The week before last found me pounding the pavement at High Point Market in search of the season’s latest and greatest interiors and decor trend finds. High Point is the largest furnishings trade show in the world, which means I logged some serious steps! It was my third trip to market, and this time around I was a member of the Design Blogger’s Tour, a group of ten in-the-know design bloggers trekking to sixteen participating showrooms for an insider look at their most recent releases. I came home so inspired to be a player in this arena, because there’s nothing like hearing directly from designers and manufacturers to get excited about the interiors industry—their passion is infectious. I saw and learned so much that I’ll be breaking my takeaways down into a few posts over the next couple weeks. To start us off, here’s an overview of some highlights that caught my eye!
Geometric Seating: Chairs are the weather veins of the interior decor stratosphere; whichever way they’re pointing, that’s the direction the trend winds tend to blow. This market saw a huge influx of seating with squared-off geometric lines and tightly tailored angles. Construction techniques ran the gamut from metal accents like Bernhardt’s chrome framed armchair and Modshop’s brass and velvet lounge chair, to all-upholstery treatments like the sleek tufting of Duralee’s channel back chair and the stain-resistant Crypton Home fabric covering this exquisite t-back swivel chair from Younger Furniture!
Design with Small Spaces in Mind: As the proud dweller of a home smaller than 1000 square feet, I was thrilled to see more brands offering pieces with tight spaces in mind! We saw everything from handsome hidden storage solutions like Universal Furniture’s cerused oak bed with drawers, to affordable multi-use items like Scott Living’s grey sofa bed—a fantastic guest room buy at only $472! Green Apple Home Style’s floating wall-mounted console makes the most of available space while still maintaining an airy look (no hulking storage pieces allowed in cramped apartments!). And the most ingenious invention award goes to Wexel Art for their Easy Change Float Frame, which lets you swap out art in an instant so you can enjoy a large rotating art collection no matter how small your home!
Outdoor Form + Function Unite: Outdoor furniture is no longer the forgotten stepchild of the design world, with brands prioritizing both form for the eye and function for the elements. Sunbrella, that longtime fade-resistant outdoor staple, is now offering some seriously stylish prints and palettes for outdoor upholstery that stands the test of time and trend, while Bend Goods continues to grow their collection of playful yet sculptural seating and tables that can be used both in and out of the house. Century Furniture debuted an epic garden furniture collaboration with designer Thomas O’Brien—take a look at the scrollwork on the back of that chair, will ya!—and the tightly woven wicker on Lloyd Flanders’ armless outdoor chaise has me thinking it’s never too soon to plan next year’s patio strategy!
Stay tuned in the coming month for my next reports from High Point Market, some deep dives into a few of my fave trends!