Thomas Russell — Furniture Today
Oriental style touches can come from finish, form or both
This cocktail table by Hammary has curved elements that give it an Asian footprint.


Made from rubberwood solids and cherry veneers, it has a suggested retail of $299.
HIGH POINT — Asian-inspired furniture has been around for many years, and from the splash made at the April High Point market, it doesn’t appear to be going out of style anytime soon.

Introductions were particularly strong  in occasional and accent furniture. In some cases, new pieces sport crackled and textured finishes that add zest and luster to the more traditional chinoiserie designs seen in the marketplace.

In other cases, it’s the form of the piece itself that is modeled after an Asian or Zen-inspired footprint. On such pieces, dark and natural finishes provide added texture by highlighting grain patterns.

This four-drawer bombé-style chest is part of Stein World’s Plantation collection. Retailing at $599, it has a red finish and floral motifs that give it an Asian flair.
Two of the standout pieces are from the Valmaison collection by French Heritage. One is a chiffonier with a red finish and a lithograph of an antique French print. The other is the Geisha chest, a bombé-style piece that also has a red finish and a lithograph, this time in a chinoiserie pattern.

On each piece, the design is lined up over each of the drawers so the image appears in its entirety on the front of the piece.

“It is quite an undertaking, but it has been very well received,” said French Heritage President Jacques Wayser.

At Ultimate Accents, Asian-inspired designs are seen in the Saratov collection, a 10-piece group with motifs that include a wheat pattern in a crackled red finish. Individual items include a plasma TV cabinet, cocktail table, six-drawer chest, corner cabinet and small accent table.

Pulaski introduced this screen during the April market in High Point. At a suggested retail of $1,099, it has stamped antique brass panels with an image of a lotus flower.
Other new pieces with an Asian influence include a five-drawer, two-door breakfront and a three-drawer Chippendale chest with a black finish on all sides and a chinoiserie pattern across the front.

Ray Steele, vice president of sales, said the pieces are standalone items that can fit alongside any décor in the home.

“It’s an inspiration piece,” he said of the designs. “For us, that’s what the business has been built on — finding and creating those types of pieces.”

As illustrated by Ultimate Accents and French Heritage, a black or bright red finish often helps categorize the piece as Asian inspired. This past market, red finishes also were seen at Stein World, whose Plantation collection features credenzas, chests and entertainment centers in a red finish and floral motif.

Red and black finishes also were seen on three new pieces in Canton, part of Powell’s Masterpiece collection. The new items, which include a telephone stand, desk and chair, and console and mirror, also feature hand-painted gold floral and leaf motifs.

This tapered hall chest is part of Magnussen Home Furnishings’ Accents Express collection. The dark finish and curved sides give it an Asian style and appearance. It has a suggested retail of $649.
Finishes and hand-painted elements also are big at Antiques by Zaar’s collection of antique Asian furniture. Its line includes a mix of authentic Asian antiques that Mark Olbrych has collected during annual buying trips to China.

The mix features mostly occasional pieces, including chairs, consoles, chests, cabinets, sideboards and tables. These pieces are refinished at facilities in China in a mix of trendy colors that include red, yellow, lime green, bone and buttermilk.

The pieces are particularly popular with designers, said President Ruth Olbrych. The company also does a significant online retail business that also draws some attention from wholesalers.

This cocktail table is part of Century Furniture’s new Omni collection. While it has some Asian influences, when viewed from the side the piece evokes the form of a Greek key. It is available in sable, cordovan and toffee finishes and has a suggested retail of $4,485.
At any one time, the company has some 600 pieces in its line.

“You try to give people a reason to keep coming back to you,” Olbrych said. “We have traditional pieces, but on the other hand you can get them with some red finishes that have a patina…. I think it’s a really dynamic and interesting line. There is always something new to look out for.”

The pieces also sport hand-painted pastoral Asian landscapes or images of historical or religious figures.

Pulaski Furniture used unique finishes and applications to create its own Asian-inspired occasional items this past market. For instance, a bamboo TV cabinet has a black finish and a hand-painted bamboo motif on the front doors and the sides of the piece.
The Elmwood Mongolian chest is one of many authentic Chinese antiques imported by Antiques By Zaar. Retailing at a suggested $1,075, it features floral motifs set against a reddish background.

A group of new accent tables has stamped antique brass panels with an image of the lotus flower, which is popular in Asian art.

Asian styles also are in the structural footprint of other pieces seen at market. A prime example is in the Japanese Shinto collection at Catawissa Baili Fine Arts & Crafts. The 12-piece group — which includes a sideboard, storage cabinet, four-door bookcase and three-drawer desk and chair — is similar in style to American Mission furniture. The Asian influence comes in the angles and shapes of the top and legs of the desks, sideboard and storage cabinet.

“With the design, in combination with the fullness, or the solid look of the furniture, you know it is made of solid-hardwood components as opposed to substitute materials,” said CEO Bill Gittler Jr. “This evokes a spirit of quality and a feeling that ‘I have to have that one piece’.”

The Shinto sideboard cabinet, which can double as a sofa table, is part of Catawissa Baili’s Japanese Shinto collection. The group is made from solid Appalachian cherry and is similar in design to American Mission-style furniture. The sideboard has a suggested retail of $2,600.
Asian influences also are seen in an occasional table that Century introduced in April as part of its Omni collection. The piece, which also has Greek influences, features clean lines and mixed-media elements, such as a glass inset top and a granite shelf.

The simple design is an alternative to some of the excessive carvings coming out of China, said Ed Tashjian, Century’s vice president of marketing.

Magnussen Home brought out a similar-shaped occasional table as well as a tapered three-drawer hall chest in a black finish.

This Asian-style bench is part of Butler Specialty’s Eastern Inspirations collection. Shown in a dark red finish, it has a suggested retail of $799.
Hammary Furniture also has two new Asian-inspired occasional tables in its line. One features a rubberwood frame and a slightly curved top made from seagrass.

Another, made from rubberwood solids and cherry veneers, has slats on the bottom shelf and a slight curvature along the edges, giving it an Asian flair and appearance.

Butler Specialty introduced a new Asian-inspired bench and some new pieces in its Artists’ Originals collection that feature hand-painted floral and chinoserie designs.