Designing your home or business can be really challenging especially when it comes to styles and trends coming and going. Its hard to know that you are choosing the right thing for you and not just because something is 'trendy'.
Over the next few weeks I'm going to be thinking about trends in more detail; today I'm looking at colours, then next week I'll think about designing for your home and the week after designing for your business.
Each year I get my interior design students to research what the current trends and fads are, mainly because they love the topic but also because it’s something that I find so fascinating.
So, what’s the difference between a Trend and a Fad?
A fad is a short lived fashion and a trend is what stays for many years, I like to think of waves on a beach, the fads and trends wash in, the fads go off again but the trend is the beautiful drift wood left behind.
Long colour trends can last roughly 10 years or so. Looking at the last 30 years, in the 90’s the style was floral patterns with sage greens and orange, in the 2000’s it became brown and beige and over the last 7 years or so it’s mostly been grey. I first used grey in a roomset I did for Ikea back in 2006 and it felt pretty risky!
So what are the emerging colour trends in 2018?
At the moment I think grey is going to slowly move out of interiors as designers start to look for new shades that excite them, I know I am! I think the only shade that still interests me is a very dark charcoal which I think will stay around, especially in graphics or more corporate settings.
But for dark tones I think that navy blue will continue to take over and I’m also seeing a lot of lovely intense dark teal shades. The other dark shade that seems to have come forward is black, obviously a bold choice for walls but look out for it in accessories. If you want to think more about decorating with dark colours then have a read of my blog from a few weeks ago.
For accent colours I’m seeing a lot of pinks and warm reds, not bright shades but soft and muted. They tie in lovely with light browns and grey mauves as a neutral base. If you like the sound of this scheme have a look at Dulux colour of the year ‘heart wood’ and their ‘comforting home’ scheme.
I’m also seeing lots of lovely blues and greens. The blues are often towards the teal end of the spectrum and the greens are fresh and vibrant. ‘Greenery’ was Pantones colour of the year in 2017 and with the very popular trend around bringing more plants into our homes I predict this will carry on for quite some time!
Another colour I find interesting is something called ‘raw white’, this trend is primarily about natural white textures, think of smooth white ceramics, sheep skin rugs and rough matt concrete. It contrasts nicely with the metallic trends of copper and brass which we have seen so much of lately.
How can I help you with your interior?
So if you’re just about to decorate your home or design your business, how do you choose what you like? It can be so easy to be swept along by a fad and especially by a longer term trend. It can feel really tricky as you’ll want your home to reflect you, be contemporary, and at the same time not look dated in a few months!
To try and help, next week I will look at home interiors and the week after business interiors, thinking about how to navigate trends yourself and work out what you really like and need in your home or business environment.
As I look forward to thinking about this topic in more detail do you have any burning questions that you’d like me to cover?
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