Design industry experts come together each year and develop color and style trends that are, at least in part, based upon current world affairs and the atmosphere they create.  For example, despite our country’s economic challenges, the new year has ushered in a mood of resilience and determination, so Pantone chose a bright and energizing tangerine as the color for 2012.  Furniture trends this year look to embolden us with bright colors and mirrored pieces while also providing a sense of comfort and security with traditional styles and reclaimed hardwoods mixed with metals. Here are some of the 2012 furniture trends.

Photo Credit: Eloquence Inc.

•  C”est magnifique!  French style furniture remains popular with its romantic cabriole legs, scalloped edges and beautiful gilding details.  French country design features the bright colors of the Provence landscape along with comfortable and rustic furnishings that will add warmth to any home decor.

Photo Credit: Tumblr Images

• Mirrored furniture will add a bit of bling when used as a buffet in the dining room, an end table in the living room or as a beautiful bedside table in the master bedroom. And tufted chairs, headboards and benches are all the rage this year!

Photo Credit: Flickr

• Along with the 2012 color of the year, tangerine, other bright colors are making an appearance in home design.  Expect to see lovely shades of turquoise and pink along with silver and brushed gold accents.

Photo Credit: Aidan Gray

• Stylized pieces made from reclaimed woods are also popular this year. Designers are now creating popular period pieces with reclaimed woods and applying a weathered finish, similar to the one that appears on our Weathered Limoges Oak Chest. An eclectic blend of metal, glass and wood is also appearing on many items including coffee and accent tables, chests and other pieces.

Belle Escape has many pieces that reflect these trends, especially French.  Please stop by and take a look and let us know what 2012 hot furniture trends you are introducing into your home this year.

The press release is shown below.

(PRWEB) April 5, 2011 -In response to the heightened popularity of today’s refashioned French-style furniture, Belle Escape today announced the launch of Belle Maison Francaise (Belle Maison), a new online store that specializes in stylish French furniture and decor.

Belle Maison brings designer showroom shopping online, featuring a new wave of ultra chic French furniture modeled after the most popular period pieces. “French furniture is experiencing a modern-day renaissance,” says Donna Jensen-Madier, founder of Belle Escape and Belle Maison. “Designer showrooms are filled with gorgeous reproductions of Louis and French Provencal style furniture, featuring classic shapes adorned with finishes and fabrics that appeal to today’s aesthetic sensibilities. Belle Maison makes it easy to find the most in vogue French furniture from designer showrooms right online.”

A revival in French furniture has been noted as one of the top 2011 furniture trends by industry experts worldwide. Top interior designers agree. “I’ve always found that French style is consistently popular with design clients because of its timeless classic style, elegant yet comfortable designs and how well these pieces mix with more modern furniture forms,” says Linda Merrill, interior designer and editor of the popular design blogs Surroundings and The Skirted RoundTable.

With French style furniture being so diverse, Belle Maison segments its furnishings by style, including French Chic, Vintage French, Versailles Chic, Old Provence, French Country and Chateau. “Each style category has its own unique flavor,” says Jensen-Madier. “For example, French Chic features a number of Louis-era pieces with imprinted French words while Old Provence features an array of vintage French farmhouse pieces in weathered finishes. Each category is designed to appeal to the distinct preferences of French furniture connoisseurs.”

Belle Maison caters to consumers and interior designers in the U.S. and Canada. As a full-service online furniture store, Belle Maison offers custom finish options, special programs for interior decorators, free shipping on furniture shipped within the continental U.S. and personalized consultations.

Furniture Trends for 2011, by Abe Abbas, About.com Furniture Guide

Predictions for furniture and home furnishings trends for 2011 seem to center around much the same elements as we saw in 2010, but with enough changes that they end up looking different. More…

• Retro Remains Strong
• Patterns Galore
• Science Fiction Meets Victorian
• Color
• French Influences
• The Look of Art
• Glass
• Metallic Finishes and Accents

Top 5 Furniture Trends for 2011, By Bianca Reeves, Senior Buyer at the Furniture Market, UK

Furniture and home furnishings now mimic the fashion industry; trends are set, colour schemes change with the seasons and new styles are introduced. Society is becoming more and more adventurous when it comes to furnishing ones home with an ever growing number of home and property shows appearing on our television and interior designers popping up here and there to show us how easy it is to transform our home into a hospitable haven.  Furniture is the key to creating any look within a home; this can then be enhanced by introducing the relevant accessories to add colour and texture to a room.  Below is a selection of the main furniture categories and the ambiance they can generate within a home: More…

• Oak Furniture
• French Furniture
• Mirrored Furniture
• Glass Coffee Tables
• Designer Furniture

What’s Hot in Home Furnishings in 2011, from the Belle Escape Blog

• Furniture and Pillows with French Words
• Weathered Furniture and Decor
• Vintage French Style Furniture with Contemporary Fabrics
• Elegant Furnishings in  Natural Reclaimed Wood
• Peace, Love and Funk in High Style

We shall see which trends hold up, but we’re betting that French style furniture, hand painted colorful furniture, and “furniture as art” will continue to rise in importance as homeowners increasingly enjoy expressing through individuality and sense of style through their furniture choices.

At this market, Belle Escape was looking for some delectable new items to make available online to homeowners creating their dream homes. We found so many wonderful items and the Belle Escape team is now busily adding them to BelleEscape.com, so be sure to check out What’s New often over the next few weeks.

At the show, I noted a few of the hot home furnishing trends of 2011. While I’ll leave the official trend setting predictions up to the experts, I can share with you some of the common themes I saw that indicate current trends – based upon what manufacturers are selling, and, of course, skewed by Belle Escape’s lens that focuses primarily on Vintage French, French Country and Cottage Style furniture and home decor.

I will say that many of the most popular furniture trends seen at the Atlanta Furniture Market have been emerging for years, like French style furniture with contemporary fabrics and furnishings with a weathered and aged look – these are not new trends, rather they are trends that have gained momentum over the past few years through mass public appeal. The most notable emerging trend appears to be the use of reclaimed and natural, unfinished hard woods in both furniture and decor made in classical French styles. The show was brimming with items reflecting this trend!

So here’s a little of what we saw that is hot this season…

• Furniture and Pillows with French Words
• Weathered Furniture and Decor
• Vintage French Style Furniture with Contemporary Fabrics
• Elegant Furnishings in  Natural Reclaimed Wood
• Peace, Love and Funk in High Style

Moulins Arm Chair

French Script Chair

French Word Pillows

La Maison Pillows

Weathered French Chest

Weathered Glass Top Table and Candles

Rustic Weathered Bench

Emelie (Emelies Decor) & Donna (Belle Escape) at Emelies Showroom - gorgeous, authentic vintage French furniture with real burlap and painted canvas covers

French Laundry Chair

Painted Burlap King Louis Chair

Earthy Natural Wood Bench

Natural Wood French Style Console Tables

Weathered Natural Wood Chest

Natural Wood Lantern Chandelier

In 2010, our customers loved browsing all style categories, but French Country, Vintage French, Coastal Cottage and Cottage Chic were especially popular. In the furniture category, accent tables, chests, console tables, coffee tables, dining room tables and headboards were in highest demand. In home decor, chandeliers, decorative mirrors and wall art were the best selling items. About 70% of our customers purchased furnishings for their primary residence while 30% were furnishing a vacation home. And while Belle Escape’s customers come from all over the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean, our most enthusiastic fan bases can be found in Texas, Florida, California, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Ohio, Toronto and Montreal.

Some of Belle Escape’s best selling furniture and home decor items in 2010 are shown below. Here’s looking forward to helping more and more of you create your dream home in 2011!

Vintage Pedestal Table

Vintage Scroll Table

Carved Bird Table

Provence Drink Cabinet

Fleur de Lis Side Table

Vintage Princess Entry Table

Vintage Princess Entry Table

Antiqued Bishop coffee table

Coastal Shadowbox Coffee Table

Coastal Shabby Chest

Damask Hall Chest

Seashore Shell Chest

Duchess Chest

Westminster Buffet

Rhapsody Flair Sideboard

French Toile Sideboard

French Country Overhang Buffet

Garden Cottage Floral Headboard

White Shabby Cane Headboard

Solid Wood Bird Headboard

Provence Chandelier

Vintage French Mirror

White Shabby Chandelier

Carved French Trumeau Mirror

Our first recommendation: a Belle Escape Gift Card! Gift cards are such a great gift option because the recipient gets to pick exactly what they want. Imagine this: sitting in the comfort of your own home browsing through hundreds of gorgeous items, a fire roaring in the fireplace, sipping hot cocoa (or your favorite beverage:-) and getting to pick something beautiful for your home that you’ll always treasure. It’s really the gift of an escape – and one that will last forever!

Best Gift for her this holiday!

For those who want to buy something special that can be wrapped and put under the tree, here are some very popular choices .

First, here are some gorgeous accent tables to choose from that will really make a statement – and they’re all in stock!

For the French Furniture Lover

For the Bird Lovers

For the Giving Person

For French Shabby Chic Lovers

Here are some home decor items that would make fabulous gifts for her and all are in stock!

French Trumeau Mirror Lovers

For Flower Lovers

For Candle Lovers

For more ideas, visit BelleEscape.com. Happy shopping!

Diamond Carved Mirrors

Aqua Louis Wing Chair and Ottoman

Coastal Shabby Chic Chest

Floral Coffee Table – featuring Taylor Swift who furnished her new home with furniture from Belle Escape!

Silver Tin Display Cabinet - just gorgeous!

Aqua Oceanic Chest – A fun, whimisical chest for a coastal cottage!

Blue Fleur de Lys Chest and Vintage Vines Wall Chest – Ooh la la!

Country Scenes Coffee Table - a French country delight!

Of course, the High Point Market features all styles of furniture and décor, from ultra modern to antique reproductions, but we are focusing our attention on cottage style furniture, especially French shabby, French Country and Shabby Chic!

We were thrilled to find so many new designs from the Louis period. Take a look at these lovely painted and distressed French reproductions… ooh laa!!

We always enjoy meeting the rock stars at the furniture shows — the furniture designers, of course! We especially enjoyed meeting Rachel Ashwell, the creator of Shabby Chic, who is back with a lovely new line of shabby, and even more chic, designs. We also met with Tara Shaw who has been selling antiques for two decades and is now introducing a gorgeous line of authentic European antique reproductions.

Rachel Ashwell of Shabby Chic and Donna Jensen-Madier of BelleEscape.com

Tara Shaw of Tara Shaw Maison

Many French country furniture pieces also caught our eye, including this authentic French country dining table, these teal colored table and chairs, and this black distressed kitchen island.

We also looked for decorative items, like wall art, pillows and chandeliers that will accentuate our French style furniture, and found so many lovely items we think you’ll love. Here’s sneak peek at some items we are planning to add to Belle Escape.

Now that we’ve walked the show, tested items for quality and comfort, and gushed over the new designs, it’s time to share these treasures with all of you! Stay tuned for lots of new, gorgeous items at www.BelleEscape.com!

Our French Louis style lamps feature unique shades, hand-painted motifs and burlap fabrics.

If you love French country style, you’ll adore our whimsical lamps featuring roosters, warm colors and shades with plaid country fabrics.

Decorating your beach home? Take a peek at our unique collection of coastal cottage style lamps.

Florals add color and charm to any room! Belle Escape’s garden cottage style lamps will brighten your home with flowers all year long!

Coffee or Tea, anyone? These whimsical lamps are the perfect way to create a relaxed yet hip ambiance!

Check out our new collection of colorful, stylish tables lamps at Belle Escape Table Lamps.

Our Shadowbox Coffee Table is a popular choice with its unique fluted legs and glass top that offers an opportunity to display pictures and treasures inside. The one in Antique White is often purchased for beach homes while the more traditional wood stained version is purchased for family homes and mountain getaways alike. And recently, Ohio State University ordered one in their school color, red, for their student lounge.

Chairs are a very popular item to order in the color of your choice to add just the right amount of pizzazz to your dining area.

Your home is a private sanctuary and should reflect your own personal style. Belle Escape offers hundreds of furniture items in a variety of different colors, and now we’ve made it easier than ever for our customers to order our furniture in the color of their choice with color palettes featured next to customizable furniture items. While many furniture retailers offer products in a few different colors, such as white, black and wood stain, Belle Escape offers 16 different colors to meet the needs of most any

Standard Finishes

Upgrade Finishes

Check out Bell Escape’s new Custom category that features products that can be ordered in any of our 16 colors.