be retreating into their homes and spending
more time with friends and family,” says Tashjian. “They
want livability without sacrificing style. That’s why so many
people are choosing to furnish living rooms with upholstery covered
in durable, weatherproof fabrics that are suitable for the great
outdoors.”
5. Functionality defined by the end user. What does functional
mean? Increasingly, the answer depends on what you want it to mean.
That means plenty of adjustable shelves, extra table leaves, home
office components you can put together the way the end-user wants
or needs.
Sometimes, adds Tashjian, the most multi-functional designs come
straight from the pages of history. The drop-leaf table from Century’s
Madera collection is an example of an old idea that still works
today.
6. Pieces that evolve. Our lives are not static. We have
children. Our children grow up. We move to a bigger home . . . or
a smaller one. That’s why, more and more, people are looking
for hardworking furniture that adapts to meet their changing needs.
Sometimes an entire piece evolves: china cabinets that would easily
work as bookcases. If a home is without a formal dining room, just
fill the cabinet with books and move it into the living room.”
7. Outdoor furniture goes elegant. Perhaps it’s the
inevitable result of conspicuous consumption. Perhaps it’s
a longing to reconnect with nature. Perhaps it’s simply the
fact that technology now allows for finishes that can withstand
even the fiercest weather conditions. Whatever the reason, outdoor
entertaining is hot right now. And not coincidentally, outdoor furniture
has become more tasteful, more beautiful, more expensive than ever.
“It’s really not even accurate to call it outdoor furniture.
It’s leisure furniture, and it’s stunning. People are
starting to think of their outdoor spaces as extensions of their
homes, and furnishing them accordingly,” Tashjian says.
8. Indoor furniture moves outdoors, outdoor furniture moves in.
As just mentioned, gorgeously crafted indoor-quality furniture is
taking its place in romantically lighted, flower-twined patios and
gardens. Tashjian says the converse is also true. Furniture designed
to be used outdoors is so beautiful that people are bringing it
inside.
“As mills perfected the high-performance acrylic fabrics used
on outdoor seating, they became more and more beautiful, more and
more comfortable,” he explains. “Hand and color and pattern
selections improved until these fabrics became suitable for the
living room. And many people do mix and match outdoor furniture
with their indoor designs. Families who have kids for instance,
or for those who want to create a relaxed but still elegant coastal
look, and it works.”
9. Advances in high-end electronics drive new innovations.
Technology changes so fast that it’s hard for mere mortals
to keep up. But furniture makers have to try. As expensive television
sets that no longer work in traditional entertainment centers become
more and more mainstream, furniture makers must figure out aesthetically
pleasing ways to house them.
Last market, for instance, Century’s Madera collection included
a plasma TV console designed to look like an antique Spanish chest.
Touch a button on the remote control and the TV rises on a hidden
platform.
10. Home office furniture comes of age. Remember the days
when the home office was almost an afterthought? Maybe a converted
guest bedroom? No longer. Today, most higher-end homes are built
with an office included. Not surprising when you consider the blurred
boundaries between work and personal lives.
Homeowners are actually designing this room, rather than filling
it with leftover pieces or hastily purchased odds and ends.
Century Furniture Industries, Hickory, NC, www.centuryfurniture.com,
is among the world’s largest privately owned manufacturers
of high-end residential furniture. Its broad product line of both
wood and upholstered furniture consists of bedroom, dining room
and occasional collections in traditional, transitional, and contemporary
styling.
WRAPPING WALLS IN LUXURY
Glossy Paint Adds Sophistication
and Elegance
The hottest trend in home decorating is sheen and shimmer according
to the Rohm and Haas Paint Quality Institutesm (PQI), Philadelphia,
PA. Satin and silk-like decorating is growing in popularity from
pillows to bed linens to luxurious textiles. And, as a perfect backdrop
for these rich home accessories, try a new paint finish for walls
and ceilings.
“Glossy paints are the perfect choices to add sparkle and shine
to living spaces and they provide the added benefit of a durable
finish,” offers Debbie Zimmer, decorative painting consultant
for the Rohm and Haas PQI. “Today’s glossier finishes
add a subtle sophistication to any room and complement current shimmery
paint trends.”
Here are four paint enhancements that add pizzazz to any living
space:
• Not quite ready to make all the walls glow? Then combine
both flat and glossy paint in the same area. For example, paint
three walls in a favorite flat hue and the fourth or accent wall
in the same color, but in a glossy finish for a light reflecting
enhancement created by this simple and easy-to-do change.
• Accent a chandelier and dinner candles by painting a dining
room ceiling with a glossy finish.
• The area beneath a chair rail can be enhanced with glossy
paint to complement tile, marble or wood flooring.
• Make a narrow hallway visually expand by painting it with
a high-sheen paint.
Whether you are transforming a space into one of sophistication
and luxury, or into a serene and subdued setting, the simple yet
creative use of paint sheen can make the space sparkle.
To help identify the top quality paint that’s best for your
home, ask for advice at your local paint or hardware store, or at
a decorating center. And to understand why top quality paint outperforms
ordinary paint, visit www.paintquality.com.
The Rohm and Haas Paint Quality Institute, www.paintquality.com,
was formed by Rohm and Haas Co. in 1989 to educate people on the
advantages of using quality interior and exterior paints and coatings.
The PQI’s goal is to provide information on the virtues of
quality paint as well as color trends and decorating with paint
through a variety of vehicles, including television appearances,
newspaper and magazine articles, and instructional literature.
Rohm and Haas, www.rohmhaas.com, is a worldwide producer of specialty
materials, with more than 100 plants and research facilities in
27 countries and company sales of approximately $7 billion in 2004.
EMOTIONAL CONNECTION INSPIRES
2005 CONSUMER PALETTE
CMG’s 2005 Consumer
Color Directions®
The emotional response to color humanizes the color palette developed
for 2005 by the color professionals participating in the Spring
International Conference of Color Marketing Group (CMG) in Hollywood,
FL, in April 2003. The industry experts selected future colors that
“convey a respectful, serious nature, yet touch the soul.”
CMG’s color professionals noted that the spa experience adds
a spiritual nature to color and refreshes, rejuvenates and cleanses
the palette. Consumers desire comfort, stability and security, but
optimistically yearn for bright and fresh signs of a better world
to come. While special effects diminish, colors appear to be infused
with light from within. That optimism is reflected in the color
forecast for 2005.
COLORS FOR HOME
Color is a substance, not just a surface. Infused with light, home
colors continue to soften and become more serene. Consumers form
an emotional connection with color, and these fresh and joyful hues
will bring healing to their lives. Many consumers still will be
playing it safe with color in 2005, but an optimistic desire emerges
for bright and fresh hues.
• Sea Coral—A sensually tactile hue comes home
from fashion and cosmetics. Yellow infuses pink with a healthy
glow.
• Latin Rose—Baked by the equatorial sun, red is
softened and neutralized. Latin Rose embraces us all.
• Twilight Shadow—Serene and safe, this red-infused
blue is airy and atmospheric. Twilight Shadow inspires spiritual
reflection.
• Eden—A new beginning, Eden creates optimism and
rejuvenation. This organic green is a symbol of the desire for
rebirth and recovery.
• Sheer—Like sunlight streaming
through sheer fabric, this white infused with yellow is clean and
bright.
FASHION TRENDS
Fashion is a movement, a seasonal blending and layering. Three emerging
directions influence the new color for 2005:
1. Rustic: Antiqued, vintage, distressed, tea-dyed, dusky.
2. Urban Sheen: Layered special effects, translucent, complex structures.
3. World Spiced: Textured, refreshed basic shades reinterpreted.
• Clay Pot—International
spice blends with global rustic influences into a shade suitable
for men, women, accessories and cosmetics. The solid shade, inspired
by old tapestries, rugs and textiles is familiar and comforting.
• Good Earth—This rugged and rustic explorer adventures
to red rock country and metropolitan rock piles. This personalized,
aggressive protector is up-country to urban for menswear, womenswear,
accessories and cosmetics.
• Thistle Bloom—This vintage, retro and antiqued
dusky purple will be enhanced with special effects such as metallics
and pearlescents and aluminized into shimmer and glitz. When behaved,
it acts as a neutral in the softest tint, and when muted is reminiscent
of
fog-dusted orchids and lilacs. Thistle Bloom signals fashion’s
return to purple.
• Late Night Blue—As replacement for black, this
saturated blue gives depth, and indicates trust and respect for
our heritage, patriotism, the military and their uniforms. It is
denim morphed into the darkest of hues and becomes richer than
black in menswear, womenswear, accessories and cosmetics.
• Sulphur—Khaki goes green and becomes an urban
survivalist shade. An edgy neutral with techno undertones, Sulphur
enhances layering and can be iridescent, translucent or shimmering.
Color Marketing Group (CMG), Alexandria, VA, www.colormarketing.org,
founded in 1962, is an international, not-for-profit association
of 1,500 Color Designers. Color Designers are professionals who
enhance the function, salability and/or quality of a product through
their knowledge and appropriate application of color. CMG members
forecast Color Directions one to three years in advance for all
industries, manufactured products and services. |
