The biannual High Point Market remains the baron of America’s furniture trade shows.
But a younger event in Las Vegas is drawing attention and dollars back to an industry left shell-shocked by the recession, with that town’s familiar cocktail of energy and glamour.
World Market Center Las Vegas, which averages 50,000 to 55,000 attendees, wrapped up its winter show earlier this month. The market leaves in its wake a flurry of furniture-trend forecasts and new home products expected to show up in stores in the coming months. (Prices for several of the pieces pictured on this page have not been set.)
“The Vegas market has grown in importance,” says Jo Frank, executive director of the Denver Design District. Although she doesn’t consistently attend any one market, she was among the local retailers and industry insiders who made it to Las Vegas this month to meet manufacturers and eyeball new furnishings.
“I saw such a refreshing look,” says Frank, who was especially drawn to the many contemporary uses of turquoise — the color of the year, according to Pantone Inc., the global authority on such matters.
“I saw less of the Tuscan look,” she adds, “and more of a cleaned-up, contemporary style.”
Las Vegas Market trend watchers pinpointed a handful of recurring themes in decorating this year. There is turquoise. There is a trend some have dubbed “artists in residence,” in which furnishings are distinguished by artful organic motifs and reoccurring patterns.
There is a continuation of elegance, a spare aesthetic that relies on simple materials and subdued colors, and of metallic finishes.
And of course, eco-conscious products and nature-inspired pieces are hot.
Also of note at this trade show is its tinge of Hollywood-infused celebrity glitz. This is where “Mad Men” star and interior designer Bryan Bratt — who plays sweet, stylish and closeted art director Salvatore Romano on the show — introduced “The Hef,” the cushy, $15,000 loveseat he designed to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Playboy Clubs. And where former “Access Hollywood” co-anchor Nancy O’Dell unveiled her new line of outdoor furniture, Red Carpet by Nancy O’Dell.
“Optimism, optimism, optimism. That’s the theme for this Las Vegas Market,” the event’s president and chief executive Robert Maricich said. “There has been an uptick in activity, and it is reflected in attitudes and order writing here in Las Vegas.”
Elana Ashanti Jefferson: 303-954-1957 or ejefferson@denverpost.com
