MODEL lifestyle

Cindy Crawford, who has graced the cover of more than 600 magazines, has introduced a collection of home furnishings that is now available in the Las Vegas Valley exclusively at R.C. Willey.

Crawford is visiting R.C. Willey’s Henderson and Summerlin stores today to help launch the local debut. She will sign autographs and answer questions about her collection.

“Obviously my house isn’t as eclectic as the line, but I have lived in a lot of different houses,” Crawford said. “My last house was a hacienda-type house decorated with traditional Spanish furniture. Now, I have a more Indonesian style mixed with traditional English and soft modern.”

She said the idea behind the line, which is inspired by her own furnishings, travels and lifestyle, was to reach out to as many people as possible.

“Our biggest style is not a specific look, but to provide quality, value and family-friendly designs.”

Still, there are pieces modeled after her own furnishings. For example, Crawford said the Malibu bed looks almost exactly like the bed at her Malibu, Calif., home.

Bruce Galbraith, vice president of merchandising for R.C. Willey, said he likes the line because of its versatility, functionality and quality.

“The manufacturers she has chosen to use are some of the best and well-known furniture manufacturers in the United States and Italy, as well as other places in the world. When I first looked at it, I thought it was very functional living with quality and style.”

Predominately upholstery driven, Galbraith said Crawford’s collection has “wonderful sofas, love seats, accent chairs, leather and leather sectionals” along with “wonderful bedroom and dining collections that complement the upholstery.”

He said her furniture line covers the gamut of styles from traditional to transitional and contemporary.

Among the pieces he likes is a rectangular dining table with a starburst pattern under the glass top, a matching canopy bed set, a masculine-looking leather sleigh bed and the denim slipcovered sofa.

Denim is one of Crawford’s favorite fabrics. “I love denim; I live in jeans. I knew I wanted a collection in denim,” she said, adding that the fabric is ideal for family rooms.

Crawford said many of the designs in her collection are family oriented because her family, which includes her 7-year-old son, Presley, and her 5-year-old daughter, Kaya, is very important to her.

“I don’t like to tell my children they can’t sit there or not to be messy.”

Her devotion to her children is one of the reasons why she made sure slipcovered furniture and upholstered headboards were included, as well as softened edges on case goods.

“It’s something I really look for as a mom.”

Although she doesn’t sketch the designs for her collection, Crawford is still extremely involved in the design process. She said she “will pull pictures of things I like” and carries fabric swatches. “I’m a great editor. I know what I like and what I don’t like.”

The Cindy Crawford Home collection launched about two years ago at Rooms to Go, a Florida-based retailer with stores in the southern United States.

R.C. Willey is one of five large retailers nationwide that will now carry Cindy Crawford Home.

Crawford said she is pleased the line is going to be accessible to more people. In the past, she was frustrated whenever the collection was featured in a magazine distributed nationwide or when she appeared on a talk show because “someone in Las Vegas can read about it but they can’t go to Rooms to Go and see and touch (the furniture).”

Galbraith said the collection will be concentrated into specific locations in both stores and that sales associates have trained to become very familiar with the construction and quality of the line, as well as variety of products available, so they can answer any questions consumers might have.

Listening to the consumers and responding to their needs is one of the reasons why Crawford likes to attend special events such as the one today at R.C. Willey.

“It really does get integrated into the next incarnation of what we’re doing,” she said about comments she hears.

Crawford will spend an hour at each location, starting at 11 a.m. in Henderson and at 2:30 p.m. in Summerlin.

As for the future, Crawford said she hopes to expand on her home collection, which recently added rugs, accessories and tabletop wares.

“That’s when you can make a statement — when you can have the whole story together,” she said.