Every year, our interior designers travel to the Merchandise Mart in Chicago to preview must-see design solutions at NeoCon. From seating to wall and floor finishes, desking and textiles, our designers take note of it all. Here are our top 4 takeaways from this year’s show.
Amenity Spaces
There was a lot of focus on amenity spaces at Neocon 2019. With amenity-rich workspaces on the rise, demand for products in this area should increase as well. Most notably, we saw an increase in sofas, lounge furniture, and modular seating. Additionally, there were more unique and accessible ways to incorporate charging devices into practically every square foot of office space.
Sit to Stand
We have seen a steady increase of adjustable height work surfaces throughout the past several years, and this year was no exception. Designed with today’s workplace in mind, the legs are now hidden or completely wall mounted. There were also great cord management options being presented to complement the rising trend of sit-to-stand desks.
Plants
Living walls, foliage, and greenery were abundant at Neocon. Plants have been proven to reduce stress while making workspaces attractive. It is no surprise that commercial interior designers are keen to using them in their office designs. There are so many advantages to plants in the workplace, and this year’s displays offered great solutions to incorporating them into the office.
Resimercial
Many vendors are now offering a larger resimercial line of products. The benefits of bringing the comfort of home into the workplace are numerous. This trend seems to continue into Neocon 2019 with the addition of even more area rugs, throw pillows, and other residential-like design elements. Comfortable work environments promote collaboration, and the Neocon showrooms were very comfy this year.
We can’t wait to see how the innovation, ideas and energy presented at NeoCon 2019 is carried forward into future office design efforts.