15 Feb The Pillow Goddess 6 Design Tips You Should Follow in 2020 – Be FEARLESS!

Wow, did 2020 start fast with tons of inspiration, fresh out of the gates like a race horse! First, if you have a business in 2020, claim your Google Business Page today. I’m not kidding. Plain and simple, you need to do this, because Savour Partnership’s leading authority on social media, Leslie Carothers says so.

Leslie kicked off Lightovation with an incredible keynote which made Dallas Market all the more amazing this year and I share more of her tips below.  Furthermore, I wasn’t the only one decked out in a leopard dress (more on this later). But I swear it had magic karma as I acquired so much knowledge, inspiration, and collaboration opportunities from the incredible talent at Dallas Market. In addition to the 15 StyleEyes panel of top design influencers scouting new products and emerging trends, I spotted a few of my own Pillow Goddess Picks. I share 8 Pillow Goddess Design Tips for you to make your 2020 a fantastic year. And yes, leopard just might have something to do with it. Grrrr!!!

 

Now, onto the good stuff

LIGHTOVATION lead off, not only with a dazzling array of events and this very cool lighting display above (yes, that IS a crystal chandelier hanging over aluminum foil surrounded by mirrors – it was SO cool!), but also with educational keynote sessions from social media guru and Savour Partnership co-owner, Leslie Carothers.

I attend Leslie’s informative sessions every year. As a result, I come away with immediate tips to apply to my small design business right away. If you ever have an opportunity to hear Leslie speak, even if you have to drive 2 hours, do it, as she is totally worth it. Unquestionably, Leslie is a gold mine of design industry and business-savvy knowledge. You could skip getting a business degree, and learn from Leslie.  I’m not saying this because she’s a dear friend. Moreover, I’m saying this because every year I learn new and important social media/business info which helps me take my business to the next level.

I can’t begin to share all I learned, but if you want to know more, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me as I took copious notes. Without a doubt, Leslie has her finger on the pulse of the future of the design industry, and as a result of attending her keynote I implemented several important business tips. NOTE: Leslie is speaking at the upcoming Design Influencers Conference March 1 – 3 in San Francisco.

Want to increase sales in your design business?

 

Top 3 Must-Do’s I learned from Leslie Carothers at LIGHTOVATION that will help you make an immediate personal connection with your potential clients.

1. AI is here to stay – Create custom “Chat Bots” on your business website and Facebook page
2. Pinterest is a search engine – Make your PINS Shoppable
3. Instagram Stories are outranking your feed – Make your Insta Stories Shoppable

 

 

Okay, true confession here

Since I only recently started to get my Pinterest boards organized, I only JUST realized in 2019 that Pinterest is now a search engine. I know, I know….I’m a little late to the party, but I’ll catch up soon. Here’s a helpful blog post I found online that explains the difference between Google and Pinterest HERE.

Why you should attend Dallas Market every January

January is the month for about 4 or 5 major design tradeshows.  Many designers attend them all.  I focus on attending Dallas Market and, as a result, here’s why:

• Dallas Market features two of the most exciting shows, both LIGHTOVATION and Dallas Home & Gift Market, at the same time.
• LIGHTOVATION is the only show in the U.S. where hundreds of leading lighting brands are all under one roof.
• Dallas has discovered the magic formula.  With their new branding and marketing, it gets better and better every year I go.
• Dallas attracts TOP design talent.
• There are tons of inspiring panels and seminars for both lighting and design.  I must have attended 6 panel discussions over 2 days and I barely skimmed the surface.
• Dallas is Texas friendly.  It’s still my favorite market to meet new people and see designer friends.
• Design panels are full of education and real, concrete steps you can implement immediately in your design business or in your own home.
• StyleEyes is a very successful program featuring top design influencers. You learn about the exciting new products they scout and emerging design trends for the year.
• The spacious, contemporary Interior Home + Design Center continues to add beautiful new showrooms with a diversity of incredible products.
• You discover new products, trends, meet designers and have one-on-one conversations with some of the TOP Interior Design and Product Design talent in the country.

 

 

The Pillow Goddess 6 Design Tips for 2020

Instead of making you wait till the very end of my lengthy blog posts (Ahem…) here are my 6 Design Tips you cannot go wrong with trying in 2020.  I break each of them down for you in detail below.

1. Make a statement with a chandelier
2. Texture adds visual interest and depth to spaces
3. Curves and wings make for stylish chairs
4. Mix high + low for a luxury look
5. Try bold color in lamps, even botanicals
6. Leopard for the gold – it is hot!

 

Color is in in a BIG way!! Oh yes, neutrals will never be far away because they are the beautiful foundations that make color work in a space so effortlessly. That’s why we decorated our Airbnb Guest Suite in Austin in neutrals so they’d be the perfect backdrop for The Pillow Goddess colorful luxury pillows.

For example, Dallas got it right with this incredible colorful display (above image) in the atrium of Dallas Market Center.  Just like their branding and ads in full glorious color, this jumps out at you. And see how a couple of the colors have little circular open holes in them?  Attendees were getting their photos taken in the color of their choice. (I know, I should have done it, but I was dashing to an event.)

Note about affiliate marketing

Be sure to see helpful home decor products I selected in these very colors in our brand NEW affiliate links at the end of this post.  This is my first post using the RewardsStyle Affiliate Link Program.  After I get the format just right, please tell me what you think and what products you’d like to see.  I’m very excited to finally be able to offer you products that I would purchase myself for my own home.  You can purchase them directly on this blog and, at no charge to you, I make a couple of dollars.  As a result, it helps pay for this blog. But also helpful to note, these products are NOT sponsored products; I do not make a commission for products I promote on sponsored posts. These are home products I like and think you will too!

Okay, now that we got that little business squared away, let’s get onto the fun and exciting products I saw and inspiration I found for you.

The Pillow Goddess 6 Design Tips

 

#1 – Make a statement with a chandelier

I was only up in Dallas for one night, so I had to cram a lot into one and a half days, and I did! After hearing Leslie Carother’s incredibly informative keynote I was off to see clients and new designs at the lighting brand that sponsored the gorgeous chandelier for our Breakfast/Dining Nook for the Fall 2019 One Room Challenge.  I highly recommend CWI Lighting, as they are such a wonderful brand! The owners are super smart and their new General Manager, Maher Shaheen, is probably the friendliest and most design-savvy lighting expert I’ve known.  It’s always a great time to see their incredible new showroom and their new designs.  Here’s a few pics.

 

 

 

 

 

See how absolutely perfect it is in our new Breakfast/Dining Nook below.  It is a stunning statement piece that significantly makes the space feel even larger. The minute you walk into our home’s front door, your eyes are immediately drawn to the gorgeous Deco chandelier with 187 crystals.  Interested in reading more about the  6-week One Room Challenge and my Nook Transformation?  Check out all 6 blog posts on the Big Reveal post HERE. 

 

Below are more fabulous new designs by CWI Lighting, and one of their newest designs, the Starburst, is over the top spectacular.  And it’s always great to see my dear friend Laura can Zeyl, the Lighting Goddess, the woman who makes LIGHTOVATION come together every January to be the most fantastic show on lighting trends.

 

For example, this last image (below) shows you how incredible the brand new design rectangle pendants with wood in the foyer of a home.  It’s one thing to see lighting in a showroom, but coupled with a beautiful foyer, it’s another to actually see it in the home.  Without a doubt, CWI Lighting is a solid brand, with a very high-quality, beautiful range of lighting. Furthermore, thanks to the sponsorship by CWI Lighting, I am very proud to be a homeowner lucky enough to showcase and enjoy the Deco Chandelier in my own home every day.

#2 – Texture adds visual interest and depth to spaces

One of my go-to places at the Dallas Home + Design Center is Palecek showroom. Whenever I need a texture fix, I walk into their beautiful showroom and my jaw drops. Their showroom is literally filled to the brim with texture in almost every piece of home furnishings.

For example, my Pillow Goddess Pick for Texture is this display of a chandelier, table, and wall art (below) that really drew me in.  And even the ribbed texture in the white vases on the table.  It obviously also appealed to one of my friends, interior designer Jeffrey Johnson, on the 2020 StyleEyes panel, who hand-selected this table as one of his top products. See his StyleEyes placard on the table? That’s when you know this product has been spotted!

I really enjoyed seeing Jeffrey during the StyleEyes panel. Each of the designers on the panel had something wonderful to contribute to a discussion focused on helping small businesses stand out against giants like Amazon. Want some of their helpful tips, please feel free to reach out to me.

 

Left to right, Front Row: Minna Khounlo-Sithep and Jacqueline Snyder
@theproductboss Co-Owners, The Product Boss, Shane Friesenhahn
@botanicalmixOwner, The Botanical Mix (Dallas, TX), Libby Langdon
@libbylangdon Interior Designer (New York, NY), Damon Oates
@decoexchange Owner, DecoExchange (New Orleans, LA), Maghon Taylor
@allshewrotenotesFounder, All She Wrote Notes (Elon, North Carolina), Lauren Williams
@laurenwiliamsart Mixed Media Artist (Dallas, TX)

Back Row: Jason Oliver Nixon and John Loecke of Madcap Cottage
@madcapcottageInterior Designers, Retailers (High Point, North Carolina), Donna Moss
@donnamosshgtvInterior Designer (Bedford, TX), Christian Daw @Christiandawdesign, Designer (Washington, D.C.), Jeffrey Johnson @jeffreydesigner Interior Designer (Dallas, TX), Rafael Kalichsteain and Joshua Rose @form_dsgnstudio Co-Founders, FORM Design Studio (Los Angeles, CA)

 

 

#3 Curves and wings make for stylish chairs

I know there’s a big trend towards more curvy furniture in sofas.  Whether this is part of that trend, or whether I happened to notice it more, I’m not sure, but everywhere I turned there was a winged, curvy chair. So these are another Pillow Goddess Pick!

 

 

 

#4 Mix high + low for a luxury look

Undoubtedly, one of the sessions I enjoyed the most, as part of a 4-part series on Selling Luxury, was the one at StyleCraft.  For example, I think one reason I liked it better than other sessions in the past (Dallas Market take note!) is because the designers moved all the attendees throughout the showroom. Instead of only sharing their design expertise and insight on a moderated panel, additionally the designers walked us through the showroom and pointed out examples of how, when purchasing high and low home furnishings and accessories, to mix it together for a luxury look.

 

Another reason I enjoyed this one so much is that I’d never been to the StyleCraft showroom before.  It was impressive with a wide variety of products from wall art to lamps, pillows, tables, and unique home accent decor in all different price points.

Three talents lead this session – two of Dallas Market’s top interior and product designers, Dann Foley and Libby Langdon, and the talented Dallas interior designer Kristi Hopper. They all are so generous in sharing their knowledge and design tips.

Dann and Libby talked about mixing high and low, how they do it all the time in their interior design businesses. They also demonstrated ways to achieve that look through products in the StyleCraft showroom. I learned a lot and I encourage you to try mixing it all up in your design business and home.

Invest in a statement piece of furniture like a sofa, special chair, or dazzling chandelier.  Then mix in a few solid foundation pieces and accessorize with some wall art and other home accessories at different price points.  StyleCraft had a gorgeous assortment of high-quality products from which to choose!

 

 

 

#5 Try bold color lamps, even botanicals

What I really fell in love with at StyleCraft was their newest designer collaboration with Mariska Meijers from Amsterdam. Described as “Eclectic Chic” Mariska’s use of color and pattern in her designs is incredibly striking. StyleCraft owner and CEO Jimmy Webster came upon Mariska’s work when visiting Amsterdam 2 years ago.

I have a love of style, and a fascination of how patterns and colors can blend in the most unique ways. There are those times when you see something that intrigues you, and captivates you as to how a person was able to bend the rules of both color pattern and even style of the products, and pulls you in. That is what happened to me after walking by Mariska’s storefront window every day, loving the blast of color and combinations of old products with bold new patterns. – Jimmy Webster

I was blown away by the display of Mariska’s designs and came away inspired to continue my love affair with color, pattern and texture.

 

 

 

I thought the above patterns in Mariska Meijers designs were a great seque into the colorful pattern of the dresses the 3 of us gals below are wearing –  Jane Dagmi, Editor in Chief of Designer Today, Deborah Main, The Pillow Goddess, and interior and product designer Shay Geyer of IBB Design. Talk about pattern!  I think we had it covered at The Botanical Mix showroom, during the final session of the 4-part Luxury Design Series that I caught.

Since so much time has elapsed since Dallas Market, the first week of January, (I have some good excuses), all I really remember is how Shay Geyer shared the hilarious story of how one of her house cleaners watered one of Shay’s beautiful orchid arrangements.  NOTE: you do NOT water artificial plants.  You can see some of Shay’s beautiful fuchsia orchid arrangements in the image below behind Jeffrey, Jane and me.

But seriously, the discussion was about how you to add luxury to a space by incorporating “Permanent” flower arrangements, like Shay Geyer’s designs for Botanical Mix.  The new buzz word for fake plants, since they are so real looking and beautiful today that you can easily use them in your home year round, is “Permanent”.  I think moderator Jane Dagmi came up with that perfect descriptive word on the spot, no kidding. Way to go Jane!

Also at The Botanical Mix is a new collection by the “Queen of Bling”, HGTV celebrity designer Donna Moss.  And as you can see below, Donna is quite the Queen rocking her leopard dress. I love the aqua blue jewelry she’s wearing with it.

 

Both Shay and Donna’s designs have so much color and Donna’s even have real crystals in the arrangements (below). You can see how that cobalt blue and honey-colored crystal not only add bold color to a space but luxury as well.

#6 Leopard all the way baby!

Here I am with a perfect match to StyleCraft’s leopard pillow, don’t you think?  Leopard was everywhere at Dallas Market.  This is a perfect example of high and low, because I bet you that leopard pillow cost more than my dress.  The leopard dress I’m wearing was the very first time I ever bought a dress on Amazon and it arrived the same day.

Live Like Liza

But the real story of the dress is that I made a commitment to myself that when the beautiful interior designer and friend, Liza Jones, sadly passed away from breast cancer on December 30th, 2019, I had sworn I would purchase and wear a leopard dress in honor of Liza. And that I would try to live my life in 2020 fearlessly like Liza lived her life every day never fearing she was dying. Many of us in the design community even started a hashtag in Lisa’s honor #livelikeliza.

Liza was a very special person and continues to inspire many women in the design industry.  She was a rare jewel with heart and courage, so there’s a lot to live up to to actually #livelikeliza, but I’m trying. I have never owned anything leopard and I do not wear pattern.  So here I was at home trying to get the courage to go forth fearlessly like Liza in a leopard dress, only to find that leopard was EVERYWHERE at Dallas Market, and I didn’t have a thing to worry about. Silly me!

But I will tell you one thing.  That leopard dress gave me more courage and I sought out more collaborations with many different brands at market.  One in particular worked out better than I could ever imagine.  All because I spoke up.

Exciting collaboration for Vegas Showhouse

I’m thrilled to share that the most exciting collaboration of 2020 happened right after Dallas market at the end of January during KBIS and Las Vegas Market.  I collaborated with interior designer Donna Moss as a pillow sponsor for the Vegas Showhouse she and Kimberly Joi designed, the Armoniosa Showhouse by architect Richard Cuen.  After we connected at Dallas Market, I shipped a pair of our UnZipped luxury pillows out to Vegas and they were featured in the Armoniosa Showhouse.  Donna is one of the sweetest and talented designers I know. It was such an honor to collaborate. Thank you Donna!

 

The last session I attended was on “Product Collaborations” with NYC interior designer and friend, Robin Baron and Currey & Company creative director, Cecil Adams. Inspiring discussion and showroom filled with gorgeous gold lighting and blue and white porcelain. Yes, touches of gold are still seen everywhere and you can not go wrong with touches of gold, even blue and black, throughout your home. Loved these Pillow Goddess Product Picks at Currey & Co.

 

 

In closing, one thing I love about attending Dallas Market Gift show and LIGHTOVATION is you never know who you’re going to meet and you never know what collaborations await you. I met Tyler Howels, CEO of Cozy Earth at The Botanical Mix panel and had kept hearing about his bamboo bedding so I made an appointment with him to see his booth in temporaries to learn first hand what everyone was raving about. Cozy Earth’s bamboo bedding recently was on Oprah’s Favorite Things.  So now, I guess you can say, I had my picture taken with Oprah!  (Ha, ha, just teasing!)

But in all seriousness, the leopard dress did it again and I was living fearlessly all over these sheets!  I hope to be trying them out myself someday very soon and I will give you a full report, so stay tuned on this one.

Shop the Look + Colors

Below I’ve selected three specific items I saw at Dallas market, a CWI Lighting chandelier, StyleCraft lamp, and Currey & Company chair, and a few other fun home decor pieces to inspire you to add color and texture to your home.  I found a few items in the colors showcased in the Atrium display at Dallas Market. The items below contain affiliate links. Any purchases directly from this blog, at no additional charge to you, help make this blog possible. Let me know what you think. Thank you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please PIN this image to share The Pillow Goddess 6 Design Tips and Product Picks with your friends and let me know which one, or more, you experiment with in 2020.

Till next week, when we feature the exciting 2020 Austin Modern Home Tour coming up Saturday, February 22nd, wishing you a wonderful Valentine’s weekend. XO, PG

Note: This is not a sponsored post. All photos are by me, except where noted; opinions my own. Affiliate link photos are from online.

Enjoy a few more photos I took at Dallas Market.