Mariette Himes Gomez for Hickory Chair: Restraint as a Design Language

Mariette Himes Gomez is one of a small group of designers with a long-standing collaboration with Hickory Chair, the bench-made upholstery and casegoods house founded in 1911 in Hickory, North Carolina. Her collection, available through Sutter & Vale, carries the restraint her practice is known for: clean shelter silhouettes, considered proportions, and an absence of ornament that lets fabric and form carry the room.

What design philosophy drives this collection?

The collection is built around subtraction. Where many furniture lines compete on applied detail, the Gomez pieces compete on proportion and posture. Arms are low and gently flared. Backs hold the body without towering over it. The silhouettes read well from across a room and read just as well at arm's length, which is the harder test.

Hickory Chair's own discipline supports this approach. The house has been building upholstery in Hickory, North Carolina since 1911. Every frame is milled, finished, upholstered, and shipped from one building. That vertical integration keeps quality consistent across a full run, and it matters most for designs where the cover has nowhere to hide behind applied ornament.

How does the Addie sofa fit into the collection, and what sizes are available?

The Addie M2M sofa is the anchor upholstered piece in the Gomez line. It is a low-back shelter silhouette with gently flared arms and a tailored tight seat. The word "shelter" in furniture describes a back that wraps around and slightly forward at the sides, holding the sitter rather than simply supporting them. The Addie does this without bulk.

The M2M designation means Made to Measure, one of Hickory Chair's two customization programs. You specify the width, and the piece is built to that dimension. Depth is 30 inches across all sizes. Overall height is 32 inches. For rooms where the sofa floats away from the wall, a low back at 32 inches keeps sight lines open and the space feeling larger.

Available width ranges:

What fabric and finish options can you specify?

Hickory Chair's Made For You and Made to Measure programs give you genuine control over silhouette, finish, and scale. Fabric selection draws from a wide library that includes performance weaves, leathers, and UltraLeather. The Gomez silhouettes work across a broad tonal range. A warm linen reads domestic and unhurried. A tightly woven wool reads sharper and more architectural. The form holds either reading without shifting its character.

Finish choices on casegoods follow the same principle. The Gomez line tends toward wood tones and finishes that do not call attention to themselves. The goal is a room that coheres, not one that announces its individual pieces. Browse the full range in the Hickory Chair collection to see how casegoods and upholstery work together across the line.

How does Hickory Chair's construction method affect the finished piece?

Every piece is made by hand, in a quantity of one, in Hickory, North Carolina. The frame is milled, then hand-stained and finished before any fabric is cut. Upholstery is applied by hand over batting. Nailhead trim, where specified, is set one nail at a time. The house states lead times as short as three to four weeks on made-to-order pieces.

For a collection built on restraint, this process matters in a specific way:

• A shelter back with a slight flaw in the frame shows immediately.
• A tight seat cover with uneven tension shows at the seam.
• A low-profile silhouette depends on the frame holding its shape over years of use, not just at delivery.

The Gomez designs ask the construction to be right. Hickory Chair's process, with frame, finish, upholstery, and shipping all under one roof, is set up to answer that.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Addie sofa available in a single-seat chair width?

The Addie M2M program begins at 47 inches, which sits closer to a compact loveseat than a single lounge chair. For a true single-seat piece in the Gomez line, contact Sutter & Vale to discuss other configurations available within the collection.

How long does a Hickory Chair made-to-order piece typically take?

Hickory Chair cites lead times as short as three to four weeks for made-to-order pieces. Actual timing depends on your fabric and finish selection and the current schedule at the factory. Confirm the lead time with Sutter & Vale when you finalize your order.

Can an interior designer specify custom dimensions outside the listed width ranges?

The Made to Measure program is designed for exactly this purpose. If your floor plan requires a width outside the standard M2M bands, contact Sutter & Vale to discuss what the factory can accommodate for your specific project.

The Sutter & Vale Team