Furniture market: Back to classic design

Furniture market: Back to classic design

Sudibyo M. Wiradji, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The growing use of European classic styles in the country's
exclusive housing estates has helped bring about a revival of
classic furniture designs in Indonesia.

Classic furniture, either imported or locally made, has become
hot in many large furnitures stores in Jakarta and other cities.

"The growing use of classic designs in new exclusive housing
estates has resulted in an increase in demand for classic
furniture sets," said Erwin Hubertus Hawawinata, marketing
manager of Da Vinci Indonesia, a retailer of branded classic and
modern furniture in the capital.

Many exclusive residential housing estates in Jakarta use
European classic styles in their exterior and interior designs.
Such housing complexes can be found in Pondok Indah and Kemang,
or in the growing residential areas in Tangerang such as Bumi
Serpong Damai (BSD) and Lippo Karawaci.

Indonesian Furniture Club chairman Yos Theo Subrata said
demand for high-end classic furniture had been on the increase
over the last three years.

"The market share of branded classic furniture is less than 2
percent. But in terms of market value, it is quite significant
thanks to their high prices," he said.

Erwin said well-to-do families hunting for high-end classic
furniture also included families living in apartments. Many
people also furnish their offices with classic collections.

"Classic furniture pieces like sofa sets are used by business
circles as one of the means of building trust with their partners
or clients, as the items are expected to provide an image of
dignity, elegance, grandness and luxury that can enhance the
owners' social status, " he said.

In addition to style, quality and materials, price is also the
main reason many furniture lovers have turned to classic
furniture sets.

The price of a branded piece of classic furniture is
comparable to imported minimalist furniture pieces.

Prices of classic sofas imported from Italy, Spain, the UK or
the Unites States, for example, range between Rp 30 million and
Rp 80 million.

One of the outstanding characteristics of classic furniture is
that their models and designs refer to furniture items produced
in the classic era, such as in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Classic furniture also has rich carvings and ornaments, and
many pieces use eye-catching colors such as gold and silver.

The colors of classic furniture vary. Many pieces show the
color of the original wood, polished to have a natural look,
with the wood's veins remaining clearly visible. While other
pieces are painted different colors to cover the veins.

Unlike modern or minimalist furniture items that have simple
shapes, with motifs that make use of symmetric lines such as
stripes, cube and circles, classic items often use pictures of
flowers or vegetables as the motifs for their covers.

The growing trend toward furnishing homes with classic
furniture has prompted tighter competition in this particular
segment of the furniture market.

To attract buyers, major furniture shops not only offer
discounts, but also a free consulting service. Da Vinci, for
example, recently held a seminar on feng shui for its customers.

Feng shui is an ancient Chinese philosophy widely used in
deciding the location, construction and architectural features of
buildings, the placement and style of furniture, colors and
decorating schemes, and the location of plants, paths and other
outside features.

By creating a more pleasing atmosphere, feng shui has been
credited with improving family communication, restoring employee
cooperation and increasing a store's sales.

Erwin said that the company's design team also provided advice
in helping customers find the right designs for their homes.

The design team's tasks also include explaining the history of
pieces, as each furniture collection takes the name of famous
people from history, such as the Louis XIV collection and the
Humphrey Bogart collection.

In addition to Da Vinci, there are several other furniture
shops that sell classic furniture sets. Malinda Furniture
Gallery, Casabella and DC Interior House are among the big names
in the business.

Malinda Furniture Gallery, with its three showrooms in the
Jakarta Design Center, sells Flexsteel, Magnussen and Schnadig
classic furniture items from the United States, including
reclining seats and sofas for home theaters, dining table sets,
cabinets and bedroom sets.

Most of the imported furniture sets sold by the Gallery have
been adjusted to the tastes of Indonesian customers, both in
terms of motifs and color.

"If the motifs and color they want are different from those
available in the showroom, they have to wait for between three or
four months to get the items because they are produced in the
U.S.," Vidia, marketing manager for the Gallery, said.

Locally made classic furniture is also popular among
Indonesians and expatriates who have a passion for classic
collections but who are on a budget.

Even though the products use high quality woods, such as dried
teak, the prices for the items are relatively cheap compared to
branded classic furniture. The price range for wooden sofa sets,
for instance, is from Rp 6 million to Rp 20 million.

"The older the furniture items, the more expensive they are.
But in general they cost less than foreign branded items," said
Carolina, a marketing staff member at DC Inter House, a
furniture retailer specializing in locally made furniture.

She said consumers enjoyed classic wooden furniture items
because they created calm and serene atmosphere that was good for
relaxation. "Besides, the resale price for classic or ethnic
items is high," she added.