Chelsea House first launched its Kensington console over 35 years ago. Image courtesy of the company.
Chelsea House, the furniture, lighting and home décor resource founded by Alvin Cain in 1974, turns 50 this year, and to celebrate, it relaunched eight of its iconic items at October’s High Point Market.
“Chelsea House has always been about classic design made fresh for today’s market,” said Pam Cain, president (no relation to the Cain family). “We loved taking these designs from decades ago and making them even more relevant for today. It was a way to both introduce some fabulous new products and to honor our founder Alvin Cain and the rich history of the brand.”
The most well-received of the group was the reimagined Kensington console, which first appeared in the line more than 35 years ago, when it had a waxed black finish with intricate hand painting. Jamie Merida of Jamie Merida Interiors, who has a line with Chelsea House, used the same profile but gave it three updated options: covered in natural and blue/gray raffia and in clear acrylic.
Chelsea House’s Creative Director Mark Ross, retired president Bill Cain, son of the company founder, and designer Elizabeth Wicker also recreated iconic pieces, including the Coral lamp and the Oval tray table.
The company is still owned by the Cain family today.
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