20 Furniture Trends from the Spring 2024 High Point Market Show
New furnishings at this key US design trade show were curvy, earthy and warm. And fresh trends are afoot...
General furniture trends, such as the rounded forms, natural influences and warm colour palettes that have dominated since the pandemic, develop gradually and can endure for years. At the same time, new trending design details, such as specific motifs or patterns, seem to fall from the zeitgeist into showrooms every season – and often fall out just as quickly.
At the recent trade-only spring High Point Market in North Carolina, USA (13-17 April), we toured the showrooms and talked to industry pros to identify trends that are starting to get traction and to check in on those already in full stride. Whether you’re inclined to follow trends or avoid them, keep reading to be in the know.
At the recent trade-only spring High Point Market in North Carolina, USA (13-17 April), we toured the showrooms and talked to industry pros to identify trends that are starting to get traction and to check in on those already in full stride. Whether you’re inclined to follow trends or avoid them, keep reading to be in the know.
While eclectic, “anything goes” interiors may be popular, if you were to break down this season’s showroom vignettes into individual components, you’d find some styles, colours and eras better represented than others.
For example, postmodern and Art Deco-inspired designs, which were among the top trends of the past few seasons, mingled with traditional-style furniture. And handmade and woven accents from around the world provided natural texture and one-of-a-kind appeal.
This vignette from the Made Goods spring collection has a very different look than the previously pictured Four Hands room, but a similarly collected feel.
For example, postmodern and Art Deco-inspired designs, which were among the top trends of the past few seasons, mingled with traditional-style furniture. And handmade and woven accents from around the world provided natural texture and one-of-a-kind appeal.
This vignette from the Made Goods spring collection has a very different look than the previously pictured Four Hands room, but a similarly collected feel.
2. 360-degree design
This photo of the hair-on hide Arteriors Devine chair and Celestine accent table is styled perfectly to illustrate the next trend we saw in showroom after showroom: furniture that’s designed to be attractive from any angle.
In fact, many chairs (including the three-legged chairs we started seeing a couple of seasons ago, which returned this spring) had more interesting backs than fronts, which is smart, since they’re often pulled up to a table or island.
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This photo of the hair-on hide Arteriors Devine chair and Celestine accent table is styled perfectly to illustrate the next trend we saw in showroom after showroom: furniture that’s designed to be attractive from any angle.
In fact, many chairs (including the three-legged chairs we started seeing a couple of seasons ago, which returned this spring) had more interesting backs than fronts, which is smart, since they’re often pulled up to a table or island.
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3. 1970s vibes
While many eras were represented in the spring collections, the 1970s stole the spotlight. What started as a somewhat niche trend a few seasons ago has blossomed into all its groovy glory.
This living room setup from Precedent featuring the olive leather Fleetwood modular sofa is one current take. We also saw caterpillar-like ruched sectionals, cut velvet and multicoloured chenille upholstery, retro geometric prints and amber glass.
Some looks were fairly extreme, especially super-low sofas that would be impractical for many users. But other, more subtle nods to the era – whether in palette, pattern, material or silhouette – looked elegant and appealing (even to those of us who lived through the decade the first time!).
While many eras were represented in the spring collections, the 1970s stole the spotlight. What started as a somewhat niche trend a few seasons ago has blossomed into all its groovy glory.
This living room setup from Precedent featuring the olive leather Fleetwood modular sofa is one current take. We also saw caterpillar-like ruched sectionals, cut velvet and multicoloured chenille upholstery, retro geometric prints and amber glass.
Some looks were fairly extreme, especially super-low sofas that would be impractical for many users. But other, more subtle nods to the era – whether in palette, pattern, material or silhouette – looked elegant and appealing (even to those of us who lived through the decade the first time!).
4. Palm Beach punch
Vibrant pastels have been part of the colour story for several years now. At the same time, coastal and seaside motifs have been on the rise.
For spring 2024, manufacturers married the two to create looks with preppy, Palm Beach style, characterised not just by ice lolly colours such as turquoise and yellow, but also by exuberant florals, tropical motifs, scallops, lattice and formal European antiques mixed with casual rattan and faux bamboo. Eichholtz interpreted the trend and gave it a modern European spin to create this look, which it aptly calls Palm Beach.
Vibrant pastels have been part of the colour story for several years now. At the same time, coastal and seaside motifs have been on the rise.
For spring 2024, manufacturers married the two to create looks with preppy, Palm Beach style, characterised not just by ice lolly colours such as turquoise and yellow, but also by exuberant florals, tropical motifs, scallops, lattice and formal European antiques mixed with casual rattan and faux bamboo. Eichholtz interpreted the trend and gave it a modern European spin to create this look, which it aptly calls Palm Beach.
5. Charming chinoiserie
New and renewed interest in traditional design, especially among younger generations, put fun takes on chinoiserie and toile on our 2024 trends-to-watch list last autumn. We also admired many lovely floral block prints at this market, not just on upholstery but on attendees’ sundresses, too.
But chinoiserie seemed to pull ahead of the pack of traditional prints this spring – in part, perhaps, because it’s a staple of the Palm Beach style that’s also in vogue. Standout fabric and wallcovering examples included Thibaut’s pretty, 1930s-style Pagoda Trees pattern and Vern Yip’s collection for Fabricut’s Trend division, one pattern from which is pictured here.
New and renewed interest in traditional design, especially among younger generations, put fun takes on chinoiserie and toile on our 2024 trends-to-watch list last autumn. We also admired many lovely floral block prints at this market, not just on upholstery but on attendees’ sundresses, too.
But chinoiserie seemed to pull ahead of the pack of traditional prints this spring – in part, perhaps, because it’s a staple of the Palm Beach style that’s also in vogue. Standout fabric and wallcovering examples included Thibaut’s pretty, 1930s-style Pagoda Trees pattern and Vern Yip’s collection for Fabricut’s Trend division, one pattern from which is pictured here.
Something a little different (at least to our eye) this season was that the East Asian motifs jumped from walls, fabrics and antique furniture into new and youthful-feeling furniture, including this pagoda-inspired Tottie bookshelf from Made Goods. The brand even had a little woven rattan tabletop pagoda.
6. Brown and other warm neutrals
As exemplified by this TL at Home bedroom vignette, warm, neutral colours have largely supplanted 2010s-era white-and-grey schemes at High Point Market (and beyond).
Beige, greige, taupe and cream were typical upholstery colours for larger-ticket items, such as sofas, and some showrooms limited their entire collections and accessories to this palette, which exuded a “quiet luxury” look.
As exemplified by this TL at Home bedroom vignette, warm, neutral colours have largely supplanted 2010s-era white-and-grey schemes at High Point Market (and beyond).
Beige, greige, taupe and cream were typical upholstery colours for larger-ticket items, such as sofas, and some showrooms limited their entire collections and accessories to this palette, which exuded a “quiet luxury” look.
7. Blues and greens
As we mentioned in our autumn report, paint company Sherwin-Williams’ 2024 colour of the year is Upward – a soft, pale blue. In the previous several seasons, we’d seen various shades of green dominating palettes. This season brought more of the same blues and greens, plus blue-greens ranging from deep teal to light aqua.
This set of BDI Bink laptop tables includes the colours in a palette that we saw in traditional and contemporary collections alike: a mid-tone blue, olive green, plus a touch of terracotta against a warm neutral backdrop. We also saw the same basic palette but in lighter tones – pale blue, sage green and peachy pink (or butter yellow).
As we mentioned in our autumn report, paint company Sherwin-Williams’ 2024 colour of the year is Upward – a soft, pale blue. In the previous several seasons, we’d seen various shades of green dominating palettes. This season brought more of the same blues and greens, plus blue-greens ranging from deep teal to light aqua.
This set of BDI Bink laptop tables includes the colours in a palette that we saw in traditional and contemporary collections alike: a mid-tone blue, olive green, plus a touch of terracotta against a warm neutral backdrop. We also saw the same basic palette but in lighter tones – pale blue, sage green and peachy pink (or butter yellow).
8. Gold and butter yellow
This season, in addition to Upward, Sherwin-Williams is promoting Kingdom Gold in a fun new campaign dubbed, “The Loneliest Color”. The company says the warm, saturated yellow is its least-tinted colour. But we actually saw a lot of harvest gold (consistent with the 1970s theme), as well as buttery yellow, both as accent colours and in large upholstered furnishings, as illustrated by this bedroom by Kravet.
This season, in addition to Upward, Sherwin-Williams is promoting Kingdom Gold in a fun new campaign dubbed, “The Loneliest Color”. The company says the warm, saturated yellow is its least-tinted colour. But we actually saw a lot of harvest gold (consistent with the 1970s theme), as well as buttery yellow, both as accent colours and in large upholstered furnishings, as illustrated by this bedroom by Kravet.
9. Rich reds
Despite the red on fashion runways and the viral “unexpected red” theory (which suggests that a touch of red elevates any interior), we didn’t see a lot of bright red in showrooms. However, we did see a lot of rich, dark shades of red with orange or purple undertones, such as rust and burgundy, as well as their lighter cousins, terracotta and mauve. This garnet marble Reeves end table from Four Hands is a striking example.
Worth noting is that Sherwin-Williams predicts that dark, moody tones such as burgundy will be even bigger going into 2025.
Despite the red on fashion runways and the viral “unexpected red” theory (which suggests that a touch of red elevates any interior), we didn’t see a lot of bright red in showrooms. However, we did see a lot of rich, dark shades of red with orange or purple undertones, such as rust and burgundy, as well as their lighter cousins, terracotta and mauve. This garnet marble Reeves end table from Four Hands is a striking example.
Worth noting is that Sherwin-Williams predicts that dark, moody tones such as burgundy will be even bigger going into 2025.
10. Curves
Curved and rounded furniture continues what is now a years-long reign that has made it the norm in just about every category – especially upholstered seating, which you can see in the images throughout this story.
At High Point, we also admired many wood storage pieces, such as dressers and sideboards, with rounded corners – sometimes outfitted with curved or tambour doors – and rounded wood details such as scallop trim and bun or ball feet, like the feet on this Cabochon dresser from Caracole.
Curved and rounded furniture continues what is now a years-long reign that has made it the norm in just about every category – especially upholstered seating, which you can see in the images throughout this story.
At High Point, we also admired many wood storage pieces, such as dressers and sideboards, with rounded corners – sometimes outfitted with curved or tambour doors – and rounded wood details such as scallop trim and bun or ball feet, like the feet on this Cabochon dresser from Caracole.
11. Oversized and enveloping pieces
Many of the chairs and sofas this spring and in recent seasons have looked overstuffed, with quilting and channelling that emphasises their plumpness. At this market, we also noticed that the footprints of many sofas, lounge chairs and chaises seemed especially large, with extra-wide and deep seats that seemed to invite napping. Some chairs also went extra tall, including more contemporary takes on wingbacks than we recall seeing in seasons past.
In the bedroom, lots of headboards also went big. Some were sculptural, such as Eichholtz’s padded, puzzle-like Minori. Often they extended beyond the sides of beds and past bedside tables, as on this Tarrant bed from Sunpan.
Many of the chairs and sofas this spring and in recent seasons have looked overstuffed, with quilting and channelling that emphasises their plumpness. At this market, we also noticed that the footprints of many sofas, lounge chairs and chaises seemed especially large, with extra-wide and deep seats that seemed to invite napping. Some chairs also went extra tall, including more contemporary takes on wingbacks than we recall seeing in seasons past.
In the bedroom, lots of headboards also went big. Some were sculptural, such as Eichholtz’s padded, puzzle-like Minori. Often they extended beyond the sides of beds and past bedside tables, as on this Tarrant bed from Sunpan.
12. Intricate arches
In the last few seasons, arches have been everywhere, starting small with accessories and fabric patterns and continuing all the way up to furniture and interior architecture. The arches have been simple, with Art Deco, postmodern and even ancient Roman overtones.
Last season, a handful of accessories (including mirrors) with more intricate, Islamic-style arches caught our eye. And lo and behold, there were many more elaborately arched mirrors this season, as well as headboards with ogee or trefoil profiles and chairs with similarly scalloped silhouettes. This Sloane bed by Mr and Mrs Howard for Sherrill Furniture is a particularly pretty example.
In the last few seasons, arches have been everywhere, starting small with accessories and fabric patterns and continuing all the way up to furniture and interior architecture. The arches have been simple, with Art Deco, postmodern and even ancient Roman overtones.
Last season, a handful of accessories (including mirrors) with more intricate, Islamic-style arches caught our eye. And lo and behold, there were many more elaborately arched mirrors this season, as well as headboards with ogee or trefoil profiles and chairs with similarly scalloped silhouettes. This Sloane bed by Mr and Mrs Howard for Sherrill Furniture is a particularly pretty example.
13. Tapestry
Emerging as a new trend, botanical jacquard fabrics and murals evoking medieval tapestries looked refreshingly modern this spring, showing up on furniture pieces and on wallcoverings.
One standout example was part of an inaugural collaboration between designer and furniture manufacturer Kim Salmela and Crypton Home Fabrics, which launched at Norwalk Furniture at the market (available to the trade only). The North Oaks pattern, seen here on a Salmela-designed chair and ottoman, looked totally on trend and felt soft and luxurious despite being high-performance.
Emerging as a new trend, botanical jacquard fabrics and murals evoking medieval tapestries looked refreshingly modern this spring, showing up on furniture pieces and on wallcoverings.
One standout example was part of an inaugural collaboration between designer and furniture manufacturer Kim Salmela and Crypton Home Fabrics, which launched at Norwalk Furniture at the market (available to the trade only). The North Oaks pattern, seen here on a Salmela-designed chair and ottoman, looked totally on trend and felt soft and luxurious despite being high-performance.
14. Menswear
Each season seems to bring a new menswear pattern to the fore. We were taken by new, nubby tweeds this past autumn; windowpane, herringbone and stripes (from pinstripe to cabana) looked dapper, too. And this spring, we saw much more houndstooth popping up on accent chairs and sofas, including this Fairfield Coco sofa.
Each season seems to bring a new menswear pattern to the fore. We were taken by new, nubby tweeds this past autumn; windowpane, herringbone and stripes (from pinstripe to cabana) looked dapper, too. And this spring, we saw much more houndstooth popping up on accent chairs and sofas, including this Fairfield Coco sofa.
15. Animal prints
While many designers see animal prints as a neutral, they hadn’t been front and centre in the last several seasons. But this spring, we spotted (ahem) lots of cushions and other accent pieces in animal print – particularly leopard – as well as on a few rugs, such as this one from Capel Rugs.
While many designers see animal prints as a neutral, they hadn’t been front and centre in the last several seasons. But this spring, we spotted (ahem) lots of cushions and other accent pieces in animal print – particularly leopard – as well as on a few rugs, such as this one from Capel Rugs.
16. Brass and other metals
Gold and dark brass have been far and away more popular than silver tones in showrooms of late, and this spring was no exception. Brass accents, both shiny and antiqued, blinged out many of the new furniture collections. But trend forecasters have been predicting a return of silver and chrome, so we were on the lookout – and saw some glimmers, including a few lighting fixtures here and a base on a swivel chair there.
One of the more striking offerings was this antiqued silver leaf Avaline Dolce sideboard from Universal Furniture. We’re curious to see whether the autumn market brings yet more silver tones.
Gold and dark brass have been far and away more popular than silver tones in showrooms of late, and this spring was no exception. Brass accents, both shiny and antiqued, blinged out many of the new furniture collections. But trend forecasters have been predicting a return of silver and chrome, so we were on the lookout – and saw some glimmers, including a few lighting fixtures here and a base on a swivel chair there.
One of the more striking offerings was this antiqued silver leaf Avaline Dolce sideboard from Universal Furniture. We’re curious to see whether the autumn market brings yet more silver tones.
17. Evolved bouclé and fleece
White bouclé was ubiquitous a couple of years ago, but most manufacturers are now exploring other textured upholstery. This cosy chair from Moe’s is a good example of the multitone, multidimensional weaves that are moving in where bouclé is phasing out.
As we noted a year ago, in addition to nubby tweeds, fleece is increasingly providing the texture and cosiness once offered almost exclusively by bouclé, as is chunky corduroy.
White bouclé was ubiquitous a couple of years ago, but most manufacturers are now exploring other textured upholstery. This cosy chair from Moe’s is a good example of the multitone, multidimensional weaves that are moving in where bouclé is phasing out.
As we noted a year ago, in addition to nubby tweeds, fleece is increasingly providing the texture and cosiness once offered almost exclusively by bouclé, as is chunky corduroy.
18. Hair-on hide
Last season, we saw hair-on hide here and there and wondered whether it was an emerging trend or we were imagining it. This season, there was no question. Yet more hair-on hide showed up in unusual places and in unusual colours, as illustrated by this red Taurus mirror from Wildwood. The Arteriors chair pictured earlier was another striking example.
Last season, we saw hair-on hide here and there and wondered whether it was an emerging trend or we were imagining it. This season, there was no question. Yet more hair-on hide showed up in unusual places and in unusual colours, as illustrated by this red Taurus mirror from Wildwood. The Arteriors chair pictured earlier was another striking example.
19. Sofas with mixed materials and passementerie
The classic, chameleon-like beige sofa isn’t going anywhere. But for those who prefer a bit more pizzazz in their seating, this spring’s collections had a lot to offer. We saw contrasting welting and flange details; classic, ball and tassel fringes; band-trimmed skirts; elaborate pleating; diagonal quilting; exposed wood frames; button tufting, and nailheads galore.
We also saw leather mixed with both patterned and solid upholstery. And many of the showrooms touted their expansive libraries of upholstery and trims for creating custom looks. This modular Waverly seating by American Leather, for example, comes in hundreds of fabric and leather choices.
The classic, chameleon-like beige sofa isn’t going anywhere. But for those who prefer a bit more pizzazz in their seating, this spring’s collections had a lot to offer. We saw contrasting welting and flange details; classic, ball and tassel fringes; band-trimmed skirts; elaborate pleating; diagonal quilting; exposed wood frames; button tufting, and nailheads galore.
We also saw leather mixed with both patterned and solid upholstery. And many of the showrooms touted their expansive libraries of upholstery and trims for creating custom looks. This modular Waverly seating by American Leather, for example, comes in hundreds of fabric and leather choices.
20. Reeding and fluting
Reeding (with rounded convex ridges) and fluting (with concave grooves), while not a new trend, also seemed more prevalent in the just-launched collections. This Gazela swivel chair and Carmen spot table by Universal Furniture were a standout duo.
Tell us…
Which of these furnishing trends appeal to you? Let us know in the Comments.
Reeding (with rounded convex ridges) and fluting (with concave grooves), while not a new trend, also seemed more prevalent in the just-launched collections. This Gazela swivel chair and Carmen spot table by Universal Furniture were a standout duo.
Tell us…
Which of these furnishing trends appeal to you? Let us know in the Comments.
Designer Amber Lewis and furniture designer and wholesaler Four Hands combined elements of traditional, modern and minimalist design and borrowed from Scandinavian, Italian and other furniture styles to create what may have been the buzziest collaboration at the spring market.
This pairing of the collection’s bold marble Figueroa dining table, which has a sculptural, almost Brutalist form, and the Fayth dining chairs, whose wrapped paper cord back is reminiscent of midcentury Danish furniture, is a good example of the products’ disparate styles playing well together.
Encompassing more than 100 pieces, the collection illustrates an eclectic, character-filled approach increasingly popular among consumers. Four Hands dubbed the look “trend-proof”. Nonetheless, the fresh buzz around the age-old practice of mixing and matching eras and styles led to us identifying it as a trend at last spring’s market and, judging by the eclectic furniture arrangements in showrooms this spring, it’s a top trend this year, too.