Capturing the spirit of today’s consumers, a new "American Style" was front and center in home furnishings designs unveiled to the trade at the spring International Home Furnishings Market in High Point, NC last month.

"Consumers are more nostalgic than ever," says Jackie Hirschhaut, vice president at the American Furniture Manufacturers Association. "Patriotism and a fondness for all things American continue at an all-time high, and people are enjoying being at home with their families and friends. New furniture styles tap into these trends."

The new American Style for 2002 reaches to Mission, Shaker, Cottage, and Country elements with contemporary and multicultural influences. Comfort is key, with warm wood finishes and soft, inviting upholstery.

Stanley Furniture, one of several producers exhibiting the new American Style, unveiled American View, a 50 piece collection of bedroom, dining room, accent and home entertainment. Pieces crafted of cherry solids and veneers are accented with unexpected elements such as leather, woven banana tree husk, and brushed nickel hardware.

Pennsylvania House introduced American Traditions, a 54 piece collection also in cherry. More traditional than Stanley’s American View, American Traditions features exposed English dovetails on bracket feet and inlaid walnut pegs placed throughout.

Solid American cherry also is featured in Brookside Cherry, a new lodge inspired collection at Kincaid Furniture, and in Cresent’s American Heirlooms, featuring a rustic design with farmhouse and antique elements.

The American Heritage collection at Lane features Arts & Crafts style with glass and metal accents. A signature piece of the collection is a bed with a leather panel headboard. Also new at Lane is the Liberty Cedar Chest depicting an American flag on the front.

Talk

Roger von Oech asks in his book A Whack On The Side Of The Head, "What is the meaning of life?"

To find the answer he asked his seminar participants to make a metaphor for life. Their ideas can be put into two groups: those that deal with food, and those that don’t.

Here are a few of their answers:

• Life is like a bagel. It’s delicious when it’s fresh and warm, but often it’s just hard. The hole in the middle is a great mystery, and yet it wouldn’t be a bagel without it.

• Life is like eating grapefruit. First you have to break through the skin; then it takes a couple of bites to get used to the taste, and just as you begin to enjoy it, it squirts you in the eye.

• Life is like cooking. It all depends on what you add and how you mix it. Sometimes you follow the recipe and at other times, you’re creative.

• Life is like a jigsaw puzzle, but you don’t have the picture on the front of the box to know what it is supposed to look like. Sometimes, you’re not even sure if you have all the pieces.

• Life is like riding an elevator. It has a lots of ups and downs and someone is always pushing your buttons. Sometimes you get the shaft, but what really bothers you are the jerks.

Von Oech, Roger. (1983).A whack on the side of the head. New York: Warner Books.

What do you think life is like?