The Hospitality Design Expo is an event for designers, architects, hotel owners, and suppliers to shop for the latest and greatest in all things hospitality design and decor. Brands ranging from floor coverings, bedding, drapery, bathroom appliances, and beyond show up to impress and earn the business of the industry professionals. This year was Old Mill Brick’s first time at the show and we learned a lot. Here are the main trends that we picked up on when walking the show floor.

Brass and exposed metal

Brass was featured heavily in the lighting options displayed at the 2019 HD Expo.

Beautiful brushed brass furniture that draws attention to the details.

When it comes to fixtures and furniture, brushed brass was everywhere. Brass is a happy medium when it comes to metals. Rather than a boring black or an audacious gold, brushed brass gives a raw metal tone and stands out without being too loud. Brass is also in when it comes to finishings for sinks, showers, and knobs.

Stone and raw textures

Quarella is an Italian company that makes quartz and marble surfaces in over 75 different colors.

Stone surfaces featuring natural veins of color were hard to miss on the show floor this year.

Old Mill Brick displays the BrickPanel+ system and exactly how it works for exterior applications at the 2019 HD Expo.

For flooring, counter surfaces, and wall coverings, we saw a lot of stone and raw textures on the expo floor. While we were the only actual clay brick company at the expo, we felt in good company with the many other stone and cast stone options. There seems to be a trend towards texture, which was also present in the carpet and tile options.

Wood, both real and fake

Etz & Steel creates custom wood furniture with live edges.

Kronotex is a company based in Germany that makes laminate floors that look like real wood.

Unique designs with organic lines raw wood edges were a hit that demanded attention.

Raw wood was another clear trend. For the last decade, it seems the trend has been to white wash all of your wood and hide the natural tones. At the 2019 HD Expo however, there was exposed wood everywhere we looked. Tables, flooring, sculptures, and furniture were sporting naked wood. For flooring, we saw a few intriguing solutions from tile companies: floor tile that looks and feels like hardwood. This provides the best of both worlds! The longevity and durability of tile and the beauty of a wood floor. With modern digital printers, you can hardly tell the difference even when touching the faux wood surface.

Main takeaways

Hospitality design is a good indicator for the coming years of residential design trends. In general, raw and natural looking textures and tones are in. So, before you get out the paint and start white washing your grandmother’s table that you inherited, consider giving it a good cleaning and sanding and refinishing it with a natural stain instead. You’ll be happy you did in a couple years when everyone is trying to strip their wood furniture that they painted in the two-thousand-teens.

The Old Mill Brick Booth