High Point Spring 2014 Market Recap

Only 10 hours off a plane, after a 14 hour voyage back from North Carolina, and I’m back to give you my quick High Point Market Spring 2014 Recap.  You may know that this market I had the privilege of walking the market as one of 10 High Point Market Style Spotters, so I spent my 5 full days at market spotting the latest and best trends, absorbing in as much as I could as I traversed the halls of the many larger buildings and navigated the streets of downtown High Point to get to as many showrooms as I could.  Needless to say, I am beyond exhausted, but I know everyone is DYING to know what the season’s hottest trends are, so here I go with my initial key observations:

• Brass is back- in a very big way
• Big color combinations: coral and aqua, all shades of yellow and grey, opulent jewel tones and luxurious mink and sable browns
• Rectilinear, less curvilinear shapes
• Scale is moving away from the middle and either getting more oversized or smaller and scaled down, as many continue to downsize
• The hexagon has evolved into more subtle and sophisticated pieces
• Fashion is still a key influencer, with attention paid to hardware mimicking jewelry or that special high end designer handbag.
• Trim on upholstery is important – cording, contrast piping, or CR Laine and Wesley Hall’s “fringed wooly”
• Wood finishes are getting lighter – cerused wood finishes everywhere, the line is blurred between brown and grey
• Seating is designed to be viewed from every angle, with a big emphasis on how things look from the back
• Reinterpretations of iconic chairs of the past, but in new and innovative materials
• Metallic glazed Linen on upholstery, accessories, and case goods

Brass

Brass and gold was the predominant trend at High Point Market for Spring 2014 and was seen in almost every showroom I visited.  Brass/gold  hardware, trim, fittings, table bases, case goods – it was every where!

Color

Coral and Aqua

Coral and aqua seemed to be a big color story – especially when combined with chinoiserie, which was seen at several showrooms, including CR Laine, Wesley Hall, Thibaut, and Lillian August, to name a few.  Could perhaps Benjamin Moore’s Color of the Year “Breath of Fresh Air” be an influencer here?  Color always looks more dynamic when it is paired with its complimentary (the color on the opposite end of the color wheel), which would make sense why coral (or tiger lily, as some have opted to name it) would be the perfect color to pair with this fresh shade of aqua.

Yellow and Grey

Every shade of yellow and grey was represented and paired together in different ways.  This color palette was featured in every style from traditional to contemporary, with the intensity  of yellow increasing, the more contemporary the style.

Rich Browns and Jewel Tones

Rich opulent browns and jewel tones – think mink/sable, teal, magenta, violet – all the deep, rich colors that add drama when paired with brass. Very Las Vegas lounge meets Studio 54.

Red

Red was seen, but it was far more subtle than the other colors I saw at market.  Red was used  more as an accent, providing pops of color to otherwise neutral color schemes to bring a space to life, as in this barn red leather covered Neoclassical Café du Bac side table from Mary McDonald for Chaddock – one of my Style Spotter picks.

 Scale

The scale of furniture is either getting bigger or smaller, which is indicative of our economic social structure these days.  The middle class is dwindling and the upper class and lower class income brackets  get larger as the economic classes are shifting around.  The better off are upsizing, and as a result, they are in need of larger scale furniture to fill their spaces.  On the other hand, the ones who are downsizing are in need of smaller scale furniture to fit their smaller spaces.  Their spaces may be getting smaller, but they are not willing to sacrifice on style and quality.

This large scale brass bed from Bernhardt was a show stopper.  The material and scale brings us back to the 80s – a time of rapid economic growth. Doesn’t this look so Trump back in his Ivana days – how many wives  ago is that? Like I said earlier- opulence is in!

Mary Mc Donald plays with proportion to create the Madeleine Chair –  a Neoclassical Louis XVI styled slipper chair.  The back is kept tight and narrow, but the seat is made wider toward the front to create a visual play on perspective.  The width in the seat allows this chair to be used in place of a traditional accent chair and takes up far less real estate in the home, which makes it ideal for those occupying tighter living quarters.

Hexagon

The ubiquitous hexagon of the last two markets is still here, but in a much more subtle way, as is the case with this hexagon patterned bone coffee table pictured above.  In addition, Thibaut has an upholstered hexagon shaped ottoman(“For the Hex of It”)  in which multiples can be grouped together to form a larger ottoman grouping or coffee table.  Upholstered in a more traditional floral in Nemour from the Enchantment Collection, the stool is much more about the color and print than it is about the hexagon shape.

Fashion Influence – Furniture Hardware as Jewelry for the Home

It should be no surprise that fashion has been a key influencer in interior design both in color and furniture detail.  More and more I am seeing furniture hardware designed to appeal to women, as hardware is made to look more feminine by being fashioned after jewelry – shell/bone inlay, crystal encrusted knobs, gold chain links shaped into a knobs, lighting or even oversized and shaped into the base of an accent table.

Trim – Subtle but Significant Details

Attention is paid to details and trim such as cording, contrast piping, or as in the case below, a “fringed wooly” to add just a touch of detail.  Detail is everything, and the fringed wooly edge gives just a hint of texture to bring attention to the seams.

Mary McDonald uses just a hint of cording down the seams of her Madeleine Chair to bring attention to the seam and further accentuate the visual play on perspective.

Wood Finishes – Ambiguity is in

Wood finishes are getting lighter, but a bit ambiguous in color.  A little bit brown,  grey, bleached white?  Wood tones are shifting towards grey, but the line remains blurred between brown and grey.  Oftentimes the more pronounced grains such as oak, are given a cerused finish to bring out the beauty in the grain.  Slightly worn, sun bleached driftwood is what comes to mind.

 Seating Designed to be Viewed From Every Angle

As society is moving towards more loft living and open living spaces, the demand for seating that can be appreciated from every angle is on the rise.  In the past, furniture was merely set up against the wall and no attention was paid to the back – this was especially the case with sofas.  This is not the case anymore, as in many cases, furniture may be more beautiful seen from the back than from the front!

Iconic Chairs of the Past – Reinvented for Today

Above is a  modern interpretation of the decades old Egyptian Klismos chair by Bernhardt, but in a fresh and modern polished chrome.  In addition, I also saw chairs that were based on Marcel Breuer’s “Wassily” chair and Le Corbusier’s LC-3 Collection club chair.  There’s nothing like drawing from the past as inspiration for the future.

Metallic Glazed Linen

Metallic glazed linen was seen everywhere at market.  From upholstery, to pillows, and even case goods, there was a plethora of metallic glazed linen and in every metallic finish.  I especially love how Caracole combined silver and gold on the front panel of their ladies dresser (see below).  Because who says you can’t mix your metals? The metal is a glaze that is applied to the surface of the linen after it is woven, and because linen is textured, the glaze only adheres to the high spots on the linen, creating the most glorious, subtle sheen.

The past couple of markets, I saw a lot of high gloss lacquer in every color imaginable.  While it is still offered in several showrooms, it is definitely a trend that has gone to the wayside, with other new trends emerging and beginning to take center stage. When I attended High Point Market last October and April, the trends seemed so evident, but this go around I definitely found that manufacturers are taking a more subtle approach -except with the brass trend, which was nearly impossible to miss.  In order to key in on what was trending, one had to really pay attention to the details.  Thought is put into the design of each object, and the small details are not overlooked.  As Charles Eames once said, “The details are not the details.  They make the design.”  And this seemed to be the case with what I saw at High Point Market this past week.

If you haven’t hopped over to the High Point Market Spring 2014 Pinterest boards, I urge you to do so, as it is a great way to get an overview of the best and latest at High Point Spring 2014 Market. Another great way to see what the High Point attendees have showcased as their favorite picks is to follow the hashtag (#HPMkt) on Instagram, and there you can find pictures in almost every showroom.  I hope you enjoyed my High Point Spring 2014 Market Recap.  Stay tuned – I still have much more to report on High Point Market in the upcoming weeks.

Also, I am up for the JDR Industry Best Blogger Awards and Cozy•Stylish•Chic is up for Best Blogger Award in Interior Design .  Tomorrow’s the last day to vote, so please take the time to vote if you truly enjoy my blog.  By the way – this is an easy one to vote for and doesn’t require leaving an email address, so I’d appreciate you taking the time to vote.