CORT Events Shares Top Event Décor Design Trends for 2018

CHANTILLY, Va. (Jan. 18, 2018) – CORT Events, the nation’s leading furniture, lighting and accessories rental company, announces the top event and meeting furnishings design trends for planning a successful program in 2018. In color and pattern trends: gray seating, bold energetic colors, as well as graphic and tropical patterns. In design trends: luxurious curves, rich textures, modern industrial chic incorporating the 70’s vibe, and powered meeting chairs.

Event décor design is moving in a more refined, luxurious, and sexy direction. Curves and soft edges are appearing in seating, tables and lighting. Fabrics that feel rich, like velvets, complement the sophisticated looks. Mid-century and Danish modern silhouettes are softening, and bold 70’s colors and patterns are appearing everywhere. CORT’s upcoming Tropical pillow collection adds a touch of vintage that ties the themes of the room together effortlessly.

“Oversized patterns and accessories in bold colors, but used in a more tailored minimal way with lots of copper, bronze and brass all come together to channel that sexy cool vibe, reminiscent of Palm Springs or South Florida in the 1970’s,” said Jordan Carbotti, creative director at Perfect Surroundings, Intl.

Gray is the dominant neutral for fabric in seating, and is a natural canvas for the saturated colors seen in accents and ottomans. Desert rose tones, terracotta, deep greens and Pantone’s color of the year, ultra violet, exude luxury and energy. Fabrics are contrasted with black metal frames to anchor the palette and provide a foundation of stability. CORT’s new Munich  and Century seating collections, reflect the year’s trends with soft velvet-like gray fabrics, espresso and black frames, and soft rounded seat backs.

“Gray is the new foundation color for soft seating. It’s a fresh look that’s neither black nor white, and provides a lot of flexibility because it pairs with nearly every other color,” said Kevin Dana, executive director of marketing and product development at CORT Events.

Rustic designs are evolving and are now more eclectic and chic. “That reclaimed wood feel is going out, but black lacquers, smooth edges and some vibrant colors mixed in for contrast are coming back,” said Evan Carbotti partner and lead designer at Perfect Surroundings, Intl. “Found objects painted bold colors and transformed into something new are authentic, and not so old and antique in feeling.”

This “modern industrial chic” vibe incorporates more refined textures, upgraded natural woods, lush fabrics, bold colors and patterns. It combines finishes such as marble, lacquer and metallic surfaces with wood and greenery to create a sophisticated and surprising mix that’s easy to customize to suit a client’s theme or brand.

“I foresee 2018 being the year for bold sophistication,” said Ingrid Adolphs, of Perfect Surroundings, Intl. “Marble stays. Mixed metallic finishes will remain, but silver will be taking the back seat and copper, brass and bronze will take on more important roles. That said, muted earth tones like rose and terracotta are also on trend, but I expect to see them paired with unusual combinations of geometric and tribal patterns, contrasting vibrant colorful accents, and faux fur, velvets, and leathers for texture.”  CORT’s faux fur animal hide and large collections of on-trend colorful ottomans, unique accent tables, pillows, and rugs can be used to achieve this chic style for any event.

According to Pantone, its spring 2018 color palette is “exploding with zest and energy.” The pure bold colors create a high voltage vitality to event décor designs. Many of these fabulous Pantone hues are offered in CORT’s ottoman collections, including its new Beverly bench ottoman collection.

“Our new Beverly collection comes in a range of 10 vibrant colors and features ‘channel stitching’, a design element seen everywhere at the Milan furniture fair last April,” said Dana. “It’s the details that matter in design, and channel stitching is a fresh way to add visual interest and more texture to soft seating.”

Finally, technology is very important for today’s meeting and event attendees. They expect technology to be built into furnishings, such as CORT’s new Tech Tablet Chair, which incorporates charging capabilities into the chair and provides comfortable powered seating. The soft gray vinyl chair combines style with functionality with features such as a swivel tablet, storage compartment, grouping connectivity, and on-trend styling to facilitate learning, engagement and interaction.

To learn more about CORT’s exhibit and event rental collections, visit www.cortevents.com.

About CORT Events

CORT Events is the leading nationwide provider of rental furnishings for the exhibit and events industry. From high-profile special events to corporate meetings to weddings, CORT provides the rental furnishings that make exhibitions and events possible. CORT also provides rental furniture to the majority of trade shows and conferences in the nation, including shows and events in Canada.  For more information, visit www.CORTevents.com.

About CORT

CORT, a Berkshire Hathaway Company, is the nation’s leading provider of transition services, including furniture rental for home and office, event furnishings, destination services, apartment locating, touring and other services.  With more than 100 offices, showrooms and clearance centers across the United States, operations in the United Kingdom and partners in more than 80 countries around the world, no other furniture rental company can match CORT’s breadth of services and companywide commitment to making a house a home, an office a great place to work and an event a memorable celebration. For more information, please visit www.cort.com.

Media Contact

Sarah Osment

Largemouth Communications (for CORT)

sarah@largemouthpr.com

919-459-6457