Tropitone's Palladian Group Offers Designers Choice, Functionality, And Versatility

New Palladian seating options expand the groups appeal

Irvine, Calif., March 18, 2005 - Tropitone Furniture Co., a leading manufacturer of fine casual furniture, has expanded its popular Palladian dining and seating group to include an additional chaise lounge option as well as a stationery barstool.

According to Michael Echolds, chief executive officer of Tropitone, Palladian's quiet elegance is among the major reasons for its ongoing popularity among designers throughout the hospitality market.

"Professional designers like the classical lines of each of Palladian's five distinctive chair back options - Arches, Double C, Deco, X-Back and Bamboo. Such selection makes its possible for these designers to offer unique solutions to a variety of contract/hospitality clients," Echolds said.

Now, in addition to the choice of five seat back options as well as a cast aluminum seat, a strap seat or a tight seat, the Palladian group includes a second chaise lounge option which features 2-inch wide straps woven into a cross-strap pattern for comfort and durability. Tropitone also has added a stationery barstool with the same seat back design options and seating surface options as the dining and side chairs.

According to John Caldwell, who designed Palladian, the inspiration for his design came from a simple Greek chair shaped from wood and metal centuries ago that appears on ancient pottery. "The simplicity of Palladian's classical design features has a strong but quiet visual impact that doesn't compete with other design elements -- such as architecture - in the diverse settings of the hospitality marketplace," Caldwell said.

Other factors are contributing to Palladian's broad acceptance in the contract marketplace, in addition to its irresistible visual appeal, Echolds said. "Designers want outdoor seating that is stylish and has imaginative flair similar to what people experience inside their homes. Outdoor furniture must also be comfortable and make good use of space. Tropitone takes into consideration each of these factors as we design and engineer our outdoor seating and table products.

"For example, our design and engineering teams have years of experience crafting and molding chair frames created and fine-tuned to accommodate the shape of the human back. Such attention to detail ensures that guests at hotels and resorts around the world, who may spend hours socializing and dining at their favorite outdoor café or bistro, are as comfortable as they would be in the dining rooms of their own homes. We accomplish this with a product like Palladian while also being aware that the size and weight of our furniture must make it easy for hoteliers and restaurateurs to move and reconfigure our furniture around the activities and preferences of their guests," Echolds said.

Founded in 1954, Tropitone is based in Irvine, California, and is recognized throughout the casual furniture marketplace for its design leadership as well as its commitment to service and value. The company sells its products to retailers, designers and the hospitality trade under the Tropitone and Basta Sole trademarks. In addition to its headquarters and manufacturing plant in Irvine, the company operates a manufacturing facility in Sarasota, Florida.