Over the weekend, Wendy and I attended AmericasMart Atlanta—The Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market where all of our favorite brands showed their latest styles and collections of the season. Everyone from Arteriors Home to Worlds Away was there, and we got the chance to feel, sample, and photograph everything in sight. Talk about a designer's dream! During the weekend, we saw so many unique styles, but we were able to identify and name three distinct trends that dominated AmericasMart Atlanta: Tonal Texture, Modern Man Cave, and Natural by Nature. Tonal Texture People often think a solid-color product means a boring product, but this couldn't be farther from the truth. Brands like Bungalow 5, Gilded Home, and Global Views crafted beautifully-detailed "Tonal Texture" pieces using high-quality materials like lacquered tweed, grasscloth, and bronzed iron. As I mentioned in my previous blog post, the Bungalow 5 Brittany Large 3-Drawer Chest in Gray Tweed is a perfect example of tonal texture. Although the gray tweed is regarded as a solid color, the micro texture of the woven fabric adds movement and dimension to this Bungalow 5 casegood. Speaking of movement, check out that GIF! Our friend John McClain, the designer and owner of Gilded Home, is also a master of tonal texture. In fact, the Gilded Home Charlie Credenza was featured in the official AmericasMart Atlanta magazine for this exact trend! What's great about the Charlie Credenza is that it creates a rhythmic pattern of triangles and diamonds by playing with light and shadows. It's a truly unique piece that changes shape as you move around it. Another great execution of Tonal Texture is the Global Views Layered Console. Not only does the wavy surface of the bronzed iron add visual interest, but the multiple depths of the piece create a multi-layered prism effect, making it great for industrial or modern look. This is definitely one of our favorite Global Views pieces to date! Modern Man Cave The "Man Cave" has gotten a bad wrap over the last few years, so I'm here to set the record straight about it: Man caves can be equal parts masculine, utilitarian, and stylish. And to prove it, Arteriors Home and BoBo Intriguing Objects have this trend down pat. The Arteriors Home Jagger Chair in Jacquard Gray Ash is made with a luxe and masculine flannel-style fabric and features a low profile and 30" depth. It's perfect for a reading a good book in the home office or kicking back with some buddies to watch Monday Night Football. This chair says casual and contemporary. For a more industrial look, the BoBo Intriguing Objects White Lacquered Console and Dresser combines the rustic nature of elm wood and brown leather pulls with a shiny white lacquered shell. The white lacquer elevates and modernizes the elm wood while still keeping the vibe warm and casual. These pieces are sure to please both the king and queen of any home. Natural by Nature Our final trend from AmericasMart Atlanta is perhaps the most interesting of them all. The "Natural by Nature" trend procures the innate beauty of a product's material. Materials like burl wood, hide, and handwoven seagrass dominate this trend, and brands like Made Goods and Worlds Away are crafting these pieces in exquisite form. The Made Goods Nina Drum Knotted Seagrass Chandelier captures a unique coastal style that you can picture hanging in the breakfast nook of a beautiful seaside cottage. Its simplicity makes it chic and relaxed, which is exactly how nature should make you feel. In a similar way, the Made Goods Cohen Mirror in White and Natural finishes add function and natural casual style. Here it is hanging in the Made Goods showroom in Atlanta. Since modern design is often dominated by etherial shapes and metallic finishes, the Natural by Nature trend is especially popular when used in contrast to more modern furnishings. For example, the Worlds Away Burlwood Newberry Coffee Table in light and dark finishes doesn't seem like it would work in an all-white Miami penthouse, but since it is made of natural burlwood and features a contemporary waterfall silhouette, in can be used in that penthouse to juxtapose and ground the ultra-modern space. For more information about any of these trends or for information about other products you've seen on our site, contact our design team today!
