Pure-ly luxurious Pure-ly green
You can find furniture designed for a specific decorating style, furniture designed for comfort and furniture designed for function. But, how often do you find furniture that is designed to make you look good? That’s exactly what the new Pure collection from Edward Ferrell + Lewis Mittman does.
What’s more, the luxurious line does all that while helping the environment, too.
The 37-piece sustainable collection, which debuted at the recent HD Expo in Las Vegas, offers a variety of furnishings for the living room, dining room and bedroom.
What sets the collection apart from other green furnishings is its element of haute couture, said Amanda Mittman, director of media relations for the company.
Pure was designed by Skip Rumley, Edward Ferrell + Lewis Mittman’s vice president of design. It is the company’s first collection designed entirely in-house.
Rumley said he started designing the collection organically, piece by piece, looking at holes in the company’s current offerings and then considering what he would like to see in his own home.
The first piece he designed, the Madison credenza, also happens to be one of his favorites. Calling the credenza “handsome,” Rumley said he likes its look as well as its flexibility.
“It has brass edging, exposed screws and I love anything with shelving. It’s long and low, can float in a room or go behind a sofa. You can use it as a media center. And it’s done in a gorgeous walnut.”
It was only after the collection was designed that Rumley received the directive to make it sustainable.
“We had a clear vision of the collection and then made it green,” he said.
“First and foremost, this is a collection of great design. I asked Skip Rumley to design the entire collection first and then told him we wanted it to be sustainable,” said Jobi Blachy, president. “This challenged both our design team and our workroom to find exciting new materials and processes, while at the same time maintaining our high levels of luxury and quality.”
To achieve their goal, they used woods such as walnut, sycamore and ash derived from sustainable forests, many located within driving distance from the workroom; metals crafted at a local facility that uses one of the most progressive water recycling/filtering systems available; water-based finishes and paints; upholstery cushions filled with soy-based recycled fiber and bamboo; and foam partially made from a plant-based renewable raw material. Further, new eco-friendly leathers were introduced to the collection.
Additionally, the furnishings were all manufactured in North Carolina to help reduce the manufacturer’s carbon footprint.
Although they admit that it was often challenging to find all of the materials they needed to complete the collection, Blachy and Rumley said they wouldn’t allow themselves to “cheat.”
“We’re a little bull-headed,” Blachy said. “It’s easy to veer, but we kept coming back to our focus.
“We view this collection as the first step of making all of our manufacturing sustainable,” Blachy added. “It is not easy, but we feel it is our obligation to lower our impact on the environment. We don’t view this as a trend, but rather as a long-term strategic decision for us.”
The company’s employees have embraced the effort to help the environment and have even changed their work habits to become more eco-friendly. Blachy said they have organized efforts to plant trees around the facility, started recycling programs and traded in disposable coffee cups for reusable mugs.
In keeping with the local nature of the project, all of the pieces are named after streets that employees live on.
Highlights of the collection include the Seven Oaks dining table and Holly Hill cocktail tables, which feature birch branches encased in an acrylic and glass top, and the walnut Etta Lane bar, which is accented with sepia-toned, bronze-leafed doors hand-crafted by a local artist.
Additionally, because of the organic nature of the collection, Rumley said many pieces have a decidedly masculine or feminine look and feel. For example, the Prescott chair has a strong, masculine look with its wide, wooden rectangular arms that blend into the basic frame and base, whereas the upholstered Angela chair has soft curves and delicate-looking legs.
The same holds true for dining room and bedroom ensembles. The upholstered Mistletoe sleigh bed with its headboard and footboard that curve outward is more feminine than the Sutton Place bed, which features tall wooden posts attached to a square overhead frame that can support a canopy.
“I love both and I love the way they mix,” Rumley said.
He also appreciates the look and versatility of the sleigh bed. “With the upholstery, you can create a million different looks. It’s like a blank canvas.”
Rumley said he was inspired to create furnishings — particularly the upholstered pieces — that are comfortable and make people look good after frequent conversations with friends and co-workers. He said the question “Why can’t furniture be flattering when you sit on it?” was often discussed so he decided to do something about it.
“I wanted people to look good when sitting on them.”
The Sylvan slipper chair was designed to sit just 16 inches off the floor, which elongates a woman’s legs and makes her look beautiful while sitting on it, he said. And the Chateau club chair was created to fit a man when he sits down. “You automatically look and feel comfortable,” Rumley said demonstrating how the design complements a man’s physique. “You look sexy in it — kind of like a woman in a man’s suit.”
For more information about the collection, visit www.ef-lm.com.
