It’s been just a few weeks since I attended the High Point Furniture Market and I’m still downloading photos and perusing through my press kits.  If I had to describe one reoccurring theme, the word ‘happy’ is the first to come to mind.  The showrooms were popping with color!  I felt as if I had landed in an ice cream shop with a hundred-and-one flavors from which to choose.

If the last few years of a ‘vanilla’ palette have made you feel a bit lackluster, you’re not the only one.  While certainly comforting, some folks have desired tart and refreshing hues.  The more scoops of pigment, the better!  The classic pattern mix of florals, stripes, and geometric shapes have revived.  Painted finishes allow for customized accents to complement it all.  You could see the collective smiles of approval [...]

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Tags: Bradington-Young, bright colors, bright patterns, color trends, Hooker Furniture, ikats, painted furniture finishes, Sam Moore, Suzani

As we approach Memorial Day and the traditional beginning of summer, the time is growing short to complete our Spring Cleaning!  A lot of people just groaned reading this statement, but think of it this way: you can reduce cleaning time and excess clutter by adding a few functional furniture pieces to your home’s décor.  These functionally-beautiful pieces can cut cleaning and organizing time in half so you can spend spring and summer exactly as you should be-outside enjoying the weather!

Storage beds provide great place for linens

Have you ever opened your linen closet and an avalanche of towels and sheets tumbled down?  Why not leave the closet to the towels and store your sheets and bed linens elsewhere?  The Lindley Park storage bed has a stylish appearance and contains a drawer in the footboard that [...]

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Tags: functional furniture, hobby cabinet, organization, sofa table, Spring cleaning, storage, storage bed, storage cocktail table, storage furniture, writing desk

Furniture. It’s true. Moms really want furniture.

Sure, we appreciate the time and thought behind the slippers, bathrobes, bubble bath and candy—but what we really want is something we need. Something we can enjoy every day. Something that adds beauty and function to our home. Something exactly like furniture.

Personally, the Mother’s Day gift I’d most like to receive is the Flowered Drum Table from Hooker Furniture’s Mélange accents.

Mélange Flowered Drum Table

It has the look of popular garden stools, only better. It’s more refined and substantial. I love the way the flowers look carved and dimensional. The neutral, creamy finish on this pedestal ensures it will fit in just about anywhere. I can use it in my den, bedroom, or even a pair of them in my entry hall.

Another great gift idea? The Encircle Floor Mirror. I can picture [...]

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Tags: accent table, accents, decorating, gift, gift ideas, mélange, mirror, Mother’s Day

Instead of picking up the phone to order a Mother’s Day bouquet, here are some ways to present mom with your own personal, special touches. If you live far apart, you can suggest arrangements to a florist that will make your gift personalized for Mom. I’ve been inspired by Paula Pryke’s new book Flowers Every Day.

Paula is a well-known British floral designer and shares her work on her website where, in addition to her book you’ll find bouquets to help you make your own arrangement very special.

Flowers Every Day by Paula Pryke

Get your clippers and vases ready–Mother’s Day is right around the corner and here are 5 ideas to get you started on a bouquet she’ll always remember:

1) A Spring Garden Assortment: Lilacs, daffodils, and tulips. These blossoms might be in your [...]

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Tags: accent tables, floral arrangements, floral ideas, gift ideas for Mom, Hooker Furniture, How to make a floral bouquet, living room tables, Mother’s Day, Mother’s Day gift ideas

Welcome to our new home away from home.

That’s what we got to say as we greeted retailers and designers during the recently completed Spring High Point Market.

After over 30 years in the same furniture market showroom in the International Home Furnishings Center, Hooker Furniture moved to a high traffic location on the same floor to unite with our subsidiaries Sam Moore and Bradington-Young in a completely redesigned and renovated 80,000 square foot showroom.

The lobby of our new showroom

If there is one word we would chose to describe our new showroom, it would be “welcoming.” Everything about the design and layout has a common theme of hospitality. That’s one reason the lobby, shown above, and all public areas of the showroom have a soft neutral color scheme and seating arrangements to invite conversation and relaxation.

If there was [...]

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Tags: Bradington-Young, furniture, furniture market, furniture trends, High Point Market, Hooker Furniture, Sam Moore

When I hear ‘Spring Cleaning’ here is what comes to mind: washing windows, organizing closets, and clearing out the garage. No fun, and definitely not exciting. But maybe, just maybe, there’s a better way. Maybe this year ‘Spring Cleaning’ should mean cleaning up our decorating act. And for this, I am excited.

It’s easy to get a little complacent with home decor. We get busy with life’s demands and suddenly watching HGTV is as close to actual home improvement as we get. Just as the areas of our homes that need cleaning are the ones that have been neglected—the spaces most in need of decorating help are the ones that have been ignored.

The Classique Scroll Chest from Melange

So let’s toss out the idea that you have to redo an entire room to be happy. Over the years [...]

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Tags: accent furniture, accents, chest, decorating, furniture, hall furniture, Hooker Furniture, living room tables, painted furniture

You wouldn’t expect the words “casual” and “opulent” to hang out together.

After all, casual means “easy style” and “suited for everyday use,” while opulent is anything but ordinary. Opulent means luxurious, effusive, extravagant, gilded and glittery.

But, as the saying goes, “Opposites attract.”  And in fact, when “casual” and “opulent” get together in the design world, they make beautiful home décor together.

Want a poignant, compelling room that invites you in? Mix rustic and weathered pine with a crystal chandelier and airy white bedding.

A scraped pine headboard with crystal chandelier, white bedding

Are you looking for design beauty that is original, fresh, and unexpected? Mix a natural fabric like cotton, burlap or linen with a mirrored metallic border as on this tufted queen bed in Hooker Furniture’s Sanctuary Collection.

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Tags: Casual Opulence, Eclectic décor, furniture, furniture trends, High Point Market, Hooker Furniture, Rough Lux, Sanctuary Collection

Wood furniture finishes aren’t what they used to be, and that’s actually a good thing.

For years, there’s been brown, light brown, dark brown, medium brown…you get the idea. Maybe with a few painted color finishes or black finishes thrown in here and there.

Yet introductions at the international April High Point Furniture Market opening later this week signal that wood is emerging from its under-the-radar status to play a more prominent role in the overall design of furniture and the home.

In several key introductions at Hooker Furniture, wood treatments include multiple wood types in one piece or collection, color tone variations and sophisticated rustic reclaimed wood looks.

The Rhapsody collection combines 5 veneers over solid poplar

The sophisticated rustic woods are often mixed with elegant or classical silhouettes and design elements or opulent accessories to create a feeling of casual luxury.

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Tags: furniture finishes, furniture market, furniture trends, furniture wood treatments, High Point Market, Hooker Furniture, wood furniture

Part II of a 2 part series

Maybe it’s our English roots or our enchantment with everything from British accents to British royalty. Whatever the subliminal influences, the dream home visualized in the minds of many Americans is an English Country House. This infatuation with grand English Country style has been flamed by the many layered, opulent and gracious interiors seen on the set of the TV series Downton Abbey.

A tufted leather club chair from Bradington-Young

On Tuesday, I began sharing with you the main elements you can incorporate in your own home to achieve English Country House style. The first two were: 1) Mix styles and periods to give the feel of a home evolved over time and 2) Use plush upholstery with sink-down comfort and classic lines in covers such as leather, velvet and floral chintz [...]

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Tags: Décor Arts Now, Downton Abbey, English Country style, English country style decorating, English country style examples, English country style tips, Hooker Furniture, Primrose Hill

Part I of a 2 part series

A new season of Mad Men has recently started, but many TV viewers have not left Edwardian England and Downton Abbey behind.

Lady Fiona Carnarvon, the “real” owner of Downton Abbey (known as Highclere Castle in real life), has been widely quoted for saying that the show has renewed interest in stately English homes and greatly increased Highclere’s visitors.

But it is more than just visiting someone else’s pile.

Transfixed by the many layered, opulent and gracious interiors seen on Downton Abbey, people want their home to be their own personal castle.

First popularized in the 1940s by John Fowler and his partners in the UK decorating firm Colfax & Fowler, Sibyl Colfax and Nancy Lancaster, the grand English Country House Style is back in vogue.

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Tags: Décor Arts Now, Downtown Abbey, English Country, English Country decorating, English Country style, Hooker Furniture, How to create English Country style, Primrose Hill, the English Country look