Cologne touts flexibility, comfort
By Powell Slaughter -- Furniture Today, February 3, 2002
COLOGNE, Germany — A flexible approach to how consumers use furniture and a focus on comfort highlighted product introductions at the Cologne International Furniture Fair last month.
Case pieces that fit a variety of rooms or configurations got heavy play, as did upholstery combinations that can be arranged for various room sizes or uses. While sleek, low profiles for both upholstery and cases prevailed, they offered a standard of comfort that belied their cleanliness of line.
The smaller living spaces of the heavily metropolitan European market, where even high-end consumers might live in homes that are much more compact than is typical in the States, are reflected in European producers' creative approach to product.
Full-line manufacturer Team by Wellis, for example, continued its use of full-room vignettes to promote the way its cases and upholstery mix and match.
"We find it very important that the whole line has a common idea that goes through all the products," said Heidi Bucher, a director of Team by Wellis. "Every product must be able to mix with any other in the line. Even if a case was designed with the bedroom in mind, you can also use it in a living room setting." Upholstery major Rolf-Benz identified two long-term trends to guide product direction over the next few years: "living in a box" and "living a dream."
"With 'living in a box' we're addressing the fact that many people are living in the city Monday through Friday, and on the weekend living out in the landscape, the countryside," said Anne Franz, product manager. "We can't take everything with us, but we don't want to lose our comfort and feeling of home when we go."
"Living a Dream" refers to how the events of Sept. 11 have affected European consumer consciousness, reinforcing a trend toward viewing the home as a haven.
"Since September, we think more about the important things," Franz said. "We want to be in a centered environment, safe surroundings. It's about a sense of wellness, and we hope that consumers will buy new things to help them achieve that feeling."
Furniture "to live on" was a theme at leather upholstery producer W. Schillig, where modular systems and lounge chair/ottoman combinations with deeper seating predominated. W. Schillig plans on showing the latter looks in High Point this April.
"There's a trend toward having the upholstery not as something to sit on, but something to live on," said Erik Stammberger, president of Schillig USA. "You don't want to sit in your bed and sleep during the day, but you still want to relax. That's why we have this lounge chair collection."
Schillig also continued adapting its motion line with the flexibility of short or extended footrests, higher or lower backs, and motorized or plane motion. Lounge chairs have flexible backs with adjustable tension.
"People are spending more time on their furniture," Stammberger said. "The furniture has to be modular and very flexible."
Vierhaus, a large European producer of occasional and dining tables, was a prime example of the creativity and engineering that's the hallmark of many manufacturers at this show. Among the patented functions in the company's table line is a one-hand operation to expand tables from cocktail to dining or gaming size.
In addition to selling furniture through retailers, Vierhaus licenses its systems to other manufacturers — so don't be surprised if the patents show up in High Point. Eric Thomas, export manager, said the company "had a number of U.S. manufacturers here interested in buying our system to use in their tables."
Vierhaus has increased production of the systems in Germany.
"We tried once to produce the system in Taiwan, but you couldn't open it with one hand," Thomas said.
| This upholstery group from Rolf-Benz addresses what the company has identified as a trend among European consumers — taking their city lifestyles to their country vacation getaways. |
| Thomas |
| The Elegance bed from Auping's Match is a versatile concept that matches three styles with creative functional accessories. |
| An expansion mechanism, illustrated in a transparent acrylic model below, is operable by one hand and is available in all Vierhaus table styles. |
| The upholstery in this vignette from Team by Wellis configures in a variety of ways. This display couples it with a low, castered cocktail table. |
| Movable cubes around the exterior give a Ruf Betten bed an imaginative array of surface combinations. |
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