By HALI BERNSTEIN SAYLOR
FURNITURE & DESIGN
Hooker Furniture’s new Sunset Key collection evokes images of life at the beach, but with a decidedly urban flair.


The new 40-piece rattan collection, the Martinsville, Va.-based company’s first foray with rattan, incorporates elements of the art deco movement, said Kim Shaver, vice president of marketing.

“We call it tropical with an art deco twist,” she said.

Pieces feature circular and arch motifs, as well as angled slats that look like rays emanating from the sides of case fronts. The dining chairs are particularly noteworthy with their 3-D ray design that can be seen from the front, side and rear.

Additionally, leather and fossil stone tops are showcased, along with glass-top dining tables and occasional pieces. According to Shaver, mixing materials is typical of art deco designs.

Shaver said the company decided to enter the rattan category because it “exemplifies the casual lifestyle that we all love. If you don’t live at the beach, you have that mentality and wish you were there.”

Despite that, the combined tropical-art deco styling allows the furniture to be equally at home in a vacation home or condo and appeals to people of all ages, Shaver said.

The collection, introduced at the most recent home-furnishings market in High Point, N.C., encompasses bedroom, dining, occasional and accent furniture and offers several TV consoles and a TV-compatible wall unit. It offers two beds, including a platform bed with a wrap headboard that has a suggested retail price of $999; and single and double pedestal glass-top dining tables.

An armoire has a suggested retail price of $1,649 and a nightstand is priced at $149.