Furniture Brands

You likely don’t realize it, but the furniture in your home is as much a part of you as is your car or clothes. These were items that you selected, for you, because you liked them, your family likes them, and they make you feel comfortable. Our taste in furniture reflects our personality. We all know those bold and brash folks, the ones that are loud and have an extreme zest for life. Look at their furniture and we bet that personality will be exhibited in the furniture they chose. The same can be said of the quiet, reserved ones, church mice who don’t speak up and are too polite for their own good. They too have furniture that reflects their buttoned-up personalities.

Today’s furniture in many ways can be traced back to the Egyptians. King Tutankhamen had a tomb chalk full of amazing furniture. Cabinets, chairs, beds, stools, the King knew how to live in-style, and his afterlife is a clear indication of this. Egyptian furniture was extremely ornate and far beyond anything else at the time. The earliest Greek furniture was influenced in large part by the Egyptians, but the design was a bit softer and not so opulent. Approaching more modern times, the Renaissance period that spread through Europe in the 14th century, first with Italy and later to France, drew heavily on ancient Rome and Greece. Tables were rectangular in design, chairs featured high-back cushions with exquisite upholstery, and the French Renaissance especially was inspired by Charles VIII and his travels to neighboring Italy.

Why is furniture history so important? It’s important because the premier furniture brands today are based on the classic styles of yesteryear. There’s a reason they’re so respected and their individual brand value is so revered. It’s because they borrow heavily from the classics with a healthy dose of their own creativity mixed in. Take Lexington for example. This North Carolina based company has been in operation since the early 1900s. They are known trendsetters but still fly under the radar in the larger furniture sphere. Another biggie is Restoration Hardware, a brand we are sure is familiar to everyone. A deity in the furniture universe, Restoration will manufacture limited runs of their own furniture based on the current availability of material in their showrooms. Some refer to them as the Apple of the furniture world, but some other brands we are about to name would beg to differ.

One of those is Hooker Furniture. Headquartered in Virginia, Hooker is a beast in the furniture world, employing over 800 people between Virginia and North Carolina and a leader in the wooden bedroom segment. If you enjoy deep, dark colors, like something you’d find in a luxury cabin deep in the forest, Hooker is the brand for you. And finally, Lexington once again. Again, you claim, you can’t talk enough about one furniture brand? You got it, because apart from the company at a macro level, Lexington has a couple sub-brands - Tommy Bahama Home and Tommy Bahama Outdoor Living – that might as well be power brands onto themselves. These two have a lockdown on the outdoor patio/backyard market and will likely continue for the foreseeable future.

Some excellent brands to work with here, and plenty more to peruse online. We know you got the time these days …