At 10 AM this morning, doors will open for the Architectural Digest Home Design Show, at Pier 94 at 12th Avenue and 55th Street.
More than 35,000 members of the trade, as well as high-end consumers, are expected to be on hand to view 346 exhibitions from 400 lines, continuing an upward trend that began a couple of years ago.
“The increases have been fairly dramatic,” said Troy Hanson, director of sales for the show. “Attendance was up 45 percent two years ago and 31 percent last year, so we’re expecting even more this year. People come to see what’s new in concepts and design, and to identify trends.”
The keynote presentation this year will be by Architectural Digest’s new editor-in-chief, Margaret Russell, and is scheduled for 4 PM.
Unlike wholesale shows like High Point or the Gift Market, manufacturers interact at the Home Design Show directly with dealers or consumers. Hanson cited Ligne Roset, the higher-end French manufacturer of furnishings and lighting, as a case in point.
Of particular interest is the Modern Home installation, a collaborative effort between French and Italian designers. For the second year in a row, they’ve partnered to design and decorate a 1,700 square-foot apartment, with kitchen, dining room, bedroom and den.
And for the third year in a row, the “Made” section will feature independent artisan designers who will display products they’ve made themselves. “It’s quadrupled in size in just three years,” Hanson said. “This is a section that’s very much rooted in art, with furnishings, lighting, sculptures and art. All are hand-made by the person who designed it. It’s in a gallery-like setting – the audience goes crazy about it and the exhibitors love it.”
All pieces in the “Made” section are juried separately from the rest of the show, with very few of the offerings to be found in any design center, retail store or distribution chain. “They’re anti-Crate & Barrel,” Hanson said. “You can’t find them anywhere else. It’s hard to explain how excited people get about them. Everybody finds something.”
For more on the show, go to http://www.archdigesthomeshow.com/
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