NeoCon + Design Days 2026: What Caught My Eye on the Floor

Every June, I come home from Chicago with a camera roll full of chaos, inspired, and with a much clearer sense of where this industry is headed. I realize that for many, Neocon and Design Days are polarizing and to be avoided at all costs, but when that many people come together with a common goal of interpreting trends into design, furniture and workplace manifestations - there is just a certain energy.  I live for it; My brain starts firing and making connections to what is and could be. The experience to me is very much like visiting a modern art exhibit. I’m there to see, feel and decide what I will take from it. I’ve always had a glass half full mentality, so I think this- like many things, is what you make of it and it. It can also be a highly personal journey, what I see and experience could be completely different then what resonated with someone else. That’s why I love to connect with other people, designers in particular to hear about what they saw.

NeoCon and Design Days 2026 didn't disappoint — if anything this year felt like the industry finally exhaling. After a few years of "figuring out hybrid," manufacturers showed up with confidence. They know what today's workplace needs to do, and they're designing for it with intention.

Here's my honest recap: what stood out, what surprised me, and what I think it all means for the spaces we're helping our clients build right now.

Privacy Is Back, and It's OK to want it!

If I had to pick one theme that showed up again and again, it's this: the private office is having a real moment. Manufacturers are going all in with thoughtful, well-detailed solutions. Everything was elevated from the level of finish options and alternate profile offerings to mechanical and support components being wrapped and hidden neatly away. I don’t even recall seeing standard height adjustable- and why would I? Neocon and Design Days is where manufactures come to shine and show us the best and latest they have to offer.

We know that having spaces that support alternate modes of work, including areas of intense focus, are imperative to a high performing environment. Keeping in line with privacy and focus spaces, there was a serious uptick in pods and "space within space" solutions. Although there were no real advancements that I noticed in the functionality, it was the emphasis on unapologetic beauty that resonated with me- just beautiful details and embellishments because we deserve it and crave that in spaces that we inhabit.

Acoustics Continue to Shine

Speaking of focus… sound transmission and control is a reoccurring design challenges we solve for clients, and its importance is reflected in the many ways it’s solved for across manufacturers. BuzziSpace and Turf continue to push hard and lean into interesting, design-forward acoustic solutions, but others are hot on their heels. Honestly, Turf continues to have one of the best showroom experiences in my opinion. They maximize their product to create multisensory spaces that are immersive, interesting and moody.  It's not just about quieting a room anymore; acoustic products have become genuinely beautiful, with color, texture, and form all working together.

You can see the throughline clearly: acoustics, privacy, and private office are really the same shift addressed in different ways. Companies who want to give people a place to focus and be unbothered and are willing to invest in it have no shortage of options available to them.

Design That Leaves You Feeling Better

A continuation of one of my favorite trends was a deeper dive into the tactile and sensory experience. Some spaces and products were designed to help people reset and recharge, not just sit and work. Case in point: a lounge chair and ottoman from ThinkSpace where the ottoman vibrates at a specific frequency and pattern to encourage circulation and rejuvenates the user. Another great example is the DesignTex textile backing CELLIANT which recycles a person’s body heat into infrared energy that increases local circulation. Products and spaces that have the specific intent of creating moments of rejuvenation are a wonderful example of wellness in the workplace. We'll soon have both of these products at Custer in the near future, so come feel it for yourself.

Color Stories: Matte, Tonal, and Bold

On the color and materials side, a few clear directions emerged:

• Matte and tonal palettes continue to present a sophisticated vibe
• Oxblood showed up as a rich, grounding accent across multiple lines
• Color saturation was definitely present too -- with pops of blue and citron adding energy to otherwise neutral palettes
• A fun undercurrent of funky mid-mod motifs — bold pattern and retro shapes reimagined for today

I’m personally really enjoying the quiet, tonal sophistication on one end, and the complete commitment to saturated palates with touches of high energy personality on the other- it feels… safely daring.

Culture and Experience as a Brand Strategy

A theme I didn't expect but loved: music. At least two showrooms went all in on it — hip-hop especially — with nods to vinyl records and music culture woven throughout their space and product lines. Manufacturers that chose a definitive direction on the vibe they wanted to present and created unique experiences to build in moments of play and tactile engagement were really successful. They brought a lot of energy, people remember the experience, not just the product. There is also just something really refreshing about being in a work-centric environment and then walking in to hear LL Cool J, like- “oh, I found my people.” A showroom did that to me!

Manufacturer Highlights

Steelcase offered up some pleasant surprises. There was a genuine lean into sustainability with their WELL directory and more outward-facing data. The pendulum on sustainability is swinging back and for many clients making conscientious choices is becoming more and more important, so this is timely.  The new Missivia lounge line launched by Viccarbe -looks great, sits great. Ocular Shift is a new arm of the very versatile and much loved, tech driven Ocular meeting line.  And finally was Aisla, a very classy and elevated workplace line that combines attention detail and a high level of fit and finish. I also picked up on some smaller, smart details: locks on bar pulls, ¼" frameless and smoked glass, sexy stitching on the Jean Nouvel Tête-à-Tête- it’s the little things.

Hon You may or may not have heard, but Custer can officially sell Hon now. We are excited for the opportunities it will bring and the greater diversity in product that we now have to offer. And Boy do they have a lot of products! Design Days was my first experience with them directly and I spent a lot of time exploring, sitting in chairs, opening storage and raising and lowering desks. They had way more options than I expected, and genuinely something for everyone. Halcon continues to set the bar for attention to detail. Every year, they remind me why craftsmanship still matters in contract furniture.

Pleasant Surprises

A few things genuinely surprised me this year: KI’s Kiaura chair that took gold in ergonomic task seating was unlike anything I’ve sat in. It reminded me of sitting on a yoga ball, but less dangerous.  I was also caught off guard by Watson who nailed a genuinely difficult category: a well-designed tech station. It had so much adjustability it was like a Marvel™ command station.

On the tech side more broadly, I expected to see a lot more AI on the floor. I didn't… but when I did stumble across it, I wasn't surprised that Crestron was the one doing it, and doing it well, with so much data and visual integration it actually made me excited about looking at a spreadsheet.

What This Means for the Workplace Today

Pulling back from the individual products, the overarching thread across this year's show is pretty clear: workplaces are being asked to do more emotional labor than ever. They need to support focus and privacy, but also connection and culture. They need to sound good, feel good, and look good. Increasingly, they need to also feel more human and approachable — highly functional and well thought out, but a little playful with elements to elevate joy and wellness.

That's the environment we're designing for our clients right now, and it's why I like go to shows like this — to bring back not just product knowledge, but a real read on where the industry, and the people using these spaces, are headed.

See you on the floor next year.