What/who is Homecrest?
Homecrest is a leading manufacturer of affordable luxury furniture for outdoor living. The company is headquartered in Wadena, Minn., where the brand was founded in 1953.

Where are Homecrest products sold?
Homecrest products are distributed through specialty, seasonal and fine furniture retail locations all across the United States and Canada. Homecrest products are also sold to the contract market and can be found in hundreds of prestigious resorts, restaurants and public spaces around the world, including the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, Disney World EPCOT Center, and Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt hotels and resorts worldwide.

What’s new? How have Homecrest’s products changed in recent years?
Today’s consumers are increasingly sophisticated and style-driven. Homecrest is responding with new products that combine classic comfort with trend-setting designs and materials. The Homecrest brand conveys a traditional, transitional style statement, and consumers can choose from more than 20 aluminum or steel collections.

What are Homecrest’s key strengths/benefits?
Homecrest has a long-standing reputation for service, quality and innovation. In fact, the company created the first outdoor swivel rocker mechanism, which revolutionized the outdoor furniture business in the early 1960s.

Homecrest products are meticulously designed and engineered to provide the ultimate in comfort, convenience, easy maintenance and durability. We test our products rigorously and we consistently maintain the highest industry standards for technical performance, such as UV and mildew resistance, corrosion resistance, rapid drying features and more. And we back our products with excellent warranties.

Customization, including frame color and fabrics, also is a core competency at Homecrest. We developed the HI Design Center to highlight this function and to make the process easy and satisfying for consumers.

In recent years we have significantly increased our emphasis on market-responsive styles, introducing several new collections that reflect and lead the latest design trends. Highlights of our new collection features for 2007 include: interior-like upholstery; increased scale; tabletops that are both functional and beautiful; and sleek, modern lines.

What are the major trends in outdoor furniture/outdoor living?
Homecrest sees five key trends influencing the market:

The Indoors is Going Outdoors: Consumers are demanding the same comfort, selection and fabric choices for their outdoor living rooms. You’ll see more deep seating and cushion options in outdoor furniture this year and sophisticated use of fabric trims, frame finishes and design details.

More Choices for Outdoor Living: Instead of the same old table and chairs with a few lounge chairs, the choices for outdoor furniture continue to grow. Chat areas, with lower tables and chairs – and maybe a built-in fire pit – are a new option.

Hello, Color: Finally, we can move away from boring beiges and browns in the backyard! Color is a big story for outdoor furniture this year in fabrics and frame finishes.

• Red, in all shades, is a key color for ’07 – ’08
• Colors that are softened to represent nature’s hues will be strong
• Black and white will continue to grow in popularity

The Greening of Design: More designers and consumers are interested in ecologically-friendly designs and products. Sturdy, durable outdoor furniture with a long lifespan is more appealing than “disposable” furniture meant to last only a few seasons.

Tabletops: Granite, tile and faux stone are among the many stylish tabletop options now available to address the growing demand for beautiful, natural-looking surfaces that coordinate with the home’s interior stone surfaces and blend with nature.

How long do custom orders take?
Many retailers maintain a stock of stylish Homecrest products so you may find a product that suits your tastes right in their inventory. If you decide to order products designed to your personal specifications, the turnaround time is about three to four weeks.