Star of the Show

From the moment she stepped on stage for her keynote presentation, Genevieve Gorder captivated IWCE attendees with her humor, conviviality and bubbling enthusiasm. The television star and producer and designer of interiors and products began with some background, describing her upbringing in Minneapolis and how she got involved with shows like “Trading Spaces” and “Stay Here.” After that, she gave attendees insight into the looks she sees as dominating the design landscape right now. a range of pale red variants, including pink and salmon. “These colors, they all layer on top of each other beautifully,” Gorder said as she flipped through picture after picture in a thorough slide presentation. Later, she added, “Pink has gotten permission to be a little bit more sophisticated. In every other culture of the world, pink has had that permission for centuries.” All of these colors can be accented by brass and amber accessories.

Her first trend: home goods inspired by Scandinavian culture. “Leather is on fire,” she said. Fur has been popular for years and shows no sign of slowing down. Black continues to show up in everything from rods and finials to wrought iron in furniture to onyx appliances.

Gorder also sees multiple trends related to what she calls “nature/nurture.” “We’re so connected (to technology) and there are wonderful things about this,” she said. “However, what I see in every single culture that I visit around the world is an obsessive need to reconnect with nature because we have these sleek, often colorless pieces of digital in our hands and in our eyeballs all day long with a bright white light. We’re craving warmth.”

People are adding moody, mossy green to their homes in droves. In many cases it’s paired with Gorder fans who weren’t able to catch her at the show can see her soon on a new Bravo series “Best Room Wins,” in which designers must create a luxury room makeover on a $25,000 budget. The show is a great fit with her desire to take home renovation shows to a more aspirational level, she said.