In early April of this year, an MIT survey of 25,000 American workers found that 34.1%, or just over one third of workers, had shifted to remote work. Add this number to the 14.6% of respondents that were already working from home, and the result implies that nearly half the US workforce is now working […] Read more...

A week or so ago, Tom Mirabile of Springboard Futures and I were interviewed about fourth-quarter seasonal trends. The venue was a webinar hosted by Lenise Willis, Editor in Chief of Gifts & Decorative Accessories magazine. The timing was perfect. My fourth-quarter seasonal forecast, The Return of Happy Holidays™ had just been released, so seasonal […] Read more...

Color studies done in the early 1940’s, and repeated many times since, confirm that blue is North America’s favorite color family. And why not? Blue has high appeal for both men and women. Another interesting fact is that the degree of preference for blue is high from the start. It increases a bit from childhood […] Read more...

On Thursday April 23, consumer trend analyst Tom Mirabile of Springboard Futures and I will be interviewed by Gifts & Decorative Accessories’ Editor in Chief, Lenise Willis. In the webinar, “New Seasonal Realities for a Post-COVID World,” our conversation will focus on how today’s health crisis may change fourth-quarter holiday and seasonal products, as well […] Read more...

Are fourth-quarter celebrations at risk, given the current Coronavirus crisis? That’s a question I’ve been hearing for the past several weeks. It was top-of-mind as I prepared The Return to Happy Holidays™, my seasonal color and trend forecast for Halloween, Harvest and Christmas assortments. If Easter is any guide, we know that consumers will still celebrate. […] Read more...

For several seasons, colorful finishes like brown on walnut and gray or black on oak have been on-trend for furniture, lighting and decorative accessories. But of course, nothing remains static in the world of trend. Today, walnut’s popularity has leveled off, along with the preference for Mid-century Modern looks. Gray and black finishes, while still […] Read more...

In a conversation last week, a colleague asked whether I recommend gray for upcoming trend assortments. My answer was no. I realize that lots of people still love gray. If you are one of them, you have plenty of company. That said, the rate of preference for gray is solidly in decline, causing gray to shift […] Read more...

There are a lot of coloring books out there for both kids and adults. But how many of them focus on home décor as the subject? My email this morning included a message from furniture-maker Blu Dot. Attached was a coloring book, featuring some of their pieces, sent just for fun. Marketing Director Kelly Sieben […] Read more...

In the past couple of weeks, several people have asked me how I think trend will change in a COVID-19 world. This is an important question, given the vital role that trend plays in assortments. To begin with, I believe that the language used to communicate about products softens. Already, many companies have put excitement […] Read more...

Paris Déco Off bills itself as The Rendezvous of International Interior Designers and Decoration Editors. The Trend Curve’s editorial team always heads to Paris a couple of days before the Maison & Objet trade fair to see what’s new in the world up upscale fabrics and designs. The 2020 edition, held January 16 – 20, boasted […] Read more...

A return to classic elements has begun moving the needle on home-décor style trends. It is part of a broader interest in traditional décor that has been building for about two years. In the wake of COVID-19, The Trend Curve expects classicism to really take off. Why do we believe this so strongly? The answer […] Read more...

L’Objet’s table linen collection made quite a splash in Paris. And why not? The patterns, including fetching mitered stripes and a tiger print, offered mix-and-match variety in an amazing range of au currant solids. Linen sateen in ochre, terra cotta, blue and mossy green harmonized with neutrals of black, warm white and gray. Coordinating leopard […] Read more...

Consider the lowly vending machine. Once nothing much more than a modest, self-service supplier of cigarettes, candy and soda pop, this iconic form of retail is getting new life. Developed in the late 1800s, vending was a common method of delivering stamps, postcards and writing paper in England. The version shown here, made by Harper […] Read more...

Wallpaper is back in a big way. This phrase refers to the accelerating preference for using wall coverings throughout the home. It alludes equally to the scale of motifs in the freshest new on-trend designs. There is nothing boring about these papers. In a bold reimagining of an outdated 80s trend, they use enormous scale […] Read more...

Move over, orange! There’s a new player in town for Halloween. Gold metallic is one of the freshest emerging color trends for October 31. The idea of swapping orange for gold in your Halloween mix may seem odd at first. After all, Halloween is casual and fun, while gold is considered as a standard-bearer of […] Read more...

Texture was out in force at all the big European trade fairs in January. Its message: the texture trend is nowhere near finished. Heimtextil, Paris Deco Off and Maison & Objet were all covered in gorgeous textures. These tactile delights were applied to almost every possible material. We love how very different products—a leather hide, […] Read more...

Letters to Santa is a sweet, child-like Christmas theme that The Trend Curve highlighted last in our 2012 color-and-trend forecast, ‘Tis The Season. For 2022, it is making a comeback. In fact, at Christmasworld in Frankfurt and at the Atlanta Gift Market, this theme was just emerging (we posted about it on The Trend Curve’s Instagram in […] Read more...

When it comes to Christmas, conventional wisdom holds that the most salable color story is red and green. I’m here to tell you that while this may be absolutely true for core products—the bestsellers you repeat with success year-after-year—nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to trend. While it’s more than advisable […] Read more...

Hands down, the most exquisite tabletop presentation at the Maison & Objet trade fair in Paris was seen at Legle Legrande Lebouc. The feature was a black table of over 20 feet in length, which was styled by Vietnamese designer Axel Huynh. This dramatic, turned-leg table was layered with the designer’s porcelain dinnerware collections. Some of […] Read more...

  Pierre Frey teamed up with 200-year old tableware maker Faiencerie de Gien to create a dinnerware pattern inspired by Frey’s new Le Jardin du Palais wallcovering and fabric. Gien’s new Jardin du Palais collection debuted at the Gien showroom on the Left Bank. It was unveiled during January’s Paris Deco Off, an event that bills […] Read more...