HABERSHAM’S ARROW BED IN A TRUFFLE FINISH
Mid-Century Modern, Industrial Farmhouse Chic: It’s a Trend! HOW TWO FURNITURE FIRMS AT OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE SPECTRUM ARE CATERING TO THE DYNAMIC SHIFTS IN BUYER PREFERENCES
SLIDING DOOR CREDENZA IN MYSTIC OAK FINISH FROM SAUDER’S BRIDGE ACRE COLLECTION
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BY BILL ESLER
n the over-heated furniture market, perhaps it’s a fool’s errand to try to nail down design trends, but as we emerge from the penumbra of all that COVID-19 has eclipsed, patterns of preference among buyers are unmistakable and widespread. The pandemic rapidly spawned lifestyle shifts—mandates to work, to educate, even to worship—shifts that have been accompanied by tectonic changes in purchasing habits and supply chain, affecting everything we do. Pre-pandemic, a nascent “resimercial” trend had been identified as residential furniture buyers hunted for innovative designs heretofore available only to professional office or hospitality purchasing agents. During the pandemic, however, corporate central purchasing surrendered the keys to millions of newly designated office furniture buyers, the individuals working at home. Likewise, with brick-and-mortar retail restricted, residential furniture sales moved online. This Google soup of buying options seems to have sped up the dissemination of at least some design trends, particularly a rustic industrial motif featuring rough hewn wood finishes frequently trimmed in metal or mounted on metal frames and maybe seen in outlets ranging from Ashley Furniture to Wayfair and Amazon, to Herman Miller’s Design Within Reach. Exiting central cities for cheaper, less dense (and perceived as healthier) neighborhoods and suburbs, millennial home buyers are now the key consumer influence on design trends. For many of them, ready to assemble flat-pack furniture in laminated MDF was already a familiar solution. The more well-heeled may be looking for a higher grade. But across the board, design preferences have shifted largely in lockstep to more restrained styles like mid-century modern and industrial farmhouse. CONTINUED ON PAGE 18 ›
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