I had the pleasure of being interviewed, last summer, by Sarah Davies of @floella Interiors for my thoughts on emerging trends within Interior Design for the year ahead. Overtaken by project work I failed to post it, but stumbled across it recently and thought, this would be crazy not to share as we are now living the trends we chatted about in this interview. It is live and brought to you by Clarion Retail, who present Home & Gift, Top Drawer, January Furniture Show, Manchester Furniture Show and REVEAL. If you are interested in trends and how we work with them, then you may be interested in tuning in. Just click on the link below:
Introduction TO Lindi Reynolds& CO
Some perspective on us before we get going on the trends aspect of this chat, perhaps? We are a luxury Architectural Interior Design company operating from the heart of Surrey. We are based in East Molesey which is a stones throw away from Hampton Court Palace in Greater London, Surrey. Our projects tend to fit into one of two categories, they are either New Build Property Developments or Character Property Renovations and Extensions. Almost without fail, we are engaged from beginning to end in these style projects, and that is always our pleasure, our joy and our privilege. Our five service heartlands would have to be Interior Design, Architecture, Kitchen design, Bathroom design and the Project Management of all these aspects to bring about the finished whole. So with that short introduction let’s get onto what this is all about, trends!
OUR APPROACH TO TRENDS
We are always quick to establish a trend over a fad. These two are closely linked and fads can be so seductive at the time, but it is critical as Architectural Interior Designers to know the difference between the two. As we deal with the built environment it is important to embrace trends that have long term value and relevance. This is where great design comes in, because it ensures that a trend is used In a manner that stands the test of time. Yes, it might be typical of a specific point in time, but it should be worked with in a way to have timeless value.
As creatives, our assimilation of trends feels to be somewhat intuitive, but it is not; they are gathered from visiting the key trade shows, viewing the new spring and autumn design collections. Absorbing the socio, economic and political pulls and pushes of the day, popular culture, etc, etc. As designers we are sponges to our environments and our creations are responses to what we see and feel. Our understanding of trends informs our work to make it relevant to it’s time, but it is also tempered by our long term view of that trend, and also by our clients style sensibilities, of course. It’s not an exact science, rather a subtle art.
TOP 5 INTERIOR DESIGN TRENDS FOR 2023
TREND 1: BOLD BRILLIANT COLOUR AND LAYERED PATTERN
This has been around for a while and doesn’t look to be going anywhere soon. As a colourist myself, I am all for the brave, bold use of colour that is such a brilliant outward expression of confidence. The same is true for pattern, but it’s important to note here that it’s not singular pattern, but layered pattern. This means that interiors are visually very interesting and there is something quite comforting about layered pattern which once more goes back to the fact that it is an outward expression of choices that are designed to be interesting through contrast.
TREND 2: BIOPHILIA brings NATURE INDOORS
This is the practice of indoor planting with the express purpose of connecting the indoor to the outdoors through creating strong visual links. This is a trend we’d like to see a lot more of, primarily due to the many health benefits.
TREND 3: METAL FINISHES GO GOLD
Bronze in it’s purest form, golden and polished is back after a long hiatus. To spot the trends on metal finishes, we watch jewellery trends, which always lead any sizeable shift. That said, we don’t tend to treat metal finishes as trends, because they are long term decisions – not too different to the choice of a wedding band. Should it be gold, platinum or white gold? Once the decision has been made, the hope is that it will stand the test of time.
TREND 4: FOCUS ON SUSTAINABILITY
With the built environment accounting for 40% of our carbon footprint, we hope very much that this is here to stay and will continue to gather pace. It is reassuring to see more sustainable offerings presented every year by our supplier base. A good example of this is the carpets we have been fitting that are produced from recycled fishing nets. One would never guess at it as they are so soft under foot.
One of the pioneers and leaders in this field in the world of Interiors is Interior Designer and printmaker, Edward Bulmer, who has been recognised for his contribution through awards such as the Grosvernors Sustainability Awards, amongst many other awards that he has deservedly racked up. We also saw in 2022 the emergence of the Anna Whitehead prize for sustainability at the first ever British Institute of Interior Design Awards.
TREND 5: ORGANICALLY INSPIRED
As we become increasingly aware of how at threat the planet is from global warming, so too are many furniture designers celebrating organic form through the products that they offer up. There are no hard edges here, just soft, reassuring curves, to nurture and soothe our senses. A good example of this is the Garrett Armchair from Soho House.
It’s not just furniture design however, we are seeing it with printed leaf tiles, landscape murals from wall covering specialists such as Cole and Son, (Just head to their new collections to see what we mean). De Gourney is another brilliant example of how our clients are looking to celebrate and appreciate nature by bringing her indoors through graphic manifestation.
GET IN TOUCH
If you have a project that you would like to discuss, please do get in touch. We have a long track record of helping our clients create their dream houses from scratch and or transforming their character properties into the luxurious havens that they dream of. Simply put, we delight in transforming living spaces into the places where our clients can live out their best lives.
Please call Lindi directly on M: 07940572554, or E: lindi@lindireynolds.com
