DESIGN TRENDS FOR 2020 By Connie Cook
L
ooking for some ideas to update your window dis-
the natural texture to be the star.
play, gallery, frame designs, or social media posts?
According to interior design website thespruce.com,
Incorporate some fresh, new design trends! Wheth-
wabi-sabi is a Japanese term that essentially means “find-
er it’s a new coat of paint in one of the trending colors,
ing beauty in imperfection.” Wabi refers to living with
or a custom frame design that incorporates new trend
humility and simplicity while being at one with nature,
influences, your new look will wow your customers and
while sabi is defined as the ability to accept the lifecycle
position you as a trend leader.
of anything as it is—flaws and all.
In addition to leading paint companies’ Color of
In an industry defined by precision, it’s a bit tricky
the Year news, a recent trip to High Point Market re-
to infuse wabi-sabi into custom framing. You can still
vealed some fresh design trends for 2020. Some exciting
achieve this look by selecting matting and moulding that
new-yet-approachable trend categories have appeared
reflect this trend while still delivering a finished product
and are ready for you to incorporate in your framing that
you can be proud of. Look for organically textured mould-
your customers will love! Let’s look at some of the more
ings and matting with natural fabric finishes.
prominent trends for 2020 and see some examples of
CONTENTS
how you can achieve these looks in your custom frame
NATURAL WOOD FINISHES
designs.
Wood finishes have shifted over the last several years,
HUMBLE MATERIALS
which had been dominated by gray driftwood, cerused, and whitewashed hues. Now, wood finishes are appearing
AD INDEX
One of the most prominent trends seen at High Point Mar-
in many different shades—grays included. Also coming
ket 2019 was the use of simple and humble materials such
forward are lighter and warmer wood tones such as blond
as rattan, plywood, jute, sisal, hemp, and terracotta. Also
and honey finishes.
referred to as the Japanese-influenced wabi-sabi trend,
While no single color family in wood finishes stands
this look celebrates the imperfect, with handmade touch-
out, what is uniting current wood trends is texture. Sat-
es and softened edges. The finishes are simple and allow
in and matte surfaces, plus textural effects such as
20 PFM January 2020
