Shopping In NC

NC: The Home Furnishings Capital Of The World

It all began with wood, water, and an entrepreneurial spirit.

The wood, from the vast hardwood forests of central and western North Carolina, made perfect handcrafted furniture. The water, from NC’s rivers and streams, flowed through turbines to generate electricity to power factories. The entrepreneurial spirit provided the craftsmen and capitalists that would turn North Carolina into the international capital of the furniture industry.

It didn’t happen overnight. The 1890 Census reports only six furniture plants spread out around the state, employing a mere 182 people.  Today, the industry employs tens of thousands of North Carolinians, and many of the world’s foremost names in furniture call NC home.

In fact, twice a year, the world’s furniture industry travels to North Carolina to take part in the High Point Market, a week-long furnishings exhibition that highlights the world’s most comprehensive product selection and new product showcase. The Market is for industry professionals only, but many of the furnishings on display there will show up in nearby furniture stores and outlets once the Market ends.

For the consumer, the concentration of factories, craftsmen, and outlet stores make North Carolina the ultimate destination for people looking to furnish their homes or offices with top-quality handcrafted furnishings at bargain-basement prices. And, the depth of industry knowledge in NC means professional advice and assistance is readily available.

“People get stressed out selecting furnishings on their own,” says the Hickory Furniture Mart’s Brad Lail. “Here, they can get the help of our collective knowledge, and they’re less likely to make a mistake.” Plus, the close proximity of most of the manufacturers’ factories makes customization more readily available.

“Celebrities, professional athletes, and business executives often furnish their entire homes with North Carolina furniture, and considering the deals our stores offer, virtually anyone can,” says Lail. “What New York and Milan are to the fashion industry, North Carolina is to home furnishings. Furniture bought here is built to last a lifetime, or longer.”

It’s no wonder then that every year, thousands of visitors from all over the world make a trip to North Carolina specifically for furniture shopping. If you decide to do the same, visitor’s centers in both Hickory and High Point have great “shop and stay” specials. Here are some of the places to consider for your NC furniture-shopping excursion:

20 Miles Of Furniture (Between Hickory & Lenoir)
US 321 is a major roadway linking North Carolina’s Piedmont (Gastonia, Hickory) to its High Country (Blowing Rock, Boone). In the twenty miles of 321 north of Interstate 40, you’ll find a multitude of stores, galleries, and outlets from both big-name manufacturers (Bernhardt, Broyhill) to smaller, lesser-known companies that also produce top quality furnishings.

Catawba Furniture Mall (Hickory)
This renovated shopping mall has found new life as a one-stop-shop for your home furnishing needs, with products from top designers such as Paula Deen, Hooker, and Calvin Klein. With more than eight acres of discount sale furniture and hundreds of manufacturers on display, you’ll find limitless choices of everything from living room sets to furniture for the kids’ room.

Furnitureland South (Jamestown)
Billing itself as the “World’s Largest Home Furnishings Showcase”, this massive complex just off of Interstate 85’s Business Loop features more than 1.3 million square feet of showroom space. Overwhelmed? Don’t be. One of the company’s sales and design consultants will guide you through the store and help you find exactly the item or set you’re looking for.  

Hickory Furniture Mart
With more than a thousand manufacturers on display in one place and discounts of up to 80% off retail, it’s no wonder that 500,000 people come to the Hickory Furniture Mart every year to browse and select furniture for every room of their homes. The Mart also features several sales events throughout the year, as well as its annual Furniture Festival during the last weekend in July. 

High Point-Thomasville-Jamestown
When local civic icons include a giant chest of drawers and an 18-foot Duncan Phyfe chair, you know you’re in the heart of furniture country. Stop in at the High Point Visitor’s Bureau and pick up a Furniture Shopping Directory, then wind your way through dozens of small and large shops and galleries providing everything from oriental rugs to dining room sets to decorative lighting.

Replacements, Ltd. (Greensboro)
Did you ever lose or break a piece of your mother’s favorite china or silver set and assume that it could never be replaced? Well, don’t give up until you’ve been to this 400,000 square foot store that has an inventory of 13.5 million pieces from more than 300,000 patterns. Whether you’re looking to replace a broken item or buy a completely new set of china, crystal, or silver… this Greensboro institution is more than likely to have exactly what you want. 

added: January 28, 2010

updated: February 1, 2010