All I can say is this.
Wow, is High Point Furniture market a HUGE, HUGE place! Amazing how big and sprawling this little city is when it comes to showcasing furniture companies. I met up with some blog friends up there over a week ago and we had a wonderful time touring a few places, seeing just a few of the furniture showrooms, and getting a taste of how the market operates. It’s an awesome place, full of eye candy galore for those of us home lovers who can’t get enough of design inspiration. You know who you are!
Here’s the big conference center and surrounding buildings that make up the High Point Market. They’ve grown over the years and there is now a shuttle service that takes folks all around town, dropping off a key locations so that you can get around and see what needs to be seen. We were all signed up as press bloggers, so the doors were opened wide for us to take it all in and that was fun.
It’s a huge place and well organized.
Here are all my blog buddies I met up with: (L to right) Suzy, Shirley, Me, Amy, Kim, Kristen, and my friend, Courtney, who flew in all the way from California for the market. It was really great to meet her as she and I are on the Lowes Creative Ideas blogger team together. We all had a great time together. A big thanks to Amy and Suzy for coordinating all of this and especially to Suzy for putting me up while I was there. Her guestroom is so cozy! Our friend, Barb, was also there part of the time, but didn’t make it in these pics.
Our first full day there, we went to a press breakfast and listened in on Aerin Lauder, granddaughter of iconic Estee Lauder. She is a fashion and home stylist with her own line.
It was interesting to hear her viewpoints on style and how it makes our homes so special.
Then we hit the showrooms and walked and walked and walked. This reminded me of the Atlanta market, since I’ve been through there a few times. Halls and halls of furniture and accessory showrooms can be sensory overload, but what fun it was. I think most of these next few pics were taken in a shop called Noir.
Lots of pretty things to see. You can definitely see that the rustic, industrial, vintage look is still going strong.
There was plenty of that style to be found at High Point.
It makes me wonder how all of this really got started.
I know blogworld has certainly shared its own inspiration on this vintage style.
We did enjoy seeing it all, as much as we could possibly take in, which barely scratched the surface. You would have to spend days here to see it all and we only had 2 whole days.
Vintage fans, oh how we love them! I have 2 of my own that I scooped up from yardsales.
Selamat showroom
Lots of color!
Not sure where this one was taken, I was just snapping away. Animal heads, graphic rugs, and large lighting fixtures were everywhere. And look, chevron! No surprise at that either.
Loved this blue rug by Barclay Butera, he’s a fave of mine.
More pretties, not sure which showroom this was in.
Lots of white and French inspired.
More rustic vintage.
Driftwood art
Lots of books
This shop was called Eloquence and it was really, really pretty.
How about those chippy shutters behind the nightstand?!
Big clock
Ladders are still going strong.
Pretty lamps in another shop.
And bottles galore. We saw a ton of the old wine bottles that are all the rage now.
Pretty rustic lantern.
OK, I have to stop and ask you all this question. Are you watching Duck Dynasty? I am not always a fan of reality TV, but this one sucked me in. I just found out about this show a couple months ago and now I’m a fan. The Robertsons are one crazy family in Louisiana!
Of course, I loved all these colors.
There’s that emerald green again.
Pretty chandy from Crystorama.
I ran into my friends Kelly and Joann (this is Kelly getting her boots polished), two talented designers here in Atlanta. I met them on the Room Service Atlanta project last Fall. We rode the bus together to the Traditional Home showhouse tour and I’ll be sharing that later. Lots of eye candy in that 15,000 s.f. 1930’s mansion, so you’ll enjoy seeing those pics, as soon as I can get them up!
We got back from the showhouse tour and found out we had missed Paula Deen’s presentation at the market, but we did catch her book signing and I got close enough to snap some pics of her while she was signing away. We got to hear her Southern drawl in person, she seems like a delightful lady. And I just may have ran into her husband the next day and got my pic made with him. Just sayin!
On our last evening, one of the local girls, Amy, invited us to her house where her hubby cooked up the most delicious lasagna, salad and dessert and it was a very special time. My very good friend, Jen, lives in the area too and came over to have dinner with us and it was SO great to catch up with her again. She and I were roomies at the very first blog conference I went to back in 2009, Blissdom and it’s been so fun to follow each others blogging journey.
I’ve got lots more to share and will get it all up eventually, the Traditional Home showhouse tour was amazing too.
Sounds like you had a blast- I would love to do High Point some day- so much eye candy, I am sure I would have sensory overload. Thanks for sharing a glimpse of it.
Oh, fun! I grew up in High Point. In high school I had a job of dusting the showrooms each night….not all of them, of course. (My dad worked in the furniture industry.) I love the photos you chose to show us. It is all of the things I love in decorating right now. I remember some of the showrooms being so “out there” in the 1970s. I wondered where you stayed because rooms are at a premium during market. (Some of my friends even rent out their homes twice a year during market.) I am glad you got to experience the market and share it with your friends.
What a great time we had at the Market…never saw so many beautiful things all in one place!…I look forward to the next Market…I am hooked!..It was so nice to meet your friend Jen!
What an amazing opportunity to get to visit High Point. Furniture show rooms can be so overwhelming but are definitely filled with inspiration. I am so happy to see such light and airy colors going strong.
This is so cool! We always stop at High Point on our way to NC for our family vacation. Last year, we had just bought a new house and I begged my husband to take me to some of the furniture showrooms. We didn’t realize that they only had two big shows a year and the rest of the time the down is deserted. I was so disappointed, but it looks like you all had a wonderful time!
Love seeing everything at High Point. It gets those creativity juices flowing!! I am sure being there is even better. Thanks for the glimpse inside.
Great pictures and so many beautiful things to look at, I love all the goodies. Looks like a great time. Thanks for sharing High Point what a fabulous trip.
Cynthia
I’m so glad you made up here to the market, Rhoda. It was fun hanging out with you and getting to know you better. If you ever make it up this way again, my guest room is always open! Loved seeing your pics and look forward to more.
I would of loved to of gone. I’ve been itching to get into that show since I saw it long ago on HGTV.
I noticed there are tags on things. Are things for sale there? Or was it just for information?
Judi, this is to the trade, so the tags are for buyers who are buying for stores.
It is a dream of mine to make it to High Point for a show. It shouldn’t be that hard since I am just north of Charlotte! Your photos have inspired me to figure out a way to go this fall for the next show! Thank you for sharing your adventure.
I was overwhelmed and totally intrigued all at the same time. It was wonderful to see you again, and I was totally bummed when I had to leave early. Can’t wait for next year’s show. xxoo
Looks like a great time! Though I think I would have sensory overload after just 30 minutes.
We’ve gotten hooked on watching Duck Dynasty. It took a couple of times watching, but now it is just pure fun! Uncle Si is my favorite.
Ok – another one to add to the list of “things to do before….”. which is a list that grows by the day, month, year. So little time…but this place is a must see. Too bad a regular ‘ole consumer can’t buy a few things….unless they go with someone who can! You take us along with your adventures and we can live vicariously through your journeys and drool along the way!
love the random duck dynasty pic! did you know they are the highest rated show on a&e and are the highest rated show for their timeslot over all networks?! also, Rhoda, you could do better than Paula’s Michael! but he does seem like a fun guy! 😉
Oh it was so much fun Rhoda and SO much fun meeting you girls in person! I enjoyed spending time with you so much!! Yes, the market was absolutely amazing~ I would love to come peruse all that inspiration and meet up with everyone again! xo
Never thought I’d get hooked on Duck Dynasty, but I’ve become a huge fan over the past couple of seasons. There’s not a single episode where I haven’t laughed out loud multiple times.
LOVE Duck Dynasty!!! It’s so great to see a truly good family on reality TV!
I stumbled across this 2 years later while looking for furniture in High Point. Loved all the pictures. 3 years later and I still love the crew from Duck Dynasty!