Upholstered headboard options give metal beds a fresh twist
By Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, May 19, 2008
High Point — For years, metal bed manufacturers have used customization as a way to remain competitive. Custom finishes and adjustable-height headboards and footboards are among the signature elements that set domestic producers apart from their import competition.
Now sources are promoting another option that is catching on in the marketplace — upholstered headboards and footboards. While still a small segment of metal bed sales, these fashion-forward models are starting to make a bigger splash in showrooms and retail floors.
Metal bed manufacturer Corsican featured a canopy bed with an upholstered headboard in the window of its showroom at the April High Point Market.
Wesley Allen, another southern California-based metal bed manufacturer, also showcased a modified version of its Toscana bed near the front of its showroom.
At recent markets, Canadian manufacturer Amisco has had upholstered metal beds on display in its showroom as well.
Upholstered beds, which offer a high degree of choice, comfort and style, have struck a chord with retailers, said Wesley Sawan, director of operations at Wesley Allen.
For one, they offer another level of customization for the consumer. Wesley Allen's line includes 10 upholstered metal bed models in six velvets and three leathers. The velvet colors include copper, sage, gray, fawn, oyster and ponge, the latter three of which are cream tones.
The leathers come in black, sage and sable, which is a brown tone.
Combined with 47 different finish options for the frame, the beds are a dream for designers, Sawan said, noting that they can choose a finish that matches the case goods and a fabric that matches the drapes.
Customers also can choose their own fabrics for the headboard and have them upholstered on their own.
"The possibilities are endless," Sawan said, adding that the beds provide "a visual variety ... It depends on their own imagination."
The company offered its top-selling upholstered bed model, the Toscana, with an open footboard this market. Based on the positive feedback it received on the $1,500 retail bed, Sawan said the company may bring out additional open footboard models in the future.
Sawan said that consumers also like the mixed-media approach of the bed. He added that an upholstered headboard can be more comfortable than a typical metal bed for those who like to sit up and read.
Corsican touts 25 different upholstered headboard styles on its Web site, said James Vacek, sales coordinator.
The company offers these beds in seven velvet colors and two muslin colors — black and off white. It also can apply leather to the headboard, but it would have to be the customer's own material.
Corsican's newest model, shown in the front window at market, was a $2,600 retail canopy version with contemporary design influences.
Other beds in the line range from traditional to transitional. But Vacek noted that the fabric itself can alter the style of the bed.
The frames also are available in 100 finishes, including six new tones introduced at the April market.
"We just (keep) coming up with new ideas and new approaches," Vacek said.
Delaney, a $499 retail upholstered metal bed, is one of Amisco's top-selling models. The headboard features 45 fabric options, and the frame comes in 10 finishes, said Mark Price, vice president of U.S. sales.
He pointed out that his company also is the only one that does upholstered metal beds with multiple finishes in its price range.
Yet domestic manufacturers are not the only metal bed sources coming out with upholstered headboards. In the fall of 2005, the Platt Collections introduced an imported line called Suite Dreams that included upholstered beds starting at $2,000 retail.
Sourced in the Philippines, the beds are available in six fabrics. Customers also can choose their own fabric or material to apply to the beds.
But not every manufacturer has embraced the concept. Donna Warren, president of Dallas, Texas-based manufacturer Metropolitan Designs & Décor, said her company has done upholstered metal beds in the past. However, the company never marketed it, so it remained a small part of the company's custom business.
Warren added that the company still has the capability to make such beds and may produce more in the future. But if she does, she said, she will continue to let the retailer and consumer choose their own fabric, versus the company offering fabric options of its own and guessing which ones will be in fashion at any particular time.
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