Jeff Linville
Contemporary less in evidence

HIGH POINT — Case goods manufacturers will go heavy on casual Arts & Crafts and Old World designs at this month’s market.

The contemporary and Art Deco styles that have been popular at the past two High Point markets will be less in evidence.

Many of the top new collections will feature influences of Mission, Arts & Crafts and/or Mackintosh. Among them are Hooker’s Simply American, Magnussen Home’s Oak Park, Pennsylvania House’s Badin Ridge, Cresent’s Artisan and Copeland’s licensed Frank Lloyd Wright collection. Fine Furniture Design & Marketing is putting a California spin on Mission with Casa Bella.

Tuscan and other Italian designs are seen in Hickory White’s Tuscan Home, Bernhardt’s Tuscan Villa, Henredon’s Arabesque and Fine Furniture’s Centovalli.

Several companies are offering new product with cottage flavor, but in greatly varying looks. Martha Stewart’s Lily Pond from Bernhardt has changed the way people view cottage, leading to a rush of “urban cottage” designs.

Kincaid’s Southport offers a lifestyle cottage look in an aged, painted finish. Shelter Island from Stanley has some Sheraton roots and lots of turnings with the feel of the Hamptons, according to Phil Haney, executive vice president, marketing and sales.

Bernhardt itself revisits cottage, but in a European group with 19th century influences. Smaller scaled than the company’s typical groups, Windemere features flat-cut mahogany veneers, turnings and light carvings. Hammary also is showing a European cottage group.

Many manufacturers are moving away from casual contemporary, a look that has dominated the landscape for the past couple of years. Most say this is because they have filled the need in their lines, while a few say that it is because retailers Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware have a tight hold on the market.

Still, that hasn’t stopped some companies from making efforts in the category. Cresent Furniture, which is moving to an all-import line, collaborated on Artisan with designer Fred Spector, who has worked to develop goods for Pottery Barn and Crate & Barrel. The transitional Artisan mixes Arts & Crafts and Japanese design elements and features cathedral and quarter-sawn walnut veneers with an aged Caramel finish.

Domestic case goods source Vaughan-Bassett is introducing a BB-25 group in casual contemporary with five finish options: cherry, dark cherry, white, black and oak. A canopy queen bed retails for $699 and the four-piece group is $1,699.

Regardless of the style, this month’s market will feature more flowing movement in cases. Although casual contemporary designs have focused on cleaner lines, manufacturers say they don’t want to get too boxy. Renaissance Court from Pulaski, for instance, has Dutch influences and makes ample use of bombé shaping, while the company’s Dorchester group has convex contours. Claridge from Magnussen Home has serpentine shaping. Shermag’s Contour lifestyle for the Classics Made Modern line has fluid shaping.

Many legs and posts feature turned or twist shaping, including some so heavily done as to resemble Jacobean designs. Shelter Island’s turnings are almost Moroccan, said Stanley’s Haney.

Several groups will feature strong veneer stories, mostly using familiar woods. While some exotic veneers are out there — as in Century’s relaunched Omni — the most common are walnut, ash, oak and cherry.

Stanley’s Tre Venti/Serafina group features pecan, ash burls and oak cluster veneers. Renaissance Court has both ash burl and olive ash burl together. Bernhardt’s Tuscan Villa has pin-knotty cherry and pin-knotty walnut.

Magnussen’s Oak Park, Hooker’s Simply American and Fine Furniture’s Centovalli are among those using quarter-sawn oak. Kincaid’s Southport, Pennsylvania House’s Tuscan Home and Fine Furniture’s Casa Bella are some of those using solid alder.

Cresent’s Artisan has cathedral walnut, while Centovalli has book-matched, cluster and quarter-sawn walnut separated by ebony line inlays.

Casual contemporary designs have relied heavily on relaxed, almost matte finishes. Some manufacturers have reported that retailers have come back asking for something with more shine to balance out the showroom, so the upcoming market is likely to feature goods with higher sheen count. After introductions with sheens counts of 30-35, Artisan is between 40 and 45, Claridge is about a 45, and Kincaid’s Belfair hits 60.

These are still far less shiny than older formal designs, but after seeing so many casual finishes, one manufacturer said the higher sheen count looks almost like plastic.