Bridal registeries are reflecting changing home priorities of the about-to-be married:

* cookware and linens have replaced fine china and crystal stemware  in the top slot… showing a shift from formal dining to more emphasis on better cooking and nicer bedrooms and baths

* items that can be used everyday and when entertaining… reflecting a shift away from objects that impress to objects that are practical and used

* green products, including 100% organic cotton bedding

* luxurious items that can stand up to frequent entertaining - “We’re all so time-poor and over-extended. Brides are looking at ease of care… for something that’s break-and-chip resistant. If she’s investing in something, she wants to make sure that it’s not fragile.”

* more mixed and matched stemware and dinnerware, rather than strict matching sets, reflecting a shift away from conventional style categories to more eclectic decor

Source: HomeWorld Bridal Market Report 2008 (Apr, 2008)

 Based on demographic changes, migration and birth rates, consumer spending on youth furniture is expected to grow 23.5% between 2007 and 2012, from $5.1B to $6.3B, according to projections by Easy Analytic Software Inc (NY). 

Projections for top growth states include Nevada (37.4%), Arizona (35.6%), Idaho (30.2%), Florida (29.4%), Texas (29.2%), Georgia (28.7%), North Carolina (27.3), Colorado (26.7%), and New Mexico (25.8%), and Washington, 25.7%).  

Source: Furniture/Today, 2008

With more attention on natural, textured finishes that ‘look’ green… “brushed” hardware for cabinets and faucets are a popular consumer choice. It’s likely the finish’s popularity is in the blend - a slightly aged-looking texture on metal makes it neither too modern (bright chrome) or too traditional (brass). Stainless steel was the second most popular pick, a reflection of the trend to stainless steel as more than just an appliance color, but also a fashionable accent (think I-pod).

Here are the consumer rankings, according to a survey by Qualified Remodeler magazine (Apr 08):

22.2% “brushed”

20.0% “stainless steel”

7.7% “chrome”

4.4% “polished”

3.8% “antique brass”

1.4% “brass”

1.2% “copper”

Some consumers cast their vote for style, rather than finish - 6.1% choosing “contemporary”, 5.2% choosing “tradtional”.

Cincinnatti led sales of 1080p LCD TVs at $42.7M during Q1 of 2008, followed by Hartford, CT / Columbus, OH, Portland and Milwaukee.  In 1080p PLASMA, Seattle led sales at $7.7M during the same period, followed by Indianapolis, Detroit, Chicago and Portland.

Interesting to note:

* Portland is among the fastest selling markets for both higher resolution TV formats

* Two of the fastest growing plasma markets are in the Pacific Northwest

* consumers are favoring retailers with a strong presence on the Web, where they research the lowest prices

Source: NPD Group, TWICE magazine (Apr 7, 2008)

This staggering statistic will be a reality by 2014, and with it, growing attention on aging-in-place, the phrase used to describe the 90% of people aged 50+ who want to stay in their homes as they age.

According to the NAHB (National Association of Home Builders), 30% of all new home / residences purchased in the total market now include ‘active adult’ (55+) housing… attuned to the needs of an aging population, including wider hallways and doorways to accomodate wheelchairs, lower counter-tops in bathrooms and kitchens, lowered light switches and thermostats, zero-entry (roll-in) showers, interior elevators in 2-storey homes, grab bars in bathrooms, levers rather than knobs, less-maintenance/easy-to-clean materials, furniture that’s easy to get in and out of, and home office areas to stay connected with friends and family.

The trend appears to be a very positve one all round. Ironically, designing homes and furnishings for the less abled (’universal design’) results in safer and easier-to-use design for everyone.

Outdoor entertaining is on the increase, according to NPD Group, reporting here at the National Kitchen & Bath Show in Chicago.  A few 2007 stats:

 * 8 out of 10 consumers now entertain outdoors

* 76% prefer entertaining outside rather than inside

* 31% say their ‘desire for outdoor entertaining’ increased over last year

* 23% currently own a firepit; 13% more intend to buy one

* the Northeast and the West are paying the most for a grill - on average $163

* sales of plastic dinnerware was up 26% in 2007 over 2006

* 70% of consumers like outdoor rooms because they ‘expand space’; 70% because they’re more ‘laid-back’ 

* most consumers, in particular Gen-X (thirty-somethings) are willing to give up their formal dining room if it means gaining outdoor living / entertaining space

Milder climates and a shift away from formal dining were both cited as key drivers of the trend.

Although the largest number of consumers want a ‘visually’ open connection between kitchen and living areas, the fastest growing preference is ‘completely open’.

Results of a National Association of Home Builders’ survey also showed the change in home preferences compared to 1980:

Completely open - 38% (2007) vs. 9% (1980)
Visually open with a half wall - 42% (2007) vs. 45% (1980)
Completely separate - 10% (2007) vs. 21% (1980)
Side-by-side with a full wall - 6% (2007) vs. 24% (1980)
Large kitchen and no family room - 0% (2007) vs. 4% (1980)

Source: NAHB Consumer Preferences Survey 2007

For more information on consumer home trends, see Room Planners’ Room News: International Builders Show ‘08 report. www.roomplanners.com

The US is home to many world-class designers in fashion and corporate design, and was also once home to globablly reknown furniture designers, says Alice Rawsthorn, in a NY Times article (Spr ‘08): Death of a Nation: Where have all the great American designers gone?

Rawsthorn argues that a country that once claimed some of the world’s best furniture designers, (including mid-century greats - Charles & Ray Eames, Harry Bertoia, George Nelson and Eero Saarinen), now has “no Americans” on the global Top 10 list of designers. Most of the Top 10 are now European.

So what happened since then? 

* Changes to furniture industry structure - Herman Miller, Knoll and other companies that once championed designers are now “too big and too nervous about upsetting shareholders to risk experimenting with design”.

* America has few versions of the small, gutsy manufacturers in Europe willing to champion innovative design. Corporate success in the US is driven by “functionality, price and availability”, not the “craft tradition and refinement”. Small, independent and daring isn’t valued in US culture.

* Small isn’t profitable in the US; few manufacturers are able to make a living producing creative work in small quantities

* Fragmented eduction in America. Furniture design is taught in art schools rather than with other disciplines like engineering, as it is in European schools.

* America doesn’t provide the grants that Europe does to support design education and designer’s early careers.

Rawsthorn believes the chance for American furniture designers, no matter how talented, to break into the global Top 10, is very unlikely, and certainly much tougher than in the 1940s and 50s ”Eames” era.