What’s Hot in the Forecast?

HOW TO PREDICT UPCOMING DESIGN TRENDS

KRISTY KUHN, UTAH MEDIA GROUP

Like clockwork, at the start of each year, word starts rolling out about what’s hot and what’s not for the current year in home décor. The trends are always evolving and, sometimes, it happens so fast, it’s hard to keep up. Kelly Dunlop, interior designer and owner of Limestone Design Studios, says everything in design is cyclical. Each “new” trend is one of three things: a rebellion against, an homage to, or an adaptation of a previous design style.

Where are these decisions coming from anyway? Is there a committee of top designers who gather each year over coffee, while they discuss the trends, and cast aside those with which they have grown weary? Or, is there some rhyme and reason to why your semi-new kitchen look has, woefully, rolled over to the nothot list? “When people talk about wanting something modern, the modernist period started in 1919,” Dunlop points out. “It started with the Bauhaus movement, and Bauhaus is coming back in.”

She also says design trends don’t happen in a vacuum. “There are five key indicators of design trends,” says Dunlop. “If you’re observant of what’s going on in the world around you, you will know what the design trends are going to be.”

Here’s a look at the five indicators of upcoming design trends: The fashion industry Want to get a sneak peek at some of next year’s popular interior design trends? Hit the catwalk. “Whatever you see on the catwalk, a year later you’ll see in homes,” Dunlop points out. “I’m not talking about the actual physical clothes, but the fabrics, the patterns, the colors — all those things will be used in the interior design industry a year later.”

Technology Technology makes our lives better in myriad ways, from improved health care to smart phones and smart cars. It turns out that technology influences design trends as well.

Several years ago, you couldn’t have a white sofa without covering it in plastic — that, or risk becoming a neurotic mess while trying to keep stains at bay. Today, Dunlop says the fabric protection has come a long way and become so advanced, anyone can have both a white sofa and their sanity.

“You can actually spill red wine or coffee on your white sofa, and it won’t ruin it,” says Dunlop. “You can even have Cheeto-fingers all over it and it just wipes off.”

Technological improvements also brought us vinyl flooring that looks like concrete. Why not just get concrete? Concrete tends to get really cold. Vinyl, on the other hand, acts as an insulator, holding in the heat (and the sound). It’s one thing to enjoy the industrial look; it’s quite another thing to have a home that feels more like an uninsulated garage. The economy During a bull market, when people are feeling secure and affluent, they are more willing to spend on highend items for the home, such as granite counter tops or top-quality appliances. When the bear comes out of hibernation and the economy turns, people are more likely to save their money and either go without or select more budget-friendly items for the home. Global events “Technology has made it so people are now able to buy from villages in Africa or from people in the Amazon, where they were never able to buy from before,” says Dunlop. She says this is contributing to the current tribal trend in home decor, such as earthy colors, camelcolored leather and designs featuring color combinations such as black and white with bits of red. The art world Whatever trends are happening in the art world will translate into the home. Dunlop says that a couple of years ago, when the Dutch Masters (of Golden Age painting) had a revival and their works were touring the country, it influenced everything from wallpaper and fabric textiles to color palettes.

If you’re looking to be a home design trendsetter, or you simply want to redecorate and get ahead of the curve, pay attention to the world around you, especially these five indicators, and you’ll have an automatic head start.