Argent Decor

I'm *almost* caught up from our trip, but I promised this report 2 weeks ago....so here is my much-delayed re-cap of Las Vegas Furniture Market - Furniture Trends and news for fall 2011!

(PLEASE NOTE!  The following contains a lot of my opinions; in the end, select furniture that YOU love!  You're the one who gets to look at it every day!)

I'll start with color trends - last Market (Feb '11), we noticed cooler colors creeping in - not a bunch, but a few sneaking into the mix.  This Market (Aug '11), there were quite a bit of new pieces with cool grays/slates/etc.  I absolutely LOVE the new palette; but I'm not ready to re-furnish our home just yet....!

Last Market, we saw a lot of Pottery Barn/Restoration Hardware knock-offs of distressed acacia woods, particularly in Dining Room furniture.  This trend, I was not crazy about; it reminds me a lot of the "pickled oak" of the early 90s....just not a fan.  I must not be the only one who feels this way, as there were hardly any new introductions in this finish! 

If you look at the gray sectional above, and this dining set, you can see how your rooms could look washed-out pretty quickly without any contrast....the gray sectional works because of the contrast wood trim; but if you had gray upholstery AND distressed woods like this dining set....too much gray!

That is not to say that "distressed" in general is out; quite the contrary, actually.  We saw a lot of hand-scraped table tops, faux worm holes, hand-hammered metals.....and a LOT of rustic pieces!  Even mainstream lines like Ashley Furniture are showing more rustic pieces!  The trend seems to be "clean lines but ornate/interesting details" like faux leather inserts, hand-hammered copper, slate or tile insets.......

Reclaimed wood furniture continues to be present - we are seeing these items pop up in more and more showrooms....it's DEFINITELY not for everybody, and I don't suggest furnishing your entire home with it, but a buffet or console makes for a great conversation piece!

As for flooring, we saw a LOT of "wood tile" - ceramic tile that looks like hardwood.  This is a FANTASTIC option here in Arizona, as hardwood suffers with our dust.  They've produced some amazing grain replicas and you really have to look to tell if it's real wood or tile!

Hopefully this gives you some insight into the trends for the fall....any questions, don't be afraid to ask!

All the furniture shown can be ordered for YOUR home - if you see anything you like, just let us know......