Home is Where the Renovation is

KEY TRENDS SHOULDN’T DICTATE HOW YOU DECORATE YOUR SPACE, BUT THEY CAN CERTAINLY HELP GET THE CREATIVE JUICES FLOWING

2020, the year that everyone was stuck at home looking at the peeling paint work around window-ledges and seriously considering whether laying a new floor might just be the weekend distraction they were looking for!

As a nation of house-proud homies, the number of furnishings, decorating projects and other home updates that have taken place in the past 12 months has been incredible. According to Money. co.uk, UK homeowners have spent over £55bn on home projects since the beginning of lockdown, and two-thirds have said more time at home has inspired them to improve their properties. This isn’t just B&Q fuelled DIY, over 40% of SMEs told the Federation of Master Builders that their workloads had increased. The defiant property market probably has something to do with this, as buyers take advantage of the stamp duty holiday, and investors are looking for opportunities due to historically low interest rates.

It seems likely that this will continue if the results from a survey from NatWest Bank are anything to go by; 62% of respondents would consider remortgaging to fund home improvements.

If nothing else, 2020 was the year that we all became more aware of the spaces that we live in, how they work for us and how we interact with them. As a result of this, and other topics floating around the zeitgeist, there are some exciting new trends expected in 2021 to kick off a creative frenzy:

Home Offices

It’s an obvious one to be sure, but the rise in home working and the willingness of many businesses to consider flexible working after restrictions lift, has fuelled serious investment in home working space. For those that want to keep their lives separate, bookcases that double as room dividers offer an excellent way of separating working and relaxing spaces, whilst also being useful for both. However, the purchase by many of interesting vases and exotic plants, investment furniture and statement desks, promote using the office space as a focal point, rather than something to be shunted to the side. We’ll all be spending lots of time using it after all, so why not create an area that stimulates you?

Eco design

As we all know, culturally we are moving towards an eco-friendlier way of life, which can be excellent news for home furnishings. As we become more eco-aware, people are starting to neglect man-made fabrics like polyester and polymers, and embrace natural materials like rattan, bamboo, cotton and wool. Beautiful throws and bedspreads, statement headboards and much more can all add a luxurious feel to the home and can create dramatic accents. They can be most costly, but they are often more durable and nicer to interact with.

Textures

More time at home means more time interacting with our furnishings and many people seem to be turning towards incorporating interesting textures into their surroundings. Handmade tiles with non-uniform edges and colouring, hand-tufted Berber rugs and hanging weavings on walls are all seeing a resurgence in popularity. Along with the return of textured wallpaper, we are also seeing textured furniture, with fluted details, reeded sections and thin slat-like grooves taking over furniture from sideboards to wardrobes. We can’t help but feel that this is also rooted in the eco trend of using materials that are natural and more tactile in nature.

Vintage and Upcycling

Antique, upcycled and retro pieces can work surprisingly well in any modern design scheme. The key with this is to pick and chose carefully as a little really does go a long way. Mid-century modern furniture is great, but you probably don’t want to create a living room that looks like a Mad Men set.

Due to the popularity of vintage pieces, there are lots of mass-produced and cheaply made replicas around, so if you can afford it, consider investing in a period piece from somewhere like Vinterior or a local dealer – they don’t need to cost the earth! Incorporate your chosen pieces in whatever style room you like, the key is to reference the look, rather than slavishly reproduce it everywhere.

Cottagecore

Nostalgia had a moment in 2020 and this will most likely continue into the next few years. Cottagecore is an idealised notion of what instagrammers think the agricultural cottage life looked like. Think mixing Scandi design with classic prints like William Morris’ ‘The Strawberry Thief’. It’s about wicker baskets, and beautiful teacups, dried flowers and patterned wallpaper. Channel your inner grandmother and experiment with this cute trend.

Bright Tropicals

When we do return to the outside world, we’ll all be hit with a sea of pasty faces that haven’t seen a beach in a while. With the rise in the staycation and holidays seeming a long way off, the tropical aesthetic is rising in popularity. Bright colours are uplifting against darker tropical wallpaper, and large, beautiful plants with shiny leaves sit glossily in corners. Take inspiration from distant shores with ethnic prints, bold colour choices and lots of greenery!

Green

Speaking of green, have you heard about green kitchens, specifically sage green? It’s set to be a trend this year and it meshes so well with popular eco and biophilic design (see page 36). The colour works with both cool and warm colour pallets so is great for creating a cosy space in any kitchen. Green also works wonderfully with marble countertops to bring out the veining. Green looks set to be a popular colour just about anywhere, so don’t feel restricted to using it in the kitchen.

Flout the rules!

It seems that many of us will be spending more time at our homes, so it’s important we make sure they add to our sense of wellbeing and enjoyment of life. Investigating these (and other) trends can provide exciting inspiration to home improvement projects, where it can be difficult to break out of the habit of doing variations on what we’ve done before. If you want to experiment, try having different themes in different rooms! The rules of home design may be written down, but that doesn’t mean you have to follow them – create a space that inspires you.