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What trends will continue to dominate home decorating in 2019?
When we asked interior designers about the colours, fabrics and styles likely to be popular this year, one message came through loud and clear: people are seeking comfort at home.
They are seeing a trend toward a sophisticated, elegant comfort achieved through things like warm wall colours, antique wooden items with a patina of age.
Along with the physical cosiness these items bring, many folks seem to be seeking a degree of emotional comfort in their home decor.
Furniture and wall-covering designer Brett Beldock said: “They want this cocoon feeling. Our surroundings have to be really warm and comforting now ... everything is crazy and we’re all up in the air.”
He believes furniture shapes are changing too: “We’re seeing a return to rounded edges and pieces of furniture with big, soft, rounded arms,” he added.
Two other leading interior designers – Marika Meyer and Dan Mazzarini – are predicting changes in home design in the coming months too.Marika said: “We’re coming back into more warm neutrals. Green is the new blue. It’s likely to be used in everything from upholstery patterns to kitchen furnishings.”
She also believes that as part of a ‘return to traditionalism’ in home design, many people are opting for ‘heavy layering of very traditional patterns’.
With a movement growing on recycling across the globe, second-hand items are also having a moment.
“There have always been the antique lovers that we’ve worked with,” said Dan. But now, a growing number of people ‘are responding more positively to things that have an actual sense of history’.
Even for homeowners who prefer a more modern style, warm wood tones are increasingly popular too.
“Everyone’s using warm woods and walnuts,” said Marika. Some clients continue asking for lighter wood tones, but even when paired with white items for a very clean look, the wood grain brings a degree of warmth to a room.
