Top 3 Trends in 2011 & Tricks for Putting Them Together

Check out my take on the most inspirational trends of 2011 as seen at the Maison & Objet show in Paris this past January.

I've paired these first two trends together because the lines between them are very blurred. The main difference is that the something that is rustic or vintage isn't necessarily reclaimed or recycled. The demand for authentic reclaimed or recycled goods is increasing and as it does more suppliers come on the market and the prices are reducing. There is often still a premium that we pay for these products and supply isn't limitless. So as a result, manufacturers have started to create new pieces that have the look of a reclaimed piece.

1. Reclaimed/Recycled/Upcycled
The hottest term in decor (and many other industries) is "sustainability" and this is the way our society is moving and is more of a lifestyle than trend.
The impetus for this direction is our awareness of how our over consumption, throw-away culture has negatively impacted the world around us. Couple this with the financial concerns of the last few years and we all want to move to a more self reliant lifestyle. Adopting this new path has given society a renewed interest and appreciation of artisanal skills from the past and the humanistic products that result. One-of-a-kind, handcrafted goods that embrace their imperfections and highlight natural materials will be hot in every interior. We will also see an emphasis on using what normally would be regarded as waste to create interesting products.

2. Rustic Meets Industrial to Vintage meets Retro
This rustic appeal can be created by manufacturers to give the feeling of a reclaimed piece. The emphasis is usually on the utility of the piece allowing the natural materials to shine through. These pieces have a handcrafted quality and often even new pieces have been aged employing artisanal techniques to give them a more authentic rustic, vintage charm. We are seeing lots of raw wood often with a living edge (looks like the outside of the tree, usually with bark and notches) or a hand hewn appeal, natural fabrics frequently with a pronounced or nubbly texture, natural stone and all with a more natural slightly chalky colour palette- soft grays, milky whites, robin's egg blues, pale sages, and barely there champagnes. Part cabin, part farmhouse, part seaside escape this look is approachable and cozy and feels as comfortable as snuggling under a warm blanket, in front of a wood burning fire of a chilly day.
The other side to this trend is the more industrial rustic, think distressed metals, instead of woods but with the same accessible quality, as the more woody rustic elements. These both have a familiarity to them and work well together adding that sense of history that creates interesting interiors that seem to have a story to tell.

3. Mix 'n' Mix Some More
The last few years we've seen decors become more eclectic with people not afraid of breaking rules and creating tension between different elements of design. We are taking this one step further and really turning up the heat on this trend by creating an even more topsy turvy jumble of colours, patterns and furniture styles. These busier, more visually rich interiors are a direct response from people getting tired of the stark minimalist interiors we were seeing in years past. We want to add drama and personality to our spaces. The key is layering lots of pattern from ethnic-inspired patterns like ikats and south-western inspired motifs to botanicals and bird/feather prints to more graphic styles like trellis and medallions. Creating spaces that have their own unique sense of style and a familiarity almost like Grandma's house but hipper.

Design Elements to Incorporate to Bring These Trends to Life:

1. Play with scale
Oversized chandeliers or pendant lighting works well with our mix n mix trend. We are still creating balance in our space we are pushing the outside limits to create tension.

2. Clustering and Grouping
This works well with lighting of showing off a collection- trophies to globes to vintage signs. Keeping things as a grouping creates a stronger design statement and also plays up the overall scale of the grouping. This treatment works well with any of our design trends.

3. Bring the travel and global influences into your space
Pull out your old globes, flags, maps, trunks, tapestries and use them to elevate the interest in any decor. There are few people that don't want to share their travel stories and hear yours. Let your interior inspire these conversations. Then add layered patterns, patchworks, second life rugs and the impact will impress any guest. Travel/Global influences

4. Add some smaller scale, upholstered pieces with a softer more feminine line
Still playing with scale and pushing the boundaries. Smaller pieces aren't just practical when we are living in smaller, less energy draining spaces; they make allow better space plan optimization- more seating in smaller rooms. We are seeing demi - curve sofas and more organically shaped chair backs and arms. Pair these slightly more sophisticated sofas with a rustic living edge table, some oversized pendant lights and some linen toss pillows and heavy knit throw and a south-western inspired area rug and you've incorporated all the trends into one glorious space.