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 [...]

More >
3 Comments
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 [...]

More >
Leave a comment
Tags: accent furniture, accents, chest, decorating, furniture, hall furniture, Hooker Furniture, living room tables, painted furniture

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.

More >
1 Comment
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 [...]

More >
Leave a comment
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.

More >
7 Comments
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

My grandmother was always the consumate hostess with her menus and table settings calculated down to the the tiniest of details.  Planning for our family’s Easter celebration was one of the occasions she happily anticipated as she pulled out her finery of Gorham’s Buttercup silver and her Wedgewood Wild Strawberry china.  She even had a collection of crystal salt wells and spoons, as well as some beautiful, crystal knife rests.  Her table always sparkled with her various collections.

As a little girl, my mother made sure I had a special outfit, to include a new pair of white patent leather shoes and ruffled socks.  If time permitted, my dress was made with smocking, embroidery and even a matching cotton voile apron.  (You can understand where my attention to dressmaker details originated.)  Of course, every proper little girl had a [...]

More >
Leave a comment
Tags: Bunny S’mores, childhood memories of Easter, Easter, Easter desserts, Easter stories