by Martinsville, VA—Hooker Furniture is unveiling two major new whole home collections at the High Point Market, April 2-6, 2022, encompassing more than 100 new designs for bedroom, dining, living room, home office, occasional and entertainment.
For inspiration, the company’s design team looked at the natural beauty of the American wilderness for Big Sky, 60 pieces designed to evoke the peace and ease of becoming one with nature, and much farther afield to one of the world’s most iconic islands for Santorini, with 50 pieces evoking the grace and classicism of ancient Greek architecture.
“As much time as we have spent in our homes over the last several years, we believe consumers are still looking for opportunities to make their homes special. Part of that inspiration is bringing a look and feel into their physical space of places they’ve visited and loved. Big Sky speaks directly to consumers’ respect for nature and the sense of peace and spiritual connection it offers. Santorini evokes a sense of grace, elegance, history, and the sheer beauty of this coastal European gem,” said Mike Harris, president of Hooker Furniture.
“Rustic, organic and comforting, Big Sky offers two very distinct style personalities. The first is created for the traditionalist, with classic and transitional elements like timber style design, metal turnings and hand-forged hardware, while pieces that incorporate planking details, waterfall edges, crosshatch surfaces and more linear shapes evoke a more modern vibe,” he added.
Two master bedrooms in the collection exemplify Big Sky’s dual sensibilities. One, crafted in random cut hickory veneers in a warm, gently worn, Vintage Natural finish, centers on a grand scale, mansion-type bed with substantial corbels and crown moldings. The other is a more modern panel bed in Vintage Natural with substantial mitered framing and ruff sewn crosscut interior panels in a finish called Furrowed Bark. A poster bed finished in Charred Timber with suspended linen upholstered headboard surrounded by decorative nail heads and an oxidized metal canopy works effortlessly between the two perspectives. Though the beds are different stylistically speaking, distinct architectural influences like the weight and heft of post and beam construction are evident in both designs, and thread their way through the entire collection.
“We follow what’s happening now stylistically in higher-end residential construction using heavier organic materials, and while there is a rustic side to Big Sky, there’s also a crispness and an air of sophistication,” said Tim O’Hare, senior vice president of design at Hooker. “These designs can live just as easily in upscale urban environments as they can in Aspen, Jackson Hole, Sonoma, or Tahoe. If you’re looking for rustic it’s there, but we tried to create a flexibility and eclectic feel to the collection that makes it easy to blend with pieces consumers may already own. Incorporating Big Sky into your lifestyle doesn’t require that you redo your entire home.”
While the Charred Timber finish is inspired by the restorative beauty of a fire-ravaged forest, Avalanche recalls the blankets of snow that feed the streams and rivers of America’s Western landscapes. “The Dusk finish reminds you of the calm, peace, and beauty of a sunset behind a mountain ridge, while Furrowed Bark, a charcoal finish, is used with a crosshatch texture,” Harris noted. “Watch for dramatic pairings of all four with Vintage Natural. Among the not to be missed pieces: A tall Wardrobe finished in Vintage Natural that opens to reveal the surprise of a Charred Timber interior; an entertainment console that pairs the crosshatch texture of Furrowed Bark; and another console that pairs the Vintage Natural finish with the stark white of Avalanche to great effect.”
Encompassing dining room as well as bedroom, in addition to home office, and occasional furniture, other signature Big Sky silhouettes include a highly stylized Parson’s leg dining table and bachelor chests on turned metal bases. Signature materials range from natural seeded glass to top-grain leather, cast iron and raw burlap, the latter encasing a striking oval chest decorated with nail heads.
Hooker turned to the Greek islands for the inspirations behind Santorini.
“In creating the new Santorini collection, which also encompasses bedroom, dining, occasional and home office, we wondered what people living on the island would see when they turn from looking out the window at the sea, back inside their rooms,” said Jenni Jungers, executive vice president of merchandising.
“We think traditionalists will revel in the classical ornamentation of this collection, from details like rope moldings, fluted columns and egg and dart motifs rendered in cathedral oak veneers, to the treasure of cast hardware that emulates the look of Ancient Coins gathered in the sands of white lava beaches,” Jungers described. “Santorini is also designed to speak to true romantics in search of sanctuary and peace, who we expect will gravitate toward the collection’s soft, serpentine shapes with floral elements evocative of Grecian inspired carvings.”
Harris believes fans of both styles will appreciate how each of Santorini’s design elements can come together to create spaces as iconic and unforgettable as the whitewashed villages nestled in the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean.
“Santorini is a true celebration of culture, history and natural beauty, rendered in fresh painted finishes like Villa, used to showcase the softer, more elegant lines of the classic architecture; White Cap, representing the seas that surround the island; Ocean Breeze, an accent color of blue hues with a hint of ocean and sky; and hardware finished in Ancient Coin, emulating the look of oxidized currency.”
Here again the collection’s two bedrooms address the appeal to devotees of both traditional and romantic styles. On the one hand, a substantial panel bed finished in Parthenon features fluted column details and speaks to the history and strength of the region, while an upholstered sleigh bed with intricate metal fretwork detail in the headboard is decidedly feminine.
In the same vein, the architecture of the region inspired many of the collection’s shapes and details, from display cabinets that echo doorway arches, to the serpentine silhouettes of demilunes and an eclectic chest with reeding details. As would be expected in collections inspired by classic Greek architecture, acanthus leaf motifs and other gracefully carved floral elements appear throughout.
