Canadian Home Furnishings Market: Thirtieth edition of Toronto furniture market gets new name

Furniture World Magazine

The 30th edition of the Toronto furniture market, now known as The Canadian Home Furnishings Market, will be held at the International Centre from January 12 to 15, 2002. The furniture, bedding, lighting, and decorative accessories to be unveiled at the show invariably reflect the leading trends in both North America and Europe. For 2002, the buzzwords are flexibility and cross-fertilization of styles, materials, shapes, and colours. Since home fashion items have a much longer lifespan than the clothing we wear, year-to-year changes are not usually too radical; but everything reflects a spirit of openness to the trends we've seen developing over the past few years. This new open-mindedness - what with international travel, the Internet, and the rich mix of urban populations - enriches and nourishes the imagination of designers and manufacturers. Thanks to all of the above, home furnishings and d6cor hold up the mirror to a bevy of influences, giving consumers the opportunity to create their very own, highly personal environment. Today's décor is big on accents: accessories, lamps, fabrics, the play of materials and textures -you get the picture. The main piece in the room, frequently made of wood (still consumers' fast favourite) is more austere and purist. Today's wood furniture has shed all that heavy ornamentation that was so typical of certain period styles. Zen and Feng Shui fill the need for harmony and tranquility. The contemporary style is back and going strong, with its simplicity, austerity, and purist lines. The country look is right in step with the prevailing interest in nature and ecology, but it's stylized for an added touch of elegance. Shapes reminiscent of styles from the 1950s and '60s reinterpret the period with up-to-the-minute materials. A gentle curve here, a pure line there, a silky finish, and warm wood grain - that's what we love today. In fact, "warm" is a word that turns up on everyone's wish list. Warm wood stains are very big, along with natural blond and spicy stains. More fashion-forward consumers are mixing styles and colours more than ever, combining traditional pieces with furniture that's more modem, even slightly playful. Metal is more "in" than ever, in freestyle, modern, playful shapes that lend themselves to all sorts of whimsy. Look for lots of ultra-modem dinettes and dining sets in unexpected shapes and new textures that have a tremendous impact when combined with fabrics in vivid shades. What's more, metal is fashioned into stylish high-tech, country-style or urban pieces that suit all the varied nuances of life in the third millennium. Metal is also front and centre in accent furniture, with chairs and sofas that sport metal feet or decorative hardware. Metal crops up in many guises, such as wrought iron in new-look scrolls that lend an exotic or rustic touch; platinum or aluminum finishes for contemporary flair; chrome furniture or lamps that revisit the '50s and '60s; plain flat finishes that draw attention to pared-down silhouettes. Upholstered furniture is also enjoying the comeback of contemporary style and that fondness for the '50s and '60s. All sorts of flexible sofas and sectionals include a "chaise longue" section. Accent chairs play around with out-there shapes and vivid colours. Pinks, reds, and oranges are the colours this year, though spicy shades remain popular as well. On the other end of the scale, warm beiges are everywhere. In leather, strong, bright shades are popular. Some types of prints (florals, abstracts, large motifs) are taking a back seat to tone-on-tones, strong plain or neutral shades, woven and braided fabrics. Microsuedes and nubuck are the new kids on the block. Accent furniture is designed for maximum flexibility and versatility, with space-saving features galore. Everything is stowed away, retractable, mobile, stacked, multifunctional - great with virtually any style of décor. Wall units are great for stashing all those electronic gizmoes that play such an important role in life today - computers, DVDs, big-screen TVs, videos and CDs, not to mention all those knickknacks. Accent chairs move around the house with aplomb, adding a sense of personal style. And everything comes in a wide range of styles and materials. What's new in accessories and lighting? Imagination is the keyword here, along with a sense of daring and a world of possibilities. Just about everything can be found on the market these days - with most accessories imported, since this is one category where Canada is not a major producer. Fashion rings the changes more when it comes to accessories than to furniture. Some ethnic influences are very "in" this season - notably everything from South-East Asia - make that Asia in general. Look for great items from Indonesia (an incredible range of rustic, tribal, or more refined accessories); Japan (Zen is big); and China (anyone for Feng Shui?). Greek, Roman, and neo-classical artefacts have dropped off the screen for now. Accessories from North Africa are still trendy, but the Orient is definitely stronger as a source of inspiration. Italian-inspired design, the epitome of class and refinement, never goes out of style, of course. There's truly something for everyone in lamps, too. Traditional, modem, or avant-garde, we'll be seeing more and more metal lamps this year, with shades in rice paper or glass. Coloured glass, synthetic materials, and some resins give the effect of natural materials like stone, wood, and clay. Many lamps hark back to the '50s and '60s, revamped with more contemporary colours and materials. And still in that Oriental vein, loads of lamp shades feature glass beads.