In April, I had the opportunity to go to Highpoint Market in North Carolina for the first time! It's literally an entire city of furniture and decor, and I'll be the first to admit that it is like sensory overload, but in an amazing way! For days I was able to visit showrooms for lighting, art, bedding, and of course, furnishings, and met lots of new friends along the way! Today, I'm sharing some of my favorite trends from what I saw at "Market" this Spring.
Biophilic Design
Since the onset of the pandemic, people have been gravitating towards nature, both indoors and out. We'll talk more about the outdoors later, but at Highpoint, we saw so many instances of the use of natural materials and the incorporation of natural elements in design. Biophilic design is the practice of creating a closer connection to nature using materials and selections that pay homage to nature through their form.
The trend of more holistic and healthy living continues throughout the design industry, as we continue to develop our awareness of how our surroundings impact our daily habits and well-being. Having natural elements in our homes goes a long way towards uplifting our own consciousness. When I have fresh flowers in my kitchen, I stop and take a moment to appreciate them and the little burst of happiness that they give me.
Everywhere at Highpoint, there were elements of nature absolutely everywhere:
Bring the Indoors Outside
The pandemic encouraged physical distancing, which naturally led us to more outdoor entertaining, and to that end, a boom in the outdoor furnishings market.
One of my favorite finds from Market was a vendor called Summer Classics. They have gorgeous pieces, from more traditional rattan and wicker pieces to teak offerings in classic silhouettes. And of course, they have a variety of outdoor fabrics in every hue and pattern so that you can customize your outdoor furnishings just as much as your indoors!
When I toured the Kravet showroom, they were launching their new line of outdoor furnishings, Soleil Indoor Outdoor. (Bonus that Thom Filicia was our tour guide!) This lineup has fully upholstered pieces in outdoor fabrics, with the interior construction and cushions suited especially quickly drying in the outdoors.
Curvy Furnishings
One of the trends that’s been around for a bit is curves. As a response to post-pandemic life, we’re collectively craving security, and shapes that echo comfort is a perfect way to, quite literally, wrap ourselves within our surroundings.
So much of the upholstery that I saw was a curved shape, either overall or in the details of the piece. Sofas and chairs have silhouettes that envelope the person sitting in it, and encourage conversation.
Even this bed has a cocooning effect!
But curves showed up in other more unexpected places too. These tables, daybed swing, and even sconces have stunningly graceful curves. (And yes, that is Corey Damen Jenkins checking out that rattan daybed!)
Vintage Reigns
One of the surprising things to me about Highpoint is that it wasn’t all about the shiny and new. Don’t get me wrong – a large portion of the showrooms go out of their way to put their latest and greatest out on full display. But, there are a treasure trove of vintage shops filled with one-of-a-kind pieces just waiting to be taken home.
In addition to the gorgeous patinas and character that these items have, there’s another important aspect to shopping vintage: these items are available! The continued supply chain issues are real. Nearly every manufacturer continues to quote lead times in the months range (not weeks), with one vendor revealing that they had a backlog of 10,000 items. That’s 10,000 pieces to be manufacturer and shipped before they get to the order that you just placed. This makes including vintage sourcing in our repertoire a more important shift that we’re making.
Check out a few of our favorite finds from Market:
Fun with Fringe
When it comes to dressing up a piece with a little added something, we spotted fun and colorful fringe around Market.
Cluster Lights
Instead of chandeliers, we saw a different option – collections of smaller pendant lights clustered together. Currey & Co. has a program where you can curate your own collection of your favorite mini-pendant.
Which trend is something that you'd try in your home? Comment below and let us know!