How much can a mere piece of wood be worked upon to produce furniture with an aesthetic appeal? You only have to visit some of the new age furniture showrooms to find the answer. A wave of style and design is now sweeping the industry with furniture being named after designs and designers and selling at fancy prices. Good design makes good business and furniture companies certainly have understood that.

Furniture now ranges from classic to contemporary. Design is no more about choosing looks over function. It tries to achieve both and through that help sales. Designs are inspired from the traditions of the far eastern, classical ornate and the European minimal-modern. For these reasons, furniture showrooms like Lifestyle emphasise the width or options of merchandise as their USP. "Home Centre by Lifestyle imports from around the globe- Malaysia, Turkey, China and Germany", says their spokesperson.

However, it is the modern, clean line furniture that is catching everybody's attention. The ornate kind of furniture is not only a maintenance hassle but is also considered dated. In contrast, the simple lines of modern furniture are appealing. They are not just minimal, but in the words of Karim Rashid, the renowned designer, sensually minimal.

As a result, the showrooms are tending to showcase more modern furniture. In Lifestyle Home Centre, 70 per cent of the furniture is contemporary, made of material ranging from solid rubber wood to panel board.

Buyer profile
Lifestyle Home Centre's spokesperson says that both IT geeks and niche customers shop at stand-alone home solutions stores because of a host of factors such as width of merchandise available under a single roof, latest and international designs, competitive prices and quick delivery time.

Furniture seems to be selling by the designer name. Clients, it is said, come asking for the work of renowned designers such as Karim Rashid and Jasper Morrison.

Half-leather sofas, frosted glass tables, master bedroom sets and stainless steel framed dining tables are popular.

If you think black is beautiful, wait till you see the riot of transparent coloured chairs. Of course, designer furniture does not come cheap. Cots are priced at Rs 1 lakh and dining table with six chairs can cross that. Massage chairs could be priced at the same level.

The preference of the new age buyers is very clear: value for money rather than low cost.