Arts & Crafts style thrives in casual dining
By Heath E. Combs -- Furniture Today, February 22, 2010
HIGH POINT — Among the classics in many casual dining suppliers' stable of styles is Arts & Crafts.
The style is constantly being updated and offered in new interpretations. Price points run the gamut — from promotional and mid-priced all the way up to the cream of the crop from one of the genre's originators, L. & J.G. Stickley.
Here's a look at three groups generating strong activity in the category right now (a best seller from Ligo and two well-received recent introductions (from A-America and Aspenhome).
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What's hot: A-America's Brookhurst Dining. A seven-piece set retails for $2,199.
Key features: In solid American cherry and hickory, Brookhurst builds on A-America's successful solid-oak Laurelhurst collection, a very traditional Arts & Crafts design. This set features exposed pegs and tenons and an equalizing cable glide system that works with one hand. Chairs have ample seating and steam bent slats that are ergonomic for comfort. Brookhurst is available with a three-door curio-sided server.
Why it sells: Crystal Nguyen, vice president of merchandising for A-America, said Arts & Crafts is one of the classic styles in wood furniture, along with Louis Philippe, Shaker and British Country. Mission looks do particularly well for the company in the South, Southeast, West and Midwest, she said. They also have a following in the Northeast if not made out of oak. In the Northwest, where A-America is based, there are “many Craftsman homes with details in windows and frames that go well with Mission or Shaker,” said Nguyen. “People in Seattle are high tech-oriented and we love nature because we are surrounded by mountains, lakes and ocean. What appeals to us is a cleaner look décor but with a sense of warmth.”
What's hot: Ligo Products' Santa Fe Dining. A counter-height, five-piece set retails for $599 to $699.
Key features: This counter-height dining set has a double-thick top with clipped corners and self-storing butterfly leaf. It is available with an optional bench and is finished in a rich, medium-oak, distressed finish.
Why it sells: Dan Angus, Ligo's senior vice president, said dealers have responded well to this Santa Fe-inspired Arts & Crafts look. “The retailers have been more likely to buy just the dining sets than the full collection of curios and servers,” Angus said. “The darker wood tones are what we're having success with rather than the light oak finishes that you would see in a Frank Lloyd Wright kind of Mission.” Ligo's Arts & Crafts-style collections sell best in New England, New York, Pennsylvania and the upper Midwest, Angus said. The company sells mostly counter-height sets in the style. “Our customer looks to us for a well-constructed, popular price point counter set more than a regular-height set these days,” Angus said.
What's hot: Aspenhome's Bungalow Baby. A five-piece set is priced at $1,499.
Key features: Introduced in October 2009 and about to hit retail, Bungalow Baby features oak veneers and hardwood solids in a golden brown finish. Leg or trestle tables are offered with leather arm and side chairs. A matching server is available.
Why it sells: According to Jena Hall, executive vice president of design and merchandising at Aspenhome, Aspenhome reviewed the long history of Arts & Crafts styling to determine elements for Bungalow Baby. “I was looking back to the original Arts & Crafts period during the time of William Morris of England, who is considered by many as the father of the movement. It is fascinating (when you consider) that design movement (and how it stood) as a counter trend to the industrial age, and compare it to our own current eco-style (movement) as a counter to wasteful consumption,” Hall said. Today's green designs and traditional Arts & Crafts styles share some common values, Hall added. They include hand-crafted details, an emphasis on grain patterns and purposeful function. During the design process for Bungalow Baby, Hall said she found “a great early 20th-century kitchen cabinet in an English decorating magazine. The brackets and light details that were recessed into the wooden soffit were fantastic” and ended up inspiring Aspenhome's new version.
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