Times Advocate, 1995-01-25, Page 10Page 8
Times -Advocate, Ianuary 25, 1995
SPECIAL FFA T1IRK
Furniture for the `90s: casual,
TORONTO - Furniture man-
ufacturers numbering over 300
were displaying their very latest
Interpretations of mid'90s home
decor fashions. Along with some
tried and true looks, a few new
trends were surfacing as con-
sumers embrace a warmer, more
casual and comfortable look for
their homes.
Here are some of the lasting im-
pressions from the 1995 Can-
ada's Home Furnishings Market:
The sofa: The centrepiece of
any living room or family room,
new trends in sofas and ac-
companying upholstered furniture
tend to lead decor trends in new di-
rections.
The big thing in sofas shown at
the furniture market were heavily
textured fabrics, often in deep "jew-
el tone" colours such as darker
greens, burgundies, mustard yel-
low, and deep blues. Even sofas in
plain earth tones were being shown
with bold textures.
Designs are often traditional, but
combined with the softer fabrics to
make them less prim and proper,
and more comfortable. However,
more than a few designers were
showing sofas and chairs with a
touch of whimsy. One Quebec
manufacturer had a living room
suite that looked as if it might have
come off the set of the Flintstones,
and Superstyle was shoWing a wing
armchair in a dark -toned tapestry
depicting a 1920's golf scene.
The southwester, or "Santa Fe"
style which was much in evidence
at last year's show, has given way
to an African ethnic motif. One
dealer described it as part of a
"primitive" look, which fitted in
with his furniture in a cave drawing
style print.
Concordian won a Trillium
Award from the Ontario Furniture
Manufacturers Association for a
"shaggy sheep" -look sofa. Their
representative described it as the
latest in "uptown" decor with its
heavily textured off-white cotton
fabric, stuffed with feathers for an
exceptionally comfortable feel.
Trillium award winner Concordian Chesterfield of Concord, Ontario was showing what it is call-
ing its "primitive" look in casual furniture. This sofa employs cave drawings in its warm -tone
printed fabric.
Manufacturers of leather up-
holstery were showing off mostly
black and dark green colours, with
a few chairs in eggplant purples.
Chairworks from Kirkland, Quebec
was also showing leather in natural
tan and a dark brick red.
Entertainment centres: More
and more manufacturers are mak-
ing efforts to incorporate the needs
for home entertainment in their fur-
niture. One manufacturer had a
booth set up at the furniture market
expressly for Iarge•screen television
entertainment, and other man-
ufacturers were showing entertain-
ment centres that incorporated hid-
den shelves for video tapes, and
cloth grilles for speaker systems.
In contemporary -style units, ef-
forts are being made by designers
to make shelving for video and au-
dio components less monolithic.
Gone is the framed -in appearance.
Several manufacturers were show-
ing styles that used a central pillar
to house audio and video com-
ponents, with open -sided shelves
extending to the sides for tele-
visions, books and decorations.
The intent is a much lighter, more
open look, while still having the
same shelf space.
Also, contemporary styles were
showing metallic coloured finishes
joining the popular satin black.
Monarch Specialties and National
Woodcraft were showing ham-
mertone finishes in metallic purple,
blue, and green. Other de9igners
were adding coloured or natural
woods to the basic black finishes.
Bedroom suites: Mattress man-
ufacturers were showing off their
newest high-tech bedding, using
new methods of combining foams
or springs to put even more empha-
sis on posture and support, and the
furniture manufacturers were show-
ing off their latest themes for the
bedroom.
Wrought iron -style bedframes
continue to be strong sellers, and
for those who shy away from the
black metal, there were heavily tex-
tured metal frames in pewter,
bronze, and green tones as well.
For those interested in a more
contemporary look, both Ideal and
Melcor were showing off sweeping
lines in bedroom furniture, with
back -lit waveform headboards that
could have been inspired by Star
Trek, and dressers and wardrobes
incorporating curved lines. Even
drawers have curvaceous fronts,
concealing the square lines inside.
There are also a few bedrodtn
suites with squarish. uplifting lines
reminiscent of the Art Deco era,
and the country -style wood tones of
the Shaker look are also available
in bedroom furniture. Shermag
Inc. of Sherbrooke, Quebec were
even showing a new line of Shaker -
style children's bedroom suites.
"We've really softened the col-
ours a bit," Bruce Hunter of Sher -
mag, referring to the whitewashed
wood and pastel colours such as
powder blue and rose used in the
Jon Dinney of Dinney's Furniture in Exeter sits on a sofa that
embodies what he is calling a "casual elegance" style for the
'90s. Textured, earth -tone fabrics and higher skirts or donut
legs are making the family room couch a more comfortable
place to be.
line. He said the attempt is to bring
a bit more "fashion" into kids' fur-
niture.
Case goods: Wood is still going
strong in coffee tables and other
"case goods" furniture, according to
most of the furniture show's dis-
plays. There were, however, many
alternatives to wood, or combina-
tions with wood to aim for the
earthy, textured look so sought af-
ter in the 1990s.
Fossilstone is another growing
trend, according to Michael Passe
of the JDI group which man-
ufactures and distributes a line of
fossilstone tables. The two -million
year old stone is mined in the Phil-
lipines, and can be used either
rough or smoothly polishes, and of-
ten both, to fit in with the need for
rough texture and light earthy
tones.
"Fossilstone is growing every
year." said Passe. and said the com-
pany's most popular design is a
rough triangular stone base sup-,
porting a clear glass top on one
side, contrasted with a polished ball
for support on the other.
Other designers of tables and
shelving were showing more curves
in their designs, clean lines with lit-
tle or no use of trim, and some
were even testing the waters with a
"retro" '50s look - upswept lines
from narrow fine bases and legs.
Lighting: A •more gracious,
sculptured look is being cultivated
by Canada's leading designers in
home lighting. The big award win-
ner at the show, Hemsley of Mon-
treal, won a Trillium Award for
their Diva series of lamps, which
incorporate Art Deco era styling
with the desire for textured metals
in dark greens, pewters, bronzes,
and golds. Motifs such as cherubs,
angels, and harps were aimed to
call attention to the lamps as works
of art, rather than to be simply
air Continued on page nine.
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