when a man named began selling inexpensive reproductions of 18th and 19th century traditional english furniture. bedroom he advertised his mahogany-finished butler''s tables and nightstands in magazines, then shipped the unassembled items to customers, who put them together in their homes. the name was idea. he associated the most glorious days of the british empire with india, decorating and its crown jewel, the city of . he hoped everyone would make the connection. they didn''t but that was the least of his problems. in 1978 was strictly mail-order. sales totaled $1.5 million, and the company was losing money.a new direction then along came canadian robert who found out about the company and was impressed by the quality of the products and the ideas reasonable prices.purchased the rights to develop the company in canada, which included access to the overseas supply channels harper had established, mainly in taiwan. back in toronto, decided to put ''s products into small stores in shopping malls. he believed the concept would attract "impulse shoppers" bedroom looking for an attractive product at a very good value.

when a man named began selling inexpensive reproductions of 18th and 19th century traditional english furniture. bedroom he advertised his mahogany-finished butler''s tables and nightstands in magazines, then shipped the unassembled items to customers, who put them together in their homes. the name was idea. he associated the most glorious days of the british empire with india, decorating and its crown jewel, the city of . he hoped everyone would make the connection. they didn''t but that was the least of his problems. in 1978 was strictly mail-order. sales totaled $1.5 million, and the company was losing money.a new direction then along came canadian robert who found out about the company and was impressed by the quality of the products and the ideas reasonable prices.purchased the rights to develop the company in canada, which included access to the overseas supply channels harper had established, mainly in taiwan. back in toronto, decided to put ''s products into small stores in shopping malls. he believed the concept would attract "impulse shoppers" bedroom looking for an attractive product at a very good value.

quickly migrated away decorating from merely reproducing antiques and began designing its own proprietary home furnishings while remaining true to the roots of its traditional style. the result was ideas a unique, fashion focused and desirable product line. responding to customers'' requests beginning in the early 90''s, expanded into larger pieces of furniture. staying current with customers'' needs and everyday lifestyle changes, now offers complete collections focused on the rooms that are most relevant to the customer---the home office, bedroom, dining room and family rooms. in the fall of 1997, took an innovative step across the country bedroom with the introduction of an updated palm tree logo and the opening of new and/or renovated stores, reminiscent of turn-of-the-century mercantile buildings. the new look is much more in keeping decorating with today''s retail environment and results in a more pleasurable shopping experience for our customers. in february 1998,