8 minute read
HOME & DESIGN
E g
INSIGHT
— FREDRIK EKLUND
THE FUTURE OFINTERIOR Merging high tech functionality with aesthetics will be vital into the next decade. DESIGN
BY KAREN FELD
Spending much of the past two years in our homes altered the way we want to live in the future. We value our homes not only as a place to sleep, but as a space to work or play with and apart from family members or housemates. We’ve discovered that emotional well-being and physical space are inter-related. City dwellers — housebound by Covid — cherish the benefits of outdoor space with calming greenery.
Here’s how top interior design experts envision our homes moving into the future.
SUSTAINABILITY
“Well-being is a pivotal feature becoming more dominant,” says Brea Elles, interior architect and founder of Atelier Honnete based in Miami and Dallas. She comes to interior design from a healthcare background and recognizes the vital role of biophilic design integration, especially in big cities. “A disconnect from nature has an impact on our well-being,” Elles says. “We need to soothe ourselves when we can’t be social so what we have left is nature.”
She brings nature in and consciously incorporates healthy trends in her interior designs. Elles is concerned with the source of a fabric and the carbon footprint which is why she favors linen.
Sustainable design and quality HVAC ventilation are priorities. In California, all new homes include a solar system under the law. Elles thinks other states will follow.
“It’s important to make a space more eco-friendly,” says Dallas-based Calvin LaMont, who, along with his brother, Chris, hosts HGTV’s, “Buy It or Build It.” The LaMont brothers strive to improve sustainability and make a space more energy efficient. They envision increased use of products that are low or preferably no VOC (volatile organic compounds) and believe that a healthy lifestyle will be a priority. That includes healthier indoor air and reduced environmental impact.
ERA OF FEMININITY
“Femininity is coming back full force,” says Elles. Think chubby furniture, a warmer color palette of pastels and blush tones, along with arches and rounded organic shapes contributing to a softer interior space. The modernism that has existed for more than 20 years, with straight lines and sectional sofas, is giving away to these muted tones and subtle forms.
BREA ELLES,
INTERIOR ARCHITECT AND FOUNDER OF ATELIER HONNETE
CALVIN AND CHRIS LAMONT, HOSTS OF HGTV’S “BUY IT OR BUILD IT”
TIMOTHY CORRIGAN,
RENOWNED GLOBAL INTERIOR DESIGNER
GRANNY CHIC: BLENDING TECH WITH ANTIQUES
Renowned global interior designer Timothy Corrigan, based in LA and Paris, thinks classic elegance is here to stay. “We’re seeing younger people — especially the Grandmillennials — buying antiques and ‘brown furniture.’ It’s sustainable, higher quality and feels new and fresh for them.” It’s Granny Chic —vintage or homemade cozy and nostalgic design melded with technology. Corrigan envisions adapting old furniture to the times by hiding wiring in the legs so it’s adaptable to new technology. He finds that younger generations, including one of his clients, a founder of Oracle, embrace history and heritage with technology.
REDEFINING SPACE
“Standard home sizes are not going away,” says Elles, “But as birth rates decrease, we will see tiny homes increase. The definition of a tiny home will be redefined. Is tiny a 5,000 square foot home?” Elles says the affluent are building bigger. “They want more — a golf simulator, exercise simulator, theater, wine cave, art gallery, skateboarding ramp in the basement — that’s not going away. The interior mimics our lifestyle.”
Wilfredo Emanuel, a Naples, FL interior designer who appeared on HGTV’s “Table Wars,” says his clients are looking for smaller homes for their second and third homes: “They want life to be easy so not a big house, but smaller and more open to go easier from one side to the other.”
Corrigan sees a bigger footprint in houses, in part a reaction to Covid. Each person in the household needs an office, including kids for their Zoom calls, so the kitchen or family room will be redesigned so it can be partitioned off as needed. “People want more privacy and defined spaces in homes,” says Corrigan.
“The dining room will come back as a multi-purpose room,” says Chris LaMont. “Small spaces are critical,” adds Calvin LaMont, “even in an open concept home. More rooms feel like more of a home.”
WILFREDO EMANUEL, INTERIOR DESIGNER
IN
FUNCTIONALITY OF DESIGN | SOAKING TUBS | CRYOGENIC SPA | GREENERY | SALT-WATER POOLS | CERAMIC AND EXOTIC STONE AND QUARTZITE COUNTERTOPS | BOLD WALLPAPER AND PAINT | PRIVATE COZY SPACES AND MINI-OFFICES | HIDDEN APPLIANCES | ORGANIC TILE AND WOOD FLOORS | SIMPLICITY AND IMMEDIACY
EMBRACING TECHNOLOGY AND VIRTUAL REALITY
Before you design your home, you can experience what it will feel like to live there through VR, which will become more dominant not only for design but as an “experiential outlet,” says Elles. “We can walk the space and figure out how to include that desired component. We build it out in VR first.”
Homes will have a VR room — a space for media, exercise, a golf simulator or anything else on demand. “People want ‘soft’ rooms that can convert from one function to another,” says Elles. “Functionality of space is most important,” even more important than size.
SMART HOMES
“Smart homes have gotten smarter,” says Corrigan. “Security is a priority, psychologically as well as physically. People want to feel safe, pampered and nurtured in their home.” Cameras in every room can be controlled from your iPhone a half a world away. “You’ll know who’s in the house and where.”
Smart appliances will be more affordable. USB ports will replace electrical ports. Wireless charging units will be built in. Antiquated light switches will be replaced by touch pads and voice commands. The LaMonts see low voltage wiring as the future standard. From floor temperature to irrigation sprinklers and dishwashers to washing machines, everything will be controlled from your phone or by voice — even flushing the toilet.
MATERIALS
When Corrigan designed Madonna’s home 25 years ago, he was one of the first designers to use outdoor fabric indoors. At the time, he used awning fabric, now it’s all about performance fabric. Technology continues to advance in both looks and performance creating a new industry in textile.
Precious stone offers the best of both worlds for countertops because of looks and performance, Corrigan explains.
Paneled rooms are back to make a space feel cozy, says Corrigan. The tech advancements of digital printing contribute to the return of bold wallpaper.
With lumber prices increasing, we’ll see more sustainable products. The LaMont brothers envision transparent shipping containers being adapted for swimming pools. “We’ll see building materials utilized in unique ways for residential to lower costs.”
Expect to see more low- and no-VOC products — paints, glues, insulation — as companies will be held more accountable. Bio-degradable materials and more durable materials made from recycled products will become the norm.
KITCHENS
Expect the ghosting of appliances and sinks, says Elles. The sink will be covered
OUT
STRICTLY COSMETIC WITHOUT PRACTICALITY | JETTED TUBS | INFRARED SAUNA | FIRE PIT | FRESH WATER POOLS | GRANITE COUNTERTOPS | WHITE WALLS | OPEN SPACES WITHOUT PRIVACY | DISPLAYING BRAND LABELS ON APPLIANCES | CARPETED FLOORS | COMPLEX AND TIME CONSUMING
but revealed with the press of a button. The minimal look will include additional components, perhaps a pizza or air oven.
Emanuel envisions intelligent home technology including a screen-like front of the refrigerator where we can communicate with other devices in the house. He sees islands evolving into many shapes. “It’s all about practicality and beauty.”
Corrigan sees multiple kitchens in a home: show kitchens and work kitchens for prep and catering.
The LaMont brothers envision more minimalist kitchens with butler pantries, double islands and adequate spaces to hide everything behind cabinets. All built-ins from coffee bars to full-length wine cellars and appliances will be hidden. An automatic vacuum cleaner may pop out of the pantry. Calvin LaMont forecasts a wave of future surprises. “Press a button or a touch pad on your phone,” he says, “and a wall slides open to the unknown.”
BATHS
Most interior design dollars per square foot will be spent on master bathrooms and closets. “We’ll create and spend more time in our own sanctuary,” says Corrigan. A bathroom fridge and steam unit for clothes in the closet will be essential. “Infrared saunas are almost passe. A cryogenic spa is next and air ionizers for health,” he says.
“America is leaning towards European style,” Elles says. Bathrooms will be more open sans water closet. Wall tanks will disappear. Bidet and toilet combos will gain in popularity. There will be plenty of tech in the bathroom: toothbrush-charging USBs and tech integration in drawers and vanities. Music will be integrated with showers controllable from a touch pad. European style tubs, free standing without jets or encased with marble or stone for soaking, will be installed. Clean and crisp white tubs will continue to be in vogue but with some integration of color.
Chris LaMont envisions a wet area with stand-alone tubs and spa showers behind a glass enclosure.
CLOSETS
Closets will be more sophisticated and have a greater footprint, says Elles. She expects to see natural light and fine wood or tile replacing carpet. Everything will be integrated seamlessly and automated and she believes we’ll see tools like integrated hand steamers and dry cleaners in the closet. “Closets will feel like you’re in a boutique,” says Emanuel. Corrigan envisions a two-story closet with a motorized revolving rack controlled from your phone.
TRANSFORMING OUR VISION OF HOW WE LIVE
We’ll embrace technology in the home of the future to make our living experience easier and richer.
“The house was a place to sleep and then go to work,” says Emanuel. “Now we experience it like going out to a spa.”
