Trend Spotting

This year the 2015 Las Vegas World Market was refined and defined. I liken it to the fashion world. At the 2014 market they presented the over the top “couture creations” and at the 2015 market we saw a refined interpretation of last year’s extreme statement in the “ready to wear collections.” Polished and integrated into a lifestyle look, and adapted for more universal wearability.

Toned down after their debut, the following 2014 trend elements bring just a hint of their previous claim to fame to a room design as part of the current trends in concept development.

The “Industrial Look” and metal laden rooms, with chairs wrapped in silver flash, a pipe and elbow joint bookcase or a whole wall of school lockers, is gone. Yet still trending in its memory is a metal representation through table bases, zinc tabletops, elaborate light fixtures, metal accent strapping and sculpture.

Something “Organic.” Not just for garden rooms and beach houses, it’s nature applied as an elegant display accessory or part of the furniture. A gnarly tree trunk table base, coconut shell finish, sea shell accents, rope-reed-bamboo-wicker, anything green. Any style room can support the organic trend, because everything goes with nature.

“Reclaimed wood”…still here, in wide plank floors, exposed beams, table top or base, maybe a chest, in natural, bleached, antiqued and washed finishes, but natural wood tones from pale pine to rich cherry are welcome, too, in 2015. Bottom line, a room designed in “50 shades of grey” is reaching its saturation point, and the beloved real wood finishes were sneaking into every showroom.

Seen below, “Island Fusion” by Tommy Bahama Home, is a stunning collection from Lexington and the main event of their 2015 showroom. Rich, natural elements like bamboo veneers, woven rattan, coco shell and lampakanai created finishes that added to the island authenticity. A nod to the visual merchandising team for the most tasteful displays at the show!

“The Mid-Century.” The cool, stylish lines of the 60s and quirk of the “Atomic Age” still show their influence in 2015, with trends still strong in the 60s silhouette for furniture and the return of the “bar cart,” as a floating accent piece. Seen in every collection and made of every material from iron to plexi, gold leaf, chrome, wood and wicker. Plus the whimsical tiered accent and cocktail tables, shown in tri-level, moving circles, pullout squares, stair step and layered surfaces, for a 50s feel and style over substance!

The importance of the “Cocktail Table” as a statement continues, with the return of the glass top! Shown in a metal frame for traditional and transitional looks and as a slab atop an arty base of any material, for contemporary rooms, the cocktail table should bring style in support of a look or a big, trendy show-off as a focal point. Whatever the material, this key player is not just for coffee anymore!

Two new trends that deserve mention and were prevalent throughout the show: one is the “Open Book Shelf,” in every shape imaginable, floating as room dividers or up a ladder on the wall. This could be the last hurrah for the bookcase, as it mourns the demise of the hard cover book, for the “Kindle.” #14 #15

The second is the “Writing Desk,” apparently all the desk we need today due to the computer and found in most furniture collections. From bamboo and rattan to glass on trestles, the horizontal writing surface, perched on long legs, is a natural floater in a room or backed up to a sofa or the foot of the bed. #16 and 17

In conclusion, the rooms at market, even in their difference, shared these similar qualities; a neutral ground and for anchor upholstery pieces, a vintage feel in the silhouette, the finish or the accessory, eclectic styling and a “look” that created an undeniable atmosphere through the illusion of design…warm, elegant, fun, cozy, cool, whimsical, bohemian, intellectual, sophisticated, modern, formal……..and so on.