Highlights from High Point - Round 1

Last week I ventured out to High Point Market...my husband refers to it as a "furniture festival," which is hilarious and relatively accurate. Held in High Point, North Carolina, HPMKT takes place in the epicenter of the American home furnishings industry so it draws manufacturers from its own backyard and from abroad. Designers, shop owners, and buyers descend upon the area twice a year to see, feel (and sit on), and price everything from furniture to rugs, lighting, and accessories. It's a rare opportunity to see a massive quantity of goods within a few days.

I went out to shop for a few current and upcoming projects and I found lots o' great stuff. I took nearly 1,100 pics while I was there! After pounding the pavement for four days, I noticed a few trends that popped up in multiple showrooms...

1) Faux Shagreen - aka Stringray, this faux skin was wrapped around all sorts of tables and case goods. It's a great texture and the colorways I spotted at market were most often neutrals like gray and ivory.

2) Cerused Wood - There's an example directly below via Global Views, but basically it's a type of finish that highlights the wood grain and has a modern/rustic look.

3) Lacquer - high gloss, super saturated paint finishes were everywhere...even on lamp shades.

The two chests shown next are both by Bungalow 5...

4) Natural materials used to create unique, luxe adornments.

Pebbles/rocks at Lee Industries

Glass/Mirror/Resin at Made Goods

Bone at Mr. Brown

Pyrite at Emporium Home

Resin/Teak

And aside from the "trends" (I actually hate that word), here are a few other favorite items I spotted...

Linen-covered studded chest at Mr. Brown...

Platinum and gold toned fireplace screens...

Glass pineapple light fixture via Global Views...

Well-priced ceramic gourd lamps with trimmed shades...

Brass swing-arm sconce...

This lamp looks strikingly similar to my beloved Hermès' Balcon du Guadalquivir china...

Woven stools at Palecek...

Globe chandelier with wood beads at Regina Andrew...

Stunning mirror at Arteriors...

 COCOCOZY Bedding!

Chair with pull-out mini side table via COUEF

Embroidered arm chair at J. Douglas

Dining chairs + table from Made Goods

What do you think of the things I snapped? Any favorites? I want that first shapely Shagreen cocktail table for my own house!

In case you've fallen in love with something and want to buy, keep in mind that pretty much everything at High Point is trade-only, so you'd have to buy through a retailer or a designer.