Dan’s Papers March 18, 2011 HOUSE & HOME GUIDE danspapers.com Page 40
Trend: Traditional Meets Contemporary By Tamara Matthews-Stephenson Of course we all know that the design of a home is not created in a vacuum. Our surroundings, the economy and sociology all play an intricate part in the trends that appear in our interior design, from furniture choices to wall colors. When I speak of trends, I do not mean trendy, because most homes today don’t change furnishings every season like fashion. Many of us are not interested in the trendy, low-quality items that roll in and out of popularity. However, trends in design affect the industry in many ways even down to the smallest details, such as whether a wallpaper selection is available to the public based upon its popularity at the moment. I was invited by the IFDA (International Furnishings Design Association) to attend a symposium recently at the Grange Furniture Showroom in Manhattan. I learned about the twice-yearly premiere home design show in Paris called Maison Objet, and the current trends that we should expect to see in the upcoming year that have come out of this show. This will affect color, textures, fabrics and furniture design. I find all these influences exciting and wonder how they will influence us here in the Hamptons. Industry expert and journalist Hermine Mariaux shared her thoughts on the current 2011 design trends to watch, based upon what she saw at last fall’s exhibition at the Maison Objet. The show attracts designers and manufacturers from around the world who exhibit their wares. It has become the Paris version of New York’s Fashion Week for home
furnishings and sets the tone for upcoming trends in design around the world. Mariaux gave a slideshow and discussion to a packed audience. Mariaux outlined two distinct styles that will influence design this year – a return to traditional style with an emphasis on heavy, dark furnishings and in contrast, an ultra-contemporary style that accentuates oversized seating, giving a sense of privacy, as a sort of room within a room. At Maison Objet, there were many embellishments on furnishings and nods to 16th and 17th century period styles – Baroque, Dutch Colonial, and William & Mary. There seems a to be a return to heavy furnishings, with ormolu and dark woods. Mariaux pointed to the current furniture lines she saw at Highpoint – dark-wooded furniture lines by Michael Smith (Baker) and Martha Stewart (Bernhardt). She showed examples of carved mirrors and Flemish paintings (noting the overwhelming popularity of two recent art exhibits – one at the New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and Bronzini’s exhibit in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence) as examples. There will be a renewed interest in Dutch Colonial style. Fabrics will be richer in color, with more detailing, more embellished, with lots of emphasis on crewel, tooled leather and rich woven fabric. Color trends will be the richer jewel tones. The opposite trend Mariaux outlined was in the contemporary style which has been popular for many years, but with a new emphasis on oversized, unexpected and unusual shapes and textures in lighting, metals juxtaposed with raw woods, more
exaggerated scale and much more black as a backdrop on walls and furnishings. There was a lot of black contrasted with white, black with pops of color, rich colors and some whites referred to as “refrigerator white.” A big Japanese influence was lacquer finishes. Recycling and green marketing will probably play a big part in this movement looking ahead. This is nothing new, however. The oversized scale, taller in height and larger seating areas reflect something new that may be percolating: to create a room within a room or a space in which to enjoy a sense of privacy. I like the use of natural raw materials set against the metal finishes. Although this isn’t new either, it seems to be even more defined. The return to craftsmanship in modern furnishings is seen as well in ultra-raw pottery and unusual lighting with wood and metals. Using natural materials, like wood, in modern furniture reflect the desire to bring craftsmanship to the modern approach. Listening to the forecast on upcoming trends made me contemplate these two distinct styles and note that we seem to be blending both more than ever before. The lines are no longer distinct between a traditional and contemporary home and many homes are a lovely mix of modern and traditional styles. It is an exciting time for interior design. We are well equipped and we have a less rigid design outlook. More important, we seem to be shifting our focus back to combining well-made items of good quality into our homes. As Martha Stewart would say, “It’s a good thing.” Tamara Matthews-Stephenson is an interior designer, freelance writer and author of Nest by Tamara blog at nestnestnest.blogspot.com.
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