High Point Market is officially over for spring of 2017 and I’ve finally recovered from the market “hangover”. Not that kind of hangover. Although the showrooms and booths have gotten pretty smart about keeping us going so most of them do serve a little something throughout the day. The hangover is the over indulging on all things furniture, lighting, rugs, and accessories. If you want to know a bit more about what it’s like to attend High Point Market take a look at this article by Architectural Digest, especially #7 & #8.
Lets start with lighting. It’s so important in a space. Your fabulous new sofa may be the most amazing shade of blue and your new artwork may be the most beautiful thing you’ve ever laid eyes on but without good lighting what’s the point? I can’t stress enough that lighting can make or break a space. So here are some of my favorite finds.
Lets get right to the point. Bad flush mount ceiling lights. They seem to be one of those things we’ve resigned ourselves to. You know the one I’m talking about: The boob-light, they’re ubiquitous, and we all just roll our eyes and snicker at the nickname every time we see one. However, I am here to tell you (and show you – see above) that we can, and should, do better with this type of lighting. With fabulous flush mount fixtures like these from Currey & Company you can banish the snickering and eye rolling and restore your ceiling’s dignity and make it something to be looked up to (and at).
I’m so glad to see that Kate Spade’s lighting was looking a little more mature this market. The stuff from fall market was nice but definitely geared toward a younger client. Not that the young should be deprived of fun lighting but sometimes you just need something a little more grown-up like these lanterns available in a variety of sizes and finishes.
Bunny Williams was really having a moment at this market with this lighting line at Currey & Company and of course her own Bunny Williams Home line. Sadly I missed her event, Bunny, Books, and Bourbon, on Wednesday night but did sit in on her talk a couple of days later. She was so gracious in sharing her design experiences with us and I have to say it’s really encouraging to know that even designers as famous as Bunny still go though some of the same bs the rest of us go through. And I was completely taken by her Brighton Chandelier. I’m a pushover for Art Deco influenced design.
And THIS. This lantern stopped me in my tracks. First of all it’s huge – 38″ tall kind of huge. And second it’s just gorgeous with it’s silvered finish and white art glass shade. It’s so lovely and graceful. If you love it as much as I do and you have room for it give me a call. Let’s get this beauty installed!
The Fable Sconce at the top left would be great lined up down a long hallway with great black and white photography between each sconce. The Ashby Swing Arm lamp at the bottom left would be perfect as a reading lamp hung over the bed. And the Mambu floor lamp is fabulous for it’s bamboo look and is available in gold and silver finishes.
And can we just take a second here and talk about utilitarian items? Do you know what these are?? They’re a brilliant redesign of an everyday item, taking function and upping it’s game with a load of style and color. Have you guessed yet?
It’s one of these. A lowly door stop. So tell me which one would you choose?
I’m always on the lookout for small tables. They’re great for their versatility and really helpful if you live in a small space. The inlaid table above was being used a night table but would work equally well next to a chair or sofa.
These hexagonal tables caught my eye too. Here they’re lined up in front of a long sofa but they could also be pulled together to form a larger hex to use in place of a round or square coffee table or used individually wherever they’re needed in a space.
And of course a whole slew of vignettes with two of my favorite colors, green and blue. This sofa above was nice and deep and super comfy. The rug was pretty great too.
The greens and blues here are softer. The artwork is by an artist from New Orleans. Her mother had been collecting broken and damaged reliquary pieces because she couldn’t bear to think of them going to the garbage but didn’t know what to do with them. When the artist saw what her mother had collected she immediately envisioned them being pieced together, accented with raw crystals and stones and framed in acrylic boxes. She creates them in all shapes and sizes and they are even more gorgeous in person.
This is from Bunny Williams Home. The panel above the sofa features more of the Art Deco influence we saw in her light fixture above.
This was such a cheerful look.
These stools would be a great place to add color in a space but are also sized so that they could be pulled up to a dining table for additional seating.
A more beachy vibe from Libby Langdon.
And in case you think green and blue were the only colors I noticed here is some bright pink.
And finally, one of the best things about going to market is when you get to see someone that you know launch a product. Like the lovely Erika Ward here with her first ever furniture piece the Christopher Game Table. She had this to say about it, “I was invited by 42nd Street to create a one of a kind furniture piece through their Tastemaker program. I chose to design a game table to honor my husband, Christopher, for all of the support and encouragement he’s given me personally and professionally. As a working mother, I don’t believe I could have gotten this far without his “teamwork makes the dream work” mindset.
Not only is this piece fun but it’s well thought out too. The top lifts off to expose a nice big storage space perfect for storing games, toys, blankets and pillows, or any other clutter that you need to stash in a hurry. And the drawer at the bottom is a great size for storing chess pieces and checkers. Congratulations, Erika!
Thanks for stopping by. I know this was long but thanks for hanging in there.
Wendy