As an Interior Designer and a self professed shopping junkie, my journey to the High Point Market – the world’s largest furniture market – was an incredible experience.
I have the privilege of furnishing people’s homes so it’s extremely important that I know the lines that I carry and source out new lines as well.
Photo Credit: Isabey Interiors
High Point Market, located in North Carolina, is 11.5 million square feet of show space. More than 75,000 people attend with over 2000 exhibitors, displaying furniture, lighting, rugs and all types of decor.
We saw about 1/8 of what was showing. And believe me, we never stopped.
There are two main buildings that house multiple vendors, as well as all of the other buildings in the rest of the town. The atmosphere is electric – the interior design community is anything but quiet and understated.
We had a plan of attack, visiting the vendors we already deal with and discover some new lines to address different price points.
It’s always amazing to see the collections. You get an opportunity to see multiple pieces of the lines – all put together by professional designers. It’s not only an opportunity to assess style and quality – it really is amazing to see the stylist’s vision.
Photo Credit: Isabey Interiors
Because I deal with luxury builds, a lot of my clients are buying very high end furniture- and I get to visit the most beautiful showrooms, which included designers like Dorya, Christopher Guy, Weiman Home, and Badgley Mischka.
These designers are leading the industry in style. My belief has always been that fashion is dictating many of the trends we are seeing in furniture and accessory design.
Colour, fabric, and silhouettes seen in the showrooms correlate to what’s walking down the runway. Fashion has always been a major interest to me, so watching these two industries continue to feed off of each other is very exciting.
Photo Credit: Isabey Interiors
Vogue did a collection with Dorya featuring sleek and modern designs. Christopher Guy has always been a leader in the industry – bringing curves and glamour to furniture design.
Weiman Home is fashion-forward as well as being comfortable and attending to all the fine details. And Badgley Mischka brings the runway to the home with colour trends and upholstery styles.
These pieces aren’t your everyday purchases.
Photo Credit: Isabey Interiors
They are pieces that differentiate your space. From these designers you will inevitably see other furniture brands bring their own versions to life that reflect the same style.
My takeaway from the market is that there really is a massive amount of product we never see, the selection was extensive. That means we had to sit on a lot of sofas and chairs, which was completely called for, given our sore feet.
We saw furniture at every price point and even uncovered new lines we could use for all budgets. My goal was to ensure we had the right lines for our clients, and it was an unmitigated success. Putting a home together with all of the right pieces is a big job, and it’s one we don’t take lightly.
