Home furnishings designers long have looked to other cultures for exotic inspiration. But thanks to the enthusiasm of clothing designers who have gone crazy for kente cloth and other African textiles, the ethnic trend has nudged the African look into America’s mainstream.
You can buy authentic African accessories at Target, Spiegel, Bloomingdale’s, Carson Pirie Scott & Co., Marshall Field & Co., Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom stores. And you can find African-inspired table and bed linens at J.C. Penney Co. Inc.
“Our Global Bazaar Shop has African-made materials and African-inspired designs,” said Cathleen Hofmann, spokeswoman for Field’s. “It’s a trend that all of our consumers are interested in.”
Field’s opened its Global Bazaar in 1992 because the company saw the Afrocentric home furnishings trend continuing for some time, Hofmann said.
Penney’s also wanted to tap into the trend and expanded its bed and bath departments to include African-inspired products.
“We were shooting for the ethnic angle, but it appears we’re catching that mainstream customer as well,” said Art Avila, special segment manager for Penney’s Home & Leisure division.
Developed with the help of Harlem Textile Works, Penney’s African Origins products are sold mostly through its Influences catalog (170 of its 1,300 stores carry the line).
Following suit
Like Penney’s, Spiegel’s African home collections evolved from its desire to target the African-American clothing market. Spiegel’s home furnishing products are sold through its E-style fashion catalog, a venture with Ebony magazine.
The catalog was the brainchild of two African-American staffers at Spiegel who were frustrated shoppers. They pitched the idea to Spiegel executives, who teamed with Ebony to develop the collection.
Besides clothing, the catalog includes accent pieces such as a doll wall hanging, throws, prints and pillows. Like Penney’s collection, most of the items are African-inspired and made in the United States, although some fabrics are imported from Africa.
Target ranks its African Theme accessories among its best sellers since its debut about six months ago. Many of the products are imported from Kenya and Nigeria.
Among the wide variety of accessories are decorative soapstone plates, boxes and candlesticks, hand-painted with an African motif. There also are wooden picture frames with painted animal prints from Kenya, woven baskets from Nigeria and accent lamps with African-print shades.
Fieldcrest launched its Tribal Origins towel collection to appeal to the masses.
“We took the inspiration from the beautiful African textiles like Kente cloth and mudcloth, and we adapted them to our product,” said Cynthia Lerner, design director for Fieldcrest’s bath fashions. The towels blend with colors and patterns in existing baths, she said.
Jo-Ann Fabrics stores and Vogue Fabrics, which carries some African-inspired design fabrics, and specialty shops with authentic African accessories, such as Culture Quest at 1859 E. 87th St., have begun to spring up.
Fashion goes home
The clothing firm Cross Colours, which discovered the mass appeal of African-inspired apparel a few years ago, has entered the home front. Four African patterns of dinnerware, designed by Cheryl Carter-Runnels Designs, include African flag (red, black and green), Face 2 Face (featuring the peace/unity graphic designed by Cross Colours co-owner T.J. Walker with the motto: “We have to work, live, sing, dream and think together”), Golden Triangle (symbolizing the primitive, timeless designs of the pyramids) and Kente (the colorful woven cloth once worn by African royalty).
There also is a solid group to coordinate, plus matching tiles and trivets, frames, place mats, napkins (dinner and cocktail), runners and quilted coasters. Prices range from about $7 for mugs to about $64 for serving bowls. Most dinner plates are $15 to $25. They can be found at some Neiman Marcus stores or through the Cross Colours Home Catalog (213-890-4730).
The collection was designed by Carter-Runnels, who said she tried to create a collection that would mix and match with what homeowners already had.
“We want our customers to use their own personal style,” Carter-Runnels said.
Although she hopes to add pillows and bed linens, Carter-Runnels said she is concentrating on a line of paper party goods, which should be in stores in March.
Interior ideas
While party goods come out for special occasions, African accessories and artifacts need to be eased into an existing decor. Don’t throw everything out and jump into the African theme.
Dorothea Touris, a Chicago-based interior designer, said a little or a lot of Africa can go a long way in the home.
“It’s easy to work some of the smaller objects in with the furnishings you already have,” Touris said. “The addition of African objects brings texture, depth and color to a room. Bowls, baskets, cloth, sculpture and masks work well as accent pieces; and larger pieces, such as headpieces and robes, can be hung on the wall for a more dramatic statement.”
Getting the African look at home
Think small. Don’t overdo it. Use a pillow here and there. African accessories make great accent pieces. If your decor is traditional, African art or sculpture will fit in fine, producing an eclectic look.
– Combine textures. The combination gives life in a room.
– Think natural. Natural colors and materials-ceramic tiles and off-white furniture-go great with African artifacts and accessories.
– Cover compatibly. Haitian cotton or nubby linen is a good choice for sofa fabric. They blend nicely with African-print pillows or throws.
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Among catalogs that offer African-inspired home accessories and their phone numbers are J.C. Penney’s Influences catalog: 1-800-222-6161; Spiegel’s E-Style catalog: 1-800-345-4500; Carter-Runnels Designs’ Cross Colours Home catalog: 213-890-4730.
