Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and are ready for a Fabulous 2013.
I thought I would start my new year with you all in a traditional way – with a prediction.
It is the time of year when the design world looks to the future and shares what trends will become household must-haves this year. Even though I view this as a bit of a chicken and egg scenario, with the current tastemakers setting the design direction, I thought I would jump in with some predictions of my own!
Now, whilst I, like many others, want my home to reflect fashionable not old-fashioned design, this year I am going recommend caution. How many times has the new ‘it’ item elicited a “what were we thinking” retort at year’s end followed by a quick trip to goodwill?
To prevent leaping on the bandwagon of a new trend too quickly may I suggest that we read the forecasts with an eye to our wider design philosophy?… and adopt only those ‘it’ items that speak to our environmental tendencies, technological needs or overall design aesthetic. No need to loose our sense of self in the process of good design.
Indeed, my own design predictions stay in the details of the design arena (think accessories and accents) and play to my love of nature-inspired products with the perfect patina and a vintage appeal – stone lamp bases, burnished brass accents and petrified wood accessories. I also predict feminine curves but manufactured in masculine metals to satisfy the man in your life’s own (perhaps unknown) design desires!
Amana Brass Bath Collection at Serena & Lily burnished and antiqued to warm up a cold bathroom | Beaumont Snow Marble Oval Accent Lamp by Arteriors Home | Jayson Home Petrified Wood Trays polished to a bright gleam provide texture and sense of history | Feminine curves are tailored to a masculine sensibility in the Venetian Headboard fashioned in black metal and made in New Orleans at Au Lit Fine Linens | Arteriors Osgood Iron Pendant in antiqued gold throw patterns of light and shadow across the room, like entering a copse of trees on a sunny day.
To me, the perfect patina is instantly liveable and can cuddly up to both traditional and modern design with equal success. Where will you be going (design-wise) this year? I would love to hear your thoughts on what design trends would speak to your style…
