Indoors, outdoors

Want to understand the latest ‘grannycore’ or ‘hipstoric’ trends, interiors specialist Julia Begbie is more interested in lighting that knows no bounds

RESEARCHING hot new interior design trends for 2023 means consulting the Oracle. Yes, I’m referring to TikTok.

And yes, we are all feeling the pinch, and worried about the much predicted downturn.

The last recession, kicking off in 2008, gave birth to the vintage/ upcycling trend which allowed us to keep decorating and carry on – and to do it for free.

So what does social media tell us about the coming trends for 2023?

Well, apparently ‘grandmillenials’ with ‘hipstoric’ interiors will be indulging in ‘weirdcore’.

In plain English, we are going to be nesting again. Colour is back, and smaller rooms are back. Have you just bashed your walls down and gone open plan? Oops, sorry. Small spaces are cosy, and the times are scary.

Nostalgia is rife. Pinterest reports searches for all things old-fashioned, ‘grannycore’, is on the up exponentially.

Brown furniture is also back, and the days when antiques were cheaper than Ikea may be numbered. If I had any loose change, I’d be stockpiling George III walnut furniture (see left, below and far right). Meanwhile, in lighting, the astonishing synergy that is LED + lithium continues to give us design-tastic, go-anywhere light fittings.

We recently moved into a new-build (not our village home here in Spain in Gau- cin), and we thought we had organised fittings or sockets everywhere that we’d need light. Of course we didn’t, but now it doesn’t matter that we didn’t. We have a couple of ‘Bellhop’ lamps by Flos that light up corners, the centres of tables, and shelves. And in good weather they can go outdoors too.

In the same vein, but hot off the production line, take a look at ‘Curiosity’ by Artemide, and ‘TeTaTeT’ by Davide Groppi. Both do things that lamps haven’t really done before. My final tip is Spain’s NewGarden, and their unit, ‘Cherry’ (far right), which is essentially a battery-powered light bulb. (It’s actually a bit wider, so check the dimensions if space is tight.)

It is wonderfully versatile: I use one as an uplighter on top of a kitchen cupboard, another sits under an upturned Ikea rattan lamp shade as a floor light. They can hang from a piece of string in a pendant fitting, or stand in for a light bulb in an unplugged lamp. In the summer you can take them outside, pop them in a pot, and snuggle them among the plants. If that doesn’t make you smug enough, they come with a remote control.