If you are going to make a few resolutions to change for the better, why not do the same to your surroundings so they too reflect a new and energised positive ambience? The New Year is a great excuse to redo your home. We scoured the Internet and pored over reports from across the globe to tell you what to expect from the market this year. Design trends predict colours, tones and even finishes of products... Knowing what’s in will not only help you go armed with knowledge while you buy for your home, it will also help you understand why products of a particular colour seem to be popping up wherever you go!
Colour onThe Pantone Color Institute, an authority on colour, designates ‘Radiant Orchid’ as the colour of 2014. “To distil the prevailing mood into a single hue, the PCI team, led by executive director Leatrice Eiseman, combs the world looking for future design and colour influences, watching out for that one colour seen as ascending and building in importance through all creative sectors. Modern and versatile ‘Radiant Orchid’ encourages creativity and originality. Imbued with a harmony of fuchsia, purple and pink undertones, ‘Radiant Orchid’ inspires confidence and its rosy undertones emanate great joy, love and health,” the Pantone website says. So if you have always wanted a fuchsia coloured wall this is your year! A few other websites have also named yellow the colour to look out for.
Don’t know which colours to mix and match? Try this idea from hometown.in, “Create a collage of hues that will proportionately represent different parts of your room and paste them together on a big piece of paper - cut them out of magazines, fabric swatches; tin can labels, whatever catches your eye. This will give you perspective on whether different shades and colours work together.”
Brass tacksEven as all things vintage and antique finish soars in popularity, brass is poised to be the alloy of the season. From bathtubs and lamps to kitchenware, brass can adapt itself to any part of the house. So bring out your grandmother’s kuthuvillakus and traditional thambalams and give your home a warm new look. “Don’t limit yourself to the kitchen, you can incorporate this warm metal in your home design in many different ways,” says beautifulhomesdesigns.com. However, you don’t have to just go with brass. “Different metals – and even the same metal with different textures – can live together beautifully. Just try to have two or three pieces of each in the room so nothing looks accidental,” blog.pepperfry.com advises.
Prints and patternsAdd some drama to your home with furniture or walls that have bold prints and patterns. Wallpapers too are slotted to make a comeback this year. From faux fur for furniture to zig-zag stripes on your walls… design pundits predict that in 2014 retro patterns will gain momentum with futuristic finishes.
Eco-friendly is inHow can ‘green’ go out of fashion? Eco-friendly materials, upcyled and recycled products will continue to dominate the imagination of design aficionados this year too. “2014 incorporates looks from Mother Nature, and cabinets (for your kitchen) will be no exception.
Earth-friendly cabinets with no added formaldehyde and non-toxic glues, binders, and finishes will rise in demand,” reports www.neilkelly.com.
Upping the anteWhile 2013 saw an uprising of sorts with the social media and internet offering much-needed boost to sales for small scale industries and crafts, this year will see the onset of sophisticated design intervention taking crafts to the next level! “From the love of the cottage industry, handmade goods in 2013, 2014 will move into more high level crafts and more refined skill sets,” writes impressiveinterior-design.com.
Garden stateHave you always wanted your own patch of green? Start one this New Year. Kitchen gardens, composting, collecting rain water and adding recycled materials to the garden area will not only make your home look good but will also make you feel good. Change need not be dramatic. You can do it in small doses and still feel the difference.
