FALL HOME UPDATE : FURNISHINGS : Hot Furniture Tickets: Cover Up, Wrap Around

It’s not exactly a return to the ‘50s, but overstuffed sofas and tables with tapered legs are making home furnishing fashion statements this fall.

Current design showrooms and catalogues display well-padded chairs, with boxy, square legs straight from the living rooms of “Father Knows Best” and “Leave It to Beaver.”

The look in furniture is clean lines, according to Charlie Zigler of Affordable Design Concepts in Carlsbad. Plastics and vinyls are back, with an emphasis on curves, such as kidney-shaped tables. Iron and stone furniture is also popular.

“One of the general trends is that people are becoming more and more willing to experiment with the eclectic; it is almost a new era of eclecticism,” said Charlotte Jensen of Charlotte Jensen & Associates in Rancho Bernardo. “People want interiors to look personal, to have character, depth and mood.

“In the ‘80s, people accumulated material things. They’re now realizing they want things that have more value, so people are collecting what is old.”

Partly as a concession to the recession and also because of a look back at a romanticized past, loose-fitting slip covers, often with a rather wrinkled look, are popular this season. Draped, four-poster beds, whether of metal, wood or rattan, are a ‘90s addition to the bedroom.

“It gives people a strong feeling of warmth and security; it’s like a womb-like atmosphere,” said Jensen, director of the American Society of Interior Designers in San Diego, Palm Springs, Pasadena and San Bernardino. “What it does mentally for people is it has a calming effect. It creates a mood of the past, and people generally think positively of the past.”

Gone also are the stark shutters and the mini-blinds that were popular in the ‘80s. Draperies are coming back, although not in the traditional sense, but, for example, as a single wispy panel draped over a rod.

The recession has people redoing what they have, rather than buying all new furniture. “Instead of moving up, people are fluffing out,” said Maura Johnson of Maura Johnson, Interior Design in Del Mar. “Almost everyone has a piece they love. People are keeping their old things and adding to, or expanding on, that look.”

Murphy beds, the kind that pull down from the wall, are returning to popularity as cramped families redo an office to double as a bedroom. Homeowners are adding bright pillows to a plain sofa, rather than buying something new.

Even the design community has embraced recycling, with ceramic tiles, wallpaper and parchment finishes made from recycled materials. Aluminum is being reused in accessory pieces.

When they do buy, people are spending less than before, according to Johnson, and better quality furniture is available for lower prices.

“Because of the recession, the top-of-the-line manufacturers and design centers are lowering prices, being more flexible,” said Janet Roether of Roether Design Associates in Poway.

As a money-saving design element, trompe l’oeil, a painted realistic look, is still popular. “People really want a view of the outdoors, but they can’t move to the beach, so they paint the outdoors on their walls. They want a marble fireplace, but can’t afford it, so they paint it on,” Johnson said.

For the well-dressed room of the ‘90s, the greens and golds of the ‘60s are popping up as the hot colors. An example is the avocado green of the ‘60s, which is coming back as “artichoke.”

“We’re seeing deeper hues, like dark Hunter green, burgundy and claret gold,” said Rene Ralph, owner of Rene Designs Interiors in Encinitas. “The more intense colors are more popular, like orange and pumpkin colors for accessories and bed linens.”

Another return to the past is the Western look, with cowhide rugs and Native American wall hangings and accents. Fabrics are imprinted with western boots, cowboys astride horses and animal figures, although stripes, floral and geometric prints remain popular.

“There has been a real exposure to and interest in Montana; if anything is hot, it’s Montana, as it’s seen as the last frontier,” ASID’s Jensen said. “The interest has brought this whole resurgence of out-and-out cowboy. (We’re moving) away from the Santa Fe look.”

Other hot accent items are tapestry pillows, which are more in evidence than in past years, and sunflowers, which are being used in decorative arrangements to replace birds of paradise or ginger, according to Jensen.