High Point Market Trends

Written By Tama Bell

Our High Point trip got off to a rocky start this year. I don’t know what is going on with the airlines, but wow! Our first flight was cancelled the night before and pushed us back a whole day, but we made it on the next morning flight and arrived in High Point/Greensboro on Saturday evening in time to enjoy a bit of room service.

Cloudy skies from an airplane window.
Tama, Lauren, and Yessenia take a selfie. All three women are smiling and in sunglasses.

We were so happy to be off the plane and in a car...

A hallway with a patterned ceiling and sconce lighting.
View of a skyline with trees in the foreground.

The hotel is amazing. It is in a vintage building and the history is just everywhere.

We try and make the trip to Market at least every other year because it is just such a comprehensive assortment of the vendors that we love. There are about 2,000 exhibitors, 180 buildings and over 10,000 square feet of showroom space. It is really just a town of furnishings. Even tennis shoes feel like four inch heels by day two. It attracts about 75,000 people twice a year and it is so worth the trip.

This year, I wandered the showrooms looking to see what the trends were in a big picture view. Here is what stood out to me and what I gravitated to.

The first was really vibrant art. Lots of acrylic framed pieces and lots of color and neon as accents.

A gallery wall with brightly colored paintings, one of which has neon accents.
A gallery wall with faces and abstract images on play booklets and magazine covers.
A gallery wall with small paintings in bold, primary colors.
A gallery wall with images of candy bards with "designer" labels.

I also noticed a lot of rattan and wicker, but done in a more elegant way. The lines were delicate, swooping and really lovely. It was everywhere, in lighting, furniture, accessories. I feel like even though it may be trending now, it is also a classic, so it was fun to see it making a come back.

A lamp with a wicker shade casting a warm light downward.
A modern geometric painted grey wicker chair.

This chair...be still my design heart

Two rounded wicker stools.
A rattan dresser.

And this too...

There was also a lean towards warmer colors like brown, rust, smokey blues, sage green and mustard yellows. I felt like this piggy backed with a trend for more authentic patterns. We saw a lot of fabric created from reproductions of old patterns. It felt very Amber Lewis and I loved it.

Hanging pastel pattered cloth swatches.

We also saw more vintage inspired shapes in upholstered pieces. Rolled arms, casters, more ornate shapes. It felt very comfortable and like home.

Cloth covered stools.
Red and blue pattern upholstery on a long couch.

This is the world that I want to live in. When I look at these pieces, I see a continued inspiration from the UK. It’s just so good. But, I felt like this year it was getting more dialed in and better represented.

I also saw textural fabrics being used as a staple; boucle, faux fur (but done well). Just lots of texture and natural colors in this format.

A bed with withe and grey linens and a white boucle bed frame.
A brown cork bed frame. The bed has white and deep brown linens.

Boucle, all day...and a bed made of cork, what?

A white boucle chair with architectural swooping arms.
A gingham upholstered bench with a scalloped bottom edge.
A brown credenza with a curving front face.

And curvy lines and so many furnishings with scallops.

It was a great trip. Lauren, Yessenia and I all traveled really well together. We came back full of inspiration to create new spaces that feel like home for all of our clients.

Cheers to a bit of travel, seeing new things and getting out of one’s comfort zone.

Lauren sits smiling on a curving white couch.

That’s all for now, I am one inspired but tired lady!

Tama Bell
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