New York City felt a lot—well, a little bit—like High Point, N.C., this week when furniture giants Lexington Home Brands and LaZBoy braved Manhattan’s infamous holiday traffic to highlight their ongoing efforts to expand beyond their traditional roots.

Lexington unveiled its brand-spanking new 10,000-square-foot showroom in New York’s Design Center; LaZBoy invited consumer and trade media to a studio in the Meatpacking District—with help from reality star/designer Jillian Harris—to show that it’s much more than a maker of recliners for television-watching dads.

NEW YORK–A statement last week by Tempur-Pedic’s president and CEO, Mark Sarvary, should jangle the nerves of those that manufacture bed pillows.

Speaking to financial analysts on a conference call about the company’s second-quarter results, Sarvary dropped this bomb: “Beyond mattresses, we’re excited about the potential for our pillow business.” He went on to say that Tempur-Pedic will launch a range of new pillows and a redesign of its existing pillow line at this week’s market.