A Fresh Look at High Point Market

4 days ago
2 min read

High Point Market is the largest residential design trade show in the world, and it is one of those experiences that never gets old, no matter how many times you've walked those streets. As someone who has been making the trip to North Carolina every April for years, I still leave with a full notebook and a few opinions about my shoe choices. This season, I had the pleasure of bringing along Katelyn, KCI's assistant designer, and asking her to see it all through fresh eyes. I'll let her take it from here.

A Fresh Perspective

Attending the largest residential trade show in the world was not an opportunity on my radar just a few short months ago. Tucked away in North Carolina, High Point Market hosts thousands of design professionals and over two thousand exhibitors twice a year. I was fortunate enough to attend this past April for the Spring Market. Coming from a commercial design background in both my education and career, I am well versed in the technical nature of design. However, at High Point Market, I quickly realized how much more personal and intricate residential design can be.

What exactly does a young designer discover at High Point? For four days, I was immersed in color, finishes, and texture that pushed the boundaries of design. I found myself surrounded by like-minded people with the same goal of creating homes that truly mean something. This is a type of environment that inspires creatives to keep challenging design constraints in search for better solutions.

This was especially true with the seminars. High Point Market offers a variety of educational panels that you can pick and choose from. They discussed a variety of points that shifted my perspective, like how lighting shifts the emotional impact of a space and how a room’s personality changes based on the designers' pairings. A space defined by high-contrast colors and hard surfaces evokes a completely different energy than one filled with muted tones and soft textures. It all comes down to the intentions behind the design.

What stood out to me most at High Point was not the thousands of steps I logged in Downtown High Point, or the thousands of options for design that I saw every day. It was the welcoming community, who were all inclusive and united by the same mission, to learn more about how to design better for our clients and ourselves. And if High Point taught me anything, it's that the best design, like the best communities, is always intentional.

Thinking about new furnishings this year?

Before you start shopping, it helps to understand what a realistic investment looks like.

We created a Furniture Investment Workbook to help you plan ahead and avoid costly mistakes. It outlines typical furnishing ranges and gives you a simple framework for budgeting your space.

Download the complimentary workbook below.