Interior design trends for 2008

31Jan08

As we enter the New Year most designers and architects have noticed trends that will define their work and resonate in living spaces across the country. While some of these have maintained their status in the hierarchy of what is ‘in’, a lot has changed as we bid adieu to 2007.

Trends reflect a certain shift in a universal design consciousness that permeates all aspects of creative indulgence. While individuality reigns supreme, as it should, its expression acquires a synergy that defines products, décor and design and becomes a significant aspect in understanding recurring design themes and creative mindsets.

There are many aspects of interior design that could be considered a significant trend for the coming year, but in this article I shall try and focus on those that are likely to be the most defining.

Bling is back— Over the top is in—living life king-size ?

The past few months have seen a resurgence of opulent living and a heightened interest in baroque fixtures, bold design and an element of shine and sparkle in almost all product design. Grandeur is most definitely fashionable and so is a return to luxury in living. Chandeliers, swarovski and gold leaf are finding their way into every home in one way or another.

Have you gone green with in-vy yet ?

Sustainable design is new mantra for architects and interior designers. Still relatively in a stage of infancy in India, it is fast acquiring importance .Eco-friendly materials and environmental consciousness are gaining ground as design and consumption make way for greener living—albeit in a small way. Solar power , renewable materials and eco-logical architecture and design will soon be a force to reckon with.

Grey worldwide and no, I am not talking about advertising

Grey maintains its supremacy in modern design and décor , while bringing in a lot more hues than it was ever given credit for. It has overtaken black and white in its appeal and suitability for various applications.

I do not fit a stereotype so why should my home ?

Eclecticism is most definitely ‘IN’. In fashion and in interiors. The stereotype exists only to be constantly provoked. Homes do not fit into themes, design does not adhere to rigid rules and space does not conform to regimentation. Antique furniture combines with steel and leather without batting an aesthetic eyelid. Just as individuals increasingly refuse to conform to a stereotype, homes and offices find ways and means to break the mould and acquire a visual signature that makes them unique.

Rang Barse in 2008

In keeping with our traditional love of colour, trends indicate that our homes are likely to have a lot more ‘rang’ in them and the neutral hues of the recent past are making way for a lot more playfulness and cheer on our walls, furnishings and detailing. In this respect, colour trends have become more Indian, in recent times.

Leather with a dose of double X chromosome

The dominance of leather continues, while incorporating a more colourful and feminine appeal and no longer being restricted to sombre study rooms and the masculinity of traditional applications. The new style statement of leather, while retaining it luxury quotient, has added a whole new dimension of aesthetic indulgence and sexy fun.

Olympics in Beijing—Tao in your home—Zen-y design

The oriental flavour rules everything from commerce to design. Design features which are intrinsically oriental continue to hold their own in a modern environment and have assimilated with contemporary design so effectively as to have almost blurred distinctively regional connotations.

Adieu to minimalism

Minimalist design, in India, would perhaps never reach the heights it has attained in other parts of the world. It could be because our essential Indian-ness and the cultural heritage it summons to our mind do not enable us to understand the essence of this style. It has its disciples but the appeal it has in the west is unlikely to ever find a similar story here. Instead, over time, the west has turned its attention on eastern influences.

Accessorise extreme

This is the new mantra of décor. Almost every manufacturer has realised its potential and the mushrooming of thousands of accessory boutiques in the past couple of years affirms the growing appeal that this holds. No longer a case of functionality or use, the demand for products that are just simply great to look at with a premium price tag that goes well beyond functional purpose is fast becoming the norm.

Yellow fever and feeling blue !!

The yin and yang of the colour spectrum have found their coordinates in these two colours. Yellow bringing in earth and a new flavour of gold in interiors is complemented with the cool vibrations of all kinds of blue that seems to have taken over our living and work spaces.

Comfort zones and practical luxury

While consumers and designers are increasingly practical in their approach, the need for comfort candy is apparent in all aspects of interiors from plush seating to snugly carpets. Everything is increasingly fluffy and layered, almost as if the hard lines of modernism have given us an ache in our consumerist spine.

Revival of the fittest

Grandma’s armoire is being restored and the rickety cane chairs refurbished in a more contemporary style. Old world design is being incorporated in our interiors and elements of detail that connect us with a glorious past serve to remind us of our need to find a connect with something that was easily trashed a few years ago.

Excessively F : Finish, functionality, faux and fuss

Features are what count. Whether you buy a mobile or design your home, essentially it all boils down to the little add-ons that take it beyond functionality and stamp your signature all over it. Customisation is at its peak, and with it comes a demand for detail and creative ‘perks’.

Crafts and heritage : rediscovering the past

Consumers are increasingly finding pieces of their heritage whether as a culture or as a species to incorporate into living spaces so that they find a reconnect after a significant period of denial and exclusion. There is a trend to make the new merge with the old and find new meanings and experiences.

Heavy metal rules the roost

Stainless steel is here to stay and learning to make friends with carving, embellishment and country comfort. Metal continues to reign supreme in product design, architecture and interiors. Walking hand in hand with its live-in companion –Glass. The only difference being that they are now rubbing shoulders with elements that speak a different language. In a world where barriers are being torn down and new relationships forged, is it surprising that design would create such a learning space within its own dimensions ?

Read more on this in Rediff Get Ahead



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