AD Pro: Shows You Need to Know

These Are the Interior Design Trade Shows You Should Consider Attending in 2025 and 2026

The abundance of global design fairs can make for some serious FOMO. Which ones should you attend?

There’s only so much time and money you can put into traveling for interior design trade shows and fairs in a calendar year. We’ve put together this cheat sheet of the architecture and design shows you need to know. Put it to good use helping you plan which to attend and which to skip.

Maison et Objet
Paris, France
Dates: September 4–8; January 15–19, 2026
What to expect: Unlike the typical fair, the biannual Maison et Objet show is spatially organized around six broad themes—from home decor and cookware to personal accessories, home fragrances, and gifts—making it possible for time-strapped attendees to skip certain sectors and avoid getting lost in the weeds.
Who you will see: Established decor brands alongside emerging designers, artisans, and crafters at the Paris-Nord Villepinte Exposition Center. In the city center, you might sip wine among high-end fashion designers and runway models visiting Paris Fashion Week, which aligns with the fair’s September run.
Estimated costs: Round-trip economy airfare (all flight estimates are from New York unless otherwise noted) ranges from $420 to $2,800 but Maison et Objet attendees can score a 10 percent discount on an Air France or KLM ticket by booking through the fair website. For the September fair, flights will get significantly more expensive the longer you wait as early fall is on the shoulder of peak Paris tourism season. Expect to pay $60 to $1,800 per night for a hotel in the city center.
You should go if: You’re a designer, retailer or buyer, interior stylist, or lifestyle content creator.
Pro tips: While at the fair, recharge—for free—in more ways than one. Find a smartphone-with-bolt icon to use a battery charging point; get off your feet in designated relaxation zones; and stop at one of 50 water fountains to refill your reusable bottle. There are free shuttle buses running between the fair and Porte Maillot transit hub in Paris, as well as Charles De Gaulle airport. Designers attending the January edition might double their investment by exploring the fabric and wallpaper showrooms in Paris Déco Off on the same dates.

London Design Festival
London, UK
Dates: September 13–21
What to expect: The festival—showcasing furnishings, fashion, crafts, lighting, printworks, materials, and decorative objects—takes over much of the city with events, exhibitions, open studios, and site-specific installations presented within nearly a dozen design districts. There’s also yet-to-be-announced programming in collaboration with the V&A Museum and a design-fair component.
Who you will see: Possibly several design luminaries (previous years included Jaime Hayon, Tom Dixon, and AD100 designer Faye Toogood) and fellow architecture and design professionals and aficionados.
Estimated costs: Round-trip airfare ranges from $550 to $1,300. Expect to pay between $100 (near the airport or budget class) and $1,200 per night at a hotel, or $30 and up for a hostel bed.
You should go if: You’re a residential or hospitality designer or architect, a design enthusiast, a buyer/retailer, or a contemporary art buff.
Pro tips: Since you’ll be trekking across the city, consider picking up a prepaid Visitor Oyster card, which works on all London public transit (the Tube, bus, tram, etcetera.). It could save you up to 50% on travel costs when compared to single-cash tickets.

Cersaie
Bologna, Italy
Dates: September 22–26
What to expect: The mother of all tile fairs, Cersaie exhibits ceramic tiles and slabs of every style and for every application—from small-scale residential kitchen backsplashes and bath floors to commercial building facades and swimming-pool surrounds—in a massive multibuilding complex. Italian tile manufacture has become so high-tech, you’ll see products that scarily and convincingly mimic marble, hardwood, and terrazzo in both look and touch. And the trends you spot here are good indicators of what’s coming down the pike for the US a year or two later.
Who you will see: Designers, architects, specifiers, remodelers, and tile distributors from all continents. While you might not hobnob with starchitects, you’ll get to mingle with international designers of every age and enjoy the culinary delights of the Instagram-worthy medieval and Renaissance city.
Estimated costs: Round-trip airfare ranges from $620 to $3,200 while accommodations in the city center, including apartment rentals, range from $150 to $1,200 per night. If you’re looking to spend a fraction of the cost, consider attending the American equivalent, Coverings (the next edition is open from March 30–April 2, 2026 in Las Vegas), which will showcase a small handful of the same exhibitors and trends.
You should go if: You’re a commercial or residential architect or designer, kitchen and bath remodeler, custom home builder, or tile and stone distributor or installer.
Pro tips: You’ll often not need to bring your own bottled water or refreshments onto the show floor as many of the exhibitors (typically the larger ones) offer free bottled water, pastries, cocktails, and espresso, some with a professional barista, no less. And make time to explore Bologna’s historic city center, which is also a foodie paradise. Mangia e bevi!

High Point Market
High Point, North Carolina
Dates: October 25–29; April 25–29, 2026
What to expect: This twice-yearly High Point Market fair in the furniture capital of the US doesn’t take place in a single exhibition hall, but rather several adjacent neighborhoods chock full of showrooms and serviced by two free continuous-loop shuttle lines set up specially for the fair. Visitors will encounter both modern and traditional residential and contract furniture, lighting, accessories, and more.
Who you will see: The occasional celebrity designer or reality TV personality (think Bobby Berk or AD100 talents Jeremiah Brent and Nate Berkus), fellow architecture and design professionals, and furniture distributors.
Estimated costs: Airfare varies depending on which airport you fly into, but for Raleigh-Durham, round-trip flights range from $120 to $700. Rooms in or near High Point, including apartment rentals, start at a very reasonable $50 and run up to $700 a night on the high-end.
You should go if: You’re a fledgling or veteran designer, stylist, or distributor looking for new products and trends—or to reunite with longtime industry friends.
Pro tips: Plan ahead using the fair website’s nifty exhibitor filter, which narrows down showrooms by product type, style, country of origin, neighborhood, price point, and more. It can also help you discover brands you didn’t even know. At the end of your day, take advantage of the free shuttles servicing nearly a hundred regional hotels (in High Point, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Kernersville, and Archdale). There are also complimentary shuttles between High Point Market and three regional airports, but you need to make reservations for these through the fair website.

Design Miami
Miami Beach, Florida
Dates: December 2–7
What to expect: Not one of your typical interior design trade shows, Design Miami is a curated collectible design show where the museum-worthy wares on view—from lighting and furniture to art and decorative objects—are bought and sold. But flea market this is not: Last year, a J.B. Blunk cypress chair fetched just under $200,000 from California design gallery Blunk Space, for instance. Satellite exhibits and talks on related subject matters are part of the program as well. And its sister show Art Basel Miami Beach runs concurrently at the Miami Beach Convention Center, a venue across the street from Design Miami’s temporary tent in Pride Park.
Who you will see: This is one of the few chances, outside of Los Angeles and New York, where you can see art, design, and notable celebrities across the film and television, music, design, sport, and fashion worlds all in the same frame. The last few editions of the fair attracted the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio (somewhat of a regular), Rihanna, Pharrell Williams, and Martha Stewart.
Estimated costs: Round-trip airfare ranges from $230 to $1,000. Hotel stays in Miami Beach vary widely, from $60 to $3,300 a night. Book them far in advance, as many hotels raise their rates significantly during this busy time in the city and finding a room at the last minute becomes nearly impossible.
You should go if: You’re an architecture and design professional or aficionado, a collector, curator, or stylist for the home, hospitality venues, and even film sets.
Pro tips: Get outside the fair tent to visit other sources of design, architecture, and art inspiration such as the Bass Museum of Art, the Herzog & de Meuron–designed Pérez Art Museum Miami, the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens (a Gilded Age estate), and the Art Deco Museum. Or enjoy some alone time strolling the Miami Beach boardwalk or on the soft sand. In addition to your party clothes, be sure to pack a light jacket or sweater: Miami Beach is generally warm and sunny in December, but the evening temps can drop to below 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

Heimtextil
Frankfurt, Germany
Dates: January 13–16, 2026
What to expect: A mecca for home and contract textiles from every corner of the world, Heimtextil is spread out over several Messe Frankfurt fairground halls but arranged by sector, making it easier to navigate straight to your wheelhouse. Categories include upholstery, wall coverings, drapery, rugs, bedding, bath textiles, and more.
Who you will see: Designers, hospitality specifiers, manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers, and furniture and bedding brands, both established and lesser known.
Estimated costs: Round-trip airfare ranges from $530 to $1,800 but fortunately hotel stays can go for as little as $56 per night. High-end rooms run up to $1,100 per night.
You should go if: You’re a buyer, designer, architect, textile distributor, contract specifier, or furniture manufacturer.
Pro tips: Purchased fair tickets bearing the RMV (Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund) symbol entitle you to free trips to and from Messe Frankfurt on the RMV public transportation network. While Frankfurt is not the sexiest city in Germany, it’s central enough to branch out: It’s just a train ride away from Berlin, Munich, and Cologne.

KBIS and IBS
Orlando, Florida
Dates: February 17–19, 2026
What to expect: These co-located shows have every accoutrement for kitchens and baths—from appliances and cabinetry to plumbing fixtures and fittings—on the KBIS side, and residential building materials, windows, doors, paint, HVAC, and more on the IBS side.
Who you will see: At some of the kitchen-appliance booths, you’ll come across cooking demonstrations, sometimes with a celebrity chef. Other TV personalities show up to help promote product. (Germophobe Howie Mandel greeted attendees for the launch of a self-cleaning toilet for American Standard one year.)
Estimated costs: Round-trip airfare ranges from $200 to $1,200. Hotel rates will vary depending on location in the Florida city and run from $60 to $800 per night, but the higher rates are usually for the luxury resorts near the Universal or Disney theme parks.
You should go if: You’re a remodeler, designer, architect, home builder, or contractor. Showroom buyers and retailers, as well as DIYers, can also benefit from attending.
Pro tips: Comfy walking shoes are a must. The convention center’s two halls are connected via a long pedestrian bridge that will be full of other showgoers, so factor in a 15-minute stroll between them. Pack a sweater as Orlando’s temperature can dip to the 50s (or sometimes lower) in the evening.

Salone del Mobile
Milan, Italy
Dates: April 21–26, 2026
What to expect: This granddaddy of all design fairs, Salone del Mobile showcases the newest furnishings, lighting, materials and decorative accessories. It can be the stuff of nightmares for agoraphobes, though: The fair is spread out over eight buildings full of booths that read more like permanent showrooms in both size and build, while other venues throughout Milan—from centuries-old palazzos to cultural institutions—transform into satellite exhibits and dramatic site-specific installations. Not to mention the city’s gazillions of design showrooms that hold their own parties and product-launch events. In fact, most of the major international furniture and lighting manufacturers time their product debuts to coincide with Salone.
Who you will see: Celebrated designers and architects alongside veteran and emerging industry professionals and sometimes cultural icons of the architecture, design, and art worlds attend. Last year’s Salone featured talks with Italian film director Paolo Sorrentino and AD100 architect Bjarke Ingels, to name two.
Estimated costs: Book far ahead of time (at least seven months in advance) to find flights starting at $560 on the budget end; they can run up to $6,000 if you wait. You can also find rooms and apartment rentals in the city center from $140 to $4,000 a night, but the prices increase dramatically the longer you hesitate. (For instance, just a couple months before Salone, you’ll find “leftovers” like two-star hotel rooms going for $600 a night.)
You should go if: You’re a designer; Salone’s also great for residential- and hospitality-product buyers and distributors looking to stay on top of market trends.
Pro tips: Book air travel and hotel rooms ASAP as both sell out months before the fair. Map out the exhibits, showrooms, and events you want to attend to avoid zigzagging across town too much. Make it a vacation and tack on a few extra days to travel to Venice, Florence, or Siena, all easily accessible via train.

HD Expo
Las Vegas
Dates: May 5–7, 2026
What to expect: Just one component of a larger conference on all things hospitality, HD Expo is a great resource for discovering products ranging fixtures, furniture, and lighting to bedding, upholstery textiles, and flooring. The conference portion, meanwhile, offers insight into emerging trends across all hospitality sectors (including restaurants and spas, for instance), what hotel brands want today, designing for wellness, and marketing and strategy. There are also loads of networking opportunities including a mega pool party and speed-dating–like roundtable sessions between hospitality decision makers, designers, and product brands.
Who you will see: Both veteran and aspiring hospitality designers and architects, as well as hotel executives and specifiers.
Estimated costs: Round-trip airfare ranges from $340 to $880. If you book five or six months in advance, you can snag rooms on the Las Vegas Strip for as low as $20 a night; rooms on the higher end will be about $1,500 per night.
You should go if: You want industry insight to break into hospitality design or increase your hospitality business. The opportunity to rub shoulders with leading hotel brand bigwigs is also possible.
Pro tips: Charge and bring a power bank with you, as you might be in a zone where there’s no free spot to plug in. And consider taking a side trip to one of the many nearby national parks, such as Death Valley, that are within a few hours’ drive. If the great outdoors aren’t for you, find out which celebrity performers are taking up residency in Vegas and hit a concert or two.

NYCxDesign
New York, New York
Dates: May 14–20, 2026
What to expect: Anchored by ICFF, the international furniture fair in the US, the citywide festival of NYCxDesign now comprises showroom and retailer parties throughout various design districts and centers in Manhattan and Brooklyn, architectural tours, special installations and pavilions, talks, and design school events. ICFF is still the main draw where both established and lesser-known brands exhibit their newest wares—contemporary furniture, lighting, decorative hardware, finishes, fixtures, and home accessories—in booths at the Javits Center.
Who you will see: A handful of big-name architecture and design professionals from all over the US (and some from abroad).
Estimated costs: If you book early, flights into New York from, say, Los Angeles, start at $340 round-trip and run up to $800. You can find some hotels in Manhattan starting at $200 a night while higher-end rooms run up to $2,000 a night.
You should go if: You’re a designer, architect, specifier, or a merchandiser specializing in residential or hospitality design. ICFF in particular is a good inspirational and networking opportunity for industrial-design students.
Pro tips: Skip the taxis and rideshares and take the subway or a Citi Bike instead as Manhattan traffic is brutal and the car rides can get expensive. If you don’t feel fit enough to cycle, take advantage of an e-bike—there are tons at the Citi Bike dock stations. Also, remember to pack multi-season clothes because New York City weather is unpredictable in the spring season.

NeoCon
Chicago
Dates: June 8–10, 2026
What to expect: Chicago’s ginormous Merchandise Mart, which spans two whole city blocks, comes alive each June when this contract furnishings fair welcomes throngs of commercial interior designers and architects from across the country and sometimes internationally. The goods include furniture—much of which caters to offices, such as workstations and task chairs—lighting, flooring, textiles, surfaces, acoustics, healthcare furnishings, and office accessories.
Who you will see: Mostly commercial architecture and design professionals, design students, and the occasional celebrity designer (if involved with a product launch or keynote).
Estimated costs: Round-trip airfare ranges from $200 to $580 if you book early. You can find hotel rooms and apartment rentals ranging from $50 to $4,000 per night. Closer to the show, both airfare and hotels get significantly more expensive.
You should go if: You’re a young or veteran contract designer or architect, facilities manager, or any other specifying consultant. Those focused on workplace or healthcare design will benefit the most.
Pro tips: Skip the Mart elevators as the wait time can kill your schedule. Instead, start at the highest floor and work your way down the staircases. Don’t forget that a number of big-name furniture brands have moved their showrooms out of the Mart and into Fulton Market, such as Allsteel, MillerKnoll, and Kimball. Finally, if this is your first time in the Windy City, consider taking an architectural boat tour on the river for an informative and relaxing ride and building eye candy.

3 Days of Design
Copenhagen
Dates: June 2026
What to expect: The younger but fast-growing 3 Days of Design festival showcases new or recent furniture, lighting, and accessories from Danish and international design and lifestyle brands at showrooms, shops, galleries, and other venues throughout the city. There are also related talks and workshops. While the 2026 dates haven’t been announced, expect it to run in mid-June.
Who you will see: International architecture and design professionals of every age, buyers and retailers, design aficionados (particularly of the Danish variety), and curious locals, as the festival is free and open to the public. You might also have the chance to chat with some of the creatives behind the innovative designs.
Estimated costs: Airfare isn’t cheap, unfortunately, with round-trip fares ranging from $520 (if booked super early) to $2,000. But hotel and apartment rental rates are better at $70 to $800 per night. You can also find some very design-savvy hostels starting at $25 a night.
You should go if: You’re a designer, architect, lover of Danish and Scandinavian design and goods, design student looking for inspiration, or a buyer.
Pro tips: The city is easily navigable by foot, bicycle (through numerous bike-rental shops), bus, metro, or boat. Consider taking a modern and contemporary architecture tour of Copenhagen by bike or on the canal via small and large vessels. Or check out the city’s legendary amusement park Tivoli Gardens, said to have inspired Walt Disney.