Eclectic ottomans creating a style stir
By Joan Gunin and Gary Evans -- Furniture Today, October 16, 2006
At The Market — Ottomans, no longer seen as merely a handy hassock or frilly footstool, are gaining new ground as a functional yet decorative accent.
While today's budget-conscious consumers may be holding off on big purchases such as sofas and bedroom suites, a leather- or fabric-covered ottoman can easily lift one's designing spirit. These occasional bits of color and contrast can give instant gratification to any homeowner seeking to freshen up their home.
And with a new level of creativity evident in terms of shapes, trims and embellishments, oversized ottomans and benches are often taking center stage as the focal point in a room.
Freestanding ottomans, footstools, demi-benches and the like are in rich abundance this market. In addition to providing decorative flair, they also can serve such multi-functional uses as extra seating, cocktail tables, or, yes, even as a resting place for tired feet. As storage units, they may boast lids, removable trays, drawers and doors as well as a seating component.
A range of applications
These rounds, cubes and three-sided wedges are not just for the living room anymore. Poufs are popping up all over the house, with secondary uses as cocktail tables.
And why not? After all, ottomans have been playing a role in homes for centuries.
Ottomans — upholstered pieces without backs or arms — first appeared on the fashion scene in the early 18th century in Turkey, where they were associated with reclining. But they probably have been around even longer, as even the ancient Greeks utilized stools that were lightweight and portable.
Today, ottomans are versatile enough to fit into almost any room in the house. For example, upper-end designer, manufacturer and retailer Barclay Butera likes using small round ottomans for the master bath and large square or rectangular ones for the living room.
In all, Butera offers about 10 ottomans in his Barclay Butera Home (BBH) line. Only two or three of the ottomans are merchandised and sold in combination with chairs; the rest are presented as stand-alones.
Since BBH's ottomans start at $600 retail and run up to more than $2,000, Butera builds as much value into them as possible so that customers are "buying heirloom, or generational quality." The Elizabeth, for example, has a box pleat all around, and other models sport details such as tufting, nailheads, casters and a variety of leg choices.
Butera finds tufted applications to be more practical than solids because the ottoman retains its shape and look when someone sits on it.
Items ?fill the gap'
Jack Donahoe, president of Leathercraft, said one-fifth of his custom upholstery business is made up of "items" such as ottomans, cocktails, benches and accent chairs.
Donahoe said such specialty pieces fill the gap as the sofa business slows.
"We make up for it in these pieces," Donahoe said. "They are unique because they don't match and have no relation to the sofas or the chairs."
Accent pieces also are very suitable for novelty coverings, embossed leathers, trims and two-tone treatments, he said.
Sometimes Donahoe uses small armless/backless benches to encircle a large cocktail ottoman, or he tucks them under a coffee table for casual dining. He calls such applications "cocktail seating" or "conversation areas."
Smaller benches also are appropriate at the foot of the bed, he said.
The retail tickets of $800 to $1,000 on everything from a bench seat to a 36 by 36-inch cocktail ottoman are priced relative to the other parts of the Leathercraft line, he said.
"These are little ways for a designer to tie into a color, too," he said. "It's 'eye candy' but it also works as seating."
Vanguard sells "a ton" of ottomans, said Dixon Mitchell, vice president of merchandising, adding that the pieces are a "consistent seller," both as stand-alone pieces and as items paired with chairs and other upholstery.
According to Mitchell, the two segments are about equal, but stand-along pieces have been gaining steam, particularly as options to tables with storage, such as those with lift tops or shelves.
To help build consumer awareness, the company's Web site at www.vanguardfurniture.com devotes a page to benches and ottomans.
From a design standpoint, Lisa Frudden, marketing/creative director for Palecek, said the ottoman allows for flexibility in an era where people are not tied to one look in their home.
"It can be moved around the room, plus it provides extra seating," Frudden said. "In some cases, an ottoman serves as a wonderful centerpiece as a coffee table."
Frudden attributes ottomans' current popularity to "the many different functionalities they provide" in the home.
At Zocalo, leather ottomans are designed to complement wood collections.
"Ottomans are such a versatile piece, either for storage, as a cocktail table or for relaxation for living room, bedroom or occasional," said Marketing Manager Amy Neal.
This market, the importer offers two tufted bycast leather offerings: Carbondale, a round storage unit in garnet, mocha or espresso, and Beacon Hill, a larger rectangular cocktail trunk with storage.
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