12 Feb Donny, Design & More at Dallas #SneakPeek2015!

For those of you who hop from trade show to trade show, you know that the Las Vegas market started before Dallas even finished. But that didn’t keep me from finding some beautiful and cool design finds in the Big D!

Blue Chinoiserie vases at Ambella Home, one of our first showroom stops during the jam-packed day of #SneakPeek2015.

Dallas always has unique items to flaunt and share (we let Donny Osmond fly over to the Vegas show, but only after we saw him first!).  Just teasing with y’all!!

Here’s me and The Man! Donny Osmond of Donny Osmond Home.

Here’s all of us bloggers of #SneakPeek2015 listening to fabulous stories of Donny’s life.

Donny and his beautiful wife, Debbie. They’ve recently launched Donny Osmond Home. And they are the sweetest couple ever…so very nice!

There are just TOO many fabulous wholesale and To-The-Trade shows for all of us to get to, so it’s a great thing that we have such a diverse array from coast to coast in the U.S.A.  Dallas is perfect for me, because it keeps me near my family in Austin and it has such a wide variety of fabulous showrooms, products, and speakers.

Here’s one of the coordinators of #SneakPeek2015, interior designer and blogger, Shay Geyer, owner of award-winning store, IBB Design,  interviewing Bravo TV Star, Jeff Lewis, about his interior design business.

A few other markets coming up real soon are the Architectural Digest show (which, if you remember, I had the opportunity to attend while on BlogTourNYC last year with Modenus), then High Point, the largest U.S. home industry market (which I hope to get to some day) and they’ve just announced their team of talented STYLESPOTTERS (to catch their design finds in April, follow them on Twitter with hashtag #HPMKTSS) and then it’s ICFF , another amazing design show NYC and then back to Dallas Home & Gift Market June 24 – 30th (where you’ll find me again at Doris Sanders Showroom, 5th floor, #531-WTC).

Rinse and repeat.  Now I fully understand how this could be a whole new career going from trade show to trade show!

And that’s not to mention TWO shows that are SUPER exciting going on right now as I write this.  State side in sunny Palm Springs, CA is #ModernismWeek with The Christopher Kennedy Compound (details on that amazing show next Thursday!) Then just hop on over to Germany, and you have THE largest international trade show in the world –  Ambiente.  If you want to see what design finds to expect in the USA soon, follow hashtags #Ambiente15 and #BlogTourAmbiente, and you will be enthralled!

Now, back to #SneakPeek2015 and my Dallas design finds: Below are 4 trends I spotted throughout the day at #SneakPeek2015 (and in a few other showrooms not on the agenda) that would look fabulous in your home!

• All shades of blue are as cool as can be (along with gray neutrals)
• Shiny gold metallics are still hot,
• Industrial lighting fixtures are everywhere, and
• A little bit of Chinoiserie goes a long way

I fell in LOVE with this blue gray sofa and it’s marbelized pillow fabric. More details on Ambella Home in future post.

Here’s our fearless leader, Chris Hite, introducing the Ambella Home Showroom.

A gorgeous Chinoiserie settee with blue plate collection above, at Ambella Home.

Gorgeous details of BLUE bed pillows and GOLD METALLIC wall decor at Ambella Home  (and a stunning headboard and lamp), just one of the many showrooms we attended on #SneakPeek2015.

Callisto Home pillows in neutrals and gold metallic, at Doris Sanders, LTD.

Details of gold home accents by ARTS award-winning team, Rojo16, at Doris Sanders, LTD.

Detail of two-toned blue abstract watermark pillow by Deborah Main Designs at Doris Sanders, LTD>

After a fabulous lunch with Kim Turner sharing a video and all the families helped by the non-profit, Dwell With Dignity, we were onto Ivy-Stone – Peacock Alley and then lighting at Littman Brands Lighting, which is a HUGE showroom with many different brands and styles of lighting. Below I feature the industrial trend in all it’s many shapes and forms.

Industrial lighting with cool street graphics inside.

The underside detail of spaceship-like lighting.

Detail of a gorgeous industrial chandelier with rivets and everything!

Another industrial chandelier at ARTS award-winner, Arteriors Home (which was not on our list of showrooms at #SneakPeek2015, but I stopped by to see my dear friend Matthew).

My dearest friend Matthew Wilson (who used to be my BEST rep when I was in Doris Sanders showroom years ago!). Congratulations Matthew on being manager of the new Arteriors Showroom in The Design District!

Just in case you’re wondering what it looks like at the World Trade Center at Dallas Market, this (above) is just the pathway to the temp areas, where booths are set up with vendors from photography to pillows.

The remaining team of bloggers at the end of the day of #Sneakpeek2015. From left to right: Deborah Main, Chris Hite of Dallas Market Center, LaToya Jones of Forever Royalty , Amy Lambert Lee of House of Wentworth, Kristi Hopper of Kristi Hopper Designs, and Kelly Copeland of The Hidden List.

Like last year, #SneakPeek2015 afforded me many opportunities to meet other bloggers and designers, learn more about luxury brands and showrooms, and find unique products to share with you.  Watch for more detailed posts in coming weeks. Till next time, I wish all of the designers involved in #ModernismWeek and all the bloggers involved in #Amiente2015 a fabulous time full of laughter, friends and inspiring design!  XOPG

Disclaimer: I was not compensated by any person or company for this post. All photos (except where noted) and views are my own.