DESIGNERS SPOT DÉCOR TRENDS
Textural details, animal prints, earthy colors make presence known at fall furniture show
If you’re ready to redecorate, you’re in luck. Local designers spotted some great home décor trends at High Point Market’s fall show. Look for a change in mood-setting colors and finishes for the home.
Manufacturers from the U.S. and beyond showcase their new collections every spring and fall in more than 10 million square feet of showroom space. It’s largely shopped by interior designers and showroom owners who bring those trends to their clients and hometowns.
Four Houston designers talked about their experience at the market in late October: Connie LeFevre, LeTricia Wilbanks, Pamela O’Brien and Veronica Solomon.
Here are some of the trends they spotted.
Cane and rattan
If you think of the ’60s when you see wicker, cane or rattan, you’ll definitely feel a retro vibe in today’s chairs, case goods and lighting featuring those natural fibers. The materials, of course, have been used in home furnishings for centuries, and are enjoying a revival.
Sightings in several showrooms include new lighting by Surya that used rope, jute and other reeds in the shades of pendants, cane panels in the doors of case goods and cane detailing in the backs or seats of chairs.
Texture
Rich textures throughout the showrooms went beyond the tactile feel of cane details, as softer materials like shearling, sheepskin and animal hides appeared often.
“The animals were running wild again,” said LeFevre, who owns the Design House and Fabric House showrooms at the Houston Design Center. “I saw a lot of things influenced by animals
on lamps, accessories, fabric and wall coverings. We’ve gone wild out there.”
Animal influences went beyond upholstery and wallpaper prints that look like cheetah spots or zebra stripes, and included plenty of furry sheepskin and hair on hide, LeFevre said.
High Point was Wilbanks’ third market this year, having already shopped markets in Paris and Milan earlier this year. She runs LeTricia Wilbanks Design.
“Cropped shearling and bouclé were everywhere in Milan, and I saw those textures in showrooms at High Point,” Wilbanks said. “Oh, and cropped alpaca — it was delicious.”
Color
If you love color, get ready for a big season of home décor shopping because there was plenty to go around with greens, blues and warm, earthy reds showing up in various forms.
O’Brien, of Pamela Hope Designs, said she saw a lot of green in both upholstered pieces and case goods, with greens ranging from emerald shades to bright acid green.
Not everything is covered in nature’s neutral, though, as blue — from traditional medium to navy shades all the way to peacock blue — continues in popularity.
“I don’t care what they say the color of the year is, blue is always good and is the most well-liked color in the country,” LeFevre said. “Blue will not go away.”
Another shade that made an impression on all four designers is a rusty orange-red.
If you don’t like color to come on strong, there are plenty of dusty, muted shades, too, O’Brien noted.
“I always look for the color trend, and I noticed it’s more neutral and earthy,” said Solomon, of Casa Vilora Interiors. “Mustard yellow, earthy blue and mossy green. I love bright colors, but it was nice to see earthy colors, too.”
Black and white
This classic combination rarely fails to impress in fashion and in home design, regardless of the season. All four designers commented on the amount of black and white furniture on display, from traditional upholstered chairs to edgier contemporary tables.
Wilbanks and her business partner, Selena Mackay, shopped wholesale showrooms to help fill their shop, Wilbanks Mackay, which will open in February in the Washington Avenue design district. They found plenty of pieces in black or dark gray for their style, which leans toward contemporary, edgy and masculine. Wilbanks Mackay, which will feature modern luxury collections, will be open to the trade and general public; both designers will continue to operate their own design studios.
Black and white fits into Wilbanks’ preferred moodier palette, with warmer, sexier combinations of dark gray and black with ivory and taupe, instead of bright white with black. “I saw a lot of black-andwhite marble because it looks great with all of this moody stuff,” she said.
Metals and mixed materials
The renewed popularity of brass a few years ago hasn’t waned, with unlacquered versions of the metal — the ones whose patina ages over time — still in abundance.
“Brass is bigger than ever; I don’t see it going anywhere anytime soon,” Wilbanks said. “It was the most consistently dominant metal out of all three markets. I saw it in interesting ways, on the base or legs of upholstered pieces and in combination with other materials in coffee tables and end tables — brass with marble, glass or wood.”
And it’s not there just because it’s pretty, it adds some gravitas as well.
“It’s warm and substantial and immediately gives an architectural presence,” Wilbanks said. “It makes anything feel old, and gives age and presence to a space.”
Solomon is a fan of mixed metals and noticed all of the brass as well as German silver and pewter finishes. Black metal was popular, too, and all kinds of metals mixed with wood, concrete or stone in a variety of table styles, ranging from very rustic to contemporary.
“It’s nice to see some different things. Texture was the most dominant thing in textiles and materials and finishes,” she said, noting the many combinations of wood, metal, stone and even shagreen.
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