Jeff Linville — Furniture Today,
HIGH POINT — Highland House is set to launch a 60-piece elegant English country collection at the spring

High Point market in conjunction with a former butler to Queen Elizabeth II and Diana, Princess of Wales.

Paul Burrell worked for the British royal family for 21 years and now hosts a reality TV show in Australia on manners and etiquette. He’s bringing his sense of style to Highland House’s upholstery and case goods collection, called Royal Manner: The English Country House.

Highland House, a division of Century Furniture, already has a strong stable of European-inspired collections. Looking to build on that, it selected Burrell about six months ago to be the face of the new collection, and to draw on his knowledge of the homes and lifestyles of some of Western Europe’s wealthiest families.

President Tom Staats said Royal Manner won’t be a casual look like Cotswold Cottage, which Highland House brought out a decade ago. English country homes are more formal, he said, which makes Burrell a good choice as a licensing partner.

“Paul is an ideal consultant who brings with him a unique platform around which to create and market a collection of elegant-yet-relaxed country English furniture,” said Staats.

Burrell, born into a family of coal miners, said he had consulted on every design in the upcoming group.

“No country seems to intrigue Americans more than Great Britain,” said Staats, “and there’s no style of decorating more popular or more often emulated than timeless, classic British style. This will be an ideal fit with our already well-established European Excursions marketing strategy.”

European Excursions features four lifestyles based on different regions of the continent. Cotswold Cottage is north-central England, Rue de Provence is country French from the French Riviera, Le Cinque Terre comes from the northwest coast of Italy, and Scandinavian Simplicity is transitional contemporary from above the Artic Circle.

Royal Manner will be priced between European Excursions and Highland House’s top-end Designer Classics line, said Sales Manager Steve Wilson.

The collection isn’t far enough along in development to have firm prices, but Staats said a metal bed in the group likely would retail between $1,800 and $2,000. The upholstery will be built in a Century plant dedicated to Highland House, with case goods sourced from Asia, he said.

This isn’t a typical 18th century English collection, said Staats, since finer homes draw from others styles as well. Burrell noted that many of the pieces in Buckingham Palace have Chinese Chippendale designs.

At the same time the furniture launches, Burrell said coordinated floor coverings will come from Kalaty Rug Corp. Also next year, Jay Import Co. will introduce licensed casual dinnerware and glassware. Earlier this year, Burrell launched a collection of fine wines from Australian winery Hungerford Hill.

The Royal Manner name was derived from a book Burrell published in 1999, “In the Royal Manner.” The book discusses the rules of etiquette and entertaining he learned in organizing and overseeing social events for Lady Di.

On his reality TV series, “Australian Princess,” Burrell leads a team that teaches social rules and manners to a dozen young women from simple backgrounds. He has been working on season two, and the first season is now out on DVD.

Burrell feels an affinity with these women, since he recalls bathing in a metal tub in front of the fireplace. His father and older brothers worked in coal mines.

“I have been fortunate to witness the ultimate in stylish and elegant entertaining, from private and intimate family occasions at Sandringham and Highgrove to grand and lavish state banquets for presidents, kings and queens,” he said. “My memories of such events have led me to want to share my experiences.”

He said furnishings in these fine homes are beyond the reach of most people, but they can decorate their homes with a similar look and feel with the upcoming Highland House collection.

Women are the primary decision-makers in furniture buying, said Staats, and the women working at Highland House were overwhelmingly in favor of signing Burrell.

“Women are what I know,” said Burrell, adding that his life has been shaped by his mother, then Queen Elizabeth, then his wife Maria, and finally Princess Diana, whom he served both during and after her marriage to Prince Charles.

When the royal couple separated, he recalled, Diana was asked to compile a list of everything she wanted to take from Highgrove to her apartment in Kensington Palace. “Some time later I learned that, at the top of her wish list, was my name,” he said.

In addition to his book of etiquette, Burrell has written two books about his service to the royal family, “A Royal Duty” and “The Way We Were: Remembering Diana.”