Take a seat

With the Great Recession receding into memory and home sales on the rise, the furniture industry is seeing a sizable uptick in business. U.S. furniture sales have increased from $86.3 billion in 2009 to $101.4 billion in 2013, according to news reports. And what are furniture shoppers looking to buy? Plenty of the familiar items, from recliners to dining-room sets, say industry experts. But those who attended the recent High Point Market fall show — the furniture industry’s largest annual trade event, held in High Point, N.C. — say there’s also a new emphasis on chairs, especially “accent” chairs that can become a platform for designers to showcase their creativity. How creative can they get? We found six noteworthy chairs featured at the show and sought commentary from interior designer and High Point Market curator Lisa Ferguson on each.

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Gunnison Chair

Russell Brand sang of furry walls in his memorable 2010 comedy, “Get Him to the Greek.” But what about furry chairs? Jaxon, a Los Angeles-based furniture company, has come up with just the thing: Its Gunnison Chair ($3,400) uses alpaca, imported from the Himalayas of South Asia, for its covering. The brand says the idea is to offer something “fun and conversational yet subtly sophisticated.” The idea is not as far-fetched as it may seem, since it plays into a new emphasis on texture in furniture, says Ferguson. “And what’s a better texture than furry and fuzzy?” she asks.

Drapesse Chair

Here’s a chair that’s a bit like your own private island. Made by the Virginia-based furniture house Koket and inspired by a chair crafted by legendary furniture designer Dorothy Draper, the Drapesse Chair (priced starting at $6,000) is intended to offer comfort and isolation, plus a touch of what Koket calls “modern Hollywood” elegance. (The chair’s fabric is “black lux” velvet and the legs are brass.) Ferguson says this Draper design has become increasingly popular in the last few years with manufacturers, who recognize the inherent appeal of a semi-enclosed space. “It’s like a telephone booth…a little oasis,” says Ferguson.

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Cubism Chair

Picasso had his Cubism period, so why can’t furniture makers? That seems to be the spirit behind the Cubism Chair (priced starting at $3,400) from Christopher Guy, a London-based furniture brand. We’re talking 26 individually upholstered squares joined together to make up the back of the chair. The idea, says the furniture company, is that every square “dances in harmony with each other.” Ferguson says the concept also speaks to the notion that furniture can indeed be considered art: “As opposed to a Cubism painting on a wall, you can have it on a chair.” Oh, and if you’re looking to keep up with the Kardashians, it’s worth noting that Kris Jenner has this chair in her home.

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Beverly Blvd. High Back Chair

While this may not be the wildest looking of chairs, it does have something else going for it — namely, a celebrity pedigree. The chair comes courtesy of actress Jane Seymour, who partnered on a furniture collection with Michael Amini, a popular designer whose pieces are offered at hundreds of stores throughout the country. But Seymour is not alone: Celebrities are almost becoming as much a presence in the furniture world as in the perfume one. Consider that supermodels Kathy Ireland and Cindy Crawford have furniture collections. What also makes Seymour’s Beverly Blvd. High Back Chair (priced starting at $1,000) significant is, well, its high back (53 inches). Ferguson explains that’s what chair designers are inclined to do these days: “Everything is 30 or 40% larger in scale than we’ve been seeing in the past,” she says.

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Buddha Chair

Is it a chair or a conversation starter? Perhaps a little of both. Noir, a California-based furniture company, calls this all-wood chair ($1,170) a “primitive piece,” noting it comes courtesy of a “small Indonesian village” where craftsmen make it “using chain saws and carving knives.” Ferguson says the chair is obviously not about function — in other words, it isn’t designed with plush seating in mind — but it’s a piece that “brings a sense of humor to a space.” She adds that it was one of the most talked-about chairs at the High Point show: “People were smiling as they walked past it.”

Seat Belt Rocking Chair

This is certainly not your grandmother’s rocking chair. (For that matter, it’s probably not your mother’s, either.) The Phillips Collection, a cutting-edge furniture brand based in North Carolina, has turned seat-belt strapping into, yes, a rocking chair ($1,750), thanks to a Thai designer the company sought out. The brand is known to take chances: It had an equally over-the-top dining chair featured in “The Hunger Games” movies. Ferguson says the sheer outrageousness of the chair is what makes it so appealing: “Designers are pushing the envelope like they never have before.”