Metal bed shoppers going for simpler, cleaner designs
Young and old alike gravitating toward straightforward styles
By Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, October 10, 2005
High Point — Simpler designs are drawing the most attention in today's marketplace for many metal bed manufacturers and importers.
In some cases, simple means a traditional or classic brass bed design. In others, it is a more contemporary footprint with clean lines and metallic finishes.
Gone from some of best-selling models are the finials and castings with sculpted, carved looks that distinguished metal beds in the past. Today's spindles and top rails also tend to intersect at sharp right angles, while head and footboards have straight lines or gently sloping curves.
Such styling is seen in the Coven-try bed by Wesley Allen. One of the company's best-selling metal beds, the model features thin, straight spindles and a curved head and footboard that reflect the footprint of a classic brass bed.
The style is geared toward young and old consumers alike looking for simplicity in their furniture, said President Victor Sawan. Those customers, in turn, are setting the direction of the company's designs.
"We react to the public's tastes and to what the public buys," Sawan said. "We do not set the agenda. We have to make what they want to purchase. If we feel they are going in that direction, that is the direction we want to go."
Lately, there seems to be a drive toward simpler styles, he added. "There is a younger generation (of buyer) coming on board, and they seem to favor the simpler look."
Sawan noted that simpler designs also appeal to older generations, including those looking to decorate second homes.
Blending in
Classic, yet simple styling is also seen in two popular Fashion Bed Group models, the Montrose and the Adelaide. The Montrose has straight spindles, ball-shaped finials, simple castings and slightly curved top rails. The aged golden finish and black highlights are aimed at creating a match for popular wood bedroom furniture.
The Adelaide sports a traditional brass bed look with its antiqued brass top rails and ball-shaped finials. It features a Tungsten Gray gun-metal finish and antique brass highlights on its castings.
Less ornate and less complicated designs also are doing well at Elliott's Designs, said Elliott Jones III, sales and marketing manager.
"That seems to be what people want," he said. "If you have simple furniture, and throw Victorian design in there, it doesn't always go well."
Cost obviously influences such designs. As a domestic manufacturer competing with importers, Elliott's has to be sensitive to such issues.
Some of its newer, simpler designs have a suggested retail of $500 for a complete queen-size bed.
But the style also has to do with the lifestyles of those younger consumers the company is targeting.
"I think young people, particularly young urban professionals, don't want to spend a lot of time in their homes," Jones said, noting that these consumers like thin, fine lines that blend in with the rest of their casual room settings. "They are not that focused on their décor. They want something there, but don't want something big and fancy. It is not the main focus of their life. They want to accessorize, but they don't want to overdo it."
Comfort Designs is also known for its simple designs. However, these are more contemporary than most of those produced by other competitors in the category.
The company's No. 1 selling model is the Mercer bed. Available in Silverado and Charcoal powercoat finishes, it is geometrically shaped and constructed from one-inch square steel.
In this footprint, there is virtually no room for finials, castings or even the most slightly curved legs. The entire bed is shaped in straight lines and right angles.
Still room for elegance
Contrast that with the more whimsical designs of Pietrarte. Many of its more popular beds are anything but simple in design.
Its Toscana bed has a highly curved and hammered wrought iron head and footboard with curved scrollwork that tapers off into fishhook shapes. At a retail price of $1,100, the bed also features an antique landscape scene attached to the headboard.
The Provence bed, which Pietrarte introduced at the July Las Vegas market, is also a hand-forged wrought iron model. Curved scroll work and gently curved head and footboard give the bed a French countryside look and feel.
The Provence bed has a starting retail price point of $940. With a canopy that rises to $999.
"We just showed the Provence bed in Las Vegas and it did exceptionally well," said Dawn Farmer, marketing director. "It was a combination of the amount of forging and work for the price point."
Such styles, which have a touch of history and nostalgia, appeal to older, more sophisticated consumers, Farmer said.
"These two new beds are like pieces of jewelry, and I think that is what has brought attention to them," she said. "We wanted to do something different, and I think people are recognizing that."
The Toscana is available in a Tin finish, and Provence comes in an Antique Zinc finish. For an upcharge, these beds also are available in eight other finishes.
A new metal bed that Corsican introduced in Las Vegas also drew its inspiration from an antique. It is an ornamental panel bed with curved legs and similar curved highlights on the head and footboard. Its gray-green finish has rust and black highlights, giving it the look and feel of a turn-of-the-century bed.
