From luxurious textures to rich colours, it’s all about the lush factor when it comes to decorating your home.
It takes more than a glamorous interior to inspire sophisticated home owners. In recent months, décor has received a fresh spin based on conscience, luxurious whims, and elegant lifestyles.
Fabric designers are enjoying their heyday with a new range of freshened-up materials that add oomph to countertops, exterior doors, and wall treatments. This hasn’t taken any focus away from classic styles, however.
Touchable textures
With materials in the spotlight, the rich textures and palettes of exotic woods and ceramics from the 1800s have been resurrected. Maxi-sized tiles and planks carry less detail, adding spaciousness to rooms while drawing attention to sumptuous materials rather than their layout.
Fabrics appeal to the senses: Every material begs to be touched. Touchable coziness gives residents that homely feeling that only tactile warmth can bring.
In white-on-white rooms, texture rules through combinations of ivory marble, wood, ceramics and wallpaper. A dash of earthiness is added through flashes of deep, exotic wood treatments on exterior doors.
Metal elegance
Despite the fun attached to colour and print, décor trends are still adding a splash of grandeur to the home, and few materials are quite as luxurious as metals. Brass’ stateliness is toned down when combined with trendy bamboo or wicker.
Copper adds a rustic pop of colour in the form of visible plumbing, freestanding bathtubs, shade pendants and oversized bridge faucets. Vintage mirror and painting frames recall the 19th century.
To balance, add some practical items and gritty textures. Casual face brick or hand-scraped wood flooring from the 1800s are ideal for turning grand brass into a friendlier material.
Vibrant colour is back
Recent trends see saturated turquoise, ocher and burgundy dress rooms in Spanish colours that bring a little fun into décor. Technicolor lighting guides your eye towards artworks and design features. It also adds a sheer layer of colour.
For a touch of playfulness, try hanging some prints. Pop art, dramatic florals, animal prints and lettering resurrect the Andy Warhol era in an updated way. Print-on-print trends toss peacock feathers against polka dots and graffiti without hesitation.
Touches of art
Art deco from the Twenties is booming. Tropical palettes of lime green, magenta and orange are blended with mat gray, ebony wood or brushed nickel. Indian weaves and tapestry bring a new kind of magic to artwork. Asian motifs have leaped from catwalks to home interiors, but black-on-white lettering has opened the way for hand sketched and inked pictures.
Art is turning up in unexpected places, with paintings finding their way onto accessories such as bowls and vases. Natural materials inspire serenity, and this is something home owners would like to invite inside. Architectural lines and textures are used to shatter the boundaries between gardens and indoor spaces. Exterior doors and windows have taken center stage by letting the garden play a part in indoor décor.
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