Accent chairs swing contemporary
By Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, November 19, 2007
High Point — Accent and occasional chairs are leaning toward more transitional and contemporary styles, reflecting consumers' desire to simplify and diversify their room settings beyond traditional décor.
Taylor King, which specializes in traditional frames, made a bigger push into transitional at the October High Point Market with 20 new frames.
"It is still a very small portion of our line, but that is why we are trying to expand — it is an area where we see growth," said Tanya Comer, director of marketing.
While the company calls the style "urban loft," its appeal isn't restricted to urban areas, Comer said, adding that these types of lifestyle looks are now gaining more universal appeal.
"Cleaner and simpler has become more important to a lot of today's consumers," said Comer. "You see it in more urban areas, but as a whole, it is a growing category across the nation. It is clean and simple, but more sophisticated than what you see out there."
Among Taylor King's most popular models this past market was the Saylor chair. Retailing at $1,495, this model features a 360-degree swivel, wood legs and round base.
Room for expression
Rowe Furniture has been seeing increased activity in the occasional chair category, resulting partly from a slowdown in sales growth for loveseats.
"We are seeing faster growth in accent chairs than loveseats," said President and CEO Stefanie Lucas, adding that accent chairs provide a touch of fashion and color. "It's a great way to continually freshen up the look in (consumers') homes."
She added that women are feeling free to be more creative in their homes, without feeling obligated to buy a matching set.
This is one reason Rowe is having success with transitional-style frames. These styles, Lucas said, have broad appeal in the marketplace, complementing but not necessarily matching other pieces in the room.
"Think of it in terms of the way you dress — you have your basic skirt and top and how you accessorize it completes the outfit," she said. "It's the same with a room."
Best Home Furnishings has done well with contemporary-styled chairs for the past couple of years, said Greg Sicard, national sales manager.
These chairs are clean-lined models with finishes such as black, antique walnut and espresso. The most popular covers are simple solids and retro-styled fabrics.
Today, contemporary styles, both fabric and frames, represent 20% of the occasional chairs in Best's line, up from 5% to 10% a few years back, Sicard said. Contemporary represents about 20 to 30 of the estimated 300 frames in the company's line. With most of the contemporary chairs retailing from $299 to $499, the style is particularly popular among young consumers.
"They are looking for a fresh new look," Sicard said, adding that contemporary does well in most areas, not just urban markets.
If this past High Point Market was any indication, the style also could represent an even bigger part of Best's line in the future. At market, five of the eight new occasional chairs introduced were contemporary styles, and all are staying in the line.
For years, Moretti's Design Collection has built its business on the sale of traditional, heavily carved frames. Those still play an important role for Moretti's, but the company is leaning towards more transitional and contemporary designs.
Fahime Hayrapet, a spokesperson for Moretti's, said the company introduced two contemporary occasional chairs this summer in Las Vegas. Based on the success of those pieces, it brought out three more models in High Point, including ones with black and white lacquer finishes.
"These tend to be smaller sizes and fit into the home better," she said. "(They are) lighter and easier to move around, and the colors are coming away from the traditional heavy browns and beiges. We did that occasionally for designers, but now are doing it more for the stores and they are showing them on the floor."
P.A.M.A. Furniture also is known for its highly traditional models. But responding to market demands, it has begun balancing its approach with more transitional and contemporary styles. Transitional now accounts for between 30% and 40% of its 400 frames. Another 10% are contemporary.
Fabrics, finishes make the difference
"I think there is a fad going on right now where people want more of a clean line instead of heavily carved baroque pieces, said Vice President Ann Marie Pennisi-Page, noting that the company started expanding its lineup with contemporary frames in October 2006.
Traditional frames, too, can take on a more transitional or contemporary look depending on their fabrics and finishes, she noted. In October, the company added three new contemporary finishes — silver, white lacquer and rustic white.
Accent specialist Bailey Street uses fabrics to contemporize its Parsons chairs. The Couture Covers program features 25 interchangeable fabrics, including 10 launched this past October. These come in both skirted and non-skirted styles, which allows the chairs to be used in the dining room or living room as an accent piece.
Reaction to the program has exceeded company expectations, officials say, and the mix of contemporary and transitional styles has helped create interest.
"It allows us to be very 'on focus' fashion wise," said Chairman and CEO Jim Berk.
"We see a broad spectrum of purchases because we are offering a broad spectrum of covers."
The company plans another 10 to 15 new covers for the January Las Vegas market, including transitional designs, Berk said.
