Every year, the furniture fair in Cologne (IMM) publishes a trend forecast on the most important developments in interior design. This year the five creative experts that form the trend board see a general feeling of uncertainty as the main motive for some very different aesthetic developments. Prosperity and social harmony seem just as much in jeopardy as the natural balance. In response, creatives and consumers alike are looking for new answers or consistency in design. That means having a good clear out and rummaging in the depths of the closet to find solutions that are viable for the future.

In the so-called Trend Book, the themes shaping the design scene right now are extrapolated in four directions representing various tastes and lifestyles.

Trickery
This trend could also be called “False-Bottomed Design” and features improvisation and artisanal imperfection, which seems better suited to solving current and future problems than classic forms. It is all about experiments and designs driven by artistic rather than market-oriented motives. Designers and their public are rebelling against the slickness of the design world. The result looks pieces together, sometimes even primitive; there are hybrids between various furniture types, combinations of plastics and natural materials. Perspex and bubble-wrap are just as easily combined with recycled leather or wooden materials as with patterned or colored veneers and cork. Dulled, once powerful colors have the main role in this trend. The star of its color collection is a shade of lilac, which can be framed with either apricot or a reddish earth-like tone. Added to this are a succulent green and pistachio green plus a summery sky blue.

Comfort Zone
The more difficult the times the more the consumer longs for something consoling and cuddly. The comfort zone is populated by voluminous wing chairs, borrowings from English nostalgia, cake-shaped soul-soothers and furniture that radiate cozy, self-made aesthetics that keep the outside world at bay. With simple, yet intelligent creations, designers are breaking the bonds imposed by the modular furniture systems that one has come to know so well up until now. Knitted paper, flamboyant floral carpets and round ceramic tiles emphasize the wish to create a homely atmosphere. Textured and crushed fabrics give the desired intimacy. The main color is an earthy brown with a hint of blackberry, that is set against a praline brown and a beige reminiscent of the pebbles of the north sea coast. Further accents are set with a restrained mustard yellow, a powerful ruby red an a lively “finch green”.

Rehab
Rehab
is purism as self-therapy and is all about back to the basics: furniture and rooms are being subjected to a kind of rehabilitation treatment and stripped of all comfort and ornamentation. What remains are skeletal forms and white walls. The naked form becomes the starting point for further development using innovative materials and techniques.  Angular forms, functional adjustment features and folding options are typical of the slightly chunky Rehab aesthetics. Various sorts and kinds of paper, as well as metals and textiles predominate; perforation and woven structures create the required lightness and relief. A reduction in color intensity prevails. The predominant color is a muted yellow with a hint of curry. The main color is accompanied by various shades of white and grey, which stand out because of their very neutrality.

Discipline
This trend could also be called “a return to reason”. Luxury is no longer sought in comfort but in formal and qualitative consistency. Only forms that are beautiful, innovative and durable can be useful as well. Bauhaus classics set the tone and quality workmanship adds authenticity. Slender, simple furniture with as few edges as possible dominates. The materials also indicate a return to the authentic: wood, leather, woven fabrics or ceramics, rounded off with the occasional plastic detail - on armrests or seats for instance. Setting the tone in the color palette is antique pink, going towards beige. To accompany it as a companion color there is a dark green-black, a deep ocean blue and a grey with a light touch of lavender. A tea-colored brown and sandy beige complete the composition.

How to get more information?
Philexport Cebu supports its membership and other interested parties facing the task of keeping updated with trends through the “HOME INTERIOR TRENDS 2010/11” for furniture and home furnishings manufacturers and designers. The seminar will be held on April 13, 2010 from 1.30 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Casino Espagnol de Cebu, Cebu City. Philexport Cebu charges a minimal participation fee, including a merienda and a CD with full documentation, of Php 500 for members and Php 750 for non-members.

This article was written by:   
Name:    Sabine Schacknat
Education:    Interior Designer, MBA
Ded Marketing and Branding Consultant