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BRAVO Group,

South Africa’s

largest furniture

and sleep products

manufacturer – which

includes brand names such

as Edblo, Sealy Posturepedic,

King Koil and Slumberland, as

well as lounge products under

brand names such as Grafton

Everest, GommaGomma, La-Z-

Boy and Alpine – has said that

for decades they went out into

world markets to bring back

the best in innovative comfort

and styling for the South

African market.

“However, with

globalisation having increased

many times over, we do not sit

on our laurels. Increasingly,

our customers are the

millennial ‘I want it now!’

generation.

“We find that the China

International Furniture Fair

in Shanghai and the Las Vegas

Furniture Exhibition in the

US are the largest exhibitions

of upholstered furniture

applicable to the local market.

“Shows such as Cologne in

Germany are more fashion-

forward, giving us direction

into the future. Acting on such

trend-spotting intelligence is

key if any business is to stay

agile and competitive here.

“Applying trends to

customers’ needs and

preferences means we are

working towards smaller

designs to suit the ever-

increasing local trend to

townhouse living, for instance.

“The urban aesthetic also

means we look at creating

cleaner lines that are less

puffy but still softened and

inviting. Technology has

become so important to

urban living, so we have

added features such as power

recliners and cup-coolers for

home theatre use and USB

charging functions as close to

the fingertips as possible.”

Bravo said earthy tones

were more commercial in

South Africa, which would be

reinforced by their imminent

renaissance internationally.

“As always, these will be

offset by a pop of fashionable

colours, so we ensure the

ranges we launch at our trade

shows reflect both underlying

trends and popular colours.”

Bravo said that in applying

the intelligence from their

trend-spotting teams, they

were aware that US trends in

products, retail and customer

buying patterns were most

popular in local markets.

“To bring the best to

our customers, we monitor

these trends from sourcing

and manufacturing to

marketing and retailing, to the

satisfaction of the end user.”

The New Year is set to bring with it new trends in furniture design. Kamcilla Pillay spoke to a leading manufacturer about what to expect

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JANUARY 4, 2017

THE MERCURY

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From buttery shades to vivid golds: It’s clear that yellow is the colour we should be including in our bedrooms. Kamcilla Pillay looked at Cape Town-based Linen House’s predictions for this year’s trends

LINEN House was founded

in Melbourne, Australia, in

1993 and Linen House South

Africa has been established

for more than 10 years.

“Highly regarded as

one of the most innovative

suppliers of home textiles

in both the New Zealand

and Australian markets

and offering a range of

products that includes duvet

covers, sheet sets, towels and

co-ordinating accessories,

Linen House supplies a

variety of brands to both

major and independent

retailers,” said the brand on

its website.

These designs

incorporated the latest

textile technologies to

develop fashion-orientated

print, jacquard, applique and

embroidered bed linen, they

said. “We are very passionate

about our products.”

As a wholesaler, the

company sells to retailers

but not directly to the public.

“For that reason we do not

have a showroom for retail

customers to view our

products. If you would like to

view them we ask you to visit

one of our stockists.”

Stockists can be contacted

at info@linenhouse.co.za.

Don’t forget to mention your

location.

“Your home says a lot

about you. It captures your

soul, the essence of who

you are. We try to create a

breadth of stunning looks for

you to choose from.”

Above are some ways the

brand has incorporated the

“yellow trend” into their

collections.

PACEY YELLOWFeaturing a speciality weave and a contemporary design, Pacey is immediately appealing in its simplicity and soft feel. The duvet cover and pillowcases feature cord piping trim and the reverse is perfectly plain. Complete the look with matching continental pillowcases and cushion.

ALITA PASTELModern luxury, this satin jacquard fabric features borders of tile pattern and geometrics woven in neutral greys and blue with an accent of sunny yellow. Shown with the co-ordinating continental pillowcases. The design features a printed reverse and cord piping trim.

VALMONT BLACKSmart geometric borders and contemporary fashion colours combine in this woven jacquard design. Printed percale reverse and piping trim. Shown with matching continental pillowcases.

VARADO BLACKSoft golds and greys are a smart combination of colours for this elegant patterned border design. Woven in luxury jacquard fabric, the reverse is printed with a tile pattern geometric and the duvet cover and pillowcase are finished with a cord piping.

A splash of yellow in this season’s bedrooms

Luxury bedding is expected to be big in 2017.

Darker timber tones are key to creating a more inviting space.

A pop of colour can help lift a room.

Seat yourself down and check new furniture designs

Their predictions for 2017:

● Upholstered headboards: This is part of the continuing trend to spin out features of luxury hotels to the home.

● Modular furnishing: Expanding townhouse living means furniture must multitask for work and relaxation, with softer silhouettes and restful colours.

● Move to luxury bedding: As consumers realise the health benefits of a great night's sleep.

● Palette accents: Top palettes are grey walls and monochrome fabrics or terracotta, cork and darker timber tones. For either palette, green continues as a strong accent from last season, sometimes interspersed with blue.

● Kick back: In reaction to our high-tech digital age, nature elements such as feather motifs are featuring in urban settings and home planning provides reading and conversation areas for a digital detox.

● Danish drive: Europe particularly is falling in love with the Danish hygge concept – all about comfortable minimalism with rustic elements in an urban world.