Design puts furniture in spotlight while supporting five distinct brand identities.
Published first in Adex Awards.
Martin Roberts and Martin Roberts Design recently completed the design of an extensive renovation to the trade showroom of Home Meridian International, located at the High Point Furniture Market, the largest international furniture tradeshow. Prior to the re-design of the 90,000-square-foot space, several of HMI’s operating companies were spread across several separate, unconnected spaces in High Point’s 220 Elm building.
Visitors enter an upper-floor reception area, then descend a wide, multi-level staircase to reach a courtyard with entrances to each of the company’s divisions, including Pulaski Furniture, Samuel Lawrence Furniture, Prime Resources, Creations Baby and Sourcing Solutions. The showroom in the 220 Elm Building uses white as its dominant shade to provide contrast and showcase the products of fast-growing HMI’s five divisions.
HMI is a company that’s design-driven and forward-focused, and this design evokes those qualities in an understated way in order to shine the spotlight on the innovative furniture that has fueled the company’s strong growth in recent years, said Martin Roberts, president of Martin Roberts Design, Stamford, CT. The space and the grand staircase also enabled our design team to illustrate how HMI is both one entity with a very strong identity and five operating divisions, each of which has a strong, distinct style and a singular brand personality.
HMI CEO George Revington said the design also reflects the company’s focus on its retail customer’s needs. With five showrooms in one, the space allows busy furniture store buyers to quickly evaluate a wide range of new and existing collections in clear, focused settings to make it easy to see lots of different options, and focus in on favorites. The space also provides quiet areas to relax, connect with their stores or conduct other business. Roberts said the space had many advantages, among them a highly visible street entrance, which also has space for outdoor seating.