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We’re just about 90 days away from the 2013 MoOD- Meet Only Original Designs- and their trend team has finished its behind-closed-doors deliberations releasing their 2014 textile forecast- eMOTION.
The trend team spent their time discussing the world: about social economical tendencies, about evolutions in color, in innovation, in subcultures, in design. And of course about textiles. What predominated from the numerous presentations this year where mostly opposites. The world is hybrid and is simultaneously running on multiple gears. Tomorrow’s consumer does not want any boring uniformity, but unique products with their own story. eMOTION shows four future scenarios which have one thing in common despite their diversity: everything revolves around emotion:
Terre Natale
More and more people resist against the overpowering ADHD economy. Terre Natale embodies the “switch off” experience, enjoying simplicity and tranquility. We no longer have to own things, because ownership is linked to a feeling of lack of freedom. ‘No to ownership, yes to access’ is the key to freedom. Our ‘terre natale’ is no longer connected to the place we were born. Our ‘native soil’ is us. We are modern nomads who feel at home everywhere. Our openness to the world translates into an open creative culture. We create together and look across disciplines just like we are used to looking across borders. Just like nationalism and identity connects us to our Terre Natale, we do not need to live there to be a part of it. The materials and colors in Terre Natale are connected to the earth, water and nature.
Key words: Freedom, Switch Off, No to Ownership, Yes to Access, Native Soil, Earth.
So(u)laris
The way we look at the world is changing. Transparency and openness, light-heartedness, love and honesty are basic skills. Literally and figuratively. These values are almost always associated with light and soft colors. So(u)laris embraces the return of the mysticism and colors that are so very very white. The emotion of So(u)laris is magic and poetic but never dramatic. She is just barely controlled and sometimes even turned inwards and resigned.
Key words: Transparency, Love, Poetry, Mystiscism, Light-heartedness, Co-creation
Colorfools
Today more than ever, we understand how much color influences our mind. Because even when the use of colors is a more conscious process, the goal is to evoke the right emotion. Companies that provide color consultancy are popping up all over the world and more and more architects and designers are approaching an architectural space from the emotional experience they want to provoke. Color also stands for a promise. The fact that we are so crazy about color indicates that we are fed up with the crisis. The colors in this scene are rebelling against the so called ‘designer’s colors’ of the last decade. The trend team suspects that even behind the revival of the misty, pastel-like colors,there is a revaluation of the “gut feeling” . These colors are pure, honest and like to reveal themselves on smooth, plain materials.
Key words: Optimism, Colours, Fools, Play, Pure colours, Honest, Promise
Foils
Foils are omnipresent in fashion. They are also about to burst into the interior. Technically speaking they are a masterpiece and even their functionality serves a higher goal. They owe their breakthrough to the fact they also fulfill an esthetic function. The arrival of the foils is an extension of the success of the metallics in wall paints and the glitter in accessories. It is the proof of the newfound confidence in the future.
Key words: Foils, Metallics, Innovation, Moving Colours, Iridescent Colours, Future, Sci-Fi
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The American Institute of Architects’ 2012 Home Design Trends Survey, notes interest has grown in designing homes with more open space and flexibility. Homes are becoming less formal and more individual with a focus on lifestyle preferences of the homeowner.
One key area seeing these changes is the bath; consumers are looking at the bathroom as much more than a space for showering and shaving, but one where wellness, hygiene, technology, and relaxation seamlessly blend together. Look for the implementation of high tech features, more color and natural materials in bathrooms in the coming months. Here’s the bath trends short list:
Wellness:
The bathroom is no longer a merely functional place but has become an at home destination for respite and rejuvenation. As the bathroom becomes a hybrid space for cleaning and grooming as well as relaxation, the tendency to use softer and less clinical materials emerges. So it is no surprise that we will be seeing more wood as an alternative to the expected tile in the bath.
The SensoWash C shower-toilet designed by Philippe Starck, is a fusion of toilet and bidet with multiple wash and dry features. He shares, “What we invented [with Duravit] was a wet lounge where the toilet seat, the shower, and the bathtub become furniture like an armchair or table which you can discuss or share with your partner or with friends.”
Borrowing from other industries can create advantages. The MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas has ‘Stay Well’ rooms to help guests maximize their downtime in the city. The rooms were designed in partnership with wellness real-estate pioneer Delos, the Cleveland Clinic, and Dr. Deepak Chopra. They feature advanced room lighting that improves guests’ internal clock, wake-up light therapy that increases energy and reverses the effects of jetlag, dawn simulator alarm clocks, an air purification system, and photo-catalytic coatings that break down bacteria on surfaces.
The ‘Stay Well’ rooms also include a Vitamin C infused shower that neutralizes chlorine to promote healthy skin and hair.
The Hi-Tech Bath:
Bathrooms are no longer just about function. From in-shower sound systems to water saving features to personalized toilet and shower settings and remote control, there is a clear trend toward designing bathrooms with extra comfort and luxury experience in mind. The bathroom becomes the new living room, complete with lavish furnishings and high-tech accessories.
What is the Kohler VibrAcoustic Hydrotherapy bath? VibrAcoustic transducers broadcast sound waves through the water to relax and calm the body. Unlike jets, the transducers don’t interrupt the surface of the water, since they’re found below the bathtub’s shell. You can choose from pre-selected compositions or plug up your own device to play music of your own. Would you ever leave?!
The ioDigital shower system by Moen can enhance showering. Consumers can set a precise temperature and flow for the shower, lock it in and press a button to activate it daily.
Sync your device enabled with Bluetooth® technology with the wireless speaker from up to 32 feet away, and invite your playlist, podcast or live broadcast into the shower.
Plus, you can take your music with you anywhere. The Moxie speaker plays wirelessly in or out of the shower, so you can charge it up to use in the kitchen or take to the beach.
Daring Designers to Use Color:
When it comes to color in the bathroom designers have a definite comfort zone, but a commitment to color can make for a really eye catching space. Duravit realized this with their introduction of Darling New. Because “Color is crucial in creating different moods” according to color expert and longtime Pantone consultant Leatrice Eiseman.
The little black dress for the bath.
Indoor/Outdoor:
Somewhere between bathtub, jacuzzi, and pool are Duravit’s Blue Moon and Sundeck pools, which lead a recent popular trend in home design- designing products that work both inside and out.
Indoor/Outdoor furniture has been heralded by designers for its versatility for some time now. Here fixtures are champions versatility- elegant, statement worthy; but also functional and durable enough to not only survive, but to thrive indoors or out.
Designing for Small Spaces
A small bathroom doesn’t have to mean sacrificing style. The latest trend in home design is creating products that save space. According to the International Furnishings and Design Association (IFDA), “In the next ten years people will live in smaller spaces.” With smaller spaces comes the need for more smartly designed products. Susan G Doban of Brooklyn-based Doban Architecture, emphasizes “Carefully selected fixtures and accessories take center stage in a small bathroom where every decision not only counts but can be appreciated.”
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Sherwin Williams commissioned a color survey for their National Painting Week April 15-21, 2013 and it looks like color in our homes is here to stay.
Courtesy Sherwin Williams
Leading the way in rooms getting a makeover this year are homeowners’ bedrooms at 32 percent , 29 percent will be tackling the living/family room and 28 percent will update their bathroom. In addition, 15 percent of people believe their home’s exterior could use a refresh.
The Survey Says:
From simply updating a room to a complete home transformation, homeowners are looking for ways to add a shot of color to our homes in the following ways:
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This Spring, modern window dressings will influence a room without appearing heavy or bulky thanks to delicate voiles, burnouts with open-work patterns, lighter fabrics in small- and large-format prints and embroidered motifs using yarns of various thicknesses.
LASER CUT BY OKSANA
KNOLL STRIPED SHEER
MANDALA
Window fashion stylings also appear lighter; even when layered and have volume created by good bone structures. Stationery panels are still popular but are moving toward full blown traversing draperies to control light, sound and shut out the world when you want. Look for Ripplefolds mounted at the ceiling, layered looks and more interest and structure at top, bottom and edges of panels.
Color is bigger than ever followed closely by pattern. Look for color blocked panels, bold awning stripes or alternating colors that create rhythm at the window.
COLORBLOCKS BY PASSAYA
Lace is back, and we’ll see an impressive array of net, tulles, laser cuts and interpretations of the motif that moves lace out of grandma’s trunk and into the contemporary arena.
OPHELIA – JAKOB SCHLEAPFER
ALICIA -NYA NORDISKA
Drapery hardware also gets sleeker and more elegant. Smaller diameters are replacing tired looking overscaled wood poles. Round poles gave way to rail systems and now they are being joined by other geometric forms like octagons Stainless steel and chrome finishes add refinement to the looks. On the horizon- Brass- unlacquered, lacquered, antiqued and warmed up with interesting undertones. Many collections include rods with inner profiles for sliders, plexi poles or transparent mounts, giving them the appearance of floating freely within the room.
ECLIPSE- BRADLEY COLLECTION
WALCOT HOUSE
NEON BYRON & BYRON
Trimmings hope to gain back lost ground with mixed media, countless colors, shapes and sizes and with woven tapes leading the way.
SAMUEL AND SONS
Double roller blinds comprised of two panels with alternating opaque and transparent striped segments moving one behind the other are the up-and-comers this season. These blinds make it possible to vary both the view and the amount of light let through as desired. Roller shades continue to grow in popularity now offered in an array of colors and patterns for the fashion forward.
WOOL APPLIQUED SHEER PANEL TRACK
LASER CUT ROMAN SHADE BY OKSANA
SUN FABRICS
COULISSE
Watch for more trend spottings thru my tweets, Facebook and blog posts this week as I attend Vision13/ IWCE and KBIS in NOLA.
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