Trend Flash is reserved for Members of The Trend Curve’s subscriber family. Doug Thayer, Editorial Correspondent, is in Atlanta for the twice-yearly rug market. His top trends are below. You can read more of Doug’s rug insights in the next issue of The Trend Curve.
COLOR
- Grays and blues in all values worked as standardized main colors
- Neutrals warmed up toward golden tones
- Interest in bright hues on neutral grounds was renewed
- Bohemian colorations intensified
- Directional red came in blood-red looks or late-summer zinnia orange
- Rich-and-deep eggplant and pale periwinkle vied for top-purple status
MATERIALS, TEXTURES AND CONSTRUCTIONS
- Wool remained the top fiber choice for finer styles
- Synthetics, polyester and polypropylene strove to achieve wool looks
- An uptick in flat weaves, usually two-toned and naively tribal, was noteworthy
- Mixed yarns created levels of matte/luster
- Over-dyes on traditional vintage rugs reached maturity with more-sophisticated palettes
- Cotton mixed with poly in pile rugs for casual softness
ICONS AND PATTERNS
- Everything alluded to some type of pattern, even solids
- Traditional Persian, Turkish, Egyptian looks were simplified and enlarged
- Tribal patterns were redone with a cleaner approach
- Florals adjusted to more-masculine delineation, scale and simplicity
- Abstracts ruled in contemporary offerings
- Scandinavian designs were seen primarily as clever plaid-based patterns