Company C for Norwalk furniture makes a bold color and texture statement.

Betting that consumers will be more optimistic and secure following the presidential elections, home furnishings designers and manufacturers at High Point Market are introducing bolder, more saturated colors and patterns; varied surface interest and layered textures. But simple, clean lines and transitional styles continue to trend.

Mixed mediums dominate this market with gold, brass and silver coming on stronger and a variety of stones and minerals, such as marble, granite and agate, becoming more accessible.

Nowhere is the bold use of color and lush textures more evident than in the Company C for Norwalk collection on display in both showrooms. The collaboration uses 75 of Company C’s vibrant textiles with Norwalk’s handcrafted furniture, all made in the USA. The foundation of the vignettes in each showroom is Company C’s unique floor-fashion statements. While beautiful, Company C’s rug designs often daunted retailer and designers as to what type of furniture and or upholstery would complement them. “We’ve given retailers and designers many inspiring examples of what can be done,” said Dixon Bartlett, chief creative officer for Norwalk Furniture. “I have known Christine (whose title at Company C is aptly co-founder and colorful living officer) for 20 years and this collaboration combines the best of both our companies and our personal design sense.”

Dixon described the furniture style as having a more “refined scale” with beautiful curves and tufted accents. The rug-wrapped ottomans (which also come in a variety of leather colors and other upholstery offerings) are particularly fresh, offering texture and warmth. Company’s C’s accent pillows add whimsy and sophistication.

Softness in textiles is also apparent in Moe’s Home where faux-fur accent pillows in a rainbow of colors are sprinkled throughout the showroom. Mixed mediums also prevail in Moe’s furniture, with a stunning Messinki collection made of solid mango wood with brass inlays on display. The natural finish collection includes a three-drawer sideboard, coffee table, bookshelf and entertainment/bar unit, all scaled for urban space or smaller homes, another evident trend at market.

Natural finishes—as well as continuing grays and soft whites—permeate many showrooms. The heavy rustic farmhouse and industrial looks of the past few years are being supplanted by more refined looks that still carry some elements of distress but with more sophisticated styling, apparent at Abbyson, Dimond Home, Twin Star and Sauder. Many furniture makers have renewed their focus on hardware, which one of Sauder’s designers Rachel Whitaker calls “furniture jewelry.”

Case goods and accent furniture wrapped in burlap or linen—some even painted and lacquered—were spotted in several showrooms, including Dimond Home and Currey & Co., which debuted several furniture pieces and lighting collections with a distinctly Asian design aesthetic.

Floor Fashion

Global journey influences are also apparent in collections that will give consumers access to world travel with pieces that have authentic and interesting stories to engage them.

These trends are particularly evident in rug showrooms where it is apparent that the neutrals and grays—while still pervasive—are being complemented with more saturated colors, geometrics and texture, such as Feizy’s Abelia and Jhansi collections. Abelia marries deep natural tones and pops of warm color across its handtufted wool construction, while energetic patterns lend the collection evocative imagery and style that could suit traditional and transitional/contemporary home interiors. Jhansi—a modern take on traditional kilm designs—is tufted in wool and offers sophisticated whimsy with the use of innovative space-dying techniques that allow multiple shades in a single yarn for greater depth of color.

Capel Rugs’ showroom also abounds with color, texture and rich designs, as well as several striking braided collections celebrating its upcoming 100th anniversary. At the entrance to the showroom are two traffic stoppers by licensee Coco Cozy—the Ribbons collection and the innovative and customizable Coco Cozy Color Block collection.

Ribbons—which comes in bold Nautical or softer Blossom and Mushroom colorways—is soft, lush and textured with shimmery accents. The Color Block line, available only online, enables consumers to customize their rugs; they can select up to three colors to block and stripe from a pre-selected palette of 12 colors.

New releases from Capel’s storied Biltmore license are inspired by elements from the Biltmore estate as well as direct replicas from actual Biltmore rugs. Introductions include the Biltmore Estate collection with bright, on-trend colors and detailed traditional designs, as well as Century and Biltmore Palisade.

Licensed lines continue to draw consumer interest as Nourison highlighted new collections from Kathy Ireland and Barclay Butera, both of whom offered engaging trend sessions and demonstrations of their new lines. Butera’s love of high texture and exotic animal prints is evident in his many designs, but none so apparent as the Madagascar collection, which is powerloomed with a blend of wool and silk-like fiber called Luxcelle.

Kathy Ireland’s collection blends traditional and transitional designs in Antiquities, Malta and Royal Serenity and stretches into more contemporary and distressed looks with Illusion and Desert Skies. But few collections capture Ireland’s down to earth and warm personality as the Yummy Shag collection, which of course is lush and lavish but fabricated for long wear and easy maintenance, a quality Ireland said she looks for in many of her collections that now span nearly every home category.

(Source: hfndigital.com  Author: Maureen Azzato)