From Maison to Maison

It's never been easier to draw comparisons between High Point, now in full swing here, and Maison & Objet, which closed in Paris just a month ago.

The distinction is especially clear in the home textiles on display here this week, which are well diversified in style, color and texture - the latter having been largely absent from the Paris show.
Suppliers, such as Valdese, Circa 1810 (a div. of Valdese), Sunbury, Robert Allen and other well-known American fabric houses along with Belgian, Italian, Chinese and Indian resources made it possible for most upholstery companies to have their own exclusive and well diversified patterns.

Among the most popular and fresh looking are rough linens that look hand loomed, two-color tweeds, animal patterns, such as zebra and alligator wovens, subtly lustrous poly-rich satin constructions, shimmering velvets and metallic leathers and vinyls.
Some of the linens, all with a "dry" hand, have washed sepia printed or woven motifs - sometimes placed singularly on only a chair back - with a well-worn faded look that's carrying over into rugs. Men's wear designs are still well represented - at least a half dozen at Pearson alone along with an abundance of Greek keys and Chinese trellis designs, most of them on the smaller side creating an integrated look.

Colors are surprisingly lively. The reds, pinks and berry colors are prominent, but so is citrus yellow, often paired with gray or blue.
Bright orange, copper, soft golds, teal and mellow taupes are pairing well with the resurgent browns.
Greens, too, are coming into their own, decidedly moving toward the blue side of the color spectrum.
And, of course, there is a full range of blues - having recently gained momentum and traveling into all home categories.
While neutrals are certainly part of the color mix, they avoid the kind of over exposure seen in Europe, which cast a cloud of dullness and repetition over the overseas offerings.