Outdoor furnishings and fabrics gained attention from buyers and specifiers who were shopping Hospitality Design Expo, held May 13-16 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

Many of the vendors said the show’s second day brought more visits than its opening day. They also agreed they were hearing more about specific needs for active projects.

Uriah Bueller, president of Parasoleil, summed up the mood well. “Instead of someone saying ‘I might have a project coming up,’ they are saying ‘I have three projects,’” he said.

Vickie Ford, a designer with Baltimore-based R.D. Jones & Associates, said outdoor furnishings are needed around pools for many of the high-end hotel projects her firm has handled for Hyatt, Doubletree and Waldorf-Astoria, especially in Florida. The company also oversees commons areas in high-rise apartments and other multifamily complexes. “A lot of the multifamily projects have multiple pools,” she said while her team tested out Tropitone’s modular Spasso collection in its showroom’s second floor loft.

Erica Rexius and Nicole Wood of Los Angeles-based Diamond Interiors were among the designers who climbed onto Royal Botania’s luxurious hammock-style lounger. The lounger also caught the attention of movie-makers, who included it in the rooftop scene of the new movie Annie, according to Chris Roberts, who recently joined Royal Botania.

“Outdoor is such a big thing these days,” said Jeffrey Frank, national sales manager, Brentano. The company launched its new lines of solution dyed polyester fabrics at the show. “What we wanted to highlight here was about texture and bold color,” he said.

“Purple is the new pink,” said Victoria Dawson, furniture fabric account representative, Trivantage, after noticing purple hues repeat in numerous booths, including Shademaker, Woodard and Deltropico Designs.

“It’s a design business and people want to see colors,” said Steve Morrison, national sales manager, Deltropico Designs. “People are looking for color here. They are looking for design.”