It’s December again and we’re back in the cycle of out with the old year and in with the new one – it’s a fast ride to the end. 2011 is set to be another exciting year in design as we move onwards and blend the past with the future. As a designer, I think that’s one of the things that makes this period in our history so exciting – whatever we do involves an element of something new and offers the opportunity to make improvement to peoples lives.
Throughout the year, I’ve worked with a theme of looking towards the coming years and the importance of maintaining our ‘humanness’ in whatever we design. This will always remain the fundamental key to successfully designing the places in which we live. To close out the year let’s take a look at the Home and Interior trends for the next 12 months.
HOME DESIGN As has become standard over the past few years, the trend continues with well-planned open living spaces – a well appointed kitchen remains at its heart. Ample dining space and generous living areas put the focus upon relaxed lifestyle and great entertaining. Large window expanses to allow plenty of natural light and open up vistas to the outside are a key factor wherever possible. As a result we are seeing the return of the internal courtyard, which allows us to easily extend our living area outdoors. This has a twofold effect, creating a usable a low maintenance outdoor area and making our living space far bigger.
Textures and contrasted materials are the new detail when it comes to building. Metal, timber, stone and glass all play a big part, always with the theme of renewable and ‘green’ in mind.
COLOUR We stopped being scared of colour a while ago and we now see the concept filter through on a more mass market scale. Bland non-colours have given way to adventurous selections to really personalise a space – from sensational brights right through to smoky tones, it’s all about creating the right nesting experience for ourselves and our families. Small accent walls are out, instead wrap colours around walls to create zones. The seamless approach has gained popularity too – if the space is right for it, take the same colour used for the walls over the cornice and across the entire ceiling. I’m going to avoid singling out the actual colour predictions for this year and simply say that apart from architectural neutral shades like grades of brown, taupe, stone and charcoal, do a little research on colour psychology and choose what you love. All colours are fantastic if done well.
FURNITURE It’s all about quality, comfort and personality. We are seeing less of the minimal approach but keeping the clean lines with more textural detail returning in all things from rustic to modern. Furniture now is about ‘pieces’ and the way that you blend them, no matter what look appeals. We will see new modern furniture designs enter the market that despite their austere or severe look are still warm and appealing – its part of a greater trend towards a balanced harmonious vision of the future that appeals to our heart and our heads. We also see modest basic forms with boxy or rounded contours come through in all variety of things. Modular and multifunction pieces that can change along with your requirements are incredibly popular as is any item that surprises, contradicts and adds unpretentious detailing to everyday items. In addition, our modern aesthetic is not just caught up in the cutting edge of design, its really important to understand that we can continue to rely on pieces that hark towards different ethnic origins or different periods in time. The key going forward is to mix up your look and combine unexpected items together to create something that works without trying too hard – a sense of casual individual luxury that gives you a comfortable retreat.
LIGHTING Installed lighting has gone low energy very quickly and it’s an aspect that won’t change. The most popular variety being a recessed downlight – on the market now are fixtures with a ‘gimble’ socket that is compatible with halogen, fluorescent and LED globes – they are a great investment because they will save you money and take you through advancements in technology. We will see pendants and table lamps with a new minimal aesthetic come onto the market – geometric shapes, triangular shades, uncovered light bulbs, coloured flex cable and designs based in pure functionality. As a counterpoint, big shades, expressive simple shapes and iconic design pieces will remain popular. Concepts that put us in mind of the future are a strong trend so we also see recessed strip lighting to accent cabinetry and architectural detail still growing in popularity.
FINISHING DETAIL When we think of finishing detail now we come back to the way we put the finishing touches together to complete our homes. Just as with the rest of the design it comes back to the right combination of accent colours, textures, materials and shapes to bring everything to life. The selection soft furnishings, window treatments, wall and floor coverings and accessories that we have now is huge. There is no one trend apart from keeping the look at the right scale, clean, expressive and balanced.
This is the final article that I’ll be writing for OUTinPerth, so I want to say thank you to all of those who have either read or played a part in my column. 2011 sees me with new horizons in sight. In addition to my interior design business, I’ll be launching a new range of affordable luxury furnishings for homes and also beginning overseas guided shopping tours with my clients, all of which I’m really excited about – bound to keep me busy! If these things get your interest up, make sure that you like my Facebook page and you’ll be able to keep up to date as details unfold. Wishing you all a happy and safe New Year.
Matt
