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Metal beds tap Europe for inspiration

Wesley Allen plans several intros

Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, October 20, 2005

HIGH POINT -- Metal bed manufacturers and importers are drawing on European and neo-traditional style influences for their new introductions this market.

The most obvious example of that comes from category design leader Wesley Allen. Most of its dozen new introductions in its Wesley Allen and Amanda Sutton lines feature European designs or influences, said President Victor Sawan. They include the Toscana II, an Italian-influenced bed with a metal frame and headboard and footboard upholstered in six different varieties of fabric.Its Gaston bed is a casted iron sleigh bed in French country styling inspired by a park bench in southern France. Elegant scrollwork decorates the siderails and the sides of the posts on the head and footboard.
Aberdeen is a British-influenced, traditional-style bed with open footboard return posts. “If you look at our styling, there is a strong European influence,” Sawan said. “The majority of the styling is going in that direction.”Another new metal bed this market with strong European influence is Hooker’s Casa Blanca bed. Retailing at about $1,499, its intricate scrollwork on the headboard and footboard give it the appearance of a Mediterranean or Moroccan gate.Some new metal bed introductions by Largo have subtle European or traditional influences in design and finish. The Seville has a textured and weathered look with its old iron finish and ornate scrollwork in its headboard and footboard. The Trellis canopy bed has a silver finish and leaf castings, while the Cutlass has elegant curves and an Italian silver finish. The introductions retail between $250 and $399 for a complete, queen-size bed. Neo-traditional designs appear in a metal bed in Stanley’s Louis Louis collection. Its silver finish gives it a contemporary flair, but curves along the headboard and footboard give the piece a distinct Louis Philippe look and feel. It retails at $795.Powell Co.’s Boston metal bed also has a neo-traditional or regency flair. Retailing at $299, the bed comes in an antique pewter finish. The finish is accented by dry brushing and hand padding on key elements such as castings, corner posts and finials on both the posts and the feet.“It’s a good value for that kind of workmanship and material,” said John Conrad, vice president of merchandising.European and neo-traditional influences are not the only trends in the category this market. Largo’s Atlantis bed, for example, is a more contemporary model with a pewter finish and mostly clean lines and simple castings on the headboard and footboard. Pacifica, one of five new Largo day beds, is also contemporary in design and finish. Amisco’s Brodie bed is a contemporary bed with clean lines and turned posts. This footprint allows the cross beams on the head and footboard to intersect with the posts at an angle, a unique design feature. Retailing at about $549, it also is available in 10 metal finish options. Another decorator metal canopy bed at Hooker is slightly more transitional in design. It retails at about $799 and has a metal nightstand and bench that are sold separately.For some vendors, the metal bed category appears quiet this market. For instance, Powell, which normally has several introductions, only has one new metal bed this market. Amisco also is making only one metal bed introduction in High Point. Design leader Fashion Bed Group has no new metal beds coming out this market. Instead, it is launching several fashion-oriented wood and upholstered beds, a growing category for the company. Others however, are planning major launches. This group includes Largo, Wesley Allen and Hillsdale Furniture. Like Wesley Allen, Hillsdale also is planning at least a dozen or so new metal beds this market.

“We’re going to attack this category very aggressively, said Jim Hembree, Hillsdale’s vice president of sales. “For us it’s been very profitable…It’s been a good growth area.”

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Metal beds tap Europe for inspiration

Oct 30, 2005

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