Design Intervention by Carla Wamsley
I am very excited to tell you about my trip to the Furniture Market in High Point, NC. I am fortunate that the wonderful folks at Tope’s Furniture Galleries, where I work, have sent me there every spring for the last ten years. It is an educational experience; to say the least. It never ceases to amaze me how much there is to see. Talk about “eye candy”! High Point is home to 11.5 million square feet of showroom space housed in about 190 buildings so you can imagine how focused you must be to accomplish anything! Add to that the distraction of celebrity designers around every corner, and concentrating on what we need back home can be a bit of a challenge. Michael Payne (Designing for the Sexes, HGTV) was there in one of the cafés. B. Smith was talking to a buyer in the Clayton Marcus Showroom, and Candice Olson (Divine Design, HGTV) was offering a photo op and signing autographs on one of the accessory floors. (yes, that's Candice in the picture above with the "galleries girls" on either side of her!) And, then there was my all time favorite…Rachel Ashwell. (Ms. Ashwell coined the phrase “Shabby Chic”) These are just the designers who caught my eye! I’m sure there were many more among the estimated 80,000 people who visited Market this spring.
So, what did I learn this year? Well, I’ll just hit the highlights because this could turn into a book if I’m not careful! I’ll answer the number one question about Market. “What were the colors in home furnishings this year?” Blue, blue and more blue. Seriously, Blue is not going away this time. Every shade of Cornflower, Robin’s Egg, Navy, Royal, and especially Turquoise, is available! Next on the horizon is Gray. From pale dove to deep charcoal, there was quite a variety. Making a reappearance is red. Color is becoming bolder and brighter as designers try to lift the spirits of consumers who are spending more time in their homes, now that the stress of everyday life is leading them back to their safe havens. Bright greens and oranges mixed with aubergine and golden yellows were colors on sofas and chairs, not just pillows. Even leather sofas were sporting some of these trendy colors!
Texture and dimension were also high on the priority list for pillows and throws and more importantly, area rugs. Synthetic fur rugs couldn’t help but capture your attention, leaving you longing to take off your shoes and run your toes through them. Interesting materials of all sorts, including metal studs and zippers, made up a variety of rugs and pillows. Textiles have evolved into some very out of the ordinary designs, keeping home furnishings fresh and new. Still popular are chenille, linen, leather, velvet and the increasingly popular, higher end ultra suede.
There was a lot of edgy, mid century modern looks, as well as some multi-cultural looking pieces, but what caught my eye the most was the return to femininity. There was a lot of “romance”. Painted pieces, whether they were soft and sweet or metallic and glamorous, were very female oriented. Of course, this is where the real “eye candy” of it all was for me! Unexpected surprises such as colorful pattern lined drawers and script patterns resembling bits of a love letter scrawled across painted chests and fabrics on chairs… oh, my heart is pounding just thinking about how beautiful it all was! Sadly, this is about all I have room for in this column, but I have lots more to share. I would love to dish with you more about Market… you know where to find me!
