SAMANTHA SELINGER-MORRIS looks at the bestsellers for the home. IKEA: EXPEDIT BOOKCASE, $169 The white IKEA Expedit shelving unit — that familiar design comprised of square blocks — has been the store’s best-selling item of its kind for the past four years for one reason: its versatility. »There’s so many different things you can do [with it],» says IKEA Australia’s PR Manager, Angela McCann. »It’s a room divider, a shelving unit, and could be a sideboard. People put them up off the floor and attach them to walls, and I’ve actually seen some people [use it] as a coffee table, by turning it on its side and popping some castors on it, with books and magazines in it.» Advertisement: Story continues below Florence Broadhurst Japanese Floral wallpaper from the Brooklyn Brownstone collection. SIGNATURE PRINTS: FLORENCE BROADHURST JAPANESE FLORAL WALLPAPER, FROM $280 PER 10-METRE ROLL The Japanese Floral wallpaper print, by the iconic Australian designer Florence Broadhurst, is currently wrapped around a bus that is snaking its way through Los Angeles. Why? The bus is a makeshift pop-up shop for American fashion designer Kate Spade, who is featuring the print on everything from jackets to dresses and shoes in her spring 2012 collection. According to Helen Lennie, the creative director of Signature Prints, the Sydney-based textile and wallpaper firm that holds the exclusive rights to distributing Broadhurst’s designs, the pattern is »just a good design». Carol/Vada dining set. Created in the 1960s, it has been the best-selling Broadhurst wallpaper for the past 13 years. »The motif is just a really good, usable size for any room,» Lennie says. HARVEY NORMAN: VADA TABLE WITH DOUBLE EXTENSION AND EIGHT CAROL CHAIRS, $2499 »Thousands, I mean thousands,» of this Australian-made set have been sold since its introduction in 1990, says Harvey Norman’s furniture general manager, Brian Kutner. Made from MDF and topped by a plantation oak or sapele veneer, it is an enduring design. Ashbury three-seat sofa. »It’s a very basic design, funnily enough,» Kutner says. »If you looked at the setting, you’d think, ‘Oh, it’s quite ordinary’. However it’s [perfect] if you’ve got an area where you might have Christmas. And [the market] is limited when it comes to extension tables.» FREEDOM FURNITURE AND HOMEWARES: ASHBURY THREE-SEAT SOFA, $999 »You think of a sofa in your mind’s eye, and Ashbury pops into your head,» says Freedom’s head of buying, Andrew Moricz, of the store’s top-selling fabric sofa. »That really friendly rolled arm, simple box seat, box back cushion; it’s a staple.» Milk paint from Porter’s Paints. So much so, that of the 30 fabric sofas Freedom offers, the Ashbury has been the best-seller for the past 15 years. This is because of its value, Moricz says, and its »family friendly» features. Although not removable, the covers are made from polyester-based fabrics that are »resistant to abrasion and stains». PORTER’S PAINTS: MILK, $43.70 PER LITRE That Milk, »a neutral white», has been the shop’s best-selling colour for the past five years, is a sign of a still-sluggish economy, the manager of Porter’s Paints in Waterloo, Carl Harvie, says. »A lot of people are refurbishing their homes to sell them, and they don’t want to offend or put potential buyers off.» Tom Dixon Mirror Ball lights. Milk, he says, complements any aesthetic or colour scheme. »It’s got a little bit of warmth, but it’s not too creamy, so it works with pretty much anything. »You put it in a dark room and it still looks bright. Put it in a bright room and it won’t flare out. It doesn’t look like a bathroom white.» DE DE CE: TOM DIXON MIRROR BALL LIGHTS, FROM $450 The Tom Dixon Mirror Ball lights are reminiscent of those gleaming silver pinballs the size of tanks that feature at the end of the movieTommy. But that’s not why the 2003 design, fashioned from polycarbonate plastic shade with a metallic mirrored finish, has been a best-seller at De De Ce for the past four years. »It’s a good shape, good price, good finish and good product,» the manager of De De Ce, John Engelen, says. »If you need something to be brightened up or glittered up, then it works.» Join the conversation You’re the only person reading this now.
