Infusing Japanese elements into already established Scandinavian looks, the Japandi trend emerged in 2017 – 2018. It really touched a nerve—in a good way—and grew to be immensely popular. No wonder products in this style are still being introduced. The most recent incarnation was at KBIS, the … [Read more...]
Revenge Travel: Now It’s Impacting Home Furnishings
Revenge travel? Yes, please! We love this buzz-phrase because we can totally relate. It’s all about being cooped up during COVID. It speaks to people wanting to get away, fly away, like in the lyrics from Lenny Kravitz’ 1998 hit. And almost two years after exploding on the tourism scene, the … [Read more...]
Retail Delight: Kitchen Living Dining Copenhagen
Between two favorite trade fairs, Heimtextil in Frankfurt and Maison & Objet in Paris, I scheduled a weekend of retail reconnaissance in Copenhagen. I’m glad I did! There was so much to see—shops, boutiques and department stores with unique messages and fabulous visual displays. Among the … [Read more...]
Valentine’s Day: Tokens of Affection at Brown Thomas
One of the happiest outcomes of attending Showcase, the annual trade fair of curated Irish products, is that I also get to shop Dublin’s robust retail scene. Brown Thomas is at the top of my must-see list. During Showcase, which takes place in mid-January each year, Valentine’s Day is always the … [Read more...]
Paola Lenti + Campana Brothers = Sustainability With Artistry
Wandering through Paola Lenti’s popups during Salone del Mobile in Milan is like being transported into a visual wonderland drenched in explosive color and irresistible touch-me textures. It simply takes your breath away. Lenti is a masterful maestra of weaves. With a magnificent … [Read more...]
Color Stories at KBIS
Color hit different at KBIS, the industry trade show for kitchen and bath products, organized by NKBA. Consumers apparently are reaching a new comfort level beyond safer neutrals, as they emerge from pandemic era restrictions. Designers at the 2022 event, which took place in Orlando in February, … [Read more...]
Color Trends from Guimarães Home Fashion Week 2022
Guimarães Home Fashion Week is a gem of a trade fair. This compact event, held in April, welcomed 230 attendees from 30 countries. They met at the historical Pousada de Santa Maria da Costa in Portugal’s birth city of Guimarães. More than 55 Portuguese home-textiles companies, representing 60 … [Read more...]
Trending at Maison & Objet: Valets
At the trend-setting trade fair in Paris, the rise of personal-luxury items spoke to how wellness has expanded in scope and extended its reach during the pandemic. One category in particular stood out: valets. A new crop of valets offered more than elevated designs and flexible functionality. … [Read more...]
Updating Neutrals for Christmas
When the pandemic began, the black-and-white duos that had been so popular just a year or two before dropped off fast. So did angular geometrics. That’s because—suddenly—high contrast and hard-edged motifs felt too bold for a population that had been whipsawed by Covid. As high contrast looks … [Read more...]
Japandi: On-Trend and Growing
Scandinavian sensibilities have been influencing shape, texture and surface design ever since mid-century modern looks returned a decade ago. Today, they are immensely familiar. Japanese elements are more recent, but nonetheless established. Think lotus leaf motifs and sho sugi ban, the charred-wood … [Read more...]