The minimalist style of decor is emerging as an unexpected casualty of the
downturn. Economic malaise has unleashed a pent-up longing for home
furnishings in warm, bright shades, for Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts
prints - and even for frills - in the new decorative compensation trend.
Beige, in all its variations, is out, as is an absence of clutter. Comfort and
colour are back in favour as people choose to cocoon themselves in their
homes, sheltering from the economic gloom outside. As the think-tank The
Future Laboratory forecasts, 2009 will be the year of staying in: your
sitting room is where it's at.
High society's best-known interior designer, the sartorial daredevil Nicky
Haslam (see below), sums up the trend: “There is a lot of joy in my current
work. I'm not using any grey, black or brown.”
Dulux, meanwhile, is introducing a new paint range with “sunny yellows and
mystical violets”. Louise Smith, colour and design manager at Dulux, says:
“This is the year to go wild and express yourself. Since fewer people will
be moving the onus is on personalisation and reinvention.”
Last week John Lewis reported brisk demand for sitting-room essentials such as
large flat-screen TVs, cushions and throws. January sale discounts are
cutting the cost of this new-year makeover but Maureen Dunn, John Lewis's
homewares buying director, says that some customers are opting for
premium-priced items such as cashmere throws.
The expectation that house prices have farther to fall means that people are
not putting their homes up for sale and so can opt for their own preferred
colour schemes rather than the neutral tones that appeal to buyers. In
previous, less affluent eras, spending on interiors did not decline in the
way that you may have expected. Eleanor John, head of collections and
exhibitions at the Geffrye Museum of the domestic interior, says: “During
the recessions of the Thirties and the Seventies, people continued to
decorate in the styles that were established during the previous decades -
the Art Deco of the Twenties and the graphic prints of the Sixties.”
The Instanbul-based design studio Autoban212 captures the current
anti-minimalist aesthetic in which factory-made furniture sits alongside
home-made decorative pieces and antiques. The studio decorates flats in
crumbling old houses with Modernist pieces alongside reworked Rococo items
set against flashes of acidic colour and illuminated with light fittings
designed in-house. The influential Andrew Martin Interior Design Review
names the Montreal-based designer Atélier de l'Opéra and the Swiss designer
Sue Rohrer as two of the best in the field - below we explain how to
re-create their style. The hotelier Kit Kemp, co-owner of the Firmdale
Hotels group, which includes the Soho Hotel and the Covent Garden Hotel, is
rated top by the review. She loads rooms with patterns and textiles. The
result is a homely yet upbeat look that is cheery but not chintzy. It's a
grown-up way of doing eclectic that looks comfy and up to date.
Lindsay Cuthill, of Savills, believes that now could be the right time to add
quirky touches: “People who are buying now want family homes. Over the next
year or two the odd touches that create a personal home might just appeal to
family buyers.” He doesn't recommend going for anything too stylised,
however: “A total look, like Goth or Art Deco, will never work for most
people. Bright colours are fine as long as they could work with a variety of
types of furniture.”
For those unsure of how much is too much, Dulux's new affordable interior
design service can provide guidance. It costs £250 for two consultations,
which will give you ideas, colours, fabrics and furnishings. The designers
work with Dulux but are independent, so there will not be a signature look.
The best thing about this new eclecticism, however, is that you can do it
yourself and irregularities only add to it. Here's how to give a greige home
a personality injection:
For a sparse vintage style like that of Autoban212 or Sue Rohrer try this:
- Colour: stark white, faded greys, watery blues or your existing, imperfect
paint job is best for the walls, with perhaps a feature wall in a single,
very bright colour. Patterned tiling and wallpaper is welcome; preferably it
will be old-fashioned.
- Upholstery: exhibit restraint in the soft-furnishings department. Try a
simple striped ticking or lining fabric (£7.75 a metre from John Lewis) to
cover cushions and old velvet, silk or linen for curtains.
- Details: mix pieces found at second-hand shops or car-boot sales. Do not be
afraid of office-style storage furniture and aim for a variety in materials:
woods, metals and plastics. Highlight the best bits and warm up empty spaces
with yellow, red, orange or pink lighting; light fittings that feature bare
strips or bulbs look edgy.
For the bold, sophisticated style of Kit Kemp or Atélier de l'Opéra try
this:
- Colour: choose citrus yellows and oranges or deep pinks and blues. The more
a single colour is repeated, the more formal a room will look.
- Upholstery: whip around the fabric shops in the January sales, particularly
warehouse clearouts. Cover cushions, sofas and chairs in complementary or
clashing but not matching large floral and ethnic-print cloth.
- Details: find a couple of eye-catching showpieces at auction houses (cheaper
in the country than in cities) and bazaars selling affordable antiques. Go
for detailed boxes, busts and angular sculptures. Geometric-print rugs and
wall hangings provide warmth and texture. Use pairing and symmetry when
positioning furniture.
The English eccentric: Nicky Haslam
- On our homes now: “Diversity is the thing. People seem to love shabbiness;
the young all live in scruffy places that look like squats and people have
great scruffy houses in the country. It’s the English-eccentric look
and it’s recession-proof.”
- On home style for 2009: “No one will design overtly luxurious things now;
things will need to be beautiful without being expensive. Maybe everything
will get frilly to disguise a lack of precision in design. My clients are
over anything modernm and want old-fashioned things again. Maybe we’ll all
return to Colefax and Fowler, as I have done at my country house.”
- On his current work: “I’m getting more light-hearted and not doing anything
solid or masculine. Everything must look homely and lived-in at present.”
Before throwing the poshest party of the season, hailed as the Great
Gatsbyesque pre-crash bash of the Noughties, Haslam designed a Klosters
chalet that graced the cover of The World of Interiors magazine,
confirming him as the master of elegant flamboyance.
www.nh-design.co.uk
The big-time designer: David Rockwell
- On our homes now: “People like a medley of well-designed furniture,
fantastic lighting and personal accents. We combine smart staples, like a
dining-room table, with memorabilia that personalises the space. The accents
are temporary, so can be easily transformed.”
- On home style for 2009: “People will continue to pay attention to home
design but will be careful to invest in timeless, well-designed furniture. A
few years ago someone might make impulsive decisions about decoration with
the assurance that they could replace and redesign. Now people want
longevity, sustainability and excellent design.”
- On his current work: “Our 200 designers are currently working with
computer-generated panels, sandpaper wallpaper with gold stitching, hammered
and stamped metal, cracked glass that looks like diamonds and natural
materials such as onyx, river rocks, marble, ostrich feathers and weathered
wood.” The Rockwell Group’s recent projects include the latest Nobu
restaurant in Dubai, Aloft hotels in the USA and the Belvedere hotel on
Mykonos.
www.rockwellgroup.com
The stylist to the stars: Eric Hughes
- On our homes now: “Things are in flux but eclectic is still big. People are
mixing styles, bringing everything that they love together and not worrying
about things matching. There is a balance between high and low; it’s
acceptable to put a valuable antique next to something from Ikea.”
- On home style for 2009: “My clients are slightly more conscious about what
they are spending. Beautiful show pieces now look more up to date when
offset by thrift-store finds; this undone look will be popular.
Twentieth-century Modernism is certainly on the wane and people are
returning to the traditional and decorative. Cold, slick style is out and
historical reference is in.”
- On his current work: “I’m going for contemporary but natural and relaxed,
using walnut, bronze mirrors, leather and gold. Comfort is important now.
City living is softening. For a country retreat I like corduroy and
oversized red plaid.” Hughes designed Sarah Jessica Parker’s holiday
home in the Hamptons, which was photographed for Elle Decoration,
launching his casual style; he also designs film sets.
For more ideas see the Andrew Martin Interior Design Review Volume 12, £40
Homeowners are also definitely looking for eco-friendly wallcoverings, especially grasscloth, bamboo and even torn papers made from ordinary brown craft paper. Check out www.designer-wallcoverings.com/grassclothwallcoverings
claire, Odessa, USA
english style
Connie Jiruse, melbourne, australia