Treasure Trove Of Vintage Upholstery Debuts as Heirlooms of Future In Antiques Roadshow™ Collection From Southern Furniture Company

Furniture World Magazine

Southern Furniture Company scrupulously incorporates treasured designs and forgotten textiles of distinction from past centuries into the Antiques Roadshow™ Collection, debuting at the International Home Furnishings Market as a trove of seven vintage upholstery groups with all the characteristics to become heirlooms of the future. For inspiring authenticity, every design flourish of the 25-piece moderately priced collection can be linked to upholstery and home furnishings actually appraised on Antiques Roadshow™, the intensely popular and most-watched series on public television. “Our collection has an accepted and bona fi de heritage as its essence and source of enduring design,” said Ken E. Church, president of Southern Furniture. “We now can tap into this amazing resource of authenticity that has the proven capacity to captivate and sustain the interest of so many people who obviously cherish enduring design anchored in history.” The Antiques Roadshow™ Collection is scheduled to debut in retail stores in the fi rst quarter of 2004. Many pieces of the collection incorporate a multiplicity of vintage design elements. For authenticity, Church and team of designers laboriously viewed photographs of virtually all the appraised upholstery whose rare value was continually confi rmed wherever the broadcast series traveled. For additional inspiration, the designers studied other home furnishings featured on the public television series. Firmly embedding history’s forgotten, yet enduring styles and robust designs in their psyche, the designers fashioned a creative strategy that replicated some of the heritage upholstery with exquisite faithfulness, as well as incorporating many diverse design features into the collection of sofas, chairs, settees and ottomans. “This collection is all about artistry. It honors the age-old craftsmanship of original pieces, which most people could never dream of owning—these are designed to be future heirlooms,” Church said. “The other challenge and design difference is how we were able to remain true to shape and style, while designing away all the discomfort so prevalent in some antique furniture. These modern day pieces are both beautiful in appearance and easy to enjoy.” Searching the archives of many textile mills and fabric producers, Southern Furniture’s designers discovered many richly embellished and vibrantly woven linens and toiles of the past. Their patterns, designs and images keep the thrill of design discovery alive.