I recently attended Design Week at the Boston Design Market and I was so inspired by the wonderful showrooms, the seminars and most of all the speakers! One of my favorite speakers was Marisa Marcantonio from Stylebeat. She presented a stunning number of design styles that are up and coming for 2016. 11 of them! At first when she started I felt I would probably know the content of her talk. I stay up to date with trends every day! What could she POSSIBLY tell me I didn’t know…Well…I was surprised to know there are some really great new upcoming trends and to be frank about it, I was extremely pleased to hear of some of these shifts in design for the home. We have gone through a period of time where a lot of people have been stuck in certain styles. Here in Ohio its been Pottery Barn this and Restoration Hardware that. Not that there is anything wrong with these styles but after the umteenth house of this style, it gets old and boring to me. I am ready for COLOR! I’m ready for prints! Just guess what is coming? Yep! Prints and Color! It is a sign of the recovering economy actually.
In this blog I will summarize a one hour presentation in my own words. I will quickly go through these just to give you the highlights or this blog will go on FOREVER…if you are anything like me I just want the highlights and then I move on. So here are the 11 styles that you will see coming up in the months ahead. Some of you will find your homes (that I have been consulting for) are already on the cutting edge (yep, that’s the benefit you get from using me- you are cutting edge my dear) So here is goes….
1- Bohemium Wanderlust- Its a mix of lots of styles together…Its gypsy-looking, moroccan style which involves lots of color, accessories that are vintage in nature, Ikat Prints, very eclectic! To me, this style is messy…I like a little more order than this but like Apparel Fashion, sometimes the style makers overdo it to make the point. By the time it gets to me and you, we take one part of the puzzle and design a whole room around it. For example, a bed cover and a decorative rug.
2- Tribal Trend- This style is all over the board! It is ethnic looking, metallic, black and white and colors like yellow, burgundy and teal. It is a very diverse in its presentation and finishes available. This is a wallpaper from the French company Pierre Frey. It is so whimsical yet serious and again, colorful!
3- Chinoserie- Viney and of course VERY COLORFUL! This style comes and goes a lot but this time the colors are just turned up a notch. This is an example from one of my favorite companies Thibaut! This is called the Imperial Dragon. Now most of the clients I have would not put this wallpaper in an entire room but I would have them either pick a feature wall in a bathroom, hallway or even behind a bed. Can’t you just see this wallpaper in a room where the other walls were navy, the trim was white, and a couple light blue solid pillows too!
4- Aviary- For those of you who are bird lovers this style will definately get you chirping! Birds are EVERYWHERE!! Parrots, peacocks, feathers…you name it! Our fine feathered friends are now HOT! The movie “Rio” comes to mind here…if it has a bird on it, in it, and its full of color, its popular! This Schumacher Fabric is designed by Miles Red. “This chintz was inspired by an archival Schumacher fabric and evokes the 1930s designs of John Fowler and Nancy Lancaster, the legendary duo credited with creating the English country house look ” It’s Hot, its fun and this design comes in 5 colorways.
5- Seasonless Tropical- If you love going to the tropics for vacation you will LOVE this style…you can have it in your own home now in OHIO or wherever it snows a lot and be right in style! You can have your banana leaves and snow too! The style is Cuban- inspired, its breezy, pink, jungle looking and comfortable. This is a bedroom from the “Decorist”…Banana Leaves, white, greens…and all I want to say is, “Where’s the beach?”
6- Tried and True Traditional- Marcantonio says the “Classic design elements are back” Things that are timeless, lacquer furniture is especially popular. With the increase in pattern it is classic to have prints on every wall and every fabric in the room. The patterns can be neutrals as well as bright. The Classic Blue Velvet Sofa has made a HUGE comeback! God and Brass are what she called “Omnipresent” Antiques are also great to include in this type of style. I don’t know about you but I feel very safe with this style.
7- Blue & White- I was just at a clients’ house the other day and she professed to me that she was having a “love affair” with blue and white right now. I have to say I totally agree! On the heels of the last style, Tried and True is the trusty Blue and White! I thought this was a New England thing at first…then, after some research, it was showing up all over the place. Whether it is in bedrooms, living rooms, outside, inside, it was everywhere! Blue lacquered furniture, pillows, vintage vases, flooring, wallpaper, fabrics, you name it! The patterns the colors were used in were stripes, geometric designs, medallions, marbles, florals and the patterns were mixed “fearlessly” as Maria said. If you are a “Blue” lover now is your time to decorate!!! Enjoy! The photo below is from Thibaut…I have these fabrics and wallcoverings in my store. They are just as beautiful in person as in this photo.
8-Meaningful , Personal and Individual- This style is just all about YOU…it’s your character…its what you love, what you like, where you have gone and what you are about. If you are an avid reader, this style would be great for you to embrace. It all about what is on the coffee table, that cool antique your Mom passed down to you, that colorful combination of colors you grew up with and still love. Your room has character and soul. Colors can be blue and orange, navy, pink and yellow, black and white, zig zag, ikats, florals and stripes all together. Have one show-stopping piece in the room! Here is an example from designer Emily Henderson in Architectural Digest.
9-True or Faux- This style interprets things from nature in a different way. Natural things that are painted in odd colors. It’s branches and twigs painted white, its marbelized looking patterns on pillows in weird colorschemes. These candlestick lamps feature white artichoke bases and the lidded cabbage tureen is stunning!!!
10- Warm Modern style is influenced by the Neo-Nordic style. Pale or Natural woods, clean lines and white trim and walls. Lots of texture is used in this style and the has lots of craftman style qualities about it. This is an example from modernfreshfurniture/blogspot.com
11- Marble/Marble/Marble- On the heels of the last couple styles mentioned is this overwhelming presence of Marble. Specifically White Carrera marble. It is absolutely EVERYWHERE right now. It is in tile, marble, wallpaper, fabrics, furniture, accessories… you name it! Here are some images from various sources online
So as you can see there is A LOT going on in the world right now…from VERY colorful to quiet white and everything in between. Its nice that now you can recognize the different styles and attempt to find one that fits your tastes. I ask clients all the time, “What is your style” and most people say “I have NO idea” I hope this blog helps! If it doesn’t and you need some help in this area, don’t hestitate to call me to identify your style! You may be surpised what you may find out!