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The 2011 International Furniture Fair (IFF) in Singapore took everyone by surprise in terms of the number of visitors that attended and more importantly the number of sales and sales leads it generated for the exhibitors.  It was a ‘boom’ turnout with just under twenty-one thousand visitors and a ‘boom’ sales and order book total in the region of $3 billion.  The increases in sales and orders for modern furniture can be seen as a result of the surge in economic growth in Asia.

The IFF has for some time been considered Asia’s most lucrative stage for the modern furniture and furnishings industries and 2011 did not disappoint; from the designers to the producers of high-quality furniture and furnishings the exhibitions halls were filled with awe inspiring pieces.  The success it must be said goes to the organisers that had set the stage to host the premiere event by creating pavilions for exhibiting countries – it worked exceptionally well as a high percentage of exhibitors were from the wider international markets. The world’s best from the contemporary furniture industry together with some global brands flocked to exhibit at the fair.  The IFF’s ability to create an ‘all under one roof’ global marketplace was a success.

The general comments about the IFF all appear to be extremely positive; that it was a complete triumph; a showcase of inspired, fresh ideas and a visual spectacle.  This is a great accolade for all those involved in the exhibitions.  It was pleasing to see that the great furniture designers from Italy, Spain and other European countries that inspire our collections so much in terms of their modern and chic ranges of bedroom, lounge and dining furniture also exhibited pieces to the wider global market.  It is with anticipation that we await the availability of IFF’s finest pieces and the creations from the up and coming designers.

The general response from the IFF 2011 is that the furniture industry continues to flourish.  Flourishing more so in the new growth markets of Asia and more importantly, this is helping to inspire new designers and producers to utilise platforms such as the IFF to reach the global marketplace – and that basically means us.  It is exciting times in the modern furniture world and a busy time to source furniture excellence to complement modern living, and it appears that the IFF exhibitors demonstrated furniture excellence. 

As more and more people are entertaining at home and home cooking becomes more popular there is an item of furniture that is essential to the ambience of the home that is required to share home cooked great meals – and that is a stylish contemporary dining table.  There are many styles of dining table but for unrivalled practicality choosing an extending dining table is a no brainer.  This way you can have intimate dinners and when required extend the table to enjoy meals with larger numbers of your friends and family.

 

As the trend to spend more time at home continues and families and friends begin to entertain rather than go out, creating a beautiful home can be achieved quite simply.  Key to creating a chic home is based on an interior design trick that many top designers use and that is to create an illusion of space.  Creating space involves using sleek lines in rooms that give perspective to the area.  It is however important that the room décor includes sleek lined furniture too.  

Before you begin a room’s design it is a good idea to look at it as a blank canvas.  A great way to create the space illusion is to have wood flooring installed as the lines in the boards immediately create perspective.  Pale wall coverings also generate a feeling of space – remember darker hues or heavy patterns reduce the area in a room.  Crucially though, it is the choice of furniture that is paramount to producing the illusionary space and perspective.  Traditional furniture styles tend to be cumbersome and are more appropriate to conventional homes; the contemporary home should be adorned with contemporary furniture to make the whole chic home theme work.

Perfect for lounges are real Italian sofas as they enhance the sleek lines that you are trying to create and are designed to complement modern living.  Choosing a sofa for a modern lounge helps to produce a focal point but it is important to consider how the sofa will be used.  If the family love to sit around together and watch a film a modern sofa can be complemented with a contemporary TV Tables and Stands or a wall storage system.  There are great ranges of modern TV and wall storage units that are manufactured in a variety of materials using the sleek line design style.  Currently the High Gloss finish for TV and wall storage units is proving the most popular.  Having high gloss furniture in a room is perfect to continue the space creating theme as it reflects light producing the illusionary space that you want to achieve.

Using this technique in any room will result in a beautiful chic home where you will want to entertain family and friends.

There is a strong link between the furniture market and the housing market in the UK.  In times of economic insecurity especially, this link can be clearly identified.  As the housing market stagnates it would seem logical to presume that the furniture market would decline.  There are signs that the furniture market has indeed declined up to 2010 but there is a confidence that this is not likely to continue as people begin to redesign their existing home rather than move to a new property.

Interestingly the US is showing a similar trend and it is commentated that as the economic downturn hits hard families are spending more time at home and enjoying family time, hence an increase in the purchase of new furniture to create a home that encourages quality family time.  The UK looks certain to follow as families have less cash to spend going out and want to enjoy a beautiful home setting to spend time with family and friends.

Unfortunately many furniture outlets tend to be high street names with the same old furniture designs in stock that are not appealing to those people that want to create a spectacular home with chic, designer pieces of furniture.  At a time when re-designing an existing home is on trend people are looking for distinguished furniture designs. The Italian furniture manufacturing and design market have been keen to be leaders in creating unique and chic furniture designs for the global market and their strategy has really changed the way that UK homes are furnished.  Other countries too have strategically planned for the change in the furniture market including Portugal, Spain, Germany and many Scandinavian countries.  Here at Amode, we also anticipated the change in the market and have been able to source some of the most magnificent furniture pieces from the best designers in these regions.  

It is clear that economic uncertainty could continue into the future and that more and more people will spend more time at home with family and friends rather than have a day or night out, but it is also evident that as people stay in their existing homes they will want unique, designer furnishings to make their homes a place for sophisticated socialising.