California House returns to High Point with domestic line

Features 35 wood finishes

Tom Russell -- Furniture Today, October 21, 2011

HIGH POINT — Case goods manufacturer California House Home & Recreation is returning to this week's High Point Market with a new bedroom line available in 35 wood finishes.

The Sacramento, Calif.-based company, which showed in High Point for several years and was last here in 2005, will have six new domestic bedroom groups at the October market. They'll be available in a variety of finishes on species such as oak, maple, cherry, walnut and mahogany, in styles ranging from traditional to transitional.

A five-piece set, which includes a bed, dresser, nightstand, chest and mirror, starts at $2,999 retail, the company said. The new groups will be available to ship this month.

California House has been producing furniture in Sacramento since 1953 and is largely known for its entertainment furniture and game tables. It has a 70,000-square-foot factory that employs about 55 workers.

Credenzas start at $999, while a custom home entertainment wall starts at $2,499. Like the new bedrooms, the products are available in 35 wood finishes on various wood species.

The company decided to add bedroom in June in response to a customer's request, said David Start, vice president.
He said he believes the sets will interest dealers with features such as full extension ball bearing glides on drawers, and doors with adjustable European-style hinges. He added that the sets are finished in durable and environmentally friendly conversion-varnish top coats developed by a San Francisco company, and plywood materials used in the sets are CARB compliant and formaldehyde free.

The company has shown at the Las Vegas Market as recently as 2008, but has mainly concentrated on other events such as the CEDIA electronics show in Indianapolis and the International Billiard & Home Recreation Expo in Las Vegas.

Start said the company decided to return to High Point partly to showcase its new bedroom line.
"We are getting into bedroom, and if you are not showing at a major furniture show, you are not going to place any bedroom," he said.

"The time is right for High Point because business has started to turn around and High Point gives us an opportunity to meet with the customers that have survived the battle over the last five years," he added. "We also believe that there is a rising ‘made in America' sentiment spreading throughout the country, and we want to be there to show our advantages as a domestic manufacturer."

Among these advantages, he said, is the environmentally friendly nature of the line, along with freedom from the uncertainty of foreign currencies and rising labor costs and from concerns about having a lot of overseas product tied up in warehouses.

"As an American manufacturer, our customers can purchase products as sales warrant, eliminating the large up-front expense," Start said.

Along with custom finishes, the product also can be scaled to customers' specifications. Lead times on special orders are about five weeks, he said, and currently the company is shipping in about four weeks from the time of order.

In High Point, the company is showing in booth 1-528 of the Made in America section of the Suites at Market Square.