We’ve looked around for the next big design trends and the ones that have bottomed out. From passé white lacquer furniture to “boring” neutral tones, as well as “overdone” gallery walls, decorating in all one style, and cheap ‘fast-fashion’ homewares – and here are the trends we’re endorsing instead. The ones that truly capture the mood at large that you need to know to be completely up to date. Read more, ‘The Predictions Are In: These Are The Biggest Design Trends of 2019 So Far.’
Embrace eclecticism: incorporate many pieces from different styles that speak to you. Image via atelieram.com
OUT: Gallery walls
Sometimes less is best, and we are feeling that with art. Too much art in one space can start looking messy and undefined.
IN: Stand-out art
Next time you want to dress up your walls, try fewer pieces and play with scale instead. One singular, stand-out piece can work wonders. There’s something about a little restraint.
OUT: Decorating in all one style
Although it might be tempting to resist the urge to adhere to a singular design style when decorating your home, try mixing as many experiences so your style is as eclectic as you and tells your story. Read more, ‘A Beginner’s Guide To Decorating Your Home.’
IN: Embracing eclecticism
Incorporate many pieces from different styles that speak to you. The aim is for all elements to complement one another, from materials to colour palettes. What stands out is interiors built around furniture collections, freedom of expression, originality, and spirit – where rooms are based on all kinds of pieces, whatever their provenance or value. Read more, ‘How to do Eclectic Style.’
Your home should be where you let your creative side loose – a place to display favourite things, handmade pieces and less-than-perfect found objects. It’s a foolproof antidote to today’s sleek, mass-produced, technology-saturated culture.
What stands out is interiors built around furniture collections, freedom of expression, originality, and spirit. Image via atelieram.com
OUT: White lacquer furniture
Try adding storage pieces to your space that aren’t in traditional white lacquer finishes.
IN: Furniture in “new” neutral hues
Choose furniture that comes in different colours. Opt for pieces in shades of taupe or blush, perfect peach, olive green or tobacco, which are being embraced as the “new” neutrals. Read more, ‘Hands Down, This is the Best New Occasional Furniture Brand.’
OUT: Buying “fast,” high-street homewares
Say goodbye to ‘quick, immediate, and cheap’ fast-fashion homewares. We are no longer building an interior overnight. Sometimes it’s better to think globally about what you truly need—and a good investment is worth waiting for.
IN: Investing in home décor
Think about what you truly need, and be willing to invest the time and money necessary to get the best solution and not the quick fix. Call in the professionals. Do your research. Although it can be a great way to save money, there’s a reason that antiquing and repurposing old furniture has been having a major moment.
Recycling and reusing existing decor allows you to reduce waste and also collect pieces that are special and have their own story.
OUT: Indestructible materials
Outdoor and indestructible materials are on the way out. Frankly, houses and materials should show patina and signs of life. Nothing is more resilient and easier to maintain than natural fibre.
IN: Natural textiles
Instead, opt for wool, cotton, linen, alpaca, and leather textiles. These materials are healthy, cleanable, breathable and age beautifully.
OUT: Overly matchy spaces
Matching all items in the room doesn’t leave much room for creativity or imagination when decorating. It doesn’t allow your true individuality to shine through in your decorating style—embrace what you like. Read more, ‘Improve Your Mood With These 50 Top Decorating Tips.’
Your home should be where you let your creative side loose – a place to display favourite things, handmade pieces. Image via atelieram.com
IN: Personality-filled rooms
One of the easiest ways to allow your personality to come through is to go bold with things you love. If you love a fabric, don’t just use it on a cushion, cover a whole wall with it. Go for it.
Display things in big, bold groups, don’t dissipate their effect by scattering them around. Be ambitious. You can carry anything off if you have confidence.
Out: Neutral tones
It’s important to decorate spaces at home with more than just neutral tones. Have fun while you’re doing it. Try designing your home as colourfully as your lives. Be true to yourself. (ps. indigo blues are big news). Read more, ‘Melissa’s Ultimate Guide to Decorating.’
IN: Colourful wallpaper
We love gender-neutral wallcoverings in a nursery to make it more versatile. Check out the latest colourful wallpapers now available that are fun and playful without being overly feminine or masculine.
‘Design is returning to more simplistic proportions,’ says Belgian designer Vincent Van Duysen. Image of Plain English Kitchen Coombe Edge House via plainenglishkitchen.co.uk
OUT: Hectic designs
Patterned tiles, assertive patterns, and pieces that yell ‘look at me’ can come off as trendy and really dominate a space, and don’t always stand the test of time in your home the way a classic design can.
IN: Simple shapes
“Design is returning to more simplistic proportions and sensuousness,” says Vincent Van Duysen. “At least in my own design collaborations, I am trying to retain the essence or purity of form but incorporate as much technicality as possible.” Simple shapes are much easier to work with and live with than the trickier, more assertive designs of the past decade. This is a trend for all of us to embrace, not merely one to observe politely from the sidelines while marveling at other people’s homes on social media.
It’s all about easy ways to add simple shapes, warmth and delicacy to any home in order to create the comforting havens that we are all craving these days.
OUT: Bookmatched marble
It can be done well, but we find the patterns are often distracting to the point of detracting from other elements in a space.
IN: Vein matching
Vein matching is a great option, which gives the appearance of a continuous slab, or tiled marble for a more random look. Read more, ‘Benchtops 101: A Guide to Seven of the Best.’
OUT: Straight lines and sharp edges
While minimal straight lines and sharp edges once reigned supreme in the interior design world, designers and brands are moving in a more modern direction—that includes curved edges, soft corners, and rounded designs.
IN: Curvy furniture and chubby design
Yes, curves and voluptuous proportions are in style and have dominated the interior design world lately. Now makers are taking things one step further and exploring a softer style, embracing playful, chubby shapes with one continuous line upholstered in rich velvet. Expect lots of rotund, portly products with fat chairs that closely hug the body. Maybe it’s a reaction to the tough political and socio-economic climate we’re facing – which has left us craving softness and reassurance. You can also go smaller with pieces like globe lamps, cylindrical ottomans, and sculptural bowls.
Curves and chubbiness is clearly the shape of things to come.
Curves are big news again, from rounded sofas to smaller pieces like globe lamps, cylindrical ottomans, side tables, trays, even sculptural bowls. Image via atelieram.com
OUT: Ferns Everywhere
Fishbone ferns are a beautiful plant, but you don’t need one in every room. Read more, ‘The Best Plant to Buy For Evry Room in Your House.’
There’s no need to make your living room look like a greenhouse.
IN: Japanese maple
Japanese maple is the plant du jour. Topiary, cyclamen, maidenhair and citrus plants always work – striking a balance between formality and informality.
OUT: Hollywood mirror lights
Yes, you’re a star. But that doesn’t mean you need to be blinded by a blast of harsh bulbs every morning.
IN: Subtle, indirect fixtures
Lighting today is softer, and more delicate, featuring subtle, indirect fixtures and sconces. Read more, ‘The One Upgrade That Will Instantly Make a Rental Look More Expensive.’
OUT: Wordart
There’s no shortage of wood art at homeware stores, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best choice for your home. Rather than settle for a generic piece of word art, (HOME, LOVE, etc), take the time to choose something more meaningful that speaks to your aesthetic.
IN: Original art
Collecting paintings, drawings, photographs, and etchings, that speak to you.
OUT: Mason jar mania
It’s time to say good-bye to mason jars, which have been heralded as the answer to every kind of home need: kitchen hold-alls, candle holders, salad containers, soap dispensers—the list goes on.
IN: Hand-crafted vases and dinnerware
Artisan goods like hand-crafted vases and beautiful dinnerware, meaning mason jars can go back to their original job of canning preserves.
Collect artisan goods like hand-crafted vases and beautiful dinnerware – pieces you can love forever. Plain English Kitchen Coombe Edge House, plainenglishkitchen.co.uk
