From bar stools to backyards: Why Armen Living made the move into outdoor|JINHANFAIR Industry News

2026.07.14

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HIGH POINT — When Armen Living entered the outdoor furniture business in 2020, the move may have surprised some retailers.

 

After all, the California-based company had spent decades building its reputation indoors, becoming one of the furniture industry’s best-known resources for contemporary bar stools and casual dining furniture.

 

But according to Holly Lightfoot, director of product development, the decision wasn’t a dramatic departure from the company’s roots. It was a calculated response to changing consumer lifestyles and a recognition that outdoor furniture was becoming one of the industry’s most attractive growth categories.

 

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“Outdoor furniture had been a growing segment of the furniture business for quite a few years,” Lightfoot said. “The company, led by president Kevin Kevonian, saw the opportunity to expand into a segment that was growing and expanding at a really nice clip.”

 

The move represented the latest evolution for a company that has been family-owned for more than 40 years.

 

Today, Armen Living sells to many of the nation’s Top 100 furniture retailers, independent furniture stores and a wide range of e-commerce accounts. Historically, the company has focused on contemporary indoor furniture, with bar stools becoming one of its signature categories over the past decade.

 

Outdoor offered something different: It offered growth.

 

And it offered an opportunity to leverage the company’s design capabilities in a category that was beginning to look less like traditional patio furniture and more like an extension of the home itself.

 

“What was happening is consumers were beginning to want the same style and design outdoors that they had inside their homes,” Lightfoot said.

 

That trend accelerated dramatically during the pandemic. As consumers spent more time at home, they invested heavily in renovations, upgrades and new furniture. Patios, decks and outdoor living areas suddenly became as important as living rooms and family rooms.

 

Seeing an opportunity

 

Rather than entering the market with traditional outdoor furniture, the company set out to create collections that reflected indoor styling, comfort and aesthetics.

 

“The whole idea was not to offer traditional outdoor furniture,” Lightfoot said. “We wanted to offer consumers outdoor products that were more commensurate with what they would want indoors.”

 

That philosophy continues to guide product development today. If a retailer walks through the Armen Living showroom, they’ll find an assortment designed to appeal to a broad range of consumers and lifestyles.

 

The line is anchored by two primary construction stories: The first is a collection of eucalyptus furniture. Armen uses kiln-dried eucalyptus that is treated, sealed and engineered to withstand outdoor conditions while resisting splitting, cracking and warping. The second centers on powder-coated aluminum collections featuring extruded aluminum frames paired with performance fabrics.

 

Across both categories, the company places significant emphasis on fabrics.

 

“We use everything from traditional olefins up through high-performance acrylics and spun polyesters,” Lightfoot said.

 

The goal is to create products that deliver the softness, texture and appearance consumers expect from indoor upholstery while maintaining the durability required for outdoor environments.

 

The collections also span a wide range of price points and footprints. Smaller bistro-style dining sets can retail for under $400, while larger sectional groups can reach $5,000 or more at retail.

 

“We try to offer a lot of flexibility,” Lightfoot said. “No matter how much space someone has, they can find something that works.”

 

Motion furniture key part of the assortment

 

Many of Armen Living’s deep seating groups include swivel or swivel-glider options, while several dining collections incorporate motion seating as well.

 

While the company sources products globally from countries including Vietnam and China, one of the differentiators Lightfoot points to is Armen Living’s commitment to inventory.

 

The company warehouses the collections it shows in High Point and Las Vegas, giving retailers the ability to test programs without committing to large container purchases.

 

For some retailers, that flexibility has become a significant advantage.

 

“We’ve been able to help customers create small outdoor galleries and test the category,” Lightfoot said. “That’s one of the benefits of having inventory available in the warehouse.”

 

The warehousing strategy also supports one of the company’s larger goals: growing both existing and new customer relationships.

 

The outdoor category has helped Armen Living sell more business to current indoor accounts while simultaneously opening doors with specialty outdoor retailers that may never have considered the company previously.

 

Perhaps even more important, however, is the role design plays in the company’s strategy.

 

Lightfoot said Armen Living has increasingly focused on exclusive product development rather than relying on readily available designs.

 

“I do all the product development myself, and we have an in-house designer,” she said. “What we’ve been bringing to market over the last several years has really been unique styles that are only available from us.”

 

In today’s retail environment, where consumers can compare products across multiple websites in seconds, exclusivity matters. Retailers want products that can’t be easily price-shopped. Consumers want something they haven’t already seen everywhere else.

 

That creates opportunities for both retailers and suppliers.

 

“It’s huge at retail to have something customers haven’t seen everywhere else,” Lightfoot said.

 

Expanded ambitions

 

The company’s outdoor ambitions expanded further late last year through its acquisition of Uwharrie Outdoor Living.

 

The North Carolina-based manufacturer produces handcrafted outdoor furniture made from kiln-dried pressure-treated pine and HDPE polymer materials.

 

The acquisition gives Armen Living something increasingly valuable in today’s market: a domestic manufacturing story.

 

“It is all bench-made and handcrafted in North Carolina,” Lightfoot said.

 

The addition not only broadens the company’s outdoor assortment but also introduces Armen Living to new customers looking specifically for American-made products.

 

Likewise, existing Armen Living customers are gaining exposure to a premium domestically produced outdoor line they may not have previously considered.

 

Looking ahead, Lightfoot believes outdoor furniture’s growth story is far from over.

 

She points to a housing market where many homeowners are choosing to stay put rather than move, investing in upgrades and renovations instead of purchasing new homes.

 

Outdoor living spaces continue to be a major beneficiary of that trend.

 

Consumers increasingly view patios, porches and backyards as extensions of the home rather than separate spaces furnished as an afterthought.

 

Armen Living is positioning itself accordingly.

 

At the recent High Point Market, the company introduced its Solara outdoor kitchen program, allowing retailers to create complete outdoor living environments that include kitchens, dining areas and deep seating groups.

 

The move reflects a broader shift taking place throughout the category.

 

Outdoor furniture is no longer simply about putting a few chairs on a patio.

 

It is about creating fully integrated living spaces.

 

And for Armen Living, a company once best known for bar stools, that evolution has opened the door to an entirely new growth engine.