Design Works (Goes) International

Happy Friday everyone! Before we head off into the weekend we want to share a little inspiration from our creative director, Nancy Fire, who spent the last week traveling through Paris, Lisbon, and Madrid. Nancy discovered and captured some gorgeous colors and patterns on her adventures and we thought we would share a little bit of her finds with you today! (Aren’t you lucky?) So sit back, relax, and lets go on a little trip to Europe (visually, at least).

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From the world traveler herself:

“Inspiration is everywhere in Lisbon, especially if you love Azulejos Tiles. Today these tiles are dominant in every Portuguese city and are embedded in its history and culture. The word “azulejo” means “small polished stone” and although they are not a Portuguese invention, by the 18th century no other European country was producing as many tiles as Portugal. Over the years, azulejo tiles have become an art form used for a variety of design applications both in exterior and interior home design. Spending time in Bairro Atlo and Principe Real, two older areas of Lisbon, I spotted various azulejo tiles on homes in different color combinations and patterns.”

In the name of print & pattern,

DW

“Savvy Style” at Architectural Digest Design Show NYC |

Attending the Architectural Digest Design Show in NYC is always aspirational because you “meet the makers” of the industry that are creating and designing new products for the interior …

Source: “Savvy Style” at Architectural Digest Design Show NYC |

Paris..products and lots of “purdy stuff” at Maison Objet!

How many years can one person attend a show and still get inspired…the answer is 20! Yep I have been coming to Maison Objet for the past 20 years and I still get excited spotting fresh and fun products. Sometimes it’s just an updated color or a new texture or technique that inspires me but you guested it…key word is INSPIRED!

So many people today say that retail is flat and that products are not interesting, but I beg to differ because products today “have to be exciting in order to survive because the competition is so vast” so let’s start looking in the right place….shows like Maison that inspire us to be “our best self” in the product world of course…

It’s true that the show is large and getting larger each year…why because this is where you come to be in inspired…sorry had to throw that in…but it’s true…that is why we schlep through millions…or it seems like millions of aisles to find those inspiring products and ideas that make us smile…

Here are a few of mine…..

 Lalie Design  Trend Hall

 Flamant

  Mero Wing

 Vent de Boheme

  Twoolies

  SebraRina Menardi

 Toulemonde Bochart  Vitra

Check out my other blog colorchaosandcreativity.com tomorrow for an overview of Kind + Jugend, an International trade show for kids products in Cologne Germany.

Thanks for following….

Nancy Fire

Hanging at the High Point Furniture Market-Textiles and Texture

By Nancy Fire

Textiles and Texture…a mix of “Rustic Glam” was prevalent throughout many of the showrooms this market at High Point.

Textured wood, fur accent pillows, sculptural lamp bases, mixed substrates like metal and wood, painted textured tables, fabric and metal lighting, teak and concrete stools, pecky cypress wood, feminine prints paired with texture, lighting with natural elements as well as feathered and fringed pillows.

The diversity of texture both on hard surfaces like wood and metal, as well as soft surfaces like textiles and rugs was creative and updated offering designers many choices in style and substrate.

  Bungalow 5

  Dove Tail

  Dunes and Duchess

  Dove Tail

  Dove Tail

Curry Lighting

  Splendid Outdoors

  SugarBone

  Ann Gish Bedding  Emporium Home

 Dransfield and Ross

Hanging at High Point Furniture Market in NC

Fast and furious times at the High Point Furniture Market…short trip this market but never a shortage of talent!

Being partial to the “softer side of home” the textiles this market are so creative and inspiring from beautiful printed florals to amazing textured woven collections!

Metals are truly mixed this season as we notice warm and cool metallics in many of the showrooms either as accents or main substrates. I especially love how Ann Gish uses a metallic yarn in her “Le Chic” bed ensemble this season.

Color was everywhere from outdoor products to indoor digitally printed dec pillows….the brighter, the better!

Always inspired at the High Point Furniture Market!

Photos by Nancy Fire

Peony Bed Ensemble by Ann Gish

Ceramic and Light Concrete outdoor furniture from Seasonal Living and an Upholstered and Wood bench from Janus et Cie.

A fun floral bedding story from Legancy Home-Ryan Studio.

“Le Chic” bedding with metallic lurex thread in the weave by Ann Gish.

Digitally printed colorful pillows by Ann Gish.

 

Playful Products

Color, Chaos & Creativity

So nice to find playful products on my travels these days…really love the spontaneouty of these ceramic bowls for their color and imperfect pattern design. I am not a fan of matching patterns but I do love collections of similar objects….hence loving this ceramic collection!



Photo posted by nancy_fire

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