Double Your Pleasure

To keep your home's décor fresh and exciting, many design experts recommend altering the look of a room. Among the ways this can be done are rearranging the layout of the furniture and by changing accessories seasonally.

Now, Texas-based manufacturer Legaré offers another alternative: reversible furniture.

"It's like having two pieces of furniture in one," said Brock Brandenberg, Legaré's design specialist and company founder.

The reversible furniture, which was showcased at the recent industry tradeshow at World Market Center Las Vegas, includes desks, bookcases and media units that incorporate dual-finished horizontal panels that can be flipped to create the new look.

It is offered in espresso/natural oak or black/platinum combinations.

"At present, we offer two types of reversible finishes. One set of finishes allows you to build a piece of furniture which is all espresso in color, or if you reverse the horizontal panels (the top and shelves) you can have a two tone of espresso and natural. A second set of reversible finishes allows you to have an all-ebony look, or an ebony and platinum. This is particularly effective in TV stands, where most televisions today are either black or platinum in color," said Howard Klion, who is in charge of sales and marketing and is one of the company's founders.

Switching the look of the furniture is easy, mostly due to the unique way the modular pieces are designed and assembled. All of Legaré's furniture can be assembled in less than three minutes without the use of tools or hardware. The patented method, which the company calls "fun to assemble," uses interlocking parts.

Klion said the economic climate was part of the reason they decided to offer reversible furniture.

"Furniture is perceived by the consumer to be an investment, one which will last a long time. What better way to extend the useful life of a piece of furniture, than to offer two looks for the price of one. If you get tired of a piece of furniture in two or three or four years, you can completely change the look, by reversing the panels and you now have, in essence, a new piece of furniture and it didn't cost you a penny."

In addition to the traditional color combinations, the reversible look is offered on the company's children's line in combinations such as strawberries and cream, pistachios and cream, blueberries and cream, red and black, and maple and white.

So far, the response has been very positive.

"Retailers love the reversibility because they can show two completely different looks on half the inventory. Customers love the reversibility because of the options and flexibility it provides," Klion said.

And when it comes to flexibility, Legaré's designs show they can do more than just change their appearance.

"That's one of the unique aspects of our furniture, in that you can move shelves from side to the other, you can adjust the height of the shelves, as well as turning the pieces over," Klion said. "Customers love our products because of how well thought out and how functional they are. Brock Brandenberg is the company founder, and he came up with the idea for the desks. He isn't a furniture designer but is an industrial designer and an engineer by trade. He is meticulous about all of his designs and completely thinks through every detail of every piece."

Currently, Legaré's furniture can be purchased at Las Vegas Office Furniture, as well as online at the company's Web site, www.legarefurniture.com.