by HIGH POINT —Flexsteel is heading to High Point intent on making the most of consumers’ continued interest in all things farmhouse with a whole home collection inspired by the natural world.
The major new collection named Chevron addresses bedroom, dining, occasional and home office with rustic sophistication and an organic, textural vibe. Crafted in solid pine, and marked by subtle, V-shaped pattern details, the complete whole home collection is Flexsteel’s first entry into the solid wood arena.
“Historically, we launch a bedroom group first, and then build on its success over time with the addition of correlated dining and home office collections at subsequent Markets,” relates Tim Newlin, vice president of product management. “Our goal with Chevron is to make it easier for retailers to make a major impact on their floors, refreshing their assortment with pieces that work cohesively throughout
the home. At the same time, feedback from our dealers throughout the past year-and-a-half has made it clear that consumers now are seeking better quality goods across the board, and we know they equate solid wood with higher quality.”
In line with current design trends driven by consumers’ need to connect with nature, Newlin says “it was important to choose finishes that would allow them to see and feel the natural wood grain.” As such, Chevron is available in a choice of two finishes, Stone and Ebony, which play well with each other and are meant to mix and match across categories. “The key to Chevron’s appeal was to bring the beauty of the organic materials to life with low-sheen finishes,” he notes.
Loaded with quality features like soft-close drawers, and light sensor switches built into headboards, which Flexsteel has not previously offered in its case collections, Chevron is nonetheless designed to be surprisingly competitively priced. “The mission of the design team from the get-go was to create in Chevron a clear value in solid wood furnishings, that would stand out and apart on retailers’ floors.”
In the bedroom category, Chevron is set to retail from $1850 to $2400 for a four-piece set with a queen bed, while the queen and king beds themselves will range from $620 to $890. “All of the case tops feature the chevron design, which adds visual interest while keeping the drawer fronts clean and simple,” Newlin describes. “Nightstands also feature power and USB ports on the backs for added
function.”
Dining options play to consumers’ desire for less formal spaces with plenty of options, and in particular, smaller-space solutions. “In the past, we’ve largely focused on very traditional looks with leaf extensions, but the goal here was to create a more casual collection that suits the way we live today,” Newlin reports.
“Trendwise, we’re finding that consumers are loving mixing design elements and style stories, classical and contemporary, modern and traditional, as well as high-contrast looks with dark tables and light seating, or vice versa,” he notes. Chevron addresses this inclination, with multiple chair styles (somecovered in performance fabrics), a bench option, and thicker tabletops that play up the rustic, natural
appeal. “Of course, we’ve built power into the serving buffet for added function and ease when entertaining,” he adds.
According to the executive, a five-piece dining group with a round table will range from $1200 to $1600, and larger, seven-piece group with a rectangular table in the $1500 to $2400 range. Again, the choice of two finishes is meant to encourage shoppers to personalize the looks to suit.
“We’re really excited about the new occasional groups because we believe the solid wood option at value price points will be unique to us in the marketplace,” Newlin continues. “Additionally, getting the scale right was very important because we wanted to ensure that Chevron occasional pieces would work well with our core seating in both apartments and condos, as well as larger, suburban homes.”
With solid wood coffee tables ranging from $300 to $370 and end tables from $200 to $260, “a number of the occasional pieces are outfitted with hidden casters underneath to make them easy to move around as space as needed.”
In the home office category, Newlin says the design team set out to create an offering scaled for those without large, dedicated home office spaces. “It became apparent that as more and more people worked remotely during the pandemic, not everyone had an empty guest room that they could easily convert,” he reports. “So too many people ended up working at their kitchen tables and have the aching backs that came along with that. Plus, we know that many parents who are also home-schooling children, want to keep an eye on their students while they are working. Chevron is designed to solve those needs, with desks that can be tucked virtually anywhere in a home, up to and including a hallway.
“Even more important, in designing Chevron, we wanted to solve the ergonomic issues consumers have been facing,” he continues. “We’ve found that a lot of the desks currently in the marketplace include storage underneath that precludes proper knee clearance. And, unlike commercial office furniture, you are either sitting too low or too high to type easily or to see your monitor without straining your neck
and shoulders.” With a number of Flexsteel’s executive team hailing from the office products world, the team was determined to enable consumers to build their office up or down, personalizing the configuration for their needs with movable storage pieces that work for either the right or left-hand, and to make everything ergonomically correct. As a result, “Chevron’s well-thought-out designs make them
ideal for a home office that is as good-looking as it is functional, with solid wood desks in the collection priced to sell from a very workable $400 to $500,” Newlin concludes.
