Nine of the major furniture manufacturers of today.
1. Ashley Furniture
2. Bassett Furniture
3. Broyhill Furniture
4. Ethan Allen Furniture
5. Ikea Furniture
6. Lane Furniture
7. Stanley Furniture
8. Thomasville Furniture
9. Wickes Furniture
20th Century Prestige Furniture Designs
20th Century styles – are often produced out of formed wood, metal and plastics. We see these styles all around us. Four major styles were and are:
Art Nouveau – attempted to reject the machine age with carved wood and lines imitating nature with convoluted curves and shapes. An example of this is Tiffany lamps.
Art Deco – glorified ornamentation. Heavily influenced by the cubist movement of the day. It had geometric forms and shapes.
Bauhaus – embraced the machine age. It rejected all ornamentation and elevated function as it’s ideal. A very minimalist style.
Post Modernism – is more of an architectural style really but makes it’s presence felt in prestige furniture design as well. Basically this is what is being produced today and it takes many different forms being explored by many different designers.
Bright, intense colors and bold patterns increase visual “weight”. Muted, neutral tones and solid colors reduce visual “weight”.
When it comes to arranging prestige furniture follow these guidelines:
The shape of the sides of the piece of furniture should match the shape of the wall.
Don’t put round tables in the corner of rooms.
Avoid placing rectangular furniture at an angle to straight walls.
If the space on the wall is horizontal, a horizontally shaped piece of prestige furniture will look best there.
If the space on the wall is square, a square shaped piece of furniture will look best there.
Vary the heights of the major pieces in the room.
Spread your colors throughout the room.
When it comes to choosing prestige furniture there are a few points to consider.
Is the piece suitable in function and cost?
Is it suitable in mood and style?
Does it have the right look?
Is it suitable in quality?
Is it similar quality to the other furniture pieces?
Does the piece have suitable proportions?
Are the different parts in pleasing harmony with each other?
Is the piece the right scale?
Is it harmonious with the size of the objects and space around it?
Are the fabrics appropriate?
The balance lines are easy to determine. Draw 2 faint lines accross your floorplan dividing the room in half length wise and breadth wise. This will divide your room into 4 quadrants. This is important because you need to have an equal “weight” of furniture in each quadrant in order for the room to be balanced.
Traffic patterns are also easy. Leave 36 inches clear in front of each door opening to allow space for the swing of the door. Also keep 12 inches clear in front of the windows for access. Traffic patterns tell you where not to put prestige furniture, mark these on your floor plan.
Now, what about the focus of the room? Is it a fireplace? Bay window? Blank wall where the home theater screen or an artwork will go? Plan your furniture layout to take advantage of this focus.
Establish an axis for the room. You now want to draw an imaginery line up the middle of the wall from floor to ceiling through your focus. Continue this line across the ceiling and down the opposite wall to the floor. The idea is this, you want the focus balanced from floor to ceiling. If your focus is a fireplace this would mean putting a picture or something above it to fill the space. You also need to balance both sides of the room. So you would have to put something on the other wall of equal visual “weight” along the axis line. Everything is about balance.
You are now ready to start planning where your prestige furniture will go in the room. You need to place the furniture in the room so it takes advantage of the focus and so it serves the function of the room. Arrange your prestige furniture so that all 4 quadrants have equal visual “weight”. This does not mean you need to have a mirror image of furniture in the quadrants, but it simply means you don’t want every piece of furniture in one quadrant or one half. Visually on your floor plan the room should look balanced. Draw representitives of your furniture on your floorplan to scale. Try various ideas. Decide which one you find most appealing.
Prestige furniture layout – There are 4 questions you need to ask yourself when deciding where to put your prestige furniture.
What are the balance lines of the room?
Where are the traffic patterns in the room?
What is the focus in the room?
How can I establish the axis of the room?
Using prestige furniture in luxury interior design to turn your humble house into a luxurious home.
The luxury lifestyle does not require a mansion. You don’t have to wait until you can afford a huge house on the beach to live in a beautiful home. Remember the luxury lifestyle is about quality things and people. Small cosy houses can be made luxurious for a small amount of money through clever interior design. Remember the self made wealthy don’t spend money when they don’t have to. Living a luxury lifestyle is not about throwing money away to look cool, it is simply about raising your standard of living. If you can do that inexpensively, so much the better.