Emerging Furniture Trends from High Point Market Fall 2022

After recently returning from Fall High Point Market I made two observations. Number one, Market is back! The energy, the excitement and the overall feel of Market felt like pre-covid times. Number two, although a lot of the showrooms looked similar to last Spring, I want to share a few emerging furniture trends from High Point Market Fall 2022.

Colors were very much in line with last Spring. Warm neutrals still reigned, along with last Spring’s popular terracotta, rusty reds, cinnamon, bright greens, rich blues and gold. To see how similar the trends and colors were from last Spring you can check out my Color trend report from Spring HERE.

This image below is a good representation of the colors seen throughout many of the showrooms.

Rounded and curved shapes are still dominant, similar to what I saw at Spring Market.

Large curved sectionals were very popular like last Spring as well.

The capsule shape that I saw last Spring is still trending strong. I saw many benches with a capsule shape.

The bench below not only has the capsule shape but caning which is still very much on trend.

Tables shaped like capsules were also spotted in multiple showrooms this Fall.

So what stood out to me as new? Below is what I saw as emerging furniture trends from High Point Market Fall 2022

Back to the Future! Traditional is coming back strong

The return of skirts

There are many theories why traditional is having such a strong showing but I personally believe it is a direct reflection of the uncertainty we all feel politically, socially and environmentally. Surrounding ourselves with things that remind us of what we grew up with, or what was in grandma’s home is comforting in such uncertain times.

Rounded arms, skirted sofas and chairs, trim embellishments, nailheads and larger scaled upholstery had a major presence.

Notice the sofa above is shown with multiple pleats on the skirt and the one below had a pleat at each of the seat cushions.

This sofa below had one long skirt with no pleats

I was surprised to see ruffled skirts on furniture. It will be interesting to see if this trend has staying power. I swear my Mom had this exact chair in our den in the 60’s….same fabric even!

Floral fabrics and large scale botanical fabrics were HOT! I saw them in almost every showroom. Swivel chairs are also still going strong and many were shown in a statement fabric like the one below.

Large scale floral fabric was so popular this Fall, and not only on the skirted pieces.

Wouldn’t these be great in a summer cottage or sunroom?

Embellishments

Another nod to the traditional I saw at Market were lot’s of decorative embellishments. Trims, decorative tapes and contrast welting all pairing nicely with the traditional furniture.

Many of the swivel chairs I saw were shown with either skirts or decorative trim.

For lovers of bullion fringe, good news…it’s baack!

Goodbye Boucle

After seeing enough boucle fabric last Spring at Market to last a lifetime (#boucleallday) it was refreshing to see a new fabric that was picked as a showroom darling. This Fall it was velvet.

Velvet fits in nicely with the move back to traditional and most of it was paired with the more traditional look of tufting.

Almost every showroom had a tufted velvet sofa or chair. It wasn’t until I returned home that I saw how many dozens of images I had of tufted upholstery on my camera roll.

As luxurious as velvet looks and feels, many of the pieces shown were done in tough wearing velvet performance fabric.

Chairs sporting two different fabrics were also spotted in several of the showrooms.

I’m not yet ready to call Red an emerging color trend but I saw it featured in several showrooms

Details and more details!

Is it time to say goodbye to “clean lines” and simple farmhouse style? After a visit to Fall Market one would believe so. Added design details on upholstery pieces were very prominent this Fall.

Nailheads have always been a traditional detail on upholstery and there was so much of it shown this Fall.

Not only was upholstery sporting nailheads but this dining table base had an exaggerated version of nailheads as did the frame of the chair.

Check out the nailheads and brass dog heads on this tufted leather chair. It was very comfortable to sit and rest my hands on the heads.

I don’t know if this is an emerging trend but I spotted brass caps used as embellishments on several chairs.

Even more contemporary showrooms had interesting added details to their pieces like these leather straps on the back of this dining chair.

Check out the detail on this console bench covered with ribbed leather.

Flanged edges

This is a trend that was hard to miss this past Fall, yet I don’t remember seeing any flanged edges last Spring. what is a flanged edge you ask?? A flanged edge is a wide flap of fabric added to the edges of an item for decorative purposes.

Usually flanged edges are seen on pillows like in the two examples below.

Moving beyond pillows I saw flanged edges on many upholstery pieces.

The leather sofa below had flanged edges not only on the sofa frame but on the cushions as well.

The sofa below had a neater looking flanged edge.

I’d love to hear what you think of this trend because in my opinion it looks messy. Also those edges are going to wear out first.

The Shape of arms to come?

Another trend I spotted was winged arms on upholstery. Again, time will tell if this trend lasts but one thing I know is that small condos and apartment do not have the extra room for arms that stick out 5-6 inches (or more)!

This chair below is another example of the winged arm profile.

As well as this sofa.

Curvey collars

Curved “collars” functioning as support for chairs and ottomans was something I noticed last Spring. I don’t know what to call this look but the photos below are an example of what I am referring to.

This chair below has a similar design of a rounded collar with legs.

These two swivel chairs have a similar curved collar like shape.

Peg Legs

These final photos are not an necessarily an emerging trend, but the legs on these pieces caught my attention. For lack of a better description I am calling it them “peg Legs”.

This round ball shaped ottoman is a good representation of the peg legs I spotted on several new introductions to this Fall Market.

These round ottomans are sporting the same peg like legs.

I even spotted peg legs on chairs and sofas.

I don’t know where I’m going with this or why I even felt the need to point these legs out, but I’ll be sure to keep a lookout for more peg legs next Spring when I return to Market.

So that is a wrap on my emerging furniture trends from Fall High Point Market. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. Which trend is your favorite? Is there one you would rather not see?

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