I’m back again for Part 2 of the Interior Design Trends seen at High Point Market at the recent  Fall 2016 Market.  As you may know, this past market I attended as a blogger with the Design Bloggers Tour, where we were taken to several key showrooms as part of the tour.  Many of my observations are from those showrooms that were included in the tour along with others that I visited along the way, so the trends I observed are a comprehensive representation of what I saw during my six days at High Point Market.  If you haven’t already, you might also want to check out Part 1.

Interior Design Trends at High Point Market, Fall 2016 – Part 2

• ORGANIC SHAPES, MODERN FORMS AND MATERIALS
• THE WARMER SIDE OF GREY
• CERUSED AND SANDBLASTED
• MIDCENTURY MODERN REVIVAL
• PERFORMANCE FABRICS
• BRINGING THE INDOORS OUTSIDE

Organic Shapes, Modern Forms and Materials

Interior design trends has seen organic shapes and forms for a few seasons now.  As much as we have seen the live edge table, the trend is still going strong, with new variations being added to bring more originality to the table.  (no pun intended) The consumer still has the desire to integrate nature into the home and manufacturers are allowing them to do so in innovative ways.

Translucent resin is married with live edge wood slabs to create intriguing and show-stopping tables.

Areté Collection has the market cornered with their beautifully detailed and sculpted white plaster forms of driftwood, animals, and other organic shapes.

The Warmer Side of Grey

Interior design trends have seen grey  finishes appearing more predominantly in the furniture market.  While dark finishes have given way to lighter and natural finishes over the last couple of years, now there is a shift towards grey.  Painted grey has been trending in the kitchen the last few years, but now things are getting warmer by venturing into grey tinted stains and allowing the grain to show through.  When one thinks of grey, cold and impersonal comes to mind, but the marriage of grey with wood is anything but.

The grey wood finishes are warm and inviting, and manufacturers are not only offering one grey finish, but they are offering a variety of greys.  The more formal, red-toned wood finishes are gone for the moment and have been replaced with more neutral variations of grey, which reflect the shift towards more casual living.

This market, Theodore Alexander introduced a new line of customizable finishes, as the ability to customize has been a big interior design trend in the furnishings industry, especially for designers, for the past few seasons.  25 unique finishes are offered, with the ability to combine two or more finishes in one piece for no up charge.  Above is one of their new finishes in a distressed grey.

Idaho Falls based Woodland Furniture had the most beautiful grey finishes, utilizing a number of wood species.

Old Biscayne Designs not only showed off a beautiful grey finish, but this set of custom doors demonstrates their skill of being able to fabricate almost anything, including intricately carved pieces.

Snapshots from several manufacturers’ wood finish boards illustrate how important grey has become in the market.

RTA (read to assemble) furniture manufacturer Ameriwood Home, offers a more cost-effective solution to traditional wood furniture and can be found in mass market retailers and big-box stores where they are flat packed in boxes and ready to be taken home by the consumer to be assembled.  Even though much of what they do does not utilize real wood but instead a wood laminate, they too are on top of the interior design trends that are shaping the market and opted to use warmer, grey laminate finishes.  In fact, at High Point Market Ameriwood had a room dedicated to the major interior design trends in the furnishings industry to assist buyers in identifying the story behind each collection.  The snapshot above was taken from one of the many mood boards and the finishes displayed, and exhibited a notable presence of grey finishes.

Cerused and Sandblasted Finishes

When there is a shift towards neutral, grey wood finishes, it is only natural that treatments that would highlight the wood grain would also follow suit.  While some manufacturers opted to provide a more pronounced cerused effect using a darker (or even black) base finish, most opted to go with grey, for a modern take on weather-worn wood.

Ameriwood Home jumped on the cerused wood bandwagon and offered a simple, yet stylish and more affordable solution to cerused wood with the dresser above, offering a high quality laminate in a cerused, weathered, grey finish.

Theodore Alexander opted to pair cerused oak with a creamier, ivory embossed leather.

Century Furniture played with cerusing to highlight the engineered sunburst grain.  To top it off,  this unique wood effect was paired with a plush shearling, making this one of the most coveted chairs at market.

Sandblasted and engineered, wood toned veneers were seen throughout in Universal Furniture’s new division, Modern.

These warmer, cerused and sandblasted woods were more often than not paired with stainless steel as a subtle juxtaposition between warm wood and cool metal.

Mid-century Modern Revival

Mid-century modern influenced design is stronger than ever.  I’m seeing it EVERYWHERE.  I live in Pasadena, CA where the homes that were built in the 1950s were shunned for years in favor of more traditional, classical architecture.  Every day I have people walking into my store telling me that they’ve sold their large-scale antique-filled, traditional home as well as their furnishings, and are downsizing to a more manageable and simpler mid-century modern home (many are snapping up the 1950s homes from their original owners and are updating them with today’s modern amenities.)  Trends and styles are cyclical, and now that mid-century modern design and architecture are now considered “classic”, we are seeing more of it in the marketplace.

The mid-century modern era brought about exposed wood and metal frames, which is why there was no shortage of chairs with these characteristics at High Point Market. One of our favorite chairs was from Huntington House which had a comfortable, slightly reclined pitch.  All 8-way hand tied to ensure proper support and comfort that is built to last.

Duralee used their presence at High Point Market to show off their new fabric and furniture line that pays homage to cleaner and simpler lines.  Mid-century homes were much smaller scale than their predecessors, so it is no surprise that the furnishings within were also a smaller scale with simpler lines.  Like Huntington House, Duralee’s furniture line also contained exposed wood frame chairs. Slim Aarons’ iconic “Poolside Gossip” photo, taken at the Neutra designed Kaufmann House in Palm Springs back in the day, set the tone and backdrop for the collection.

How coincidental that as I am writing this, two big boxes arrive from Duralee (one of the fabric vendors in our store) and inside are several new fabric books, including the midcentury modern inspired fabric introductions that were shown at High Point Market.

For 60 years, Thayer Coggin has been producing innovative furniture with the clean and simple lines that they have become known for.  Today, many of the styles that  were produced in the 1950s have been reintroduced to the line or are still being manufactured today in the same factory located in High Point, North Carolina. The company has seen a significant resurgence of business over the last year, and much of their success can be attributed to designer Milo Baughman and their unwavering commitment to quality.

Another coincidence, as I furiously type away, a shipment was delivered from none other than Thayer Coggin – the same chair as pictured above, but in a buttery, caramel-colored leather and a sexy, brushed bronze frame.  We are excited to have recently added Thayer Coggin to the many high quality lines we carry in our showroom, and we can’t wait to show our customers the quality of each piece they manufacture and to tell them the story behind the brand.

Performance Fabric

Over the last few years, we have been seeing Crypton fabric taking over the contract fabric market.  But it was not until recently that advances in technology allowed Crypton to come to market with their new home division, bringing the same built-in stain repellency, soil release, and durability as its contract counterparts, but with increased texture and a soft hand.  All without compromising performance.   Fabric from Crypton’s new home division, Crypton Home had a major presence throughout market and was seen at almost every upholstery manufacturer we visited. At our stop at Lee Industries, we met with the founder of Crypton, Randy Rubin as she demonstrated the many virtues of Crypton Home.

While visiting with Lee Industries and Crypton Home, we were treated to a “slumber party”, complete with all my favorite movie theater-size boxes of candy and Coke.  A demonstration was given in which Coca Cola was spilled onto the Convertible Queen Sleeper, upholstered in Crypton Home, and the liquid did not penetrate through the fabric but instead beaded and rolled about, before it was dabbed up with a clean rag.

There was actually no need for me to experience Crypton Home in action, as I give the demonstration several times a week to customers who walk into our showroom looking for upholstery.  In fact, I outsell Crypton Home fabrics (from Thibaut, Duralee, Robert Allen, and Kravet) more than any other fabric in my store.  With modern decor in today’s home on the rise, the consumer wants to go back to using lighter fabrics (even white) on their upholstery and living spaces, and now they can do so without having to worry.

Bringing the Indoors Outside

As mid-century modern design and architecture has become so prominent in recent years,  indoor/outdoor living has followed suit.  Afterall, mid-century modern architecture is based on the premise of removing the barrier between inside and outside, and  this is the very reason why homes built in this era used glass extensively as a means of blurring the lines between the inside and out.

Handcrafted luxury casual outdoor furniture manufacturer Castelle Luxury’s many collections delivers an array of design styles ranging from traditional to contemporary, but our favorite are those collections that bring what is trending indoors, outside.

The  live-edge finish that is so often seen on tables indoors was simulated out of cast aluminum.

Gold and warm brass finishes have been trending for quite some time, but not until now am I seeing these same finishes outdoors.

6 main interior design trends were presented at Castelle Luxury, and all represented an extension of the indoors, with a selection of seating, coffee and side tables, chaise lounges, consoles, and outdoor fire and beverage entertainment units to complete each space.

Elegantly curved frames paired with high gloss metallic finishes touch upon Castelle Luxury’s Avant Garde trend.

Castelle Luxury’s variety of styles, high-quality finishes and indoor/outdoor fabrics ensure that no matter what your style or taste, you will be able to find that special combination to meet your lifestyle.

As always, High Point Market did not disappoint.  I attend every market not only to source product for clients and our showroom, but also to keep on top of the interior design trends and what designers and manufacturers are doing.  Being a showroom that services the public as well as the trade, it is important for me to relay what I see to the many designers who use our showroom as a resource.  There were many more trend observations made while at market – too many to mention, but by keeping up via my blog or Instagram account I can keep you abreast of all the interior design trends that are thrown my way.

I attended High Point Market as a sponsored blogger with the High Point Market Design Bloggers Tour, but all observations and opinions are my own.