Jean Marie Layton//Senior Editor for Upholstery•April 1, 2022
Bellini Modern Living offers the Swing sofa, with complementing loveseat, in a light blue shade of Italian maya leather.
HIGH POINT — A new emphasis on architectural elements and a continued focus on comfort are highlights at this week’s High Point Market. Manufacturers offer updates to mainstays like sectionals for even more flexibility and comfort, and smaller upholstered pieces provide a dash of design punch to help refresh the retail floor.
A continued presence in upholstery are fabrics that are soft to the touch. Bouclé and velvet upholstery are dominant along with performance fabrics necessary for family living. New introductions of recycled yarns or sustainable fabrics are featured as well.
Colors range from whites, to cream and warm neutrals, to deep blues and greens. Gray continues to be a popular offering with soft blush tones as well.
An example of the white/cream trend is Diamond Sofa’s Muse sofa and chair that is covered in a crisp white performance fabric to emphasize the clean lines of the program.
For those manufacturers showing leather upholstery, the color trend is for lighter, beachy tones. Gray, sand, navy and white predominate the leather selections in both the motion and stationary categories.
Bellini Modern Living’s Swing sofa comes in light blue Italian maya leather, while Armen Living features its Franz sofa available in dove gray or blue midnight leather. Both sofas combine angularity with comfort and elevate the sofa with legs that are as much of a design element as the sofa itself for a contemporary look.
Omnia Leather’s Ryan sofa in dolce sand features elegant tufting on the seat and back cushions. A matching recliner also comes in oxford sapphire leather.
Sectional sensations
Sectional sofas are still very much in demand, and there are a host of configurations on offer.
Customer choice is key to the sectional market, with most manufacturers offering a variety of sizes and configurations to appease the demand. Left or right chaises, ottomans, additional pieces to create chaises, motion features and larger or smaller seating to suit a range of spaces continue to be popular.
In stationary sectionals, The Huck Collection by England Furniture offers a classic rolled arm, tailored seat and back cushions and welted toss pillows. The customer has many options for its configuration.
Nice Link is showing a sectional with a chaise in the company’s Nice N Eco recycled yarn in tribute parchment. The sofa features modular flexibility suitable for any space and has tufted seats.
In addition, Nice Link’s sectional with ottoman in the company’s Nice N Clean C6 finish in chillax blanco offers casual elegance with cloud-like deep seating comfort and feather back cushions. The natural wood trim base grounds the contemporary silhouette that features wide track arms and large lumbar pillows.
Building on the continued popularity of motion sectionals, manufacturers continue to add to the feature lineup this market.
Broad arms and tufted seat cushions are seen in Maxdivani’s Tiberio motion sectional in gray leather. The padded block arms of the sofa are part of the comfort equation.
Nice Link is rolling out six new motion sectionals. Its JG020 model has contemporary lines paired with wide seating comfort, power headrest, recline and footrest and padded low block arms. The storage console has a wood top and wireless charging pad with hidden cup holders.
“Our company’s niche in power motion comes in contemporary design, distinctive details and quality at a value buyers won’t find anywhere else,” said Jay Carlson, president of Nice Link.
The company also has the JG035 power motion group offers understated luxury and a stationary look. The sofa and chair are shown in Grandview dove gray leather. The design is available with an upgraded wood top storage console integrated with wireless charging pad and hidden cup holders.
Heightened design
There is also an increase in “statement piece” upholstery. Divans, settees, sofas, benches and chairs that have unique angles and sculptural designs are a contrast to the cushiony comfort of deep-seated sectionals and sofas.
Given the popularity of open-concept rooms, these pieces are easily placed in floating furniture layouts and provide a “good view” from all sides with the back providing as much of a design interest as the front of the piece.
The Jay Jeffries collection for Arteriors has distinctive designs that echo 20th-century design influences such as the Bauhaus movement and Art Deco. His Giordano chair can be used for dining, working or lounging, its curved back juxtaposed by the satin walnut wood detail cascading around the back and down the legs.
“Upholstery pieces in the collection pair clean, unique silhouettes with tactile materials – trends born from a resurgence in vintage styles, and a pandemic-driven desire for softer textures,” said Steve Davis, CEO, Arteriors.
Authentic Models Club Lounge chair features a deep navy velvet seat with polished wood wrap-around trim that is as much a part of the design as the upholstery.
Global Views is featuring deep-channeled seating for both sofa and chairs with velvet upholstery, bench seats, and exposed, polished wood frames. These pieces hark back to 1940s club chairs with strictly delineated lines.
Mercatus Conform is featuring its Partner seat and ottoman, highlighting classic Swedish design with an exposed bentwood seat support and matching ottoman base in white leather. Its architectural style can be viewed from all angles.
Sculptural looks, flexible comfort star in upholstery offerings – Furniture Today
