Top 6 Trends Taking Over NeoCon 2023

Dazzle and delight clients with only the best. You can guarantee your final projects are successful by staying ahead of the curve when it comes to innovation in the design world. Thousands come together every year in Chicago to do just that - learning, sharing, and connecting about the latest and greatest in the A&D world. With a daunting amount of intriguing new products and surreal showrooms, it can feel nearly impossible to see everything you wanted. That’s where we’re here to help! With NeoCon 2023 wrapped, it’s time for our round up of the most exciting trends at THE MART.

Walking the halls of Merchandise Mart, it was wildly obvious that there was a new popular color. Terracotta reigns as the HOTTEST color of the show. You could find it featured on textiles, furniture, and accent pieces alike. These earthy shades ground design in a welcoming, warm atmosphere while adding a subtle hint of biophilia with a desert undertone. You can easily pair Terracotta with other neutrals, but it also works well when you add pops of deeper, dusty colors like olive, pink, and navy. Find more earthy color options with Kirei’s Cinnamon or Carnegie’s Alex in 840.

Give every space the right feel by adding tons of textures that excite the senses. Maximize the client experience when you add multiple textures that juxtapose one another on walls, ceilings, and all furniture in between. Not only does this increase your visual impact, but also adds a comforting feel for a more hospitable experience. Take on texture and sound control all at once with our Texture and Dash Tiles that offer superior acoustic absorption and elevated tactility. Don’t stop at the walls. Carnegie has you covered for texture-heavy upholstery with the ever popular bouclé and more plush options to make your seating cool to the touch.

Don’t lock projects into one look. Build flexibility and movement into your designs to give more freedom to your clients. With modular elements, it’s simple to add pieces for extra seating, rearrange rooms for collaborative spaces, or mix up the look with convertible pops of colors organized in different ways. However you design it, modularity empowers your clients and end-users to modify the space where and when they see fit for the most productivity and comfort. Modular furniture isn’t the only way to reorganize a room. With EchoScreen® partitions, you can mix up the structure of a space for more privacy and sound control as well.

Serve up softer shapes for a more welcoming room experience. The trend for rounded edges and organic shapes definitely has staying power. The showrooms at THE MART featured an array of arches, circles, ovals, and rounded statement pieces. As workers continue to return to the office, it’s vital to provide some of the comforts of home. By softening corners and surfaces, you help clients invite people in with a relaxing, round look and materials that are just as warming.

Sustainability is less of a trend and more of a timeless effort and key design component. Continue to steward the environment while creating the built environment with healthy materials choices for the earth. While the A&D industry has trailed behind in sustainability, at NeoCon this year, you could see more brands backing up the efforts with thoughtful sourcing, recycled materials, and carbon offsets. You can easily choose environmentally-friendly products with Carnegie and Kirei knowing we are committed to the cause as a B-Corp that is determined to keep excess waste out of landfills. With eco-friendly choices, it is simple to achieve LEED and GreenBuilding certifications your clients are looking for. Make sustainability a through line in your designs and lean into an Eco Now and Forever mentality.

Nature is always in style. Integrate hints of the outdoors into your designs with biophilic elements to help connect clients to the natural world. By bringing in botanicals, greenery, preserved plants, or other outdoor motifs, you’ll create spaces that benefit the mood and well-being of anyone who enters. With biophilia, you’ll easily leave behind the sterile feel of the pandemic era by making it more inviting. It doesn’t have to be a hassle to keep biophilic design alive. You can incorporate calming nature designs easily with Kirei Ink’s Biophilia Collection - realistic custom printing on recycled PET felt. Kirei Ink panels add the same biophilic feel without the watering to keep plants alive.

Give your clients exactly what they are looking for with your wealth of knowledge about thoughtful material and product choices, timeless trends, and statement making innovations. With Kirei in your corner, it is a breeze to please your clients with exactly what they are looking for.