Every April and October, our staff heads to the international design market in High Point, North Carolina, where hundreds of design trade resources display their latest wares in gorgeous showroom after gorgeous showroom. We peruse these design houses to find out what’s hot and new – and to get a picture of the overall trends you might want to incorporate into your own home. Here are the “high points” of what we saw this spring:

1. Home design definitely has the blues. The most pervasive color at High Point Market, by far, was blue. Blue permeated every aspect of home furnishings, textiles, floor coverings, art, wall colors and accessories, in all shades. And since we prefer to focus on continuing trends that are classic and timeless and bring lasting value to your investment in your home, rest assured that blue is here to stay for the long haul.

The fabrics incorporating blue were just stunning.

Fabrics were both classic and current.  Fashion forward with a nod to the classics.

A garden stool with vivid blues and greens serves as a fun and functional side table.

Accessories and art, across the board, are showing up in hues of sky and water.

2. Bold color is back. Though neutral palettes remain steadfast, strong use of color is increasing in every facet of the market. In the last 20 years, we’ve moved from saturated hues to neutral tones, and now the cycle is repeating and color is back in a big way. At High Point, we saw showrooms with neutral, soft palettes across the street from showrooms bursting with color. The good news with this trend? It gives you latitude. If you love neutrals, they’re current. If you love color, that’s current too. The bottom line is, you do you.

When the walls are neutral, vivid hits of color go a long way. We picked up these navy chairs at market, and they look great paired with bold-hued accessories.

3. It’s fine to walk on the wild side. Animal prints continue to be a popular choice among designers, from traditional prints to innovative colors, textures and designs. As trends go, animal print is timeless – it’s how you use it that counts. A chair, a pillow or a hide rug are just a few ways you can incorporate animal print into your own design mix.

Whether literal and traditional, like this leopard-spotted chair, or more subtle or abstract, a pop of animal print is both classic and very right now.

The animal print is subtler here, and just as chic.

4. Abstract art is an absolute must.  Abstract art that’s bold, colorful and large continues to dominate wall art. In fact, it’s almost impossible to find a well-designed space that doesn’t feature at least one piece of abstract art. It’s that important. It adds color. It enhances the room … any room. And again, the beauty of this trend is that it’s flexible. Choose a piece you love, and it can only make your space better.

This showroom has it all … bold, colorful abstract art, vivid blue walls, a touch of animal print, and saturated, strong color. Decorating with the things you love is very 2018.