Airplanes are filled with passengers eager to visit distant family and friends, and tourist spots around the globe are crowded with visitors. But Four Hands believes that people’s interest in their homes —heightened during first two years of the Covid-19 pandemic — isn’t waning. They still find comfort and sanctuary at home. And when they return from those trips, they’ll be eager to gather with nearby friends and family to share stories about summer travels and make new memories into the fall and winter.
“We see customers valuing a return-to-home philosophy, where entertaining and gathering at home are key drivers for design purchases,” says Adam Dunn, vice president of design for the Austin-based company. “With a mix of outdoor and indoor styles, we’re preparing for gatherings during the holiday season ahead.”
The company is introducing more than 250 products across furniture and home accessories categories this summer, showing many — along with some bestsellers — during the Las Vegas Market, which runs through Thursday.
“Our summer launch is a strong representation of our design philosophy, blending together beautiful materials and design eras that create a thoughtful and unique design story,” Dunn says, in a news release.
For at-home gatherings, consumers may want to upgrade their seating, so guests sit and stay awhile. Four Hands’ new Downey chair is itself a conversation starter with its contrasting shapes and materials. The solid parawood frame, smoothed and rounded on all sides, features large circular cutouts for a sense of movement. The sling chair construction is topped with loose feather-blend cushions and a performance fabric.
“We’re pleased to introduce several new seating styles, featuring a range of looks for today’s spaces,” Dunn says. “While there’s design inspiration stemming from multiple eras and looks, the common thread through all of these is our commitment to beautiful style, quality and impeccable craftsmanship.”
In terms of materials, the properties of plaster inspired a number of new case good and accessories from Four Hands. “There’s a textural element of the plaster look that adds both visual and tactile interest,” Dunn says. “These items also evoke a handcrafted sensibility.”
Examples include the Otero outdoor dining table, which offers a touch of industrialism to outdoor spaces. It is made of solid white concrete with raw edging for textural interest and retails for $2,699. (For long life, cover or store indoors during bad weather and when not in use.) The versatility of plaster also inspired the simple, modern eight-light Santorini chandelier. With a plasterlike finish and gentle curves, it has a hand-molded look ($849).
Four Hands is also playing with highly textural pieces to add “both aesthetic and physical value to the space,” Dunn says. “Mixing different textures in a room helps guide the eye from one interesting piece to the next.”
Illustrative of the visual value of texture is the Huron coffee table, also for outdoor use, which Four Hands describes as “a new take on postmodern tessellated stone shapes of the 1980s” with a “reinvented finish in concrete.” A dimensional step detail adds drama ($1,599). (Cover or store indoors during bad weather and when not in use.)
And speaking of texture, Four Hands is introducing a number of woven furnishings. “Natural materials continue to be a popular trend for indoor and outdoor,” Dunn says. “Woven materials can make a space feel both approachable and elevated, creating a sense of lived-in luxury.”
The new Natalia nightstand features black-finished iron encasing three drawers with natural cane fronts for contrasts in texture and color ($999). The foam cushioning of the softly sculptural Pasha chair is wrapped in natural woven water hyacinth for seating — and style ($1,099).