A bedroom fit for the lady of the house. The combination of the chandelier and bed frame gives this room so much character. The mercury lamps on either side of the bed, were actually created from vases. Judy wanted to use these somewhere in the room and took the vases to Thompson Lynch in Cameron Village and made them into lamps.

What a clever idea!

Having a fireplace in a bedroom creates a warm and cozy feel. What do you like about your own bedroom?

And the crew returns for part 2 of High Point Furniture Market Trends and Favorites. Within part 2 you will find our remaining trends and also a few pictures of some iconic people: Thomas O’Brien and Mariette Hines Gomez. Lets begin!

Trend #4 – Neutrals and browns will never go away.

Below are shots in the Lee Industries Showroom of

some classic pieces that scream versatility and style.  

Market wouldn’t be the same without testing the comfort-ability of recliners and sofas. Ashley is lounging in one of the relaxers from Lee Industries.

The bed has a classic and romantic feel while the sofa and coffee table display invites a family for a cup of ice tea on a Sunday afternoon.

Shots below are from the Hickory Chair  Showroom.

A pillow line we saw in Inner Hall called Ankasa. Ideal for bedrooms, sun-rooms and/or family rooms.

We also had a chance to check out some lamp companies:

Jamey Young (left) and Barabra Cosgrove (right).

Trend # 5 Purple is still around! All the way from grape juice to wine colored tones.

Shots below are from Hickory Chair Showroom.

Below: Judy admires the nail head detailing on an upholstered cabinet in the Hickory Chair Showroom.  Need a dining chair, take this cream one below, one of Hickory Chair’s most popular choices (right).

Often times when the team goes to High Point, it isn’t unusual to run into  interior design icons. Hickory Chair had Thomas O’Brien on hand as he signed copies of his first book, called “American Modern.”You might have seen Thomas’s name on collections in Target, a lighting collection with Visual Comfort and  his interior design studio called Areo in SoHo which he opened in 1992. Here is an article on him in the New York Times.

The team also stopped to take a photo with Mariette Himes Gomez. Mariette has a design studio  in New York City and also a designer collection with Soicher Marin.  Mariette and Thomas both design furniture for Hickory Chair. Along with Alexa Hampton and Suzanne Kasler who were also in the showroom showing off their collections with Hickory Chair.

It was nice to see you again, Mariette! Thanks for taking a picture with us.

Trend 6# Floral sofas are a breath of fresh air.

Below: is a shot from the Lee Showroom of a banquet with a Duralee print.

Left Above: Lee Industries and Right Above: Hickory Chair.

Trend # 7  Trellis is popular.

What is a trellis ?  A lattice like pattern inspired by a lot of cultures, they can sometimes be graphic and organic. Below the bed in fabricated in a trellis fabric giving the room life.

This is taken from the Century Showroom and also seen on Apartment Therapy’s review of High Point Furniture Market. 

Above are shots from Hickory Chair Showroom.

Trend # 8 Animal Inspiration

Animal influences were in every showroom that we visited. Here are some of the things we saw.

Shots Below are from Hickory Chair Showroom.

And last but not least, we had to share one of the coolest discoveries that Marty from Lee Industries showed us. Lee did an experiment putting one of their chairs they manufacture into a lake for two weeks. The actual chair is below on the left and you should definitely click on the YouTube video to see for yourself. We were amazed at how clean the chair looked after being in the lake. It was amazing!

A few years ago I was working with a client who was looking for a spool chair.  While I’d seen them before, finding the perfect one piqued my interest.  And I’m convinced that Hickory Chair has the best spool chair I’ve seen.  Others have tried to imitate, but their designs aren’t nearly as classic.

It would work wonderfully in a library or seated next to a fireplace.  But, depending on the fabric and finish, the look can change completely.

Thanks to the advanced technology on Hickory Chair’s website, you can picture any of their pieces in the fabric and finish of your choice.  Simply click on the “Personalize this Item” button at the top right side of a product page, like this one.  At Furniture Market, we saw this chair in a playful black and white paisley.

Aside from the great looks, it’s made to last.  Handcarved in North Carolina from Mahogany, it’s also very comfortable!

Even the First Lady agrees.  (Michelle Obama selected a pair of these chairs for the White House!)

Lauren

My Hickory Chair wing-back was featured on the Hickory Chair blog yesterday! You can read more about the story here. And just today, they followed up with a post on the history of the chair – it’s amazing how different a classic wing-back chair can look!

As designers, we love providing our clients with comfortable furniture that will last – and we also love using it in our own homes too! I hope you enjoy reading about the before and after of my chair – it has gone through quite the transformation!

If you can “have it your way” at Burger King, shouldn’t you be able to do that with your furniture as well?

Hickory Chair may have some of the most versatile pieces of any line I’ve seen. Their line is made up of wonderful collections of casegood and upholstery furniture, designed by interior designers like Suzanne Kasler, Thomas O’Brien, Alexa Hampton, and Mariette Himes Gomez. The pieces themselves vary from contemporary to traditional and everything in between, but what makes the company truly unique are the endless custom options – without the custom price.

Take the Candler Beds, designed by Suzanne Kasler, for example. Inspired by upholstered french chairs, these twin beds upholstered in a light blue, seem perfectly paired with toile. But aren’t they equally stunning with plaid upholstery, fit for a mountain home? I love the contrast of these two images and how plainly they show the versatility of the pieces. But, the contrast here lies in the upholstery and finish choices, and Hickory Chair is about so much more. If you were looking for a day bed, the bed can be made with two footboards. Or if that headboard is just too tall for your room, it can be ordered at a custom height. The possibilities are endless!

They offer “Made to Measure” upholstery. The Eton sofa is shown as a 33″ chair and an 88″ sofa in the top two images. It is actually available in ANY length from 28″-120″. If you have a tight spot and can’t seem to find the perfect size chair, now you can choose your size! Extra long sofas are perfect for long and narrow rooms, helping to maximize the seating. Not only that, but you can choose the number of cushions, and you can even have a different number of seat cushions than back cushions, as shown with the Burton sofa in the center. It features four back cushions over two seat cushions. Every detail can be personalized! Prefer a ruffled skirt? No problem. What about no skirt? No problem; choose your legs and your finish. Waterfall skirt? Pleated skirt? Tufting? Decorative tape? Nailhead trim? No problem – you can even send in your own skirt design. Just below the Burton sofa is a shot of the edge of a box cushion featuring a butterfly flange. Adding skirts to chairs can create an elegant look – or you can shorten the skirt for something unexpected. Nonograms (as shown on the chairs) or monograms can be embroidered on upholstery pieces.

The finish of a piece can also trasform the look, taking it from formal to casual. These chairs were upholstered in the same fabric and painted in the same color but with different degrees of distressing. The images below show the same bed in each photo, but with a different finish. The rooms have a much different feel.

The upholstered bench at the foot of the bed in the first photo is part of the Made to Measure program as well. You can choose the exact length AND width. Hickory Chair recently added the wooden Milo Table to their collection last market. It is available in any length and width as well, but also at different heights, transforming it from a dining table to a cocktail, side, or console table.

The options don’t end when it comes to their casegoods. Take the Vauxhall Cabinet as an example. When stained, the richness of the wood shines through and beautiful details adorn the pediment. In the photo to the right, the pediment is removed for a simpler design. A contrasting paint (in any color of your choosing) on the interior of the cabinet creates a more modern look. The hardware is updated to simple round knobs. Or, if you don’t keep your things quite as orderly, this display cabinet can become more of a storage cabinet by replacing the glass with mirrors, fabric, or contrasting wood.

While it may seem that a clean coat of paint creates a contemporary look, the artisans at Hickory Chair can customize your piece with painted designs. This side table is perfect without anything on it!

This paint finish is customized in several ways: The top contrasts with the finish on the legs. The legs feature striping the outlines and emphasizes their shape. And finally, the hand-painted scene on the surface makes it a true piece of art.

We would love to help you create one-of-a-kind pieces, made just for you and your home! Ask us to find out more about the options that Hickory Chair has to offer.

As a result of this positive corporate culture, the amount of care that goes into the creation of each piece of furniture at Hickory Chair is absolutely unparalleled. I no longer view Hickory Chair as a manufacturing plant, but as a guild of skilled craftsmen that collaborate to create beautiful heirlooms for those fortunate enough to own them.

After visiting Hickory Chair University I was amazed to actually witness the term we all have heard, “8-Way Hand Tied.” But really, is it better than the other companies? I was very surprised to see why this system works and why this quality is better than the rest. As quoted by others, “8-Way Hand Tied Springs are the Cadillac of upholstery.” Wonder why your grandmother’s sofa is still around to be pawned off to you?

8-Way Hand Tied is a traditional style of support. The springs are laid over webbing, sewn in place, and then the springs are compressed to the desired firmness. They are then tied, with jute twine, to the webbing in the compressed state, and then lashed and tied one to the other. Of course it is tied eight times, twice vertically, twice horizontally, twice at one angle, and then crossed twice and the other angle (that adds up to eight). This technique provides a very firm, solid base for the padding that comprises a fully upholstered seat. This technique, if done right, can cost more but it is worth it. Hickory Chair does not cut corners on this technique which allows for the quality to out last many others.

As labor becomes more expensive and the buying public less willing to pay for it, substitutions are being made. These substitutions can be costly to you if you are not aware, and you will be buying a new sofa in the next 5 years. The jute twine that Hickory Chair uses is being substituted by other companies. Some substitutions include wires and hot rings. This is faster, requires less skill on the part of the upholsterer, and is ultimately cheaper to accomplish.

Being in the plant and seeing the gentleman above do a 8-Way Hand Tied application was amazing to see. It took about 15 minutes to do a full upholstered chair with only the seat being applied. It can take double the time for a sofa or sectional, but it is well worth it. It was great to see how this support effects the way a sofa or chair can sit. Well worth the money in my eyes.

So next time you got to by a sofa, get the facts. Make sure it is a true 8-Way Hand Tied application. It is not entirely uncommon to hear of an 8-Way Hand Tied sofa holding up for several decades, in fact, some can last as long as 50 years. Don’t you want to be able to pass your Hickory Chair or Sofa down to your grandchildren?

Judy, Molly, Stephanie, Ashley, Lauren and I are off to Hickory, North Carolina this afternoon for a short excursion to tour the upholstery & case good factory of furniture manufacturer Hickory Chair . All of their products are beautiful, with collections from designers Alexa Hampton, Thomas O’Brien, & Suzanne Kasler.

We’ll be back on Wednesday evening to write about our experience (with pictures, too). Until then, feel free to salivate over these gorgeous images from their look book.