5 Trends That Got Pros Excited at Design Chicago
Calming colors and custom details were big takeaways at the Midwest’s largest residential-design conference
There was no shortage of design insights and inspirations for residential-design professionals who attended the Design Chicago conference Oct. 2 and 3. For me, the conference was an exciting opportunity to plug back into my hometown’s design community and connect with pros who have a unique Midwestern perspective and influence.
Photo by Chicago Architecture Today
At this year’s event, which was spread throughout the city’s sprawling Merchandise Mart, pictured here, I spoke with countless designers, visited numerous showrooms and attended several presentations for industry professionals, covering everything from artisan upholstery to the latest trends in smart kitchens. Here are five trends I heard about again and again from excited professionals.
At this year’s event, which was spread throughout the city’s sprawling Merchandise Mart, pictured here, I spoke with countless designers, visited numerous showrooms and attended several presentations for industry professionals, covering everything from artisan upholstery to the latest trends in smart kitchens. Here are five trends I heard about again and again from excited professionals.
1. Performance Fabrics
As homeowners veer away from traditional formal living spaces, designers say, they’re choosing materials that can stand up to daily wear and tear. Performance fabrics, once largely limited to outdoor furniture, are continuing to show up indoors and in unexpected places.
Interior designer Brynn Olson of Chicago told fellow professionals attending a panel on fashion-forward fabrics that she and her team recently had been able to include white sofas in their designs for families for the first time in years, thanks to the more durable, stain-resistant fabrics on the market. Olson also said she’s seeing that homeowners are willing to spend more money on pieces, because they know the performance fabrics will protect them from damage, though she says she also likes to use these fabrics in smaller, less expensive details like throw pillows.
Demonstrating the fabrics’ protective qualities in action can go a long way toward convincing clients of their value. Some pros say they request a demo kit from fabric makers like Crypton, whose stain-resistant fabric is shown on the sofa in this photo, or pour red wine or coffee on a fabric swatch in front of their clients.
Sturdier fabrics are showing up in less formal spaces too, echoing a bigger idea that came up throughout the two-day event: Practicality seems to be driving more and more design trends, designers say.
Read more about performance fabrics
As homeowners veer away from traditional formal living spaces, designers say, they’re choosing materials that can stand up to daily wear and tear. Performance fabrics, once largely limited to outdoor furniture, are continuing to show up indoors and in unexpected places.
Interior designer Brynn Olson of Chicago told fellow professionals attending a panel on fashion-forward fabrics that she and her team recently had been able to include white sofas in their designs for families for the first time in years, thanks to the more durable, stain-resistant fabrics on the market. Olson also said she’s seeing that homeowners are willing to spend more money on pieces, because they know the performance fabrics will protect them from damage, though she says she also likes to use these fabrics in smaller, less expensive details like throw pillows.
Demonstrating the fabrics’ protective qualities in action can go a long way toward convincing clients of their value. Some pros say they request a demo kit from fabric makers like Crypton, whose stain-resistant fabric is shown on the sofa in this photo, or pour red wine or coffee on a fabric swatch in front of their clients.
Sturdier fabrics are showing up in less formal spaces too, echoing a bigger idea that came up throughout the two-day event: Practicality seems to be driving more and more design trends, designers say.
Read more about performance fabrics
2. Customization
Between designers’ trying to make their work stand out in an inspiration-overloaded industry and homeowners’ prioritizing thoughtful design, pros say customization is everywhere. Homeowners’ specific needs (and wants) are driving design choices in ways that previously were reserved for only the highest-end homes.
The kitchen, for example, is moving away from the traditional work triangle setup and toward more specialized configurations that work for specific homeowners. Panelists in a presentation covering this shift mentioned working with clients who’ve incorporated details like a produce drawer under a countertop blender for morning smoothies, a cabinet refrigerator for fresh pet food, a fridge with drawers dedicated to bread proofing or a bar station freezer for keeping beer glasses frosted.
“Our clients have very specific cooking needs, and the [kitchen] triangle is flexing and changing to reflect those needs,” said Nicholas Moriarity during a panel discussion on the kitchen triangle. His kitchen designs, like the one shown here, are rooted in client responses to an in-depth questionnaire about exactly how they use their kitchens.
Between designers’ trying to make their work stand out in an inspiration-overloaded industry and homeowners’ prioritizing thoughtful design, pros say customization is everywhere. Homeowners’ specific needs (and wants) are driving design choices in ways that previously were reserved for only the highest-end homes.
The kitchen, for example, is moving away from the traditional work triangle setup and toward more specialized configurations that work for specific homeowners. Panelists in a presentation covering this shift mentioned working with clients who’ve incorporated details like a produce drawer under a countertop blender for morning smoothies, a cabinet refrigerator for fresh pet food, a fridge with drawers dedicated to bread proofing or a bar station freezer for keeping beer glasses frosted.
“Our clients have very specific cooking needs, and the [kitchen] triangle is flexing and changing to reflect those needs,” said Nicholas Moriarity during a panel discussion on the kitchen triangle. His kitchen designs, like the one shown here, are rooted in client responses to an in-depth questionnaire about exactly how they use their kitchens.
The focus on customization came up again and again throughout the conference. Olson emphasized her team’s practice of adding at least one one-of-a-kind piece to every project.
Others spoke of highlighting architectural features that make a house stand out. Caroline Manzo, a cast member on the reality show The Real Housewives of New Jersey, appeared at the event alongside her brother, Jaime Laurita, who is creative director at Middleby Residential. Manzo spoke about recently working with a designer to reimagine her house to reflect her own specific tastes once her children had moved out. Another presentation focused on bringing out a homeowner’s personality through kitchen color choices.
Products debuted at the conference embraced a more custom-focused homeowner too. Antoniolupi and Ernestomeda Chicago, both of the Luca Lanzetta Group, showcased their new Icon Color collection, which allows for aluminum elements to be customized in 50 colors.
Others spoke of highlighting architectural features that make a house stand out. Caroline Manzo, a cast member on the reality show The Real Housewives of New Jersey, appeared at the event alongside her brother, Jaime Laurita, who is creative director at Middleby Residential. Manzo spoke about recently working with a designer to reimagine her house to reflect her own specific tastes once her children had moved out. Another presentation focused on bringing out a homeowner’s personality through kitchen color choices.
Products debuted at the conference embraced a more custom-focused homeowner too. Antoniolupi and Ernestomeda Chicago, both of the Luca Lanzetta Group, showcased their new Icon Color collection, which allows for aluminum elements to be customized in 50 colors.
3. Designing for Calm and Wellness
In separate color trends presentations, representatives from paint companies Sherwin-Williams and Benjamin Moore said homeowners are looking to soft, warm, neutral palettes at home to evoke a sense of calm and serenity in the face of frightening headlines and a chaotic world.
The Benjamin Moore team traced the evolution of the company’s trending color palettes over the past five years and demonstrated how its latest collection is pared down from collections of years past; it features a variety of creams and grays, with only a couple of rich anchoring shades of blue and green. The pros behind the Sherwin-Williams 2020 Colormix Forecast cited the ideas of sanctuary, escapism, simplicity and overall wellness as influences in their palettes as well.
Wellness and serenity in design dominated a number of conversations throughout Design Chicago. Speakers discussed the value of biophilic design and spa-like bathroom features, as well as how emerging smart-home features can boost wellness. A number of designers I spoke with between presentations echoed similar sentiments, saying they’re seeing simplified designs and more neutral colors meant to create calm, quiet atmospheres.
Design aimed at boosting emotional wellness had its time in the spotlight as well, particularly during a panel that explored how design pros can better help clients going through dramatic personal life changes, like a death in the family or a divorce. “As designers, you have the power,” panel moderator Laurita said. “You have the opportunity to help someone survive and be happy.”
Read more about wellness design
In separate color trends presentations, representatives from paint companies Sherwin-Williams and Benjamin Moore said homeowners are looking to soft, warm, neutral palettes at home to evoke a sense of calm and serenity in the face of frightening headlines and a chaotic world.
The Benjamin Moore team traced the evolution of the company’s trending color palettes over the past five years and demonstrated how its latest collection is pared down from collections of years past; it features a variety of creams and grays, with only a couple of rich anchoring shades of blue and green. The pros behind the Sherwin-Williams 2020 Colormix Forecast cited the ideas of sanctuary, escapism, simplicity and overall wellness as influences in their palettes as well.
Wellness and serenity in design dominated a number of conversations throughout Design Chicago. Speakers discussed the value of biophilic design and spa-like bathroom features, as well as how emerging smart-home features can boost wellness. A number of designers I spoke with between presentations echoed similar sentiments, saying they’re seeing simplified designs and more neutral colors meant to create calm, quiet atmospheres.
Design aimed at boosting emotional wellness had its time in the spotlight as well, particularly during a panel that explored how design pros can better help clients going through dramatic personal life changes, like a death in the family or a divorce. “As designers, you have the power,” panel moderator Laurita said. “You have the opportunity to help someone survive and be happy.”
Read more about wellness design
4. Black Details
Though light neutral colors remain popular, several pros cited bold black accents, particularly in the kitchen, as the trend they’re most excited to use in their work.
White kitchens can be beautiful, but some homeowners feel they lack dimension. Blue kitchens, which have soared in popularity in recent years, may be losing steam, say many designers. Black kitchens, however, seem poised to have a moment. Black was prevalent in furniture pieces that debuted at the show as well.
See more black-kitchen inspiration
Though light neutral colors remain popular, several pros cited bold black accents, particularly in the kitchen, as the trend they’re most excited to use in their work.
White kitchens can be beautiful, but some homeowners feel they lack dimension. Blue kitchens, which have soared in popularity in recent years, may be losing steam, say many designers. Black kitchens, however, seem poised to have a moment. Black was prevalent in furniture pieces that debuted at the show as well.
See more black-kitchen inspiration
5. Sustainability Through Different Lenses
Pros were eager to talk and hear about the latest innovations in sustainability. The topic came up in presentations dedicated to sustainable leather and other materials and sustainable design choices, among other topics.
In a presentation examining the ways famous architectural projects have influenced their own work, Chicago-area architects talked about how their peers and other designers can look to the past for sustainability inspiration.
Architect Scott Fortman of Gibbons, Fortman & Associates, whose Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired Prairie-style project is shown here, talked about how Wright’s focus on a home’s relationship to its landscape drives his own work. Architect Doug Farr suggested that today’s pros can look to old-fashioned sustainability solutions like rainwater collection systems in Roman courtyards to shrink carbon footprints.
Organic textiles, shapes and rugs were prominent in showrooms as well.
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Pros were eager to talk and hear about the latest innovations in sustainability. The topic came up in presentations dedicated to sustainable leather and other materials and sustainable design choices, among other topics.
In a presentation examining the ways famous architectural projects have influenced their own work, Chicago-area architects talked about how their peers and other designers can look to the past for sustainability inspiration.
Architect Scott Fortman of Gibbons, Fortman & Associates, whose Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired Prairie-style project is shown here, talked about how Wright’s focus on a home’s relationship to its landscape drives his own work. Architect Doug Farr suggested that today’s pros can look to old-fashioned sustainability solutions like rainwater collection systems in Roman courtyards to shrink carbon footprints.
Organic textiles, shapes and rugs were prominent in showrooms as well.
More for Pros on Houzz
Read more stories for pros
Browse millions of photos for inspiration
Talk with your peers in the Pro-to-Pro discussions
Join the Houzz Trade Program
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