For people who love shopping, Furniture Market is what dreams are made of. Four times every year, the Merchandising Team at Freed’s Fine Furnishings goes to Furniture Market in High Point, NC, and Las Vegas, NV. We recently returned from North Carolina, where over 11.5 million square feet of furniture and 75,000 attendees descend and shop for the next best thing for their customers. With each Market, distinct trends seem to surface from all manufacturers. This Market we saw styles going in every direction, lending to the fact our customers are looking to be more eclectic in their overall interior designs. Here are a few of the looks we loved.
One of the most popular looks we shopped in multiple showrooms was farmhouse casual. There were plenty of slightly country, quaint looks with soft, light colors. The farmhouse look goes so well in all geographic areas. With the right accessories, farmhouse can go coastal, rustic, or even transitional. An investment in farmhouse style is an investment for longevity since the style can really change to meet its surrounding design.
Retro is also a style that made a statement! Plaid, tweeds, and bold geometric shapes, reminiscent of the 1960s and 1970s, were featured by numerous manufacturers. In addition to retro patterns, the size of furniture has decreased to a smaller scale to accommodate apartment style living and/or downsizing. Colors from the retro era also arose, including teals, pinks, yellows, and golds– bold and bright!
A favorite style of my own that I was so excited to see is a modern touch on rustic. Numerous furniture manufacturers are mixing dark, rich woods with sleek, contemporary colors like gray, black and silver. In addition, we saw many textural mixtures of faux fur and leather ottomans, bedroom and dining sets featuring mixtures of woods and metals, and pops of Southwestern style prints in bold colors to add some brightness to the heavier rustic looks.
One thing that is always a treat to see is how the Pantone Color of the Year will be utilized. Greenery is the 2017 Pantone Color of the Year and boy, was it everywhere! It is an intense green color that makes you feel like spring has sprung!
Greenery was made up on everything – recliners, sofas, wall art and more. Greenery is a beautiful color, however, unless you truly love green, my recommendation would be to use it as an accent, rather than plastering your whole room. Less is more with this shade.
Seeing what trends are happening is always exciting, however, buying the right trends to bring back to Freed’s Fine Furnishings is our goal at Furniture Market. We strive to purchase the products you are looking for at the quality and price that is right for you. The merchandise is always changing at Freed’s so if you haven’t visited us in a while, we invite you to come in and see what is new. You never know what the finds will be at Market and we will keep bringing them to you!