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
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show that elevating your head and feet
FRANCE FREEMAN
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A see-in-the-dark handheld remote
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The very comfortable mattress is
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This bed is available through costco.
com at a 25 to 30 percent savings over
prices offered by national competitors. C
conv yeentie snttylish
Verona Bar Stool | Sturdy hardwood frame
| 30-inch seat height | Premium top-grain leather |
Double-stitched upholstery seams | Metal scuff
guard | Non-marring foot glides | Item #218959
WAREHOUSE ONLY