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Where dreams begin.

All New Euro bed

Experience our all new contemporary platform bed collection.
Where will you dream tonight?

High Point Showroom
IHFC | Main 530
October 20-26

See us in High Point, or contact Marketing | toll free: 800.825.5233 | www.leggett.com/consumerproductsgroup

Shown left is a color wheel with dark undertones. The next issue of FURNITURE WORLD
Magazine will provide more detail on how light and dark undertones can be used to make
striking displays. The November/ December 2008 issue will also include the second part
of this article and a comprehensive glossary of fabrics.

Primary/ Secondary Fabrics Tapestry Chintz

Consider... scale, contrast and pattern.

COMPLEMENTS, or colors that are one and undertones within each of the three space. Don’t make the mistake of making
away from being directly across from color families. Factor your fabrics into this your largest upholstered piece the focal
each other, known as SPLIT COMPLE- general formula. Keep in mind though, point of the room by using a loud or
MENTS. Such color palettes give the that the 60-30-10 rule is a GENERAL heavily patterned fabric. Large uphol-
greatest amount of contrast and therefore GUIDELINE and not a design law! Color stered pieces are the room’s anchors that
keep us interested. Some examples of palettes of 70-25-5 work just as well. give stability to the overall design. They
complementary palettes are the use of Again, the 60-30-10 rule is a guideline can remain even when the less perma-
red with green, purple with yellow, or to get you started. This means that you nent small furnishings and accessories
blue with orange. Split complement can get spunky and throw a hint of a around them are changed out over time.
examples include red with either teal fourth color family somewhere into the
(blue-green) or lime-green (yellow- space if your “gut” agrees it looks good. NEXT ISSUE
green), indigo (blue-purple) with either Have fun with this, and trust your
yellow or orange, and gold (yellow- instincts. The next installment will give you addi-
orange) with either blue or purple. The tional seminar material on choosing sup-
undertone (derived from white, brown or FIND YOUR KEY FABRIC porting fabrics, using pattern, color, tex-
black added to the original color on the ture and scale... plus a useful illustrated
wheel), or the lightness and darkness of It may feel overwhelming to find the glossary of terms. If you absolutely can’t
the color doesn’t determine whether or right fabrics for a space you are redeco- wait, email [email protected] to get
not it is a complement or split-comple- rating. Even just selecting fabric for one the text via email.
ment. True red coupled with true green piece such as a new sofa or chair can be
for example are just as much comple- intimidating, especially if you don’t Margarett DeGange, M.Ed. is a
ments as are apple red paired with olive understand how they fit into an overall Business and Design Coach in the Home
green (these are complements with fabric palette. How many patterns should Fashions Industry. She creates and deliv-
brown undertones) or cranberry red and you use, and in what amounts? You may ers custom training programs for man-
emerald green (these are complements question which patterns will work togeth- aged businesses and their sales consul-
with black undertones). When using a er. Even when a professional guides your tants to help them communicate better
complementary or split-complementary choice, you might be unclear regarding with customers and increase sales and
palette, you can still throw in a hint of a which direction to go. profits. Margarett is a Writer and
third (or even fourth) fabric color here or Professional Speaker, and the President of
there. I suggest that you first find a main fab- The DeGangi Group and The DeGangi
ric, also called a “key” fabric, for the School of Interior Decoration, with both
A good rule of thumb for a single largest piece in your space, such as a on sight and on-line courses in Interior
room or space, that includes paint, fab- sofa, upholstered headboard, or set of Decorating, Marketing, and Redesign.
rics, furniture and room accessories, is dining room chairs, and then begin to
the 60-30-10 rule. This means that 60 build the design around that fabric. This For almost 20 years she has helped
percent of a room’s color should be rep- key fabric should be one that you really individual and managed business owners
resented by a main color family, 30 per- love. Ideally, it should also be a solid tex- in the interior fashions and decorating
cent of the room’s color should be repre- ture, tone-on-tone, or subtle weave in industries to earn more while fully enjoy-
sented by a second color family, and 10 either a deep, rich, or neutral color that ing the process. Her website is
percent of the room’s color should be will ground the space and become a www.DeGangiGroup.com Questions
represented by still another color or color backdrop for other, more decorative fab- about performing in-store seminars and
family. You can use various shades, tints, rics that can add “punch” or make a related design topics can be directed to
design statement without taking over the [email protected]

18 FURNITURE WORLD September/October 2008

Organize, visualize, See us at
plan, order, manage Market at the
and communicate NHFA Retailer
electronically... Resource Center
start to finish.
IHFC Main
12th floor, Space #2

www.microdinc.com

MicroD provides online marketing and
e-commerce solutions for the Furniture Industry





Pictured are Roomful Express furniture
craftsmen and a customer service person.

Build Loyalty
Before 5PM With...

THE SAME DAY

SERVICE CALL

Roomful Express Furniture improves key operations metrics with new program.

by Michael Bowman, Roomful Express

Our number one priority at the additional service expense, this pro- our customer support representatives
Roomful Express Furniture is to gram has generated a cost savings to the would have an exchange delivered to the
build customer loyalty and earn company by providing a 20% reduction in customer’s home within 3 or 4 days. This
repeat business. We, therefore, exchanges. addressed the fact that customers didn’t
regularly look at every point of contact a want to wait the week it took to have a
customer might have with our organization Dan Bolger, in his September 2007 arti- technician come out to fix their problem.
and evaluate ways we can make it better, cle “Delivery Survey 2007”, published in The exchange was faster, but turned out to
easier, or more valuable for our customers. FURNITURE WORLD Magazine, stated be a more costly option.
that, “An exchange costs five times the
The economics of running a retail busi- original delivery cost and frequently For that reason, we insisted that our ser-
ness in a non-growth region requires us to exceeds the margin on any given order. vice company provide us with service that
find new ways of servicing and exciting our Returns and cancellations can devastate was no more than 48 hours out in our core
existing customer base. your bottom line because you lose the business area. That challenge eventually
sales revenue but incur logistics costs for led to our Same Day Service Program.
This task is as important for the opera- the initial delivery, return costs and the
tions side of our business as it is for sales wrath of the unhappy customer who looks CUSTOMER OBJECTIONS
and marketing. After a sale has been com- elsewhere. In the worst case scenario, the
pleted and the delivery made, there are product is damaged along the way and As part of the new program, we found
additional opportunities to create or lose has to be scrapped.” We completely agree that we needed to address a frequent
customer loyalty. Such is the case when the with this statement. objection expressed by customers whose
customer calls us and requests service on new furniture needed service. Many felt
their furniture. Most importantly, this program has had that they wanted new furniture, not “used”
a measurable positive impact on customer furniture that had been repaired.
BUILDING LOYALTY satisfaction and loyalty. However, getting to
THROUGH SERVICE this position wasn’t easy. The company had Customers needed to be convinced that
to change its way of thinking about service, they would actually be getting more value
The Same Day Service Program is the costs, and operations. We also had to edu- out of the service call then they would from
newest customer loyalty-building program cate our customers about the value they an exchange. Therefore, in-house cus-
at Roomful Express Furniture. When cus- would be gaining by utilizing our crafting tomer service representatives were taught
tomers who need service contact our call services. that service team members are profession-
center, we offer them the option of having ally trained, furniture builders and crafts-
a craftsman come to their home THAT DAY, GETTING STARTED men, with years of experience. These
at no cost to them. Although it seems craftsmen do not repair furniture. They
counter intuitive, this program actually pro- Before the Same Day Service Program “deluxe”, “correct”, and “upgrade” furni-
vides an operational cost savings while was instituted, when a customer called in ture. They add value to the furniture. They
boosting customer satisfaction! Even with to report, for example, a split sofa seam, are able to make the furniture “better than

26 FURNITURE WORLD September/October 2008