Furniture that lasts and continues to look great over the decades — that is the promise of King Living which was established in Sydney.
41 years ago as a home operation and is today internationally known. It has 15 showrooms in Australia and one each in New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia.
Opened last November, King Living IPC in Mutiara Damansara, Selangor, boasts award-winning creations. This is a business whose reputation is literally built on steel. Every King Furniture sofa or bed has a high-grade metal frame that was precision cut, then welded. The steel frame, which carries a 25-year warranty, ensures that the pieces last longer and do not sag or lose their shape.
Modular designs enable users to move pieces around as their needs change, while premium leather and fabrics wrap them in style and comfort. In addition to being durable, versatile, luxurious and comfortable, King Living’s furniture also offers space-saving storage and innovative technological conveniences that entice users to just sit back, relax and enjoy being at home.
King Living started out in the home of its founder and chairman, David King, whose mother made foam sofas and sold them at Sydney’s weekend markets. They proved so popular that the family opened the first King Furniture showroom in the city in 1977.
Innovation and creativity are the brand’s driving forces, even from those early days. In 1979, it introduced its signature steel frame, followed in 1987 by the Postureflex Seating System — similar to the suspension used in luxury European cars such as Rolls-Royce and Porsche. That, plus adjustable headrests, means individuals can adjust the sofas to suit the way they like to lounge.
Sofas fashioned in modular designs entered the scene in 1998 with Delta, a line that allows users to shift their furniture around in different arrangements. Delta’s flexibility has won it fans and awards. It clinched the Australian International Design Awards — Design Mark in 2001 and was featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show four years after that.
From there, the brand continued to attract attention internationally. In 2007 and again in 2011, Delta was the sofa of choice for the famed Vanity Fair Oscar party because of its “simplicity of design and the ease with which you could put the pieces together to create different looks”, said Sara Marks, the US magazine’s special projects director.
In 2003, Jasper, a personal favourite of King’s, was unveiled. He calls this multi-award winner a “King Living classic” that can change as users’ needs evolve. Jasper, designed by the brand’s Australian in-house team, is based on a series of floating platforms on which modular options can be added, offering unique configurations that are ideal for open-plan living, or suitable for any occasion.
Solid shelves in three timber veneer colours, fitted alongside Jasper sofas, can serve as storage for books, a quirky display corner or a handy “table” for your morning cuppa. Detachable swivel and charging tables and LED lights can be removed when not in use. The elegant Delta III combines flexibility with clever hidden storage. The sofas can be pushed together for a tête-à-tête among friends, expanded for a party or be turned into a cosy bed for two.
For ultimate luxury and comfort, there is King Cloud III, which has a recliner mechanism and head, seat and footrests that you can adjust using the integrated TouchGlide Control Technology. Just swipe your hand across the discreetly located buttons until you get the ideal full-body support. Then save your personal comfort preference electronically and enjoy seamless lounging — enhanced with the integrated Sonos home entertainment package — every time you settle into this sofa.
Listening to customers and catering for what they want is at the heart of King Living’s business. With outdoor activities integral to the Australian climate and lifestyle, it unrolled the King Outdoor collection in 2011. Delta Outdoor, Jasper Outdoor and Baby Jasper Outdoor repurposed the best of the brand’s indoor sofa design — complete with modular flexibility and hidden compartments — for use in the garden and beyond fences.
In 2016, King Cove was picked as the winner of the Residential Free Standing Lounge at the Australian Furniture Industry Award. But even before that, King Living’s Neo bagged the Best of Best and People’s Choice prizes at the 2013 Australian Furniture of the Year Awards. That same year also saw the brand winning excellence awards for its lounges that use leather and fabric.
Over the decades, King Living has expanded its lines, introducing removable covers to extend the life and usefulness of its furniture as well as adding concealed storage compartments and smart pockets to seat cushions, and introducing accessories such as low shelves, reading lights and hidden buttons that enable customers to wirelessly charge their iPhones.
Contemporary style, innovative design, quality materials and meticulous craftsmanship are the factors that have led to the brand’s recognition by the industry and homeowners. King Living now employs over 700 people worldwide, but it remains rooted in the aim of designing “products with clean, confident lines, free of unnecessary ornamentation”, says its founder, who is proud that the business continues to be run by three generations of Kings, who bring family values to it, helped by a passionate team.
Before even heading for the drawing board to design a piece of furniture, the team asks key questions: Who is it for? What kind of space do they live in? If their life changes, how can their furniture change too?
“Because we design, manufacture, retail and service our furniture, we get constant feedback. After 40 years, we know what works and, importantly, what doesn’t over the long term,” King says. Tried and true handcrafted methods are used in combination with innovative and experimental approaches to produce pieces that have won the hearts of customers and continue to wow them.
The brand makes it its business to grow with families and keep abreast of what is current in technology and sustainability. Committed to protecting the environment, it uses recyclable and biodegradable materials wherever possible in the product design, manufacturing and packaging processes. For example, the King Living steel frames can be recycled and the cushion fillings are biodegradable. The sofas are easily assembled without tools and can be transported in about half the space of conventional pieces, reducing carbon footprints.
King Living opened its showrooms in Auckland and Singapore in 2015. King is confident that “Malaysians will appreciate the Australian design aesthetic and [the brand’s] reputation for quality and long-lasting design”.
King Living Showroom is located at Level 1 IPC Shopping Centre, 2, Jalan PJU 7/2, Mutiara Damansara, Petaling Jaya
Website: WWW.KINGLIVING.COM
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kinglivingmy
Instagram: @kinglivingmy
Phone: +603 7732 0272