FURNITURE PRIMER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Carol Giusti

Style Primer

First in a series of educational primers for retailers and retail sales associates. Take a coffee break and get up to speed.

Some furniture styles have withstood the test of time and are still lovingly crafted, wildly imitated and de rigueur in retailer showrooms everywhere. What are the most sought-after bedroom furniture styles in your showroom? What makes them sell?

Timeless furniture styles consistently connect through visual, tactile and emotional senses. Knowing the provenance of today’s furniture styles can facilitate connecting a customer with a style that is right for them. Here is a brief overview of some main categories that have influenced American styles and how current manufacturers have reinvented them.

European Traditional

“Opulent” and “decorative” describe furniture styles of Western Europe just before the colonization of America. American design has roots here. There are many styles in this category from France, England, Italy, Germany and many others. Baroque is one of the most memorable that influenced styles in America.

Baroque originated in Italy and dominated western Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Characteristics mirrored royal and merchant-class patrons who competitively displayed their personal wealth, social standing and decadence. Features of the style include dark woods such as walnut, intricate inlay, lacquers, scrolling and veneers, spiral turned legs, gilt and other finishes plus sumptuous upholsteries including tapestry and damask. With the advent of global trade, this furniture began to adopt Chinese decorations and use exotic woods such as teak.

Today’s consumer might purchase this style of bedroom furniture (or the similar but toned down rococo style) when they want a rich, regal look or prefer to decorate with hues like dark green, deep red, royal blue and purple or deep brown.

Georgian style furniture followed the Baroque and rococo periods. It contrasted former styles in its dismissal of the decorative in favor of simpler lines. Mahogany joined walnut as woods of choice and ornamentation was intricate, but muted and delicate. Classical Greek sources and Chinese elements adorned Georgian’s straight lines, right angles, dignity and grace.

Today’s customer might consider this style of bedroom furniture when they intend to accent the room with oriental rugs, chair rails or other symmetry, and decorate walls in pale hues.

American Traditional

Although influenced by European styles such as Baroque and Georgian, what we recognize now as American traditional bedroom furniture design shares some unique characteristics with the citizens who made it: straightforward practicality, sturdy tradesmanship and unadorned elegance. Many styles of American Traditional are still quite popular today.

Four poster beds in their many forms today are one example. Poster beds held upper cross rails that supported cozy and decorative curtain accessories. Construction was usually turned and finished native hardwood with flat unfinished slats to hold mattresses. Decorative details were stately but understated. Accents might occur as carvings of native images such as maple leaves. Today’s reproductions of this style are many and varied but do contain the predominant elements of the style.

Colonial furniture includes a series of conservative styles such as Queen Anne, William and Mary, Hepplewhite and Sheraton. The balanced proportions of the Chippendale style are also a typical example of how European influences were adapted for the American home. George Washington slept in a simple but majestic Chippendale style bed specially retooled to accommodate his 6’ 3” frame. View this bedroom and its furnishings at mountvernon.org

Today’s customer might consider these styles of furniture when they want a quintessentially American traditional look: a simple but elegant bed ensemble; useful and complimentary accent furniture such as bureau and mirror sets, straight-back chairs and a writing desk. Light-colored walls.

Other later styles such as Empire and Victorian (the first furniture, incidentally, to be mass produced and therefore more affordable than any previous style) have not proven to be as memorable as these or as influential on contemporary American bedroom furniture.

Rustic/Country

Rustic/country furniture contains distinctive style expressions originating from specific regions, groups or cultures. Mention any style: log, lodge, Southwest, mission, Shaker, prairie and many others and an exact image, construction, location or function springs to mind.

Today’s customer may buy rustic/country style bedroom furniture to compliment exteriors (such as stonework or woodlands), indigenous environments (such as desert or ski regions), to create a mood (such as Napa valley chic or Florida sun/guest room) or to embellish interior environments (such as ranch/hacienda style homes).

Contemporary/Modern

As America shifted from family farms to the suburbs, traditional furniture was reinvented with new materials that reflected contemporary sensibilities of mobility, leisure and self-expression. Art Deco is one key movement in 20th century bedroom furniture. Applications of metals like chrome and aluminum, aerodynamic shapes and glass-like surfaces began to appear as this distinctive, affordable bedroom furniture was mass produced for affluent, acquisitive and modern suburbanites.

Retro soon surpassed Art Deco as the quintessential style for homes everywhere. Space-age baby boom families enthusiastically decorated with Scandinavian style bedroom sets that featured blond wood twins with matching dresser and nightstand. Use of affordable materials like plywood and southern pine skyrocketed.

Accent colors were bold against light-colored walls: red and black combinations, hot pinks, lime greens and other brights. Plastic, chrome, formica, starburst shapes and one-piece molding epitomize this style. Later, bright colors changed to brown and gold tones, but man-made materials and automated manufacturing remain a constant in ever more affordable modern bedroom furniture design.

Today’s customer might buy Art Deco, Retro or other modern style furniture for a fun or hip mood, an urbane look or to augment hand-me-downs from mom’s collection.

Global/Ethnic

Today more than ever, furniture design and the furniture industry is mobile. It draws influences from around the globe as it continues to find ways to manufacture “faster, cheaper, better.” Euro style sleek, understated platform beds. Versatile, compact futon mattresses and frame mechanics with Japanese influences. Duvets, quilts and tassel pillows with intercontinental or fashion guru pedigrees.

Today’s customer might buy global/ethnic bedroom furniture if they have space considerations, if they are looking for touches of the exotic or if they want a “bare essentials” look that is both formal and casual.

Conclusion

Today’s customer can mix or match as never before, and select from a vast array of traditional and contemporary designs, manufacturers and price points. Bedroom furniture styles can be conventional or kooky, formal or casual, traditional or contemporary, antique or neofuturistic. Just one style or a combination could have imaginative and stellar implications.

Whatever the customer’s choice, good sales are based on knowing and understanding the product and knowing and understanding ways to match an appropriate product to the customer’s essential style needs.

For further reading, see this site. In our next issue: Furniture Construction Primer

FL