Styling Magic

I love installations and styling but I'm sure that preparing for High Point Market twice a year might make me change my tune.  Hickory Chair creative director Ron Fiore and his team take on the monumental task of styling the entire showroom each spring and fall and always do an amazing job.  Hickory Chair was lucky enough to move into a new showroom with windows that let in natural light and help create even more real life scenarios.  This little room was off to the side but the touches of blue definitely caught my eye.  It really does make me want to paint the inside of every cabinet blue and restyle my own space.  That seems a bit ambitious so I might just settle for buying some tulips.  Wonder if Ron makes house calls?!

Photos by Heather Clawson for Habitually Chic

Suzanne Kasler for Hickory Chair

One of the most fun aspects of High Point Market is that many of the designers are on hand to chat with buyers and the press.  I always look forward to catching up with those who don't live in New York like Atlanta based designer Suzanne Kasler.  Her collection for Hickory Chair was originally based on the antiques in her own home and I love watching it evolve and grow.  At this market, she was allowed to upholster many pieces of furniture and the wall in her new fabric for Lee Jofa that will debut this fall. I also think much of Suzanne's success is due to the fact that she is just as nice as she is talented and such a joy to speak with at High Point.

Photos by Heather Clawson for Habitually Chic

HIGH POINT MARKET: PART I

As promised, this week I'm going to bring you lots of posts from my trip to High Point. We were lucky enough to be toured through a few different showrooms as a group (so much fun with my fabulous blog gals!) so I'll start off with those...

First up was one of my favorites - the Hickory Chair showroom!

Celebrating their 100 year anniversary, the focus of their new product was reinventing some of their classics into updated pieces as well as offering some popular customizations, like the length added to this large, gorgeous dining table!

And updating the very first hickory chair they ever created into this modernized version above (to the left). They also showed off their customization options by creating two versions of the pieces shown above in completely different finishes - a great way to show how changing the tone of a piece can create a totally different vibe.

Seeing Suzanne Kasler's rooms is always a treat for me, and she did not disappoint with this space designed to show off her new fabric line. Loved the use of the pattern throughout...

My two favorite pieces from Suzanne's line remain the same - the campaign desk and slipper chair. Unfortunately our time at the showroom got cut short, because there was so much more to see and do... so this tour is moving on too!

Next up was Sligh - a company was unfamiliar with before getting to High Point.

The focus of their furniture lines is on home office and entertainment - and this new line was hands-down my favorite out of all their selections. Clean lines and gorgeous hardware with two-toned wood. I liked that they showed a variety of simple modern styles as well as traditional, with a great focus on attention to detail and technology needs.

The desks are all made to hide wires and plug-ins and their entertainment units (which I forgot to get shots of) have the option of their 'strong arm' mounting system (so you don't have to damage your walls!) as well as the 'smart eye' which allows you to use the remote to control all the technology componets hidden behind the doors.

After that we were on to Theodore Alexander where my camera basically started failing on me, but I manged to get a few fun shots...

Like our group with the Keno Brothers whose line was simply stunning!! I'll have to share more of it with you when the images are available because we weren't allowed to photograph them yet.

And talk about an extensive line - the company creates serious reproductions of traditional English pieces while contrasting them with completely modern shapes as well... and pretty much everything in between too.

One of my favorites of the traditional pieces was this double heart table...

In the right setting it could be such a sweet little stand-alone piece.

What do you think so far? Anything you're absolutely loving? All have the second half of the tour later today... and tomorrow, we'll talk trends!

*all photos my own

High Point Highlights

I'm back from my whirl wind trip to the High Point Market furniture show and have so much to share.  Before I start my in depth posts, I thought I would give you the highlights.  High Point Market invited a group of bloggers down to tour five showrooms including one of my favorites Hickory Chair above.  We were also invited to lunch with their fabulous designers Alexa Hampton, Suzanne Kasler, Mariette Himes Gomez and Thomas O'Brien who later walked us through all their spaces.

I love family owned companies and Comer Wear, the marketing director and third generation at Century Furniture gave is the tour of their huge showroom. They too have many different lines including Oscar de la Renta, Bob Timberlake, Archive Home, and the garden inspired collection above.

There were also a few showrooms we visited that I wasn't familiar with including Hooker Furniture.  That mirror trimmed and tufted bed definitely caught my eye though!

Another interesting showroom we visited was Sligh who is known for their home office furniture and entertainment units that incorporate state of the art technology.

I was also not familiar with Theodore Alexander who has a line of furniture reproduced from Althorp Estate which is over 500 years old but most known as the childhood home of Princess Diana.  Theodore Alexander also carried the furniture collection of Leigh and Leslie Keno better known as the Keno Brothers from Antiques Roadshow.  I would have expected them to design antique reproductions and their furniture collection of antique inspired modern furniture was my favorite discovery at High Point.  It also helps that their are so passionate and enthusiastic about furniture.

I've seen Halo Styles at the NYIGF but their booth there is nothing like their amazing showroom in High Point.  They have the entire building which is perfect for their mix of vintage finds and new furniture.  I especially loved this light fixture made from bowler hats.

We couldn't visit High Point without stopping to see Bunny Williams in her BeeLine Home showroom.  Bunny is one of the nicest designers and immensely talented.  Just wait until you see her inspiring showroom when I post more photos later.

BoBo Intriguing Objects is another favorite from the NYIGF who has a whole building full of vintage treasures in High Point. You know everything is authentic when it's still covered with a layer of dust!

The highlight of High Point are all the fun parties.  We stopped by the Halo soiree on Sunday where we ran into interior designer Philip Gorrivan and Michelle Adams of Lonny.  We also made it to the Elle Decor party for Barclay Butera on Monday night at Eastern Accents. That's Barclay with Elle Decor editor in chief Michael Boodro above. I was able to pick up the May 2011 issue early and can tell you that it's gorgeous! We also raised a glass with Architectural Digest where chatted with our friends from Edward Ferrell + Lweis Mittman and One Kings Lane.  Later, we danced the night away at Four Hands before heading back to our hotel to pass out. 

It was a very busy few days and I'm sorry we couldn't see everyone.  I will definitely give myself more time if I attend High Point Market in the fall.  The only low points were being turned away from Baker for not having an apointment and the huge storm that knocked out the power in our hotel for six hours Tuesday morning.  Other than that, we had a great time and would like to thank High Point Market for their lovely Southern hospitality.  It was so much fun seeing what was new and meeting so many lovely people but as we all in the design world know, there is no place like home. Check back for more complete High Point posts soon!

Photos by Heather Clawson for Habitually Chic

Thomas O'Brien's American Vintage Modern Casually Elegant Collection

The best part of High Point was definitely meeting all the designers and having them walk us through their spaces. I also loved that Hickory Chair allowed the designers to not only display their furniture for Hickory Chair but also their lines for other vendors which created a wonderfully styled space that ended up looking more like a real home than a showroom. This was especially true of Thomas O'Brien's rooms that were a great mix of his furniture for Hickory Chair, rugs from his collection for Safavieh, his bedding for Target, accessories from his shop Aero, and china and flatware from his line for Reed & Barton. The rooms also represented what he called his Gemini love of both vintage and modern, and elegant and casual pieces, much of which was based on furniture he has collected over the years. I really found them inspiring and hope you do too!

Photos by Heather Clawson