Today the furniture manufacturer and the furniture exporter have to cater for a wider range of taste in home styles than ever before. Many styles from many different eras of fashion are still remaining popular, but at the same time, a new, smooth, minimalist design of furniture is growing.
What has happened a lot in modern dcor is that designers have taken the old rustic, home made look and have smoothed and groomed it up until it has become a really sophisticated and sleek style.
The old the rustic and the farm house effects were hugely in fashion about a decade or two ago. People still like them, but today they are present in only subdued and subtle hints.
For this purpose, often a combination of wood furniture, wicker furniture and rattan furniture are combined harmoniously to form a single style of dcor.
The classic, traditional and colonial styles are still to be found in many homes, but whereas these used to be adhered to almost slavishly, with every detail designed to blend in and enhance, today a far more relaxed and eclectic mood prevails.
It is quite common to find a mixture of old and new in the same home. Taste is still maintained by making the out of place item a focal point in the room.
For instance you could come into a chrome and glass minimalist type of home, with whatever wooden furniture there is finished in black or perhaps purple lacquer. Then suddenly, in the main focal area of the room, you will see a stunning antique replica of a pigeon hole desk with a captains chair.
It is sometimes quite amazing how well this sort of thing can work.
An interesting development in the furniture industry is that previously wood was considered the right material for indoor furniture, while rattan and wicker tables and chairs were for outdoors patios, gardens, summerhouses and gazebos.
This approach has completely changed today. While wood furniture for outdoors is limited to what types and finishes will withstand the outdoor conditions and weather, rattan and wicker furniture are as chic and impressive indoors as any wood.
The main reason is the beautiful and careful designs and finishes available, as well as the large variety.
The Javanese style has distinctly colonial look but with subtle undertones of the Orient and the unique Indonesia furniture individuality.
Contemporary style has a lot to do with our modern lifestyles. In days gone by when the women of the family traditionally stayed at home, there was plenty of time and a great deal of satisfaction for them to do housekeeping.
They could spend time polishing woodwork and getting into all the nooks and crannies of carvings and turnings to make the furniture look good. Shelves and knick knacks and ornaments that take so long to keep bright and shining were no problem at all.
Today many women wife, sisters and daughters of the family go out to work each day, some even running their own businesses. When they come home tired at night, a flick of a duster and a quick run of the vacuum cleaner over the floors are about all they can manage.
Furniture with the streamlined look with easy to clean surfaces, combined with luxurious comfort is what so many of these women would like to come home to.
At the same time they have the womans ingrained need to be proud of their homes, to be able to entertain, and to feel happy in their surroundings. Style is important, and for some, fashion is too. Colours, textures and lines today occupy their interest in furniture, rather than intricate workmanship. Quality is still important and atmosphere is everything.