What’s Hot: Furnishings
American antiques: Mission, Craftsman and Shaker styles. And reproductions of these styles are big sellers at area furniture stores.
Scandinavian design: Its most recent incarnation has been brought here by IKEA and is making trend waves. One of their sofas and a bookcase are used to decorate Jerry Seinfeld’s living room in his television show, “Seinfeld.â€
* Comfy: Of no particular era, has roots in American ideas of English country houses. Very padded and squishy. Down-filled cushions, easy-care slipcovers and put-your-feet-up coffee tables are staples of the laid-back. George Smith sofas and chairs are the new designer version of the recycled ones.
* Neo-Ancestral: Old and meant to look that way--faded fabrics, raveling threads, chipped paint and scratched surfaces--the kinds of things that look like they’ve been in the family for generations.
* Natural: This is the “green†movement in home furnishings--unbleached cotton and crumpled linen upholstery fabrics, recycled glass containers, rough woods and wrought iron are the mainstays.
* The Great Hunters: Several areas of the country boast their own version of this high testosterone decorating style--the Northeast fishing cabin, the Rockies hunting lodge, the Northwest moose hunting cabin. In Southern California we have California Rancho--or cowboy bunkhouse. There are some common threads, such as unfinished wood, plaid upholstery, facsimiles of animals, wrought iron and heavy-handed use of the colors brown and green.
