What We Loved at Las Vegas Market

We’re back from Las Vegas Market with full camera rolls, lots of notes, and some new favorite vendors.

Las Vegas Market had such great energy this year. It was busy without feeling overwhelming; we were excited to see a few new brands, and although we didn’t take a deep dive, we loved that there were more kitchen and bath resources than usual.

A few of our longtime favorite vendors had expanded their showrooms, which meant plenty of new pieces to explore.

But beyond the individual pieces, there were some pretty clear themes happening across Market this year.

The biggest? Warmth. Lots and lots of warmth.

Warm Woods + Brown Is Officially a Neutral

If the cool gray interiors of years past were already on their way out, Las Vegas Market certainly wasn’t trying to bring them back.

Warm woods were everywhere, along with chocolate, tobacco, cognac, rust, and burgundy. We also saw plenty of muted greens, dusty blues, and warm creams mixed in.

Color hasn’t disappeared by any means; it just feels richer and earthier.

And honestly? We’re here for it.

These warmer palettes feel especially good when they’re layered rather than overly coordinated. A beautiful wood grain next to a dusty blue fabric. Chocolate brown paired with muted green. A little burgundy or rust showing up where you might not expect it.

It feels comfortable and collected rather than perfectly matched, which is something we’re always drawn to.

Pattern Is Back...But It’s Not Trying So Hard

Another thing we were excited to see: pattern!

Small-scale florals, stripes, checks, traditional-inspired motifs and vintage-feeling textiles were showing up all over upholstery and accessories.

But instead of one giant statement pattern doing all the work, we saw lots of quieter patterns being layered together.

That distinction matters.

A stripe next to a small floral next to a textured solid can create a room that feels interesting and collected without making the entire space scream, “LOOK! PATTERN!”

This was also one of the places where we saw that growing vintage and traditional influence coming through. The patterns may have had traditional roots, but they were being used on contemporary furniture and mixed with cleaner pieces, warmer woods and more modern shapes.

That tension between old and new is something we love. A home doesn’t have to choose one lane.

The Lampshade Is Having a Moment Again

Lighting was another favorite this trip.

After years of exposed bulbs and ultra-minimal fixtures, we saw lampshades making a very enthusiastic return.

Fabric shades. Pleated shades. Woven shades. Warm metals. Fixtures that felt decorative and interesting even when they weren’t turned on.

And we are here for it!

Lighting is such an opportunity to give a room personality. It can be sculptural, textural, colorful, traditional, quirky, or sometimes all of the above.

Seeing fixtures become more decorative again felt like another piece of that larger shift we noticed throughout Market: interiors are warming up and becoming a little less minimal and a lot more layered.

Contemporary Design Is Looking Backward, in a Good Way

We saw plenty of vintage and traditional influence, but not in a “your grandmother’s formal living room” kind of way.

Think traditional patterns on contemporary silhouettes; familiar shapes interpreted in updated materials. Richer woods. Vintage-inspired textiles. Pieces that feel like they were collected over time rather than ordered as an entire matching room.

And this shift has come at the right time because we’re currently working with more traditionally influenced clients than we have in a while.

Finding a great new resource is one of the best parts of Market because it immediately expands what we can offer our clients on future projects.

Better Furniture Requires Serious Research

Trend spotting is fun, but one of the most valuable parts of Market actually has very little to do with trends.

We get to physically experience products on behalf of our clients.

Of course we care about how a piece looks; we’re interior designers, but we’re designing homes for people to live in. That beautiful sofa may also be where your family watches movies every Friday night. Dining chairs need to survive long dinners, holidays, AND whatever your kids manage to spill on them.

While looks matter, so do comfort, construction, scale, and durability.

At Market, we sit on the sofas and chairs to see how they actually feel. Is the seat firm and supportive or soft and sink-in? How deep is it? Does it look comfortable but feel completely different once you sit down?

We open drawers, check construction and hardware, feel fabrics and finishes, look at joinery and see wood tones at full scale. We pay attention to how sturdy something feels and, yes, occasionally do a discreet little scratch test.

Since most of our clients won’t have the opportunity to experience every piece themselves before we specify it, we take this part of the job very seriously.

All of these little observations become part of the sourcing knowledge we bring back to our projects and help us make more informed recommendations about what will not only look beautiful in a home, but actually work for the people living there.

What Lauren & Christine Loved

Ping-pong tables, shuffleboard tables, and other game pieces were being treated more like beautiful furniture, which opens up so many possibilities for integrating them into the rest of a home.

Lauren found a gorgeous warm wood shuffleboard table and promptly began designing her future game room around it. All she needs is the game room to put it in.

Christine found an amazing statement piece for her home.

While an ottoman is functional, this one adds interest with a gorgeous wave-patterned fabric and a wavy edge detail. It is the perfect combination of playful and unexpected, but still feels sophisticated enough to work in a finished space.

So What Did We Actually Bring Back From Market?

Our job isn’t to walk through Market, find whatever appears in the most showrooms, and immediately start putting it into our projects.

We’re looking for ideas, products, and resources that have staying power, and thinking about how they might work for the individual people and homes we design.

This year reinforced a lot of what we’re already loving: natural materials, warmer palettes, layered textiles, interesting patterns, unexpected color, sculptural furniture that’s genuinely comfortable, and that wonderful middle ground between contemporary and traditional.

But more than anything, we came home with more resources and more information.

We found new vendors. Revisited old favorites. Tested cushion fills. Examined construction. Saw finishes at full scale. Compared products. And took lots of notes.

And somewhere in there, we also had a really great team trip.

Our Design Assistant, Amy, had her very first visit to Market, which made it extra fun to experience everything through a newbie’s excitement. We also brought along our part-time marketing and media manager, who conveniently doubles as our actual travel agent. A very handy person to have on a Vegas trip!

We came home tired and inspired, with plenty of new ideas tucked away for the right projects. Because ultimately, that’s what Market is about for us: not finding more things to put into homes, but finding better things for the people who live in them.