The winners of the inaugural edition of The Furniture Awards, a programme designed to recognise the best in new product unveiled at the January Furniture Show, delivered by Furniture News in collaboration with the event's organiser, have been decided.
After a swathe of entries were shortlisted last week, the judges - WorldStores' Tristan Lynch, Cousins Furniture's Robert Shotton and designer Rob Scarlett - joined awards chairman and editor of Furniture News, Paul Farley, at the event yesterday to inspect the best entries and make their selection.
The winner of the Value Category was City, a comprehensive weathered oak dining and occasional range from Bentley Designs, selected for its strong build quality and confident offering. Time Living's Naxos fabric bed frame enjoys an honourable mention in this category.
The winner of the Mid-level Category was the Dexter side table and accompanying range from Gallery Direct's Hudson Living collection, a versatile mindi ash product that was praised for being on trend, well proportioned and likely to stand the test of time.
Finally, the Upper-level Category award went to Henderson Russell's Sloane, a comfortable and extremely well put-together sofa that bravely combines a myriad of influences in a strong, fresh new design. Tetrad's Nucleus, a reinvention of a vintage model boasting on-trend tweeds, was the runner-up.
"The first edition of The Furniture Awards has recognised a surprisingly strong complement of winners," says Paul Farley. "Indeed, the high quality of entries reflects the very commercial and price-conscious developments taking place in the trade, as well as the design savvy behind the next big sellers. I'm grateful to all those who entered, and particularly to the judges and show organisers for their support. Thanks to this year's developments, The Furniture Awards 2016 have a strong foundation upon which to build."
More details will be revealed shortly, as well as an in-depth look at the winners and the judges' thoughts in an upcoming issue.
