New York Report: New Trends in Furniture & Design
Sustainability, wellness, innovation and craft were top of mind at the recent ICFF and WantedDesign trade events in NY
Contemporary furniture companies are lifting sustainability goals up a notch, going all in on wellness and merging technology with traditional craftsmanship. These were the key takeaways from this month’s International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) and WantedDesign Manhattan, which were full of high-concept, handmade, modular and colourful designs.
Check out these and other trends spotted at New York’s Javits Center on May 15-17, as seen in new and recent products by established and up-and-coming designers.
Check out these and other trends spotted at New York’s Javits Center on May 15-17, as seen in new and recent products by established and up-and-coming designers.
Other companies incorporated construction waste into their designs, eliminated waste and toxins from their manufacturing, reinvigorated dying crafts and built furniture that can be easily repaired instead of discarded.
The Fyrn Mariposa chair seen here is made with parts that are 100 percent replaceable and repairable for life.
The Fyrn Mariposa chair seen here is made with parts that are 100 percent replaceable and repairable for life.
Wellness made mainstream
Wellness encompasses both physical and emotional well-being. Since the onset of the pandemic, it’s become all the buzz in architecture and design. Accordingly, at ICFF, many products touted wellness-enhancing benefits.
Archilume’s OLED Ovolo light, pictured here, stood out among them. OLED (organic light-emitting diode) panels made of organic material deliver a full spectrum, similar to sunshine, that are said to enhance mood and alertness.
Wellness encompasses both physical and emotional well-being. Since the onset of the pandemic, it’s become all the buzz in architecture and design. Accordingly, at ICFF, many products touted wellness-enhancing benefits.
Archilume’s OLED Ovolo light, pictured here, stood out among them. OLED (organic light-emitting diode) panels made of organic material deliver a full spectrum, similar to sunshine, that are said to enhance mood and alertness.
Need a pro for your home renovation project?
Let Houzz find the best pros for you
Let Houzz find the best pros for you
Being surrounded by repeated patterns found in nature, or fractals, has stress-reducing benefits too, research shows.
That concept is the basis of Relaxing Floors, a new modular system that was designed by 13&9 in collaboration with Fractals Research and Mohawk Group. The carpets pattern is supposed to calm people in stressful commercial environments and give their eyes a break from the digital world.
Consult with an interior designer on Houzz to ensure your home is as optimal as it can be, both practically and personally.
That concept is the basis of Relaxing Floors, a new modular system that was designed by 13&9 in collaboration with Fractals Research and Mohawk Group. The carpets pattern is supposed to calm people in stressful commercial environments and give their eyes a break from the digital world.
Consult with an interior designer on Houzz to ensure your home is as optimal as it can be, both practically and personally.
Since physical well-being includes hygiene and safety, wellness naturally extends to the bathroom. Bathroom-fitting manufacturers Houzz spoke to at ICFF pointed out sanitary hands-free features, like the motion-sensor lid on Duravit’s SensoWash shower-toilet (which also has a night-light function).
At a panel focusing on industrywide trends, Gary E. Wheeler, CEO of the American Society of Interior Designers, said that wellness features are even moving into the building code. Like sustainability, this is a trend that’s more a shift in thinking and approach than a fad.
At a panel focusing on industrywide trends, Gary E. Wheeler, CEO of the American Society of Interior Designers, said that wellness features are even moving into the building code. Like sustainability, this is a trend that’s more a shift in thinking and approach than a fad.
Tech meets tradition
A simultaneous blossoming of traditional craftsmanship, technology and digital worlds led to some intriguing high-concept pieces at the show.
For example, Launch Pad participant Adva Kremer’s project The Museum of Empiric Values (one piece from which is pictured here) makes woven reproductions of artworks using Jacquard looms connected to Google Trends.
A simultaneous blossoming of traditional craftsmanship, technology and digital worlds led to some intriguing high-concept pieces at the show.
For example, Launch Pad participant Adva Kremer’s project The Museum of Empiric Values (one piece from which is pictured here) makes woven reproductions of artworks using Jacquard looms connected to Google Trends.
Similar mashups included AI-assisted design for handcrafted ceramics and charging technology embedded into wooden furniture.
This digitally fabricated Slotted side table by Model No. is made from FSC-certified hardwood with optional integrated charging technology.
This digitally fabricated Slotted side table by Model No. is made from FSC-certified hardwood with optional integrated charging technology.
Function
The choice is yours
Modular, customisable and multifunctional furniture reigned at ICFF. Tile covered in a custom print, lighting made of moldable material and other flexible designs let the consumer, not the designer, be the boss.
A particularly eye-catching example was the modular Ledoux shelving system from Piscina. The Brooklyn design studio, led by Natalie Shook, won Best in Show and Best Emerging Designer at this year’s ICFF Editors Awards.
The choice is yours
Modular, customisable and multifunctional furniture reigned at ICFF. Tile covered in a custom print, lighting made of moldable material and other flexible designs let the consumer, not the designer, be the boss.
A particularly eye-catching example was the modular Ledoux shelving system from Piscina. The Brooklyn design studio, led by Natalie Shook, won Best in Show and Best Emerging Designer at this year’s ICFF Editors Awards.
Materials
Mixed matter
Mixed materials and contrasting textures stood out in some of the most striking pieces by high-end furniture makers at ICFF. Nature often played muse.
The Sonoran desert inspired Levi Christiansen’s walnut-and-marble Plural table, pictured here.
Mixed matter
Mixed materials and contrasting textures stood out in some of the most striking pieces by high-end furniture makers at ICFF. Nature often played muse.
The Sonoran desert inspired Levi Christiansen’s walnut-and-marble Plural table, pictured here.
Concrete ideas
Concrete (some of it made with recycled materials) in the form of tiles, colourful matt sink basins and rugged furniture had a strong presence too.
Thatcher’s just-launched Ether tiles, seen here, are made of handcrafted, pigmented concrete.
Concrete (some of it made with recycled materials) in the form of tiles, colourful matt sink basins and rugged furniture had a strong presence too.
Thatcher’s just-launched Ether tiles, seen here, are made of handcrafted, pigmented concrete.
These Concrete Poetics sculptural stools were hand-cast by Brooklyn-based artist Gary Fernández.
Wooden wonders
Designers played with plywood to create innovative pieces, cutting it with minimal waste, turning it into modular furniture and pushing it to its physical limits.
To create the strong and flexible cantilevered Iso-Lounge chair seen here, designer Jasper Morrison and the Isokon Plus team tinkered with the engineered plywood layers’ thicknesses and orientations.
Designers played with plywood to create innovative pieces, cutting it with minimal waste, turning it into modular furniture and pushing it to its physical limits.
To create the strong and flexible cantilevered Iso-Lounge chair seen here, designer Jasper Morrison and the Isokon Plus team tinkered with the engineered plywood layers’ thicknesses and orientations.
Other furniture studios presented heirloom-quality pieces handmade from North American hardwoods, in designs that were at once contemporary and timeless.
The Desert chair from Canada-based Hamilton Holmes, for example, combines traditional joinery and modern production techniques.
The Desert chair from Canada-based Hamilton Holmes, for example, combines traditional joinery and modern production techniques.
Brooklyn-based Vulpe Works handcrafted this Siggi arm chair in cherry with forged bronze details.
While the most popular tones for wooden interior furnishings were walnut and natural and stained-black oak, this beautiful piece made us wonder if warm-toned cherry was due for a comeback.
While the most popular tones for wooden interior furnishings were walnut and natural and stained-black oak, this beautiful piece made us wonder if warm-toned cherry was due for a comeback.
Forms
Rounded shapes
For several seasons now, arches and curves have dominated home furnishings. Although some of the edgier pieces had more industrial, squared-off silhouettes, the general rounded trend held strong at ICFF, where those forms were often asymmetrical.
Mexico City-based Mool showed off this comfy, curvy sofa, which has moveable backrests.
Rounded shapes
For several seasons now, arches and curves have dominated home furnishings. Although some of the edgier pieces had more industrial, squared-off silhouettes, the general rounded trend held strong at ICFF, where those forms were often asymmetrical.
Mexico City-based Mool showed off this comfy, curvy sofa, which has moveable backrests.
Knobs and pulls followed suit, as illustrated by this Ophelia cabinet pull from Rocky Mountain Hardware’s new collection with Robert A.M. Stern Architects.
Even rugs stepped outside the box with irregular, soft outlines. Launch Pad participant Sophie Dannin’s area rug, pictured here, makes use of dead stock materials and carpet remnants.
Dowels and tubes
Other oft-repeated shapes were tubes and wood dowels, seen here on Launch Pad participant Joseph Holmes’ cedar folding table.
Other oft-repeated shapes were tubes and wood dowels, seen here on Launch Pad participant Joseph Holmes’ cedar folding table.
Colors
Everything’s rosy
Bright pink, terra cotta, magenta and mauve popped up on everything from tiles to textiles.
Luca Nichetto’s new modular Cube collection outdoor kitchen for Brown Jordan Outdoor Kitchens went big with a Cotton Candy shade paired with Chili.
Everything’s rosy
Bright pink, terra cotta, magenta and mauve popped up on everything from tiles to textiles.
Luca Nichetto’s new modular Cube collection outdoor kitchen for Brown Jordan Outdoor Kitchens went big with a Cotton Candy shade paired with Chili.
Swimming in colour
While rosy tones led the pack, colour in general was back, in a big way. This collection of pieces by ICFF Editor Award-winning interdisciplinary designer Mana Sazegara captures the mood.
Popular colour schemes also included primary (a la Bauhaus), almost-neon tangerine and lime, aqua and peach and mossy green.
Your turn
Are you a lover of good design? Tell us in the Comments which one of these products you admire the most.
More
Get some more interior inspiration with our round up of 30 Interiors That Celebrate the Joy of Custom Joinery
While rosy tones led the pack, colour in general was back, in a big way. This collection of pieces by ICFF Editor Award-winning interdisciplinary designer Mana Sazegara captures the mood.
Popular colour schemes also included primary (a la Bauhaus), almost-neon tangerine and lime, aqua and peach and mossy green.
Your turn
Are you a lover of good design? Tell us in the Comments which one of these products you admire the most.
More
Get some more interior inspiration with our round up of 30 Interiors That Celebrate the Joy of Custom Joinery
Beyond sustainability
One of the stated themes for 2022 was sustainability, and most exhibitors spoke to ways in which their brands were eco-conscious.
The bigger story, however, was that simply reducing harm is no longer enough. Furniture companies are thinking more holistically about how they can have a positive environmental and social impact through good design. Some of the more innovative approaches were part of WantedDesign, a platform for high-end North American designers (Look Book) and emerging international designers (Launch Pad) that shared the Javits Center floor with ICFF. For example, Launch Pad participant Erika Cross’ Anvil table, pictured here, is made from cork, a natural, renewable material that’s also recyclable.