Las Vegas furniture market: beyond distressed: at the Winter Las Vegas Market, environmentally conscious manufacturers make a big impression with furniture made from recycled lumber.

Environmentally conscious consumers, and consumers who like casegoods with distressed finishes and imperfections because they are easy-care, may appreciate the latest trend in home furnishings--products made from recycled woods.

A large number of the 1,500 companies exhibiting at the Winter 2007 Las Vegas Market displayed furniture and decorative accessories made from old buildings, doors, floors, tools and more. The Las Vegas Market was held Jan. 29 to Feb. 2 in World Market Center and Cashman Center.

Brazil Baroque, a U.S. importer of handcrafted Brazilian furnishings, displayed new and existing items in its WMC Building B showroom. According to Marketing Director Terry Bickmore, the company's products are created from reclaimed antique Brazilian hardwoods taken from old, abandoned haciendas in Brazil. "Everything is hand carved," she said. "We don't do any mass production. We have 300 artisans in Brazil making things for us." Among the company's numerous offerings are dining tables, chairs, murals and hutches.

One of the items receiving considerable attention from market-goers was Brazil Baroque's curvaceous Baroque bed, which featured an intricately carved headboard made from exotic hardwoods. "It's not for everybody," Bickmore acknowledged. "It's kind of over-the-top, but the overall reaction to it was dazzling. People were just blown away."

In fact, "everybody was dazzled by the entire line because there's not really anything out there like it," she noted.

Global furniture importer Four Hands, which recently introduced several product lines made from recycled woods, showed several tables made from old doors and door parts at the January market.

"There are three things that we do that fit the eco-friendly profile," said Vice President of Marketing Jeff Hiller. "We do some collections out of plantation-grown mango, which needs to be harvested about every 15 years. We also do two different recycled [wood] series--one out of recycled teak from India and then we've just started to introduce a collection of our Chinese recycled elm. That's what we showed in Las Vegas."

In addition, Four Hands developed a "green tag" program to share the story behind these products with consumers. Each eco-friendly product sports a hang tag explaining what type of wood it is made from and the wood's provenance.

"There's a rising degree of interest and awareness in [these product lines]," Hiller said. "They sold well We're going to continue with them, but it'll be a little bit of watch-and-see, from a retail perspective, to see what works. And it starts with style, style, style."

Urban Evolution's eye-catching space in Pavilion One featured dining tables, beds and islands from reclaimed wood, such as antique pine. One of the company's newest pieces--a console--was made from wood taken from an old Midwestern granary, according to co-owner Robin Janson, who designs most of the company's products.

Based in Menasha, WI, Urban Evolutions uses rescued materials from old buildings to create furniture and cabinetry. The company also offers reclaimed beams, flooring, stairs, doors, moulding and more for residential applications.

Antique fence posts, rice paddy paddles and thread throwers are just some of the wooden artifacts Eastern Breeze collects in remote Asian villages and turns into one-of-a-kind decorative accessories.

New items on display at the January market were ox cart shafts mounted on iron stands, urns and storage boxes made from antique hardwood Burmese railroad ties, and tribal carvings made from reclaimed Burmese railroad ties.

Environment Furniture Inc. showed its new Peroba Collection in WMC Building B during the Las Vegas Market. The Los Angeles-based company combined 100-year-old reclaimed wood from Brazil with new materials to create a variety of case pieces, including a platform bed, a buffet, benches, a desk and dining, console and end tables.

Best Western

While the rest of the country seems to be gravitating toward sleeker, more contemporary furnishings, folks in the Southwest still prefer furniture with a Western or rustic flavor--or so it would seem based on many of the products on display at the Winter 2007 Las Vegas Market.

King Hickory had numerous sofas, sectionals, chairs and ottomans with a decidedly Western look in its new World Market Center Building B showroom, which boasted walls painted to resemble a warm gold suede. Sofas covered in distressed leather and fabrics with rich, earth-tone patterns were paired with hair-on-hide ottomans sporting nailhead trim and leather fringe. Leather embossed with Western themes, leather applique and leather braid also could be seen on pieces throughout the showroom.

Broyhill Furniture continued its romance with the Southwest by introducing a whole-home collection called McKenzie Place. (In July 2006, the company unveiled Carson Manor, which has a Victorian/Western-inspired look.) The group, described as rustically elegant by the company, includes bedroom, dining, upholstery and occasional pieces made from pine solids and veneers with a heavily distressed warm pine finish and custom hardware with an oxidized, antique brass style.

Buyers were treated to hundreds of products with a "rustic Western attitude" at Interlude Lodge, Interlude Home's newest brand. Polished metals, distressed woods, acid-washed leather, iron and stone were some of the materials the company used to create its distinctive accent furniture, accessories, wall decor and more.

Editor's note: This article was written by the staff of Furniture Style magazine, part of Vance Publishing's Interiors Media Network. For additional articles on the show, visit www.FurnitureStyle.com.