Made By Hickory Chair

The Inspirational Suzanne Kasler Collection

      At the October 2010 International Home Furnishings Market Hickory Chair celebrated the second anniversary of the Suzanne Kasler Collection with beautiful bedroom, dining room and living room pieces.  These new additions almost doubled the size of the original collection. Suzanne loves all things French and her new collection is no exception.  She was inspired by pieces she found in a French Moderne villa she visited in Kenya.  These ideas became reality as we have crafted these forms into relevant pieces that are available now.

     This beautiful room features the Dalton Library Table.  It is was inspired by the French Moderne library table Suzanne had seen in Kenya.  Our version is crafted from ash solids and veneers.  The wonderful textural ash grain adds contrast to the sleek lines.  Available in over 70 finishes, the Dalton can be persoanlized for a library, den or any other room where a statement piece is needed.  A pair of Marais Benches are the jewelry for this roomscene.  They were adapted from a pair of antique stools from Suzanne's own living room.  In the foreground is the Laurent Side Chair.  Its sleek lines, reeded apron, tapered legs with antique brass ferrules are accentuated by the comfortable tub shaped back.

                       In this luxurious bedroom scene is featured the new Simone Upholstered Bed which was finished in Birch paint and upholstered in a linen fabric.  The bed is also available without upholstery.  You can choose from Twin, King, Queen and California King sizes.  It is flanked by two new Augusta Chests.  If you look carefully you will notice that they were thoughtfully designed as a set - the  chest to the right of the bed has the knob on the left while the chest to the left of the bed has its knob on the right making it very easy to access from the bed.  The Augusta Chest is also available without a door with open storage and a single adjustable shelf.   The new Virginia Chair and Ottoman are located in the foreground.  This sleek chair has luxurious comfort.  An Amsterdam Side Chair is pulled up to the new Julien Desk.  The desk and its companion game table are crafted in beautiful anegre veneers.

Stay tuned for more exciting new pieces from Suzanne Kasler and Hickory Chair!

 

99 Years and Counting - Part Four

With the launch of the Thomas O'Brien Collection in 1999, Hickory Chair found realized that it had begun a new journey into the modern world of design.  We found that we had customers who loved our classic pieces and a new group who were attracted to the modern looks from Thomas O'Brien.  We realized that we needed a 'bridge' between the collections.  As we thought about this opportunity we were inspired by the very talented Mariette Himes Gomez.  She specialized in spacious interiors that she carefully selected decorative pieces made from various materials - metal, glass, stone, wood, acrylic, etc.  She typically selected white and cream with walnut toned finishes.  We felt that her 'style' was transitional.  We felt it could be the bridge we wanted to create between our classic and modern offerings.  She is considered to be Dean of Design (Elle Decor 2004) and a top 100 interior designer (Architectural Digest.)  She is the author of three books through Harper Collins, Rooms, Houses and Apartments.  Her design office and retail boutique, The Shop, are located at 504-506 East 74th Street in New York City.

Our next step was to contact Mariette and to our pleasure she was very interested in pursuing a furniture collection by Hickory Chair.  Introduced in April 2002, Mariette's collection was instantly recognized as the perfect product for the time.  In the years since, we have continued to add special pieces that has kept her diverse collection fresh and relevant.  Shown in this room scene is the New Yorker Dining Table.  It has a brushed alumnium base and is standard with a 60-inch round top made from Ash Burl veneers.  It is shown in a clear lacquer finish without any stain.  Also shown is the Southfield Side Chair and the Bistro Banquette.  The Bistro Banquette is made to measureTM in lengths from 28 to 120 inches.  Her extensive collection by Hickory Chair includes upholstery, dining room, bedroom and living room pieces.

 

My Hickory Chair Home - David Fuller, Alyson Jon Interiors, Austin, TX

One of our favorite things at Hickory Chair is to see our pieces in the rooms for which they were ordered.  Recently a long time friend of Hickory Chair, David Fuller, shared some pieces with us that were selected for a beautiful showhome at 302 Bisset Court.  David is part of the team at Alyson Jon Interiors in Austin, Texas.  The beautiful photography is by Merrick Ales Photography. 

We interviewed David and he shared with us that "when our company, Alyson Jon Interiors in Austin, Texas agreed to create a design plan and furnish a parade of home on Lake Travis, I knew exactly what I wanted the home to look and feel like.  Described as Hill Country Contemporary, I wanted to use transitional styles with a modern and glamorous look.  The home is very open with lots of natural light and white walls which I anchored with expresso stains on all the trim, doors and cabinets to add dimension. I defined common living areas by using charcoals, taupes and dusty yellows turning to accent colors in the bedrooms to seperate those spaces. The lighting was chosen for the scale and to sparkle and interest to the high ceilings."

 

In this beautiful library/home office room, David selected several Hickory Chair pieces that were not only the right scale for the room, but also could be personalized for the aesthetic he was creating.  One of the focal points is the Asheworth Campaign Desk from the Suzanne Kasler Collection. Its three drawers provide useful storage.  To the left of the desk is the Andrew Side Table from the Alexa Hampton Collection.  Because of the extensive finish selections offered by the craftsmen of Hickory Chair, David was able to give the room texture and color interest by selecting a black stain, Kohl, for the Andrew Side Table and the Asheworth Campaign Desk in Dark Walnut stain.

In the Living Room, a made to measure Milo Console Table was the perfect solution to the small sofa.  David was able to design the table to the size that he needed.  First he selected a 30" height, 16" depth and 72" length and the top panel to be made from mahogany.  Then he chose to have the table finished in Sable stain with the top mahogany panel painted in our Black Lacquer finish. 

In the bedroom, he found several additional pieces that we were able to make for the room.  A pair of luxurious green velvet Macdonald Lounge Chairs by Alexa Hampton were selected to sit facing the bed as an accent color. David selected the Candler Bed by Suzanne Kasler.  the clean lines of the bed were accentuated by the dark finish and the luxurious beige velvet.  Flanking the bed are a pair of Renata Stands also by Alexa Hampton that were finished in our Sable finish. In the master bath, a Trestle Bench upholstered in leather from the Thomas O'Brien Collection was used to provide the seating needed.  These are a sampling of the many pieces we were able to provide to David for this beautiful showhouse.

Why did he chose Hickory Chair for this beautiful project?  He stated "Having been a  great fan of Hickory Chair since the 1970's and a Hickory Chair dealer, I chose to showcase several pieces in the home from licensed collections for their classic style and livibility.  The finish options from Hickory Chair allow me to create the transitional, clean look I needed as well as feature luxurious fabric and leather applications."

When I mentioned 'long time friend' of Hickory Chair previously, what I meant is that we have had the joy of working with David for many years.  He recently shared with us that in 1971 he worked for a high end design oriented shop in South Bend, Indiana that carried Hickory Chair.  He remembers meeting a young sales representative from Hickory Chair in 1981 that had just graduated from the sales training program at the factory who was based in Michigan.  Now, almost 30 years later, they are both living in Texas.  David is at home at Alyson Jon Interiors and that same sales representative is now traveling Texas and Louisiana with his wife and partner.  They are there assisting him in ordering special pieces that are just right for the client.  As the author of this blog, I had the priviledge to meet David over 20 years ago when he participated in HCC University the first time (he has attended a second time).  It is truly the relationships that we make along the way that make our industry so special.  Thank you David for sharing your story with all of us!