Throughout the years, current styles in furniture have been known to come and go. Sometimes we look back on a style that was once in fashion and think, how could we have thought that looked good? Luckily, contemporary furniture is one of those items that don't really go out of style because of the very nature of its design. Just because it's "contemporary" doesn't mean that it's too trendy to be a staple piece in your collection.
Contemporary furniture is modern yet down-to-earth, sleek but functional, unique and also somehow timeless. It embodies the eclectic feel of a homemade and unique piece that pops up unexpectedly in swap meets, yard sales and on eBay. But many of these contemporary furniture stores make one-of-a-kind pieces easily accessible and usually quite affordable.
The owner of Metro Décor, Lorrin Meronoff, knows this well. Not a novice to the furniture business, Meronoff felt a need to provide San Diego with good, quality contemporary furniture at affordable prices. Meronoff has been in the furniture business for 34 years, covering a spectrum of placements, from retail store manager to design consultant. After being retired for a couple of years, Lorrin Meronoff felt he was not ready for a lackadaisical life and got started on making Metro Décor a reality.
Finally opening its doors in 2008, Metro Décor has dedicated itself to the idea of providing contemporary pieces at affordable prices. Or as Meronoff puts it, "providing contemporary business for value price points while making sure quality measures up." By doing so, Meronoff believes he has found a niche in San Diego's contemporary furniture industry.
Metro Décor is centrally located on Morena Boulevard, drawing the younger crowd from the beach area and also the inhabitants of Downtown San Diego. Meronoff believes that the community appreciates and looks for contemporary pieces because "it's on a smaller scale, cleaner and traditional pieces are too oversized,"he says.
These smaller pieces offer style that can fit into smaller scaled homes, which populate the beach areas and Gaslamp. Although the furniture may be smaller, it is not lacking in functionality. Many pieces do double duty and provide the sought after modern look while still offering storage space or multiple uses.
A perfect example of this efficiency is the newly popular lift top coffee table. On the outside it appears to be a regular coffee table, but lift up the top and it transforms into a lap desk, extra storage or an impromptu TV dinner stand. For many living in a smaller space in a cramped city, this is hugely appealing.
The inspiration behind contemporary furniture comes from many places, besides the need for double duty pieces. Meronoff gathers many ideas from various tradeshows that take place across the country; his favorite is the Las Vegas show where he can trade opinions with other consultants. Their ideas play on one another's and we here in San Diego benefit from this melding of ideas. The understanding that contemporary furniture demands clean, sleek and unique pieces is universal in the business. The various combinations of such are what make contemporary design so pleasing.
A contemporary piece eliminates the bulkiness and extravagance of old world, traditional furniture, yet is still alluring to the senses. Current trends in the business are leaning towards rich, dark woods coupled with a clean white palette. Meronoff can testify to this but adds that trends come and go every 5 to 10 years. But one that he feels is going to stay is the drift towards a pub-style dining table. It started out as just another trend that the youth started leaning towards, but as the older generation latched on, Meronoff knew that "it was here to stay."
Another trend that Meronoff is fighting to uphold is the idea of custom made furniture. One of the only stores to still offer customization for sofas and couches, Metro Décor emphasizes the customer's individual needs for seating arrangements. A dying service, Metro Décor offers personalization on all living room furniture and prides itself on its motto of "custom sofa experts."I works with the customer in order to design and build the perfect seating arrangement for their personality and their home. Meronoff particularly enjoys this aspect of his business and loves helping fit a seating arrangement to a customer's personality and pad.
Discover more San Diego furniture stores to outfit your pad in contemporary style.
Copenhagen Interiors in Miramar
Danish natives Vibeke and Bo Nielsen immigrated to the United States in 1981, opening their first store, Copenhagen Designs, Inc. in 1982. In 1988, they decided to move from wholesale to their current resale store, Copenhagen Interiors. With a 15,000 square foot showroom and warehouse, Copenhagen Interiors offers help from more than 500 manufacturers and more than 100 catalogs.
This massive selection of contemporary furniture items allows the customer to be absolutely specific in one's demands. The customer is encouraged to browse through the many and various options on hand. In addition to this huge selection at their warehouse, the Dutch immigrants opened up a leather studio right next door. The demands of their finely crafted and quality leather products made it necessary to open Copenhagen Leather Studio, a move most San Diegans applauded. Many items featured in both Copenhagen Interiors and Copenhagen Leather Studio are highly sought after and are not available anywhere else. For more information, visit Copenhageninterioirs.net.
Seaside Home La Jolla
Perfectly located in the heart of charming La Jolla Village, this luxury, upscale atelier combines a beachy, ocean feel with all the class one would expect of a La Jolla-based boutique. Walking into Seaside Home, one sees the ingenuity of the design layout in the subtle yet alluring contemporary seaside vibe.
Sheryll Jackman, the head interior designer of Seaside Home, recognizes their client's pull towards certain brands and prominently features those most popular, especially Baker Furniture. This emphasis on Baker is showcased throughout the store as it personifies the SoCal laid back luxury style. Many leading brands are also displayed that capture this feel of SoCal leisure yet high-class style. Seaside Home proves to be a leader in modern yet casual living that's perfect for any San Diego home. For more information, visit Seasidehomelajolla.com.
Hold It Contemporary Home in Mission Valley
A leading force in contemporary furniture in San Diego today, Hold It Contemporary Home prides itself on the ability to bring new and innovative designs from the modern European world. These European goods are highly sought after, as many believe that Europe sets the bar in chic décor.
With talented Design Consultants to assist with every step of the way, from designing to purchasing, Hold It emphasizes customer satisfaction throughout the selection process. Open since 2002, Hold It Contemporary Home has dedicated itself to bringing the San Diego area a large and quality selection of contemporary furniture designs. Hold It features many brands from around the world as well, including Artisan House, BDi, Little Nest, Pangea, Reclaimed Modern, and Modernica. For more information, visit Holdithome.com.
West Elm in Mission Valley
An emphasis on global materials that combine an eclectic urban feel with a natural, organic influence, West Elm is a rare chain that manages to produce quality contemporary furniture at a decently competitive price. Centrally located in the Mission Valley shopping area, West Elm furniture draws its inspiration from powerful colors, items in nature and ancient historical cultures.
In addition to style, the contemporary designs focus on the simplicity of an item and the ability to function as a double duty piece. Many of its modern pieces of furniture combine storage with style, like a lift top coffee table, which allows one to have luxurious pieces in a small space, popular with urban living. This functionality at affordable prices appeals to a large crowd, which has enabled this chain to skyrocket and expand all over the West Coast. For more information, visit Westelm.com.
Mixture
Husband and wife team Misti and Brumby Broussard opened their Little Italy-based contemporary store in 2006, with the help of their mutual friend Charles Taylor. Although neophytes to the furniture business, the Broussards have caught on quickly. Their 1940s style warehouse holds a mixture of eclectic and unique pieces, not limited to household wares.
In addition to furniture, Mixture also offers original art, jewelry, handbags, bath products, lighting pieces, and on the weekends, even food prepared by Brumby Broussard himself. The Broussards pride their store on the ability to cater to San Diegans' modern and unique style. They offer friendly service and no nose-in-the-air, haute culture attitude. Mixture truly values the individual's needs and offers color consultations, custom furniture and commissioned original art. The exceptional service and unique features truly make Mixture a one-of-a-kind contemporary furniture store. For more information, visit Mixturehome.com.
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