2020 was probably the most challenging year for Indonesian furniture manufacturers. As Indonesia has played the main role in furniture industry, the global pandemic significantly gives the huge impact for the exporters. For the consequences, most Indonesian furniture manufacturers undergo major disadvantage in business. Besides, this global pandemic doesn’t only affect the business owners but also the workers. Data records that there are approximately 2.1 million Indonesian workers in this industry. Surely, most of the craftsmen become economically challenged. This inevitable situation decreases the furniture export activity. Fortunately, 2021 begins to show the new hope. The new adaptation gives an opportunity for export activity. The biggest importers mostly come from the United States, European countries like England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, and Italy.
Table of Contents
- 1. Highlighting Indoor Furniture: Indonesian Furniture Manufacturers Strategy
- 2. Teak Wood: Flagship Materials of Indonesian Furniture Manufacturers
- 3. Living up the Living Room with the Right Indoor Furniture
- 4. Upgrading Dining Room with Mid-Century Modern Furniture
- 5. Indonesian Furniture Manufacturers and Bring Cafe to Home Trend
- 6. “Bringing Home to Café” Trend
1. Highlighting Indoor Furniture: Indonesian Furniture Manufacturers Strategy
Pandemic requires people to stay at home. For those who usually experience a morning rush or frazzle dazzle in the office, it is kind of boring. People try to do several fun activities like workout, cooking, gardening, and home decor. Besides, we find the abundant sale during this pandemic. The increasing mass consumption triggers most Indonesian furniture manufacturers to see the opportunity. Pushing indoor furniture may become the business solution. People begin to buy new furniture, especially indoor one, to redecorate their home. Home decors is definitely a fun activity to do to bring comfort and positive nuance during a pandemic. Furthermore, it is kind of stress relief.
Thanks to digital era, purchasing now is way more convenient. Most of all Indonesian furniture manufacturers currently use the digital platform to push the selling rate. Either social media platform or e-commerce simply makes online shopping more convenient. This phenomenon shows that there is still a new hope for furniture industry, although it undergoes the decreasing export rate during pandemic. Surely, targeting local market is still necessary.
2. Teak Wood: Flagship Materials of Indonesian Furniture Manufacturers
The core of high quality furniture is choosing the right materials. The common materials used are teak wood, sungkai wood, mahogany, and rattan. Each has own characteristics including the strength and weakness. Teak wood is the most popular material used by Indonesian furniture manufacturers. They prefer teak wood to other materials due to its high quality. Although it is relatively pricey, it is worth the price. People believe that teak furniture is long-lasting and solid. Furthermore, teak wood is relatively termite and weather resistant. Due to its characteristics, teak wood is always popular, especially for indoor furniture. If we prioritize the endurance, surely teak wood is not that pricey. We don’t need to purchase more furniture just to change the old one. Definitely save the budget in terms of durability. As a result, teak wood becomes the flagship material and prominent commodity for both local and international market.
3. Living up the Living Room with the Right Indoor Furniture
What an enjoyable moment when we redecorate our own living room during a pandemic. Why do we have to ask an interior designer if we could do it by ourselves? First, select the main theme for your living room. Mid-century modern style is still the favorite until presence. The characteristic of mid-century modern furniture lies on its simplicity and uniqueness. Again, teak wood furniture dominates the concept. Seeing its timeless style, many Indonesian furniture manufactures keep producing mid-century modern furniture. The most popular one is wooden lounge chair. Lately, wooden lounge chair is found at cafe or private living room. It is simply relaxing and comfortable.
The common materials used by Indonesian furniture manufacturers are teak wood, sungkai wood, or the combination of teak and paper cord. They produce teak furniture for those who prefer high quality, solid, and long-lasting furniture. Alternatively, they also produce sungkai furniture for those who prefer more affordable furniture. Although sungkai wood has lower durability than teak wood, it still looks attractive in bright color. The wooden retro cabinet is an icon of mid-century modern furniture the Indonesian furniture manufacturers keep producing wooden cabinet. It simply has two functions: utility and aesthetic aspects. Aesthetically, it makes the living room look chic and stunning. It is a brilliant idea if people are clueless how to fill the empty space in their living room. To beautify it, put some decorations like photo frames, flower vase, miniature, or even television.
Teak wood is better material for wooden cabinet with natural finishing. Natural finishing features the clean and modern look. This finishing dominates the current furniture style. Besides its high quality material, teak wood is termite and fungal resistant. Considering high humidity and heat level in Indonesia, teak wood furniture simply works especially for indoor furniture. In case we keep some stuff inside the cabinet, it minimizes the fungal attack. Alternatively, we could select mahogany, or sungkai wood for more affordable cabinet.
4. Upgrading Dining Room with Mid-Century Modern Furniture
Similar to living room, redecorate dining room is a healing activity during pandemic. Nowadays, Indonesian furniture manufacturers are much inspired by mid-century modern style in producing indoor furniture. People easily find mid-century modern furniture for dining room in every workshop. Dev table set becomes everyone’s favorite lately, especially urban people. It combines wood material (especially teak wood) and hollow steel as holder. Dev set commonly consists of a spacious table with two long benches. The design looks simple yet stylish, especially with the statement lighting decoration. It brings cozy vibe for family dining room.
In other words, Dev table set features the combination of rustic and industrial theme in a room. Recently, several Indonesian furniture manufacturers use recycled teak wood to produce Dev table set. To beautify the furniture, they add rustic finishing touch. Surely, it is a brilliant idea to save the budget and the nature at once. Speaking of mid-century modern furniture, we can’t miss the credenza. Credenza is a dining room sideboard and has been emerged in Italy since 14th century. At first, it is functioned to keep some stuff like plate, mug, cutlery, and so on. As the development of furniture industry, people begin to see it as an aesthetic essential including Indonesia. Indonesian furniture manufacturers begin to produce credenza. They create more various style starting from classic, minimalist, or modern one.
Considering its function as a storage, teak wood material becomes the priority. High humidity level in Indonesia triggers them to produce teak wooden credenza to minimize fungi. Besides, teak wood is termite resistant, so it is relatively long-lasting. Teak wood credenza gives the classic touch in dining room. The dining room looks elegant. Now people like to put some decoration and ornaments like chandelier, flower vase, or pitcher to make it stunning. What a statement dining room.
5. Indonesian Furniture Manufacturers and Bring Cafe to Home Trend
Prior to pandemic, the trend of cafe furniture usage at home has been followed by people. It is more familiar among urban people. This urban trend triggers Indonesian furniture manufacturers to create and develop various indoor furniture styles. During pandemic, this trend is simply helpful for some people. Those who prefer staying at home to hanging out are able to feel the cafe vibes at home. The key is in dining room furniture selection. To feel the cozy cafe ambience, an industrial-themed table and chair set is the perfect choice. Again, Dev table set is probably the most popular one. It combines wood material (mostly teak wood) and hollow steel holder. Alternatively, Eames chairs with simple table are perfect too. The modern and simple style make the dining room look minimalist and elegant.
Some people initiate to add mini bar if their dining room and kitchen are connected. That is the brilliant idea to enjoy quality time with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine. To make it look like a real bar, bar stools are the key. Nowadays, we can find many Indonesian furniture manufacturers produce bar stools. The demand doesn’t only come from cafe owner but also the individuals. They use various materials like wood, steel, metal, or the combination of them. The most popular one is bar stool with combination of teak wood and steel/ metal. It features industrial look but homey. Surely, wood material makes it look homey. In addition, bar table selection is necessary too. Teak wood table with natural finishing becomes the most favorite due to its durability and high quality. If you prepare more budget, teak wood selection is highly recommended.
6. “Bringing Home to Café” Trend
On the other hand, the idea of bringing home to café always hits the trend too. The concept is clear which is bringing comfort just like at home. Nowadays, cafés mostly pamper the guests with comfortable home-style chairs. As the consequences, people are willing to stay longer. This café trend influences many Indonesian furniture manufacturers to produce various styles of café chairs. They play creativity by producing unique statement chairs. Heroshima Chiar, Elbow Chair, and Oval chairs are perfect for the outdoor part of the café. Those feature the classic style yet simple. In addition, combining those with a simple round table simply creates the relaxing nuance outside.
Meanwhile, lounge chair is definitely the perfect selection for indoor café. It brings calm and cozy ambience just like at home. Surely, teak wood is still the flagship material for café chairs. Alternatively, sungkai wood may become the reference for more affordable price. Although sungkai wood has less quality and durability than teak wood, we can still consider it. Besides, it has brighter color than teak wood, which makes it look clean.
Speaking of café chairs, we can’t miss the bar stools. Recently, bar stools are various in style. Undoubtedly, Indonesian furniture manufacturers keep innovated in creating the stylish