Still fresh, Melrose seeks bold & beautiful

By Michele SanFilippo -- Home Textiles Today, 10/27/2003 12:00:00 AM

LOS ANGELES —

Melrose Home jumped into top of bed during September's market in New York with eight fashion-forward collections at its temporary showroom at 230 Fifth Avenue.

Safari, Palm Isle, Emilio, Isabella, Catania, Melrose & Vine, Annette and Pricilla are the new collections.

With more than 25 years of experience in women's apparel, the two-year-old home fashions firm first entered the textiles business with decorative pillows four markets ago. Since its business has steadily grown since 2001, the company has been able to expand into a greater mix of product categories with each successive market.

"We design our own fabrics and have a design staff from the apparel side," said Melrose president John Emrani, adding that the company showed a lot more fabric overlays, embossing and faux fur fabrications this market. He added, "Melrose Velvet is our basic solid-color item, which we've taken to the next stage with a palette of 20 colors."

Opening bed pattern Safari is an embossed velvet duvet with a fern motif in a natural colorway with matching bed skirt and faux fur throws, plus animal-print decs and accessories. The comforter features a 230-count cotton sateen back. Three sheer window panels coordinate: Baby Leopard, Raindrops (knit lace) and Segments (contemporary lace). Safari was developed around the company's successful chenille animal floor cushions.

Palm Isle has a sheer overlay with interspersed palm trees on an intricate square within a square jacquard with piping along the frame and border. It features lots of fringes and trims as well as dec pillows, such as a 26" square floor cushion, a paper basket weave on twill cotton pillow and a tonal brown vertically puckered stripe effect pillow. Window panels feature embroidered palm tree and sheer burnout palm tree motifs.

Isabella features an elegant Asian-inspired floral vine motif on a yarn-dyed poly/cotton textured jacquard in champagne and celadon colorways. Melrose & Vine offers a textured and flocked satin look with fringe and ribbon accents. The fashionable pattern features assorted uniquely shaped decorative pillows and comes in silver, olive, bronze, cranberry and chocolate colorways.

In window, the company has expanded with tie shades and different top treatments such as rope tie tops. There were 10 new apparel-inspired panel designs featuring such fabrics as charmeuse, viole and lace that coordinate back to decorative pillows, throws and furniture covers. In slipcovers, Melrose offers wrap, pleat and loose fitting styles for chair, loveseat, sofa and occasional chairs.

Meanwhile in table linens, Melrose's newest best seller, Sangria, a fruit-inspired print on damask available in all sizes for napkins, runners, chair pads and dining room chairs, now offers kitchen towels, dish towels, oven mitts and pot holders.