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SH&L’s market editor shares the best of the best from the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York

International Contemporary Furniture Fair, New York, May 19–22

Would you let a chocolate junkie loose in a cocoa factory or a fashion fanatic at a Nordstrom half-yearly sale? Probably not. Yet, for some reason, the folks at Seattle Homes & Lifestyles let me—a self-described crazed contemporary-furnishings addict—run rampant at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair.

For one week every spring, modern design reigns. Manufacturers from around the world convene in New York to show what they’ve got. It’s a good thing the show lasted only four days, or I might still be wandering—happily—among the design likes of Missoni, Kartell and Tom Dixon.




If you’ve ever wanted to lie daydreaming in a field of flowers, Studio Tord Boontje’s Little Field of Flowers rug for Barcelona-based Nani Marquina enables you to do just that.

Sassy or sophisticated? You decide. The wood King floor lamp by Autoban is a unique take on a classic decor element.



To call photographer Rachel de Joode’s wallpaper “fashionable” may be correct, but it’s also an understatement. Repeat patterns of her fashion photography images create, at a distance, optical illusions of stylish proportions. Shown here: Strawberry Soufflé.
Tapete means tablecloth in Spanish, but covering the intricate design on this Tapete side table, designed by Nani Marquina and Ricard Ferrer, may be the last thing you'll want to do.

The Best of ICFF

SH&L market editor Allison Lind lists her 10 favorite companies exhibiting at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair:

For affordable and fabulous bedding and throw pillows ... Amenity Inc.

For stunning art-under-foot rugs ... Amy Helfand

For—frankly—some of the most fabulous home accessories around ... Areaware

For vindication for being a design lush ... Designlush

For collectible-worthy accessories ... U+ Collection by Umbra

For wood furnishings so beautiful you'll want to cry ... Tucker Robbins

For fresh, playfully sexy wallpaper ... Flavor Paper

For rugs that’ll make you want to roll around on your floor ... IlluStration by Mary-Ann Williams

For the ultimate in sleek sophistication ... FTF Design Studio, Inc.

For proof that Brooklyn has cornered the market on funky-cool style ... Kandice Levero