Tables make a statement through larger scale, styling
Jeff Linville -- Furniture Today, 7/14/2005 6:48:00 AM
Bigger houses dictate styles
HIGH POINT — Occasional tables are growing, and it’s not just the sales totals.
Century Furniture designed this large-scaled No. 571-601cocktail to fit with its bigger upholstery.
Today’s bigger homes and upholstery demand bigger living room tables to match. Manufacturers across all price points are rising to the challenge.
The size of sofas and chairs went way up a few years ago, said John Conrad, vice president of merchandising for Powell. Even though the sizes have come back down a little, he said, the goods are still bigger than they used to be.
Bill Faber, vice president of product design and development for Century, recently returned from a trip to Florida to check out new model homes. Adding in trips to Texas and California, Faber called these houses “gigantic.”
“The size? You have to be quite generous,” he said. “You really need big furniture to fill up these big houses.”
Habersham introduced this six-legged Monaco console at the April High Point market.
A living room with a 16-foot cathedral ceiling can’t have a petite suite to fill it, Faber said. In some homes, he saw curios and armoires that were more than 100 inches tall.
As for the tables, Faber said the height has stabilized at 20 to 21 inches, but the length and width are broader. A rectangular cocktail at 50 by 72 inches is a great example, he said, as are 60-inch round tables.
Yes, companies still have to design for tight apartments in Boston and Atlanta, he added, but there is opportunity at these bigger sizes and higher price points.
When Century introduced the Kelly Hoppen collection in April, the upholstery was a little smaller than the company’s typical offerings, noted Ed Tashjian, corporate marketing director. So the tables were shrunk to match. A new collection for the fall has a larger scale, so the company is varying its offerings.
Hammary created this Prairie collection in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. With white oak veneers and leaded glass, this cocktail table and other pieces take their design cues from the Mission-style homes that are part of the National Trust’s historic sites.
The trend toward bigger sizes isn’t limited to high-end companies like Century, however. Pulaski and Ashley also have found success with wider styles.
But small scales are still important, too. A common sofa size is 90 to 92 inches, but Ashley has some in the low-80s to 100 inches, and the tables have to match. The smaller sizes fit well with Ashley’s package concept, in which it offers a sofa with other living room items like a three-pack of occasional tables.
Moving from a $399 sofa to a $599 model presents a challenge to a manufacturer trying to supply opening price points, said Kerry Lebensberger, president of sales for Ashley’s upholstery division. Instead of $89 for a promotional three-pack, the price climbs to $399.
Casual and contemporary, the Odessa cocktail table by Magnussen Home has polished fossilized stone accentuated with black stone and metal inlays.
Carving, mixed media and more
Coaster is stepping up its leather sofas from corrected to semi-aniline hides. And that’s having an impact on occasional styling, since many consumers don’t want to put a promotional cocktail table in front of their new sofas, said Sam Contreras, product manager for occasional. They want more value and style.
The market has become saturated with low-priced leather sets and occasional, so stepping up has put Coaster in a better market, Contreras said.
As for styles, carved sets are selling well. At the April High Point market, Coaster targeted more contemporary looks with clean lines. The groups didn’t sell as well as hoped because Coaster’s customers don’t typically look to it for that type of product, he said.
This mahogany card table from Maitland-Smith has a green baise top, aged Regency finish and brass accents. The top folds in half to form a demilune table.
Storage function continues to be popular for Powell, and display ability is growing more important again, said Conrad.
Powell is doing well with some fancy pine, cherry and oak veneers, as well as inlay work. Retailers have shown more acceptance of exotic materials like crushed bamboo and coco shell to create real centerpieces to the room.
Anything with tile is doing well for Ashley, said Lebensberger. Tables combine tile with wood, palm tree motifs and/or glass. In finishes, the company has a lot of black and Merlot-type finishes. He said the white finishes look great, but don’t sell as well.
Lebensberger said he has been sitting in on design meetings for the company’s October introductions, but is still waiting to see what the next great look is going to be.
Casual finishes continue to be strong for Century. The cases are beaten up and dark, yet remain elegant, said Faber. “But not so elegant that you can’t put your feet on the cocktail table,” he said.
In trying to differentiate its products, Century offers a wide array of mixed media, which are selling well, including wood, metal, glass, leather, tile, rattan and woven linen.
This oval cocktail table from Pennsylvania House has a bamboo-styled base and stretchers on an eight-leg design.
Mixed media provided the backbone of a “very successful April market” for Universal, according to Stephen Giles, senior vice president of merchandising. Drawing interest were tables featuring wood, metal, glass and stone. A hot price point was $249 for a cocktail.
Growing interest in storage features
Storage is important for Pennsylvania House, said Ron Fuhrman, vice president of marketing. Storage features can be found throughout the living room, whether it’s the tables or home entertainment pieces.
Pennsylvania House offers many finishes, with some selected items available in an alternative finish. Black and other paints have been successful on these selected accents.
Pulaski offers a variety of sizes and finishes to differentiate itself in the marketplace, said Jim Kelly, executive vice president of product development and marketing. Accent tables tend to be more fashion-forward than table groups linked to upholstery, he said.
“Accents have no iron-clad rules,” he said, as finishes run the gamut and scale can vary.
Stanley’s Midnight Sun collection includes this Falling Water end table inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater architectural designs.
The finishes are more casual, he said, not necessarily trending to lighter or darker tones. The company offers a lot of mixed media like leather with nailhead trim, metal, raffia and painted pieces.
In the range of good/better/best, Pulaski’s good tables range from $199 to $399, while its better styles are $499 to $699.
Accent tables can change the feel of the room without the cost of changing the more-expensive upholstered goods, according to Ray Steele, vice president of sales and marketing at Ultimate Accents. “They can be of mixed media, sizes, shapes and functions at almost any price point,” he said.
Most customers today are motivated by media other than local furniture store ads, he said, “like TV, reality shows, home makeover, magazines and model homes.”
