Bracing for Furniture Deals

The High Point Market is underway in North Carolina and the furniture manufacturers are bracing themselves for a brutal forecast, Forbes reports.

If you have never heard of it, the High Point Market happens only twice a year and is the "largest furnishings trade show in the world," according to the High Point Market website. At the High Point Market you can find 188 buildings packed with furnishings and accessories, with over 12 million square feet of showroom space and more than 2000 exhibitors. Every six months approximately 85,000 people gather to see tens of thousands of new products unveiled. The Market says, "if you can't find it in High Point, it probably doesn't exist." With all that space, I hope they are right.

Attendance at the market is free but you must register and the catch is that you must have a resell license that shows you are in a furniture related business. (If you order Kimberly Causey's book, that I talk about here, you can be in the furniture related retail business if you follow her lead.)

Both the Forbes report and the High Point Market industry report state that sales of furnishings are expected to be slower than "normal" until at least the later half of 2009. I hope that if these reports are right that will bode well for the consumer in search of better than usual deals.

You know how I dislike paying retail prices for furniture and accessories and the not so rosy forecast may just be my lucky break.

A Potential Furniture Source

Last week when I was groaning about finding good deals on quality furniture and accessories I came across this website, The Elysee Collection, that has many great finds that may not fit every style but, as the name suggests, many of their offerings fit my style just perfectly. I like the bookcase that I show, above.

Now that I have clicked around the site I see that they are wholesale only, well if I follow the process outlines in Kimberly Causey's book, The Insider's Guide to Buying Home Furnishings, I can buy wholesale but in the meantime I checked for a store near my home and there are none. However, I have the option of buying online at The French Mix which unfortunately went out of business as of June 8, 2008, which is unfortunate because their web site, at least, looks quite intriguing. The only other option is Layla Grayce that carries many home accessory items as well as furniture. While the offerings on the site are not the usual fare, the furniture prices seem to be a little pricey.

I think I'll wait...but at least there is some food for thought here.

European Dining Flair

As you probably noted from my dining room in process shot and my previous entries, I love this European style. I like the casual elegance noted in this dining room but I'm not sure that the draperies are a fit for me. I think I'd like to see something a little more provincial, some color. Without that it seems a little boring. All that aside, if you are looking for reasonably priced furniture and accessories you might try Ballard Designs. Each time I receive their catalog or an email from them I have to check out their new offerings. I get so many ideas from them that I cannot possibly implement them all. Have fun!

Country French Accessories

Do you like the Country French look? I do but I do not necessarily like the prices of Pierre Deux. I was in Boston a few weeks ago and stumbled upon a little store called Comptoir de Famille. They have a wonderful selection of accessories and furniture at most reasonable prices. Their candles smell really nice and they have a lot of linens, glassware, pottery, pewter, etc. I, of course, bought a few accessories and had them shipped home.