Furniture Research

Finding success in your career begins with familiarizing oneself with what is presently in the marketplace. In coordination with this contest, please browse the bedroom, dining room, occasional tables, home office, entertainment centers and upholstery offerings at the following leading retail sites.

Rooms to Go
Ashley Furniture
Raymour Flanigan
Havertys
Crate And Barrel
Pottery Barn
Restoration Hardware
American Furniture Warehouse
Furniture Row
RCWilley
HOM Furniture
Star Furniture
City Furniture
Art Van Furniture
American Signature Furniture
Mathis Brothers
Staples

"Generations Furniture is not affiliated with, nor has it been sponsored or otherwise approved by any of the organizations or publications which are linked on this Website. Generations Furniture provides these links and pointers solely for our visitors' information and convenience. When visitors select a link, they are leaving the GenerationsFurniture.com website."

*Please refer to the Contest Rules page for Requirements associated with the above sites for this contest.

The links below provide valuable education of trending commentary from professionals in the furniture industry. Each link contains information about various materials used in furniture and information tools to help comprehend the “Big Picture” of the industry and gain knowledge to help best define design styles.

Bacon Veneer
Price Waterhouse Coopers
Retailing 2015: New Frontiers
American Hardwood Information Center
AkzoNobel
RTO Online - Color Trends
RTO Online - Furniture With A Conscience
Furniture Today
Home Furnish
Furniture From Home
Sustainable Furniture Council
Wood Technology
Appalachian Wood
Wall Street Journal

Trends: Style, Color and more

Style

"During her Trendwatch Live! seminar at Winter 2008 Las Vegas Market, Michelle Lamb examined emerging trends in the fashion and furniture worlds. Lamb, co-founder and chairman of Marketing Directions, Inc., senior editor of The Trend Curve and contributor to Accessory Merchandising, incorporated many colorful images into her presentation—some were up-to-the minute photographs from the Winter 2008 Las Vegas Market—which showed both runway fashions and home décor.

“Our palette in 2009 represents a turning point for color,” said Lamb. “It makes a bold statement and says, ‘Look at me!’”

The revival of the traditional style, which is fresh again because of "updates like intense color, unexpected materials, metallic highlights and simplified silhouettes," has led to the updating of the contemporary style.

"Soft contemporary feels dated now," said Lamb. "What feels new is crisper and more angular. A style we call Graphic Arts." This style frequently utilizes large fields of a single color. The trend has a feeling of linearity and tends to use lots of hard-edges, angles and facets. "There are lines, squares, rectangles and concentric circles, again with clean lines," said Lamb. "Color blocking is a key aspect of the style. You get bright colors playing off of black very often."

The fabrics in this Graphic Arts style "look simple even though they may not be," and the "We think Graphic Arts' minimally decorative style will be embedded in the psyche of décor well into 2011," said Lamb.

The other style Lamb talked about is a psychedelic throwback which she called Feelin' Groovy.

"It's the 40th anniversary of the Summer of Love, and that's triggered a nostalgic interest in the printed patterns from the late 1960s to the early 1970s," she said. "Some of the colors are so bright as to suggest a return to the neon accents of the Glossy Brights palette."

This groovy style will also include psychedelic patterns, which "form the leading edge of Feelin' Groovy designs" and are already being seen in dinnerware and jewelry. "They're bold yet organic; they're fluid designs that crowd in upon themselves," said Lamb.

This style will also include:

Paisleys in swirling spirals.

Posy inspired flowers.

Mini-print floral.

Pop art and robots.

"We're seeing a lot of collages and blocky robots harkening back to a mid-century feel of the future," said Lamb. "What makes them compelling is the unexpected circumstances in which they often appear."

Connecting the fashion and the furniture industry together, Lamb said, "While Feelin' Groovy is in the earliest stages of emerging, it's important to know that the same trend is coming to light for apparel targeted to men, women and children," she said. "So when it does come into its own for home décor, it will already have a substantial foundation laid for it."

Color
Lamb highlighted six color palettes and noted the returning importance of the color purple.

Porcelain Pales: "Even though these are the palest of the 2009 forecast, they are still much more saturated than any pastels we've seen in five years," said Lamb, adding that one of the most significant pale colors will be lemon mist.

"Lemon mist is influenced deeply by grey and green, so it's a little bit edgy and a little bit complex at the same time. That's an unusual combination that's going to make this color one of the most popular in the 2009 forecast."

Natural Mid-values, "Prove that complex colors are not necessarily sleepy ones," said Lamb. These colors include washed denim, which will have "undertones of red as well as lilac mauve".

"Lilac mauve is opening the door for us to country themes. If you and I are together and talk six months from now, 12 months from now, I can assure you that the word ‘country' will come up more than once."

"Mythological Mid-values," are lavish and richly saturated. "Each one of these looks like it could be a historic version of some centuries old color," said Lamb.

"Tranquil Deeps," are the most saturated range of colors in the 2009 forecast. "Cool olive leans towards country green," said Lamb of one of these deep colors. "This is a tone that allows it to partner with navy and crimson red in a nod to retro-80's combinations that does not necessarily mean that we will repeat 1980s patterns."

"Primary School" provides "contrasting energy." One of these colors, laser lime, has a variety of uses. "Regardless of the hue, the value or the saturation, there are few colors that cannot be paired with this tangy green," said Lamb. "Think about using it anytime you need to give colors a lift."

"Glossy Brights are the most flamboyant palette," said Lamb. "A palette that suggests neons without the extreme intensity." The pink in this palette, Love That Pink, is "as clear and specific a color as you can get." Lamb calls it the "standard-bearer of the color group."

"There is plenty of variety in the six palettes that we forecast for 2009," she said. "All of them will be required because of the diversity of trends in the forecast." The most important color of the upcoming season: purple. "We've seen purple before: in 1999 anything purple was hot," she said. "A decade later, purple is coming back again. This time on the red side rather than on the blue side, and with much more appeal."

Lamb expects red and blue to be important colors in the next 30 months, but throughout that time, purple will reign supreme. "Purple stands at the convergences of these blue and red families," she said. "It's going to act first as a bridge between blue and red and ultimately will replace both of them."

Lamb expects purple to be seen in all hues, from pale to saturated; and in all walks of life. The color will range from casual and relaxed to the most luxurious of shades.

Metals
"Metals have been part of the fabric of mankind's history since time began," said Lamb. "They are now being translated into modern metallic finishes and textures with high energy and lots of visual excitement."

Metallic will be especially important in 2009, since neutrals will be so dominant. "As neutrals take on a broader role than they have in years, touching them with any sort of metallic makes them feel modern and fresh," said Lamb.

The newest metal trends include:

Platinum: providing a cool alternative as basic silver declines.

Dark silver: the newest trend—think pewter.

Gold: not going away; focus on rose golds and copper.

Colorful Metallics: allowing for unexpected, spontaneous, high-tech hues.

Pattern
While patterns have been back in vogue since 2004, they are constantly being updated and reinvented. "Now one way in which newness is achieved is in layering slender silhouettes in contrasting values and uneven positions as though they're out of register," said Lamb. "So that it feels like one design is advancing before the other."

Other ways to update patterns include using:

Two styles, especially classic and contemporary, in one piece.

Distinctive materials, such as foil, and tactile components to make the layer feel interlaced.

Tiny, country patterns that include patchwork and calico.

Optic patterns that are very contemporary and make it difficult for the eye to hold still.

Embellishments that are beginning to cluster and layer upon each other.

"This is just the beginning of the new face of innovation and a new approach to pattern achieved through smaller scale and complicated embellishment," said Lamb.""*

*World Market Las Vegas Winter 2008 Seminar (viewed December 30, 2008). This article can be found in its original context here.

An Abbreviated History

"Throughout history, trends in furniture design have evolved alongside its societies; reflecting the materials and technological advancements its builders had access to. Historians and artists alike can define styles of furniture and note what era they represent by the use of certain woods, carvings, and defining details of each piece. Whereas in most periods a certain single style of design dominated the furniture being built, today’s concepts represent an eclectic variety of old and new.

Furniture history is primarily composed of the furnishings that developed out of the 17th and 18th centuries. An evolution of design is represented in each, brought about by the expansion of the known world through exploration and the pavement of prosperity in society.

17th Century
-Renaissance; elegance
-Baroque; ornate and dramatic
-Louis XIV; French countryside

18th Century
-Rococo; refined delicacy
-Neo Classical; Napoleonic grandeur
-Queen Ann; English decorative
-Georgian; heavily detailed

Moving out of the 18th century, furniture was in need of a revival, and so the past was plundered and the old reinvented to create the Victorian era of design. With elaborate details and dark heavy pieces, Victorian style was very formal and ornate. Following the Victorian era was Art Nouveau furniture; composed of decorative and intricate patterns of curving lines. This design was rooted in Britain and spread in popularity throughout Europe and the United States.

Later, as a Modernist reaction to Art Nouveau, Art Deco design came into being during World War I. Using angular, symmetrical geometric designs this style was a sharp contrast from those used in decades prior. Evolving out of the 20th century was Contemporary/Modern design, where form and function and the new theory that less is more became standard. Furniture evolved to become a compliment to a room rather than the main focus of it.

Generations and time periods, major historical events, and lifestyles of global societies have all influenced and ultimately determined the furniture that artists designed. To see the evolution from Renaissance to Contemporary and understand its importance in shaping how we as an industry move forward is absolutely invaluable."*

*Statistics from Sweet Pea and Willow, "History of Furniture",
http://www.sweetpeaandwillow.com/history-of-furniture/index.htm
(Viewed Dec. 30, 2008)
Statistics from Interiordezine, “Furniture History”,
http://www.interiordezine.com/index.cfm/Furniture_History
(Viewed on Dec. 30, 2008)

Ethnic Trending

Populations Projections

"Ethnic populations in the United States are having a tremendous impact on the landscape of America. In terms of varying ethnic and cultural values and how those values translate into what and where they spend their money. We need to identify these varying ethnic preferences, likes and dislikes, and then create furniture designs that fulfill this ever-important consumer’s desires. Capturing their potential discretionary spending of hundreds of millions of dollars on furniture is of the utmost importance.

The percentages are as follows for the population demographics for 2008 and 2050. Non-Hispanic whites in 2008 will be 68% of the population versus 46% in 2050. For the Hispanic population it will be doubling from 2008 at 15% to 30% in 2050. The African American population will see a slight increase at 12% in 2008 and up to 15% in 2050. As well as the Asian American population will go from 5% in 2008 to 9% in 2050.

A report in August 2008 from the Census Bureau projects that by 2042 non-Hispanic whites will no longer make up the majority of the population. This is a revision of earlier projections, which projected this demographic change to take place in 2050. Today non-Hispanic whites make up about 68% of the population. This is expected to fall to 46% in 2050. This, as a result of a much older white population, relative to minorities. The report foresees the Hispanic population rising from 15% today to 30% by 2050. Today African Americans make up 12% of the population; in 2050 they are projected to comprise 15% of the population. Asian Americans make up 5% of the population today and they are expected to make up 9% in 2050. The U.S. has nearly 305 million people today. The population is projected to reach 400 million by 2039 and 439 million in 2050."*

*Statistics from Wikipedia "Demographics of the United States", viewed Dec. 30, 2008

Social Economic Status

Let’s not forget that social economic status also influences the consumer’s perception of price verses value verses need or want, especially of a product such as furniture. As my father once said to me, “You can sell to the classes and eat with the masses, or you can sell to the masses and eat with the classes”. Keeping this in mind, we need to target the greatest number in the population with the greatest potential to have discretionary income to spend, while also identifying their “Hot Buttons” of consumption.

Some quick facts on the classes:
Upper Class (1%): Top-level executives, celebrities, heirs; income of $500,000+ common. Ivy League education is common.

Upper Middle Class (15%): Highly educated (often with graduate degrees) professionals & managers with household incomes varying from the high 5-figure range to above $100,000 mark.

Middle Class (the majority at 46%): College educated workers with incomes considerably above-average; a man making $57,000 and a woman making $40,000 may be typical.

Lower Middle Class (32%): Semi-professionals and craftsman with some work autonomy; household incomes commonly range from $35,000 to $75,000. Typically, some college education.

Working Class (32%): Clerical, pink and blue-collar workers with often low job security; common household incomes range from $16,000 to $30,000. High school education.

Lower Class (14%): Those who occupy poorly paid positions or rely on government transfers. Some high school education.

Statistics from Wikipedia, "Affluence in the United States",

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affluence_in_the_United_States

(viewed Dec. 30, 2008)

Connecting Generations

"Generations are periods of time that are connected through pop cultures. Many characteristics of these generations are the music, television, inventions, and wars pertinent to each of them."*

Generations all last around 15 years, but have gotten shorter as the times and technologies are changing faster.
-The gap between traditional furniture retailing and furniture styling is widening with the cultural and ethnic evolution within the United States.
- How do we design furniture that embraces the multi-cultural evolution and at the same time to remain mainstream in its overall consumer appeal?
- How do we re-invent the furniture offerings from the ho hum goods of today, to a more individualistic, function friendly, simplistic with clean lines, but stately, colorful, somewhat trendy, mixed media, and diverse veneers, ethnically diverse as well as culturally diverse?
- How do we bring back the excitement to the consumer when they think about their new furniture?

Below is a list of the various cultural identities and the influences during these periods of maturation that have molded the ideologies, and order of perceived values. You might find this information useful in designing furniture that mirrors that Generation’s perceived values and desired lifestyle.

In the 19^th century, the era of the “Missionary Awakening” (American Civil War and Industrial Revolution) developed. This era was marked by historical events such as the introduction of the light bulb, the American Civil War, and Reconstruction. This also included the “Lost generation,” that was apart of the roaring 20’s.

During the 20^th century many eras came and went, beginning with the Jazz Age, along with the Great Depression and World War II. The generations included in this era were called the “Greatest Generation” and the “Baby Boomers.” Within the Baby Boomer generation was the sub generation of “Boom generation/Hippie.” In this era WWII is still being experienced by adults and children. The Civil Rights Movement in the United States and space exploration began shortly after WWII. In the era of the “Consciousness Revolution,” both the Vietnam War and the Cold War were going on.The generations that developed from this are “Generation Jones and Generation X.” Generation Jones saw the dawn of the atomic age during WWII, and later experienced the effects of the Cold War and the Vietnam War. Generation X includes a sub-generation called the “MTV” generation, where mass media begins its reign on information.

At the end of the 20^th century the “Culture Wars” begin with the "War on Terror", internet, and the rise of the new T.V. generation. In the midst of the beginning of the 21^st century,“Generation Y” developed from the increasing power of the internet as well as the war in Iraq. Along with Gen-Y there is the “Silent Generation,” where they will see and utilize digital globalization.