Iain James Furniture specialises in high-quality reproduction furniture, created and finished in its Long Eaton workshop. The company offers a wide range of eye-catching living room occasional pieces to suit today’s interiors – which is itself no mean feat, as MD Iain Mitchell explains: “I don’t know when the term ‘brown furniture’ was introduced, but its impact on reproduction furniture over the last 15 years has been contributory to its decline, as it instantly brings to mind an image of a dark, uninspiring, old-fashioned piece of mahogany furniture.
“Evolution in furniture is no different to anything else in life, and you have to adapt to survive and remain relevant. Iain James always had a slight advantage with our mahogany finish because we always bleach the furniture prior to polishing, therefore achieving a more faded, golden finish and making it more discerning and far more attractive within room settings.
“More recently, we had found that even this more refined collection wasn’t enough to remain viable as our range leader, and whilst mahogany sales are still very relevant and important to us, we have enjoyed a considerable turnover increase since heavily promoting our burr walnut finish on both new and existing models.
“Burr walnut isn’t a new finish to Iain James – we’ve always offered it – however, we were always better known for mahogany furniture. It was the introduction of our Royal Crescent collection of occasional, mainly Georgian-styled furniture which formed a more relevant and commercial identity, as this range complements both classical and contemporary upholstery with equal compatibility.
“The unique, carefully-selected high-quality burrs, combined with the warm, neutral tones of the finely-polished patinas, co-ordinate favourably with a high majority of fabric and colour schemes and room settings, meaning that the collection is relevant in both design and colour to modern-day interiors,” concludes Iain.
Other recent introductions to the Iain James portfolio include new models in burr oak and Japanese ash.
