Wood Furniture Style is On the Rise

I know that some of you on the forums have access to Furniture Today. While most of their articles are business oriented, their Special Report on exposed wood furniture is making a whole lot of sense.

Exposed wood elements have been showing up more and more in the furniture market place. Once reserved for bedroom and dining room sets, this furniture design trend is getting great positioning in showrooms across the nation.

I think this style shift can be attributed to the IKEA generation and Internet furniture retailers. Homeowners want furniture that retains a high level of value after purchase, and nothing displays this like a well-detailed piece of wood furniture. In the past, this design style was thought to be too expensive, not comfortable enough, and also not kid-friendly enough. Many of these styles, like the Audrey Mist Collection (currently available at Ashley), combine thick cushions with rich wood styling to give you the best of both worlds.

Some other styles to consider include wood legs only and wood trim. The current trend is for a darker wood stain. You can't go wrong with colors like Java, Espresso, Dark Cherry, and Coffee. Open fretwork and tapered legs are also in style, so rounded spindles and bun feet are probably a no-go unless the room calls for it.

Hopefully this helps someone in the market for a new living room.