The Spring 2014 High Point Furniture Market has come and gone for another year. Masses of people engaged in the furniture industry converge on this otherwise sleepy little North Carolina town twice a year for the world’s largest furniture market. Building after building house furniture and accessories that the manufacturers are hoping will find their way into a local store near you.
In our little segment of this vast furniture industry, the main hub of activity is Chicago where the International Casual Furniture and Accessories Market is held each September. However, an increasing number of outdoor furniture manufacturers show in High Point. Those companies which are more recognized for their indoor lines but are making a push into outdoor furniture will often introduce their new outdoor lines at the High Point show and then, with some success under their belts, head to Chicago where the entire market is teeming with buyers specifically looking for outdoor products.
David Francis Furniture is one such line. Known to designers as a high-end interior furniture line, they have made the move to outdoor furniture.
Desiring to bring something fresh and different to the industry, their focus is on creating original designs that have not been seen before.
The Tommy Bahama brand from Lexington Furniture is another high-end line that has had great success with indoor home furnishings. In their case, they have a lifestyle brand name that is recognizable and desirable by many consumers. Not shy about the pricing of their products, the Tommy Bahama brand believes that their message is a strong one and it attracts the aspirational, and affluently discriminating, customer who wants only the best for their home. Tommy Bahama’s first outdoor furniture introductions were more traditional in styling, with pleasing curves and turns on pieces that look just like they belong inside the home.
This spring, however, they introduced more contemporary styling to fulfill the needs of those consumers (and there are many) who like to forge a new path in their home style.
Using materials that hold up to the weather, such as powder-coated aluminum, man-made wicker, and solution-dyed acrylic outdoor fabrics, both the David Francis and Tommy Bahama lines of outdoor furniture are made to last through the years while creating a living space outside the home which is as comfortably and beautifully furnished as inside. To them, the extension from indoor living to outdoor living should be seamless. No scrimping or penny-pinching here is the message. Their furniture is made for those who understand the entire lifestyle package and choose to live it every day in every way. Now, that is refreshingly Outdoorlicious! and I applaud their mission.
Image Credits:
- David Francis Manhattan Sofa
- David Francis Mykonos High Back Love Seat
- David Francis Palm Chair and Ottoman
- David Francis San Tropez Chair
- Tommy Bahama Island Estate
- Tommy Bahama Ocean Club Pacific
- Tommy Bahama Aviona Sofa
