Costco Connection - January 2008

for your home

for several seasons, but new combinations of colors and thicknesses will reenergize stripes.

A look at lifestyles

Maxine Lauer, president of Sphere Trending ( www.spheretrending.com), a marketing, trend and design firm, identified different categories of buyers separated by generation labels. Each has a different style and set of preferences, she told listeners at July’s Las Vegas World Market.

“Zoomers”—Lauer’s label for those ages 40 to 60—are fueling the luxury market and buying second homes. Zoomers are increasingly environmentally conscious and expect beautiful design merged with sustainable or recyclable materials, and they appreciate the calming qualities of natural elements.

Consumers are looking for ways to segment their homes into public and private spaces; many of them are living in small spaces but still want big style. As a result, the market for smaller-scale products has been expanding, as consumers begin to downsize and need multi-tasking products.

“Consumers are saying, ‘Save me time. Does the chair turn into a shelf for my lap-top?’ ” Lauer said. “They are also craving relaxation and downtime in their homes. It’s all about the happy, healthy home—not just excess for the sake of excess.”

In addition, there are more multi-genera-tional homes than ever before, and design for

children is becoming more sophisticated. Kids today have many more choices than kids of previous generations, and there is no question that today’s teens expect more choices in technology, design and décor.

Design ideas at home

Deb Barrett and Susan Schultz, editors of the Web site www.interiorsdesignintelligence. com, look closely at the spaces in which furniture will be used. “We are seeing significant

“Consumers are
saying, ‘Save
me time.’ ”

—Maxine Lauer

shifts in the size, floor plans and design of new homes,” Barrett told High Point Market’s Fall 2007 Trends Forecast. Many consumers are deciding that the quality of a space is as important as its size. Smaller-scaled and multi-tasking furniture that incorporates several functions is becoming desirable. For example, sectionals and sofas now recline, adjust, store and perform a number of other

functions in a multitude of configurations.

Savvy homeowners are lavishing attention on practical spaces throughout the home, Barrett noted: “We may use nooks and alcoves to create intimate pocket spaces, put transition spaces to work with built-ins, invest in main-level laundry rooms with islands and turn little-used rooms into craft or hobby areas.”

Schultz adds that upscale homeowners still want a well-appointed living room, but in moderately priced homes it has evolved into a study or getaway space off the foyer. Thus, the typical arrangement of sofa, two chairs and a coffee table is giving way to more comfortable furnishings with different room arrangements. The emphasis is more on a personal space than on one for entertaining.

But he adds that these changes to the living room are not being carried throughout the home: “With a return to formal dining— an outgrowth of an increasing need for ritual and ceremony, plus our obsession with food as a lifestyle—added to the popularity of just sitting down to dinner with the family, formal dining rooms remain on the must-have list for both entry-level and upscale buyers.” C

Buyer’s pıck

Harjit Grewall costco.com Furniture Buyer

THE LEGGETT & Platt WallHugger adjustable bed is what dreams are made of. Adjustable beds have long been known for their convenience and comfort; studies show that elevating your head and feet

FRANCE FREEMAN

has numerous therapeutic benefits. But, until recently, they’ve been too expensive for most people to enjoy. Now, through costco.com, adjustable beds provide the ultimate sleep experience at an exceptional value.

The WallHugger’s various positions allow you to fully relax in bed, not only when you sleep, but while you read or watch TV. It is quiet, can be placed inches from a wall without sacrificing its range of motion (hence the name) and fits into most bed frames.

A see-in-the-dark handheld remote allows you to adjust the bed in multiple relaxing positions, while the gentle massage feature melts away the day’s stress.

The very comfortable mattress is made of Talalay latex, covered in a luxurious cashmere blend. The mattress is hypoallergenic and retains its shape and form, and it is double sided: One side features plush support, while the other offers a firmer foundation.