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101 South Hanley Road
St. Louis, Missouri 63105                                  Lynn Chipperfield
314-863-1100                                               314-863-1100

                                                           FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



                         FURNITURE BRANDS INTERNATIONAL
                         ADOPTS SHAREHOLDER RIGHTS PLAN


     St. Louis,  Missouri,  July 30, 1998 -- The Board of Directors of Furniture
Brands  International,  Inc. (NYSE: FBN), announced today that it has declared a
dividend of one Preferred Share Purchase Right on each share of Furniture Brands
common stock  outstanding.  The Rights will generally become exercisable only in
the  event a party  accumulates  15% or more of  Furniture  Brands'  outstanding
common stock or announces a tender offer, the consummation of which would result
in ownership by a party of 15% or more of the company's common stock. Each Right
will  entitle the holder to buy 1/100 of a share of Furniture  Brands'  Series A
Preferred Stock at a price of $135.00.

     W.G. (Mickey)  Holliman,  Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Furniture
Brands,  said, "The  distribution of the Rights reflects the Board's belief that
the current stock price does not accurately reflect the true, long-term value of
the  company.  The Rights  are  designed  to assure  that all  Furniture  Brands
shareholders  receive  fair and equal  treatment  in the  event of any  proposed
takeover of the company,  and they guard against partial tender offers and other
coercive  tactics to gain  control.  The Rights do not prevent a  takeover,  but
should  encourage  anyone  seeking to acquire the company to negotiate  with the
Board prior to attempting a takeover so that all Furniture  Brands  shareholders
might realize the long-term value of their investment in the company."

     Mr.  Holliman  added,  "The  Board is not aware of any  effort,  hostile or
otherwise,  to acquire control of the company,  and this action was not taken in
response to any specific takeover offer."

     If a party (with  certain  exceptions)  acquires  15% or more of  Furniture
Brands'  outstanding  common stock without  complying  with the Rights Plan, and
Furniture  Brands  is  subsequently  acquired  in a  merger  or  other  business
combination  transaction,  each Right will  entitle its holder to purchase  that
number of shares of the acquiring  company's  common stock having a market value
equal to twice the Right's exercise price.

     In addition,  if a party (with certain exceptions)  acquires 15% or more of
Furniture  Brands'  common  stock,  each  holder of a Right,  other than the 15%
stockholder,  also will have the right to receive,  upon payment of the exercise
price,  that number of shares of Furniture  Brands' common stock having a market
value equal to two times the exercise price.

     The Rights  dividend  will be made on August 12,  1998 to  shareholders  of
record on that day and the Rights will expire on July 30, 2008 unless exercised,
exchanged  or  redeemed  earlier.  Because  the  Rights  initially  will  not be
exercisable  and  will  automatically  trade  with  the  common  shares,  Rights
Certificates are not being provided at the present time. The Rights distribution
is not taxable to shareholders.

     Details of the Rights Plan will be outlined  in  materials  to be mailed to
shareholders following the August 12, 1998 record date.


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     Furniture Brands  International is the largest  manufacturer of residential
furniture in the United States and markets its products  under three of the best
known brand names in the industry -- Broyhill, Lane and Thomasville. The company
manufactures   furniture  across  a  broad  spectrum  of  price  categories  and
distributes  its  products  through an extensive  system of  independently-owned
national, regional and local retailers.