‘Luxury furniture’ is that mod word that brings to mind high-end, designer items that will not only bless your home with a distinguished look, but also ascertain that it will not be a common sight in too many other homes. With people getting steadily conscious about the look that their home displays, this class of furniture only continues to shoot in popularity.
Furniture manufacturers have been quick to cash in on this growing trend. A leisurely drive around the lanes of important commercial areas in the city will reveal new names in furniture and swanky high rises dedicated to the trade of these expensive assets of furniture. Since these are mostly multi-brand stores, you are spared the trouble of having to hop from one store to another that is located miles away.
“Luxury furniture refers to what is exclusive, and rich in raw materials,” says Ravinder Goel, Manager- Sales and marketing, Mon Chateau. He elaborates on that with the example of cherry wood furniture. “It gets richer and darker with age, and becomes an antique in  just 50 years”, he says. Mon Chateau deals with American Luxury lifestyle and represents brands such as Stickley (“furniture rooted in the past, designed for the present and destined for the future”), Hickory Chair (furniture that is made to order), and Glant with its award-winning textured fabric collection.
The general classifications in luxury furniture can be ‘traditional’, ‘contemporary’ and ‘transitional’- a blend of traditional and contemporary styles. Retailers of luxury furniture in Bangalore observe that traditional styles of furniture seem to be the first choice of furniture buyers in the City. But Namrata Radhakrishnan, Proprietor, Kynkyny is of the opinion that Indians should look beyond choosing between extremities in furniture namely is traditional and contemporary. “Just lines makes a place look stark. It is best when the straight lines from ‘contemporary’ pieces meet the ‘textures’ of traditional ones. That way, there is some warmth added to an atmosphere,” she says.
“People don’t mind spending a lot on their homes these days, and high-end water hyacinth furniture is making waves with them,” she adds. According to her, consoles are selling well. Platform beds, side units suited to flat-screen televisions, benches and dining sets with benches are the things to look out for.
The trend in American furniture, on an average, is for a living room to be made of pieces of furniture such as a sofa, two chairs, a cocktail table and a side table. A dining room consists of a table, chairs, a sideboard and a cabinet. The master bedroom will necessarily have a bed, two side tables, a console, a chair and a loveseat. “High-end furniture clearly varies from low-end or even medium-end furniture, and that is mainly what you are shelling out big money for,” laughs software professional Reema Jha who is proud of the fact that her home displays luxury furniture.
And who can discuss luxury furniture without making a mention of leather furniture! Whether we’re speaking sofas, chairs or recliners, leather makes it all appear to be the most voguish thing on the planet. You may take a while to recover from the confusing choices that you will have to make between the styles -period, classic, contemporary and sectionals that are available- but once your mind has been made, you won’t want to stop lounging on that fortunate bit of furniture that makes it to home sweet home with you! “There is a wide range of designs that are available in as many as 107 colours. We haven’t observed any favourites among people. It would be safe to say that they go in for what suits the rest of the decor in their home. However, we have noticed that recliners are a must have for those who possess a home theatre system,” says Sreenath H P, Manager of Stanley Boutique, Indiranagar, that deals in genuine Italian leather furniture.
The latest name in ‘lazy’ luxury to have hit India is what else but Lazyboy. “The single seater seems to be the most sought-after for the simple fact that it has a better a comfort factor compared to a 2 seater or a 3 seater,” says Deepak Kamicheril, regional manager- South India, Lazyboy, adding, “Blacks and  browns are the preferred shades”.
Expensive affair
Luxury furniture can cost a pretty penny. If you opt for imported furniture in wood, and go in for American designs, it can cost you anything from 7 to 8 lakh rupees to decorate a room, or an average of one to one and half lakh rupees for an individual piece of furniture. It takes about three to four months for the furniture to be delivered to your home, once you have placed an order for it. Indonesian Box Furniture items can go up to Rs 90,000.
Leather furniture prices start at Rs 1,35,000 and go up till Rs 3,00,000 says a source from a leading leather furniture store in Bangalore. Lazyboy single seaters start at Rs 26,000 and go up to Rs 70,000; the range for the double seaters is Rs 63,000 to Rs 1,15,000, and for the three seater it is Rs 78,000 to Rs 1,40,000.
Go to the expert
Vasanthi Ram, Interior design consultant, Mon Chateau feels, “Some customers are well aware of the look they want for their homes and about what they wish to achieve with a particular style of furniture, but many a time, buyers are unsure about what they want. They are impressed with what they see on television or in a magazine but cannot discriminate between what styles will really suit their home and what may end up looking ghastly” That is when an interior designer should come into the picture. “With proper guidance, a customer can arrive at the perfect theme in furniture for his home, whether he wants every room to follow a common theme or whether he would want it to be a combination of many themes”, advises Vasanthi.
“The saddest thing I can imagine is to get used to luxury,” said Charlie Chaplin. With luxury furniture, it can only be the reverse!