This year's Inspired Home Show at McCormick Place was full of innovative new products. I found out about a program that rewards people for donating unwanted items, spacers that do the invisible work of making grommet curtains look fuller, the most realistic flameless candles I've ever seen, a pillow designed for browsing your phone in bed, an umbrella that looks like a wine bottle, and even microwave-safe stainless steel!
I also found out about some products that put a new twist on time-honored traditions from around the world.
And there were some new goods from old favorites, as well as some companies making things that are destined to become new favorites.
Ever since Pantone announced that Cloud Dancer would be the color for this year, I had been eager to attend Leatrice Eiseman's keynote so that I could hear about the rationale for choosing it.
This is Cloud Dancer. It is said to be a clean slate. White noise. Seasonless, cushioning, diaphanous, wispy. A neutral white with equally warm and cool undertones.
Eiseman called the color an inevitable classic and a timeless aesthetic that doesn't get dated. I do agree with her opinion that it's the perfect foil for other colors, as a designer who loves working with white walls and furniture and colorful textiles. But as a Black designer considering the symbolism of the color white, at a time when the current American regime seeks to whitewash history and destroy diversity programs, let's just say that I have thoughts. In this context, the selection still makes sense, though it feels ominous. There were other color palettes as well:
As always, it's intriguing to witness how current events affect the way our mass-produced environment ends up looking. I wonder how accurate this year's forecast will turn out to be.
