Function, style versatility drive tables
By Heath E. Combs -- Furniture Today, December 7, 2009
HIGH POINT — A cocktail table with more action than the average bear goes a long way in helping sell these staples of the living room.
Touches that create consumer interest include casters for mobility, lift-top surfaces that turn tables into workstations and style versatility that enables pieces to fit into a variety of rooms easily.
Here's what selling well at four stores right now.
What's hot: Hooker Furniture's Brigano cocktail table.
Key features: The piece's use of wrought iron and tiles goes well with leather and fabric upholstery in neutral tones.
Why it's selling: “It (has) a tile border around it and wrought iron legs and goes with pretty much anything. We have it with leather and it looks really great,” said Ashley Miller, chief operating officer with Indiana Furniture Showcase of Valparaiso. Miller said that he shows the table with leather upholstery from Bradington-Young in the store's new design center. Miller added that the table is a natural complement to higher-end upholstered items. It retails for $499.
What's hot: Peters Revington's condo-sized cocktail tables.
Key features: Shown here is a condo-sized cocktail table from the Kiel collection. It features oak solids and veneers and a high-pressure laminate top with a medium oak finish.
Why it's selling:: Tina Walsh, a sales associate at Central Furniture in Wilmington, Del., said that she's seen a move away from “McMansion”-sized furnishings. Many local consumers are scaling down and looking for smaller pieces and Peters-Revington's condo-sized tables appeal to this growing group, she said. “They've got a new line out called 'Condo' furniture. It's smaller-scaled. Especially in this area, there are many moving into retirement homes and assisted living. They don't have a lot of space, so the small table is what they're looking for,” Walsh said. Occasional tables in the group retail in the $350 to $500 range at Central.
What's hot: Lane's Breckenridge cocktail table
Key features: The table sports a Mission-style look, slate top, gun metal accents and casters. It is also available in a square version.
Why it's selling:: A warm medium oak finish, casters and slate accents are all big selling features for this table, said Chadwick Bergman, operations manager at Farnham's Furniture in Casper, Wyo. The cocktail table retails for $299 at the store and is shown there as part of a complete room group that includes other tables and fabric upholstery. “People like the (table's) slate accent colors,” Bergman said.
What's hot: Aspenhome's Young Classics Liv360 cocktail table.
Key features: The Young Classics Liv360 cocktail table has an adjustable-height lift top designed for laptop work, games and casual meals. The base has a file drawer and four storage drawers to keep supplies.
Why it's selling:: “I think they do well just because of the consumers today and how much they're actually living in their living rooms. They also function as a home office piece, (which) enables customers to stay in their living rooms working with their families,” said David Comeaux, operations manager for American Factory Direct, Mandeville, La. Comeaux said that products with a clear features-and-benefits “story” enable stores to engage the customer and make the selling process easier. “These give us something unique and different they're not going to see at every other furniture store,” Comeaux said. American Factory Direct retails the Young Classics cocktail table for $698.
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