It’s hardly a surprise that kids attuned to style and accustomed to choice would expect the same when it comes to furnishing their bedrooms. And manufacturers are giving them what they want - furniture that’s sophisticated and customizable, just like what Mom and Dad demand for themselves.

Robin Campbell, marketing services manager for Young America, Stanley Furniture Co.’s youth furniture brand, attributes the evolution to young people’s increased exposure to design trends.

“I think they’re just more demanding in what they want,” she said. “They know what they want, and they want it now.” Read more »

Tips on selecting youth furniture from the American Home Furnishings Alliance and Andrea Berryman of Cribs to Kids:

Before you shop, consider what your child needs and why. A younger child might want bunk beds or a trundle bed for a sleepover, for example. But if Grandma comes to stay now and then, bunks with a double bed on the bottom might work best.

Other possibilities: a table for art or science projects, extra bookshelves for collections, an armoire for additional storage space and a rocker and lamp for reading. Read more »

Haverty Furniture Cos.’ March sales dropped 11.6 percent as the retail furniture market continued to be weak.

Atlanta-based Haverty reported sales of $66.1 million, compared with $74.7 million in March 2006. On a comparable-store basis, March sales decreased 13.5 percent. Sales for the first quarter of 2007 decreased 8.6 percent to $191.1 million, compared with $209.1 million in March 2006. Read more »

Decorize Inc. announced Wednesday that it is partnering with Klaussner Furniture Industries to design and source an exclusive line of home accessories, lighting, wall decor and accent furniture.

The proprietary line is targeted to accessory shops, interior designers and specialty boutiques, as well as the furniture stores that make up the bulk of Klaussner’s traditional customer base, said a news release. Read more »

Furniture shoppers can score big-time if the Chicago Cubs or Boston Red Sox win the World Series.

A home goods retailer in each of those markets is offering to refund the price of season-opening purchases if the hometown team takes the 2007 championship.

Libertyville, Ill.-based Park Avenue Home Furnishings says it’ll give a full refund for all goods bought March 30 through April 29 if the Cubs go all the way.

If the Sox cinch it, Jordan’s Furniture, which has stores in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, will refund the price of any mattress, dining table, sofa or bed bought March 7 through April 16.

“I can see a man actually saying, ‘Hey, honey, let’s go furniture shopping,’ ” says Park Avenue owner — and lifelong Cubs fan — Gary O’Reilly. Read more »

Carolee Hoth spent $15,000 to $20,000 furnishing the latest room of her west Omaha home: her backyard.

Four swivel chairs surround a low table in a covered area next to the hot tub. On another level, two club chairs and a curved, three-piece sectional wrap around a fire pit.

Cushions in chocolate brown and seafoam blue with matching fringed pillows cover the heavy cast-aluminum furniture frames. The family of five liked the furniture from Mulhall’s so much that they ordered two more chaise lounges and a table for the deck surrounding the pool. Read more »

Sales of new furniture still seem to be heading down, according to the latest survey of residential furniture manufacturers and distributors by High Point consulting firm SmithLeonard.

That survey found that orders for new furniture in January were off by 7 percent from January of 2006, about the same margins of decline seen in December and November. January sales were 8 percent higher than in December of 2006, which is a normal seasonal increase, the survey said.

Shipments of completed orders were also down by 7 percent in January from the year before. Read more »

Three floors of the Bard Graduate Center, at 18 West 86th Street in Manhattan, are filled with curvy, modern, bent and laminated beech easy chairs and chaise longues with woven, webbed seating — perfect for any beach house. There are daybeds with adjustable reading stands and companion floor-level book “cribs,” armchairs with rotating bases and elliptical blond dining tables with spindly legs that seem to float above the floor. A film on one wall depicts a glass house in a forest by the sea.

If this sounds idyllic, it is.

The exhibition “Bruno Mathsson: Architect and Designer” showcases the innovative designs of this Swedish creator, who lived from 1907 to 1988. It also promotes the ideology that, for most of the 20th century, informed modern Swedish design for the middle class: “the conviction that a well-functioning and aesthetically appealing environment, with architecture at its core, would lead to an improved quality of life,” as Dag Widman, a former curator at the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, puts it in the show’s catalog. Read more »

Beautiful wood from wine barrels and old barns is finding new life in the hands of contemporary furniture makers. The result is familiar and fresh, a new rustic style.

“We are just north of the wine country here in California, and over the years, a long time ago now, have seen a lot of barrels being disposed of,” says Whit McLeod, whose acclaimed furniture draws from the Arts and Crafts tradition.

“Obviously, it’s good quality wood,” he says. “It’s kind of a challenge to figure out what to do with it other than cutting it into a half-barrel planter.”

McLeod found a unique way to use the barrels, in a signature folding chair whose oak staves express the smooth wooden curves of their origins.

“About 99 percent of people sit down and say it’s more comfortable than it looks,” he says.

From there, he’s produced dining suites, tables, benches, comfy indoor chairs and even toilet seats, complete with the brands of the original wine barrel’s manufacturer. Read more »

Local furniture compares favourably with Far East products

Local furniture manufacturer Precision Woodworking Ltd has realised a major breakthrough for Guyana’s manufacturing sector by securing markets for its products in five Caricom territories just months after launching a major marketing drive in the region.

Speaking with Stabroek Business earlier this week Managing Director Ronald Bulkan disclosed that the company had secured markets for its furniture in Barbados, Antigua, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Grenada and had already begun exporting to those countries. “The success of our marketing initiative in the region has far exceeded our expectations and we are currently exploring market possibilities in the Bahamas, Bermuda and Trinidad and Tobago”, Bulkan told said.

And according to Bulkan the size of the regional market was well in excess of what Precision can produce. He said the company’s marketing breakthrough pointed the way for other local entrepreneurs to pursue similar manufacturing ventures. “It would probably take four Precisions to satisfy the market,” Bulkan said. Read more »