Between client meetings, material selections, drawings, and the many other tasks us designers juggle daily, we also like to make time for a Market trip as often as possible! “Markets” are interior design trade shows that showcase furniture, artwork, accessories, and lighting.
Group picture! From left to right it’s Victoria, Ciara and Bekah
Here at Six Walls, we pride ourselves in being a full-service design firm, meaning we can assist with any design project big or small, whether it is a simple paint consultation or a new home build from the ground up. We like to be a part of the design process from start to finish to provide the best complete outcome for our clients! This requires that we are up to date on all the trends in the industry. Many vendors we love working with have very limited showroom space around the country, so we take the time to visit them at these interior design Markets to gain a better understanding of how the products will work for our clients as well as view their newest collections to stay ahead of the game. Recently Victoria (VB), Bekah (BP), and I (CW) had the exciting opportunity to attend the 2020 Las Vegas Winter Market. We are excited to share some of our feedback from the experience.
What are some new trends you saw at Market?
VB: Not sure it was NEW but I saw a lot of continued design emphasis on comfortable upholstery, most with mid-century flair. Sofas and sectionals still with all rectilinear lines, some lower height backs, others with higher backs / deep seats for reclining and movie watching. BIG trend was for intriguing accent chairs for a space. Not so much the traditional conservative club chair—but a lots of variety: great looking metal and wood frames, sausage roll styles, high-medium-low backs, rounded encompassing shapes of chairs, SWIVEL!
BP: I noticed a more entertainment focused mindset. There were sofas that allowed for more socialization in an open concept space and bar carts/bar accessories in almost every showroom we went into. Another trend I saw was a lot of the furniture and accessories we saw embraced bringing nature indoors. There were reclaimed wood tables, petrified wood side tables and wall décor and using earth tones for upholstery/accents.
CW: Some of the trends that I saw repeatedly at Market were cane, reeded glass, terrazzo, and boucle, and warm tones. All of which lend themselves to the Mid Century Modern design style, which we saw was still a prominent trend overall.
What was your favorite trend?
VB: Loved the presence nearly everywhere of beautiful lighting—glass bases with reactive glazes, also same for accessories. Glass with organic shapes and flowing rich colors were everywhere.
BP: I loved the mix of metals, textures and materials. Before, items were strictly silver or gold and now items are encompassing both and are not fitting a standard 1 finish.
CW: My favorite trend was the warm tones that were replacing the extremely cool tones we have seen trending over the last few years. It was extremely refreshing to walk into a space and feel warm and welcomed. I can see this trend becoming extremely popular in the PNW!
What surprised you most at Market?
VB: Surprised and happy for the trend away from rough recycled wood on case goods. While variations in finish / color of woods is still big, the desks, dressers, tables look less rustic and more polished yet still casual. Great hardware. Those fabulous small DRINKS TABLES were everywhere. Such cool accents, and really do add to a space’s visual and textured interest. Every combination of glass / metals / rock / concrete that you can imagine.
BP: I was surprised by the move away from the modern, minimalistic style to more texture and heavily detailed/decorated items. There was a lot of nods from the 40s, 70s and 80s, but in a new way that reflects the now. The upholstery fabrics I noticed the most were boucle fabrics and velvet fabrics with the bold colors of pink, emerald, orange, yellow.
CW: The color! We are seeing more and more color come back into design. For a while it was all very monochromatic, which is still a beautiful palette. However, I loved seeing the bold and subdued colors coming back without reservation.
What was the highlight of your Market experience?
VB: Without a doubt—working through those 3 days viewing thousands of things with my colleagues, Bekah and Ciara. It was exhilarating / inspiring / exhausting and an incredibly fun experience. We have already incorporated found pieces into our current projects!
BP: I really enjoyed being able to sit in furniture items that I’ve seen online. It also was fun to be able to see things in person and be able to spec items for clients. Both Victoria and I were able to sell items to clients just from our market experience and photos.
CW: The highlight for me was experiencing each vendor’s collection in person. So often we are sourcing from a computer screen or a 2D image in a catalog. At market, you have the opportunity to truly experience the products as the clients will be in their homes.
