Every now and then, we hand the mic to the creatives who turn concepts into connection. This month, that person is Kyla Lax, owner of Hire Society.
Hire Society works with the events industry across furniture hire, decor, and styling. But that description only gets you halfway there. What Kyla and her team really do is take an event concept, a mood board, or sometimes only the beginning of an idea, and help make it tactile. They make sure the thing imagined actually lands on the day, in the room, with the right feeling.
That is why they have become such a trusted creative collaborator for True North. There is an understanding between the teams: what is promised must be delivered, what is briefed must be understood, and what arrives onsite must feel like more than a collection of hired pieces. Kyla describes it as a kind of alchemy, which sounds dramatic until you have seen what happens when a room suddenly makes sense.
So, in the spirit of our ongoing conversation around connection, we asked Kyla to take over this newsletter and share what she is seeing in decor and event design.
Over to Kyla.
More Than Decor. A Point of Connection.
On a bad day, I tell people my job is to make parties pretty.
On a good day, I remind myself that I curate spaces where people can be their authentic selves and engage with others and brands in a real and meaningful way.
After all, what we really want in life is to feel deeply connected to both ourselves and the world around us.
It is not surprising, then, that in a world struggling to discern truth from reality, we are seeing a resurgence in the events space of the desire for authentic connection and raw moments. People want spaces that feel human. They want texture, warmth, imperfection, memory, and detail. They want to walk into a room and feel something before anyone has explained the concept to them.
With that in mind, I have gathered a few emerging decor trends that, for me, have their roots in our very human desire to feel connected.
Hand-crafted nature
In an era where the lines between people and AI are increasingly blurred, anything natural that has been lightly touched by human hands immediately creates a sense of connection, not only to the earth but to other creative beings.
This is where hand-crafted nature comes in.
Think minimalist florals or greens elevated into art forms. Organic-shaped vases. Natural tones. Raw materials. Produce styled into magical creations. It may sound like a stretch to see bread in a design light, but beautifully styled food can become part of the table story in a way that feels generous, tactile, and deeply human.
What I love about this trend is that it does not have to feel rustic or unfinished. The strongest version is more considered than that. It is natural, but intentional. Soft, but designed. Human, but elevated.
It reminds people that someone’s hands have been involved. Someone has placed, shaped, gathered, and noticed.
Tablecloths are back
This shift towards wanting to feel grounded in the tactile is a large part of why fabric is having its time in the sun.
Draping continues to be a big deal, but tablecloths in particular have made a proper comeback. When you combine that with the current leaning towards the 80s and 90s, gathered cloths, ruffled trims, stripes, pattern-on-pattern, and layered fabrics suddenly feel fresh again.
A tablecloth changes a table by softening the room, adding ceremony, and making the table feel less like a surface and more like a place where people are meant to gather.
Decor is not only there to be looked at. It should influence how people behave in a space. A dressed table says: sit down, stay a while, notice what has been prepared for you. It gives people something to respond to, even if they cannot quite name why it feels good.
Nostalgia-inspired design
I have mentioned the strong pull towards the 80s and 90s, but really, good retro and vintage design is finding its way back into event design right now.
Part of the appeal is that it reminds us of another time. A world that felt safer, slower, and calmer. Whether that is completely true is beside the point. Nostalgia is not always historically accurate. It is emotional. Slightly unreliable, but very persuasive. Like most of us, really.
In events, nostalgia gives people an immediate point of connection.
This can come through typography inspired by times gone by, handwritten notes or menus, retro touches, old films projected onto large screens, or new films styled to feel older. The detail does not have to scream theme. In fact, it is often better when it does not.
The goal is not to recreate the past, but to borrow its emotional texture.
Spaces as sanctuaries
Closely linked to this move towards connection is the idea of creating spaces as sanctuaries.
Large events can be beautiful and impressive, but they can also be overwhelming. Not everyone wants to stand in the middle of the room, drink in hand, performing their best version of “I am networking and absolutely fine.”
Sometimes people need somewhere to break away.
That is why intimate nooks within larger event spaces are becoming so important. A soft seating area in the middle of a big room. A quiet corner where two people can talk properly. A fabric-enclosed bar. A reveal area that offers a small moment of surprise. Entire spaces wrapped in fabric to create intimacy and softness.
When we talk about connection, we should not only think about deep conversations and meaningful content. Visual delight matters too. Unexpected beauty matters. A small reveal, a beautiful corner, or a moment that makes someone pause can leave a lasting impression. The best decor does not shout for attention. It holds people. It gives them places to gather, retreat, talk, look, laugh, and simply be in the room a little more comfortably.
The return of feeling
For me, the real decor trend sitting underneath all of this is not one colour, one flower, one fabric, or one decade. It is the return of feeling.
The hand-crafted detail that reminds us someone made this. The tablecloth that makes a meal feel generous. The nostalgic touch that opens a memory. The sanctuary space that gives people permission to connect without forcing it.
At Hire Society, we may technically supply furniture, decor, and styling, but the work is bigger than making things look good. It helps an event feel like itself. It takes the idea an agency has sold to a client and turns it into something guests can physically see, touch, and remember. Yes, it is about delivering the mood board, but it is also about adding the detail, care, and creative layer that makes the space come alive and captures the essence of a brand.
Because when decor is done properly, it does not sit quietly in the background. It becomes part of the connection.
To see how this comes to life in real rooms, you can find more of our work on Instagram.
I have also pulled together more visual inspiration on my Pinterest board here: 2026 Event Decor Trends .
Kyla x
