Strolling the acres of showrooms at this year's spring furniture market in High Point, N.C., was, at times, akin to watching an episode of Teletubbies, minus the cloying dialogue. Bigger-than-life colors dominated, and prints were equally vivid.
Even case goods such as desks and dressers turned up in hues of Granny Smith apple green and searing red. It remains to be seen whether the furniture industry can convince customers that the economy is as rosy as the sofas, but until then, lovers of color will have a grand time redecorating their digs.
Among the offerings were:
A Louis XV embroidered chair by the tony New York pair of John Dransfield and Geoffrey Ross. Individual strands of ribbon were sewn together to create the upholstery for their traditional chair with a Technicolor twist ($2,600).
Master chair by Shine Home ($3,325). Susan Hornbeak-Ortiz's citrus vision of happiness shows up in a vibrant nature pattern and throughout the company's new line of modern contemporary pieces, called the Wish collection. "I wanted it to be reflective of my optimism and faith in the future," she says.
Alexa chair by Robin Bruce ($899). Celebrity stylist Tina Chai, who has worked on covers for Vogue and Details, went wild with a collection of colorful, bohemian fabrics she developed with the company's in-house design team. The result are multihued pieces she says were inspired by the South of France.
Stiletto chair by Century Furniture ($6,000). Stainless-steel legs? Purple, high-gloss leather? If Joan Collins were a chair, she be this one.
