This year was about looking good; next year will be about looking good beneath the surface.

If one underlying principle has defined this year, it’s this: in 2011, design was catapulted from something functional to something that got talked about. Aesthetics played a big role in our everyday lives – even vacuuming got sexy.

There are multiple reasons for this. The passing of Steve Jobs, for one, which prompted all of us to step back and marvel at how much our collective reality has shifted in the past three decades, not through sheer technological brawn alone but via the interface of minimalist design. Another: a surge in the popularity of crowd-sourced, crowd-funded projects and product innovations fueled by Kickstarter. Another still: “look book” themed photo sharing platforms like Pinterest, which have made the distribution of pretty objects that much more accessible.

Next year will continue to be a good year for designers, architects, curators, crafters and the like. But it will be a tough scene to penetrate as the consumer market is teetering on saturation. On the macro, look for large-scale service design oriented projects that will address systemic issues like materials and manufacturing (and this does not just translate to: more bamboo). On the micro, beauty will still abound, but with a keener focus on craftsmanship, story, and function.

Foretold by the Color Wheel

An interesting observation from Your Home Even Better prompted, in part, by a paint company. Granted. But, taking YHEB’s argument that the color palette consumers choose for the home is a “direct reflection of our environment,” consider this: according to Benjamin Moore Color Pulse 2012 report (also available as an App), next year’s color wheel will be ruled by the theme of preservation.

A slide from Color Pulse 2012. 

In interiors this could translate to a leaning towards indigenous patterns and embroidery.

A table runner from the Suki Cheema collection, a company that seeks objects that “highlight (sic) the love affair between art, travel and textiles.”

Also from Suki Cheema, embroidered throw pillows.

2012: London’s Calling

Expect London to step out in a big way this coming summer, not only through sport but the cultural Olympiad as well. Preceding the games is Clerkenwell Design Week followed by the London Design Festival. During the actual Olympics, the London 2012 festival promises to be the biggest celebration the city has ever seen commemorating international goodwill and gritty competition through the arts. The Arts Council has doled out a ton of dough, and twelve (get it 2012) of the UK’s top artists have already been handpicked to design the soon-to-be-iconic posters. Fab who? Prepare yourself for a new British invasion.

Posters designed by Bridget Riley, Howard Hodgkin, Rachel Whiteread and Patrick Brill (aka Bob and Roberta Smith).

Typography, Typography, Typography

And you thought 2007 was the year of typeface. Helvetica the movie was just the beginning. The design world’s love affair with typography will continue well into 2012.

Though we envisage mockery ahead. Remember, this phrase was coined here first: fontwashing.

As in, “Oh no. Another fontwashed bookshelf.”

Occupy: Design

September of 2011 ushered in the start of the stateside Occupy movement in Zuccotti Park. Things got serious, as there are logically, some serious issues at hand. Expect to see the same sentiment traced into design: industrial grays, high contrast, oxidized surfaces. Stirrings include this tongue-in-cheek coffee table from Max Arlestig and Maximilian Gebhardt and timepiece from Dominic Wilcox.

Gridded & Mapped

Expect to see grids and maps etched into just about everything, from quilts to napkins.

NYC and San Francisco grid quilts from Haptic Lab.

Lemondrop napkins from Soft Cities.

Shelter Sharing

An increased awareness about space and our place in it will usher in a new concept of house swapping: renting out excess space in our homes, with a boutique touch. Websites like StoreAtMyHouse.com and SpareFoot.com have been around for a while now; Craigslist remains a reasonably safe place to swap a walk-up for a Parisian flat. But note A Cabin in a Loft, one artist/designer/architect’s solution for short-term rentals in her Bushwick loft.

The one-room bed & breakfast is a viable alternative to hotels and hostels, and we predict other urban-based entrepreneurs out there will follow suit.

Luxury, Redefined

Maybe it’s Occupy, perhaps joblessness. Whatever the reason, the definition of luxury in 2012 will not come with a brand name attached. Summed up beautifully on Dexigner, next year “luxury will no longer be defined by excess and conspicuous consumption – now luxury means products with higher perceived value and increased practicality. Demonstrating this is the near-disappearance of the ‘logo-covered product.’ The face of luxury is becoming much more subtle, understated and less ostentatious.”

Pondichery Animal Trays from ibride with Rachel Convers. A luxurious way to eat cheese, for example.

It’s The End of the World…We’re Going to Be Fine

Per the Mayan calendar, which was based on a 5,125-year-long cycle, the world is scheduled to end on December 21, 2012. Depending on whether you’re a glass half-full or half-empty kind of person, “end of the world” could be classified as a positive, spiritually transformative kind of Armageddon or a very negative one, like an asteroid or earth’s collision with a planet called X. Either way, it’s best to plan ahead. Expect lots of doomsday party invitations or plan one in the comfort of your own home.

On a more somber note, however, as the trend of revering designers as latter-day soothsayers continues into 2012, the design community will probe beyond artifice making some deep conscious queries into how the state of design impacts and reflects the state of the world. Core77’s Apocalypse 2012 Series will be one to watch.

“Design has been complicit in moving us to [a] precipice…and certainly it alone will not be sufficient for pulling us back,” Core77’s Allan Chochinov writes. “We need to acknowledge the fact that this time, and our place in it, are truly remarkable: We are equipped with our most powerful tools, right when the world needs us most. This is an astounding proposition for design.”

And 2012 promises to be an extraordinary year to cover it.

This post is sponsored by House Moves: making house moving a cinch.

Images: Terry Ferguson; The Telegraph; Graphic ExchanGE; FreshHome; FreshHome; DeZeen; Haptic Lab; Soft Cities; A Cabin in a Loft; AhaLife; Zazzle

The post Trend Forecast: On the Home Front for 2012 appeared first on EcoSalon.

I have been indulging in the trends of 2011 for a few weeks now, so it’s only fair to dish up all of them in a single giant serving of shelter forecasts and aesthetic predictions for the eleventh year of the new millennium. Each of my shelter and design trends is featured below with a link to the original piece. Here goes.

HONESTY & MODEST AND MODULAR HOMES

Say goodbye to the greenwashing of 2010 and say hello to honesty – honest materials and a new era of candid green accountability. The Federal Trade Commission is revising its Green Guide and providing standards to back up product environmental claims. With the introduction of home energy monitors, even your home can finally be quantified in terms of effective environmental efforts. Modest and modular homes are another trend for 2011, which should make those home energy monitors considerably more favorable. Another year of prefabricated glory will lure home owners with affordability and efficiency.

Read the full piece here.

FLAMINGO PINK

The global authority on color predicts an entire year bursting with flamingo pink. Pantone named Honeysuckle (more aptly recognizable as the color of juicy bubblegum) as the hue of 2011. Here’s what the color-loving folks at Pantone had to say about their vibrant new forecast:

“Courageous. Confident. Vital. A brave new color, for a brave new world. Let the bold spirit of Honeysuckle infuse you, lift you and carry you through the year. It’s a color for every day – with nothing ‘everyday’ about it.”

Read the full piece here.

LIGHT-EMITTING DIODES AND BARE FILAMENTS

LEDs are appreciated for their efficiency and ability to deliver six years of continuous light from just one bulb. This may be the year LEDs move beyond current widespread use (traffic lights) and into our homes. European designers are perfecting the aesthetic component of LEDs and offering gleaming fixtures gorgeous enough for even the most refined aesthetic.

To balance our new love for LEDs comes a nostalgic admiration of incandescent bulbs. This year we will visually drool over the incandescent bulb and let it shine uninhibited. Exposed bulbs (no casings, no fixtures) will lend interiors a raw industrial vibe.

Read the full piece here.

WIRE STRUCTURES BECOME AN ESSENTIAL FRAMEWORK

Harry Bertoia has had many years of renowned recognition, and 2011 will be no exception. This year will be all about skeletal, as in obsessed with framework. The design community, specifically furniture and accessory design, will strip down to wire framework and embrace the classic Bertoia chair (and maybe a few other vintage and modern wire creations too).

Simple, curvy steel frames will be everywhere. Furniture, bakers racks, storage, kitchen accessories such as wine storage,  utensils and cake stands, etc. Keep an eye out for wire framework to demand a presence.

Read the full piece here.

BAMBOO, CONCRETE, CARDBOARD, AND EXAGGERATED WOOD GRAIN

Four materials fit seamlessly with the 2011 slant toward honesty and green accountability – concrete, bamboo, cardboard, and exaggerated wood grain. Look for these surfaces in 2011 because they’ll be showing up everywhere; furniture, wallpaper, flooring, clothing, electronics, accessories, lighting, and everything in between.

Read the full piece here.

GEOMETRICS ARE HERE

Pattern, pattern, pattern. Last year we were amused by chevrons, transfixed by Ikat, and enthralled with imperial trellis. It may be time to study geometry again or at least brush up on geometric shapes (what’s the difference between a lozenge and a trapezoid again?), because the upcoming year will be full of geometric shapes and crisp, angular patterns.

Read the full piece here.

MOROCCAN MUSE AND LINGERING BOHEMIANS

There’s something about riads, Marrakesh, and Morocco that make me swoon. I have long been obsessed with the Kingdom of Morocco. Exotic, elegant, and curvaceous silhouettes define this trend. Watching the vivid patterns and geometric shapes of Moroccan culture infiltrate interiors and design is pure bliss.

Bohemian aesthetics, complete with gypsy ephemera, will also be a major interior force this year. The vivid colors and patterns of the Bohemian style have graced the pages of EcoSalon several times before. Get inspired by bold colors and eclectic details.

Read the full piece here.

MIX. DON’T MATCH.

Each year the definition of excellent design moves further away from the matching bedroom suites with the nightstand, dresser, armoire, and bed frame in the same polished wood and identical brass handles; this makes me elated. When interiors get more eclectic, they feel more intimate and personal. Each piece in your home can be something you love, even if your mustard yellow side chair doesn’t quite match the goldenrod pillows on your couch.

Freedom from the demands of matching allows your imagination to run wild with the possibilities of your personality. You can find a tufted sofa to catch your elegance and combine it with a sleek solid wood side chair – an improbable match to make your own.

Read the full piece here.

FORGET GLAMPING, CONNECT WITH NATURE, AND SOAK IN AN URBAN INDUSTRIAL PARK

One of the decisive trends for 2011 is nature. Pure, rustic nature. The call of the wild and the desire to mingle with Mother Nature will manifest in our homes, travel plans, and urban environments. As technology continues to present shiny little devices to keep us connected, our innate desire to disconnect grows stronger. Get intimate with nature through traditional camping, unplugging (yes, completely), and experiencing an urban industrial park (they’ll be popping up everywhere).

Read the full piece here.

ONLINE MAGAZINES

Online magazines made my list of predictions for 2011, carried over from last year, which was riddled with shelter magazines that found their home online. Shelter magazines have been enticing design lovers with glossy musings for years, but recently many have folded (collective sigh in remembrance of Domino). Here’s hoping 2011 continues to lure design lovers with quality publications. Tread carefully dear readers, after all, how much is too much? I vote for quality over quantity.

Read the full piece here.

VINTAGE GOES SEVENTIES

The last couple of years we have been basking in the Sixties, often attributed to the expansive addiction to Mad Men (and Jon Hamm). Dust off your disco ball, the era of Annie Hall is about to resurface. The Seventies boasts the mark of legends including Led Zeppelin and Louis Kahn. Dark wood grain, modern geometry, sleek lines, solid brick, built-in features, and colors like avocado and mustard are all icons of the Seventies.

Read the full piece here.

ILBI STEPS UP TO THE WORLD

In a twist of acronym irony, it seems that 2011 may be the year that LEED falls behind. The ILBI (International Living Building Institute) extended the Living Building Challenge, the most advanced and demanding green building rating system in the world (think net-zero energy and water consumption). The Living Building Challenge poses the question, “What if every single act of design and construction made the world a better place?” What if indeed. The challenge is designed as an evocative guide, platform, beacon, unified tool, performance based standard, and a visionary path to a restorative future. Does this make you salivate, or is it just me?

Read the full piece here.

OBJECTIFICATION OF OBJECTS

As electronic readers contain more and more of our libraries of words, bound beauties that were once the only way to devour a piece of literature are becoming a nostalgic nod to history. One of the 2011 shelter trends is the evolution of accessories and objectification of objects. Books have quickly become a relic of décor. Bookshelves were an absolute obsession in 2010, and books will be objectified further in 2011. Wallpaper, classic novels with an aesthetic new cover, porcelain books, and bound pages for mere decoration will lounge on horizontal surfaces.

Read the full piece here.

So there you have it, dear reader. My predictions for 2011. Sit back and watch the rest of the year unfold (flamingo pink and all). What’s your favorite forecast? What trends will you subscribe to? Which will you avoid?

(Top image from Nubbytwiglet. Please refer to links for remaining image sources.)

The post Tidy Little Trend Guide appeared first on EcoSalon.

It’s officially 2011. I realize the world has been knee-deep in 2011 for thirteen days, but I am just now delving into the new year. In my world, the new year isn’t official until my shiny new annual planner is tarnished with my chicken scratch. It’s tarnished. My Litte Otsu soy-based ink on 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper processed chlorine free weekly planner is now marred with my over-sized script.

Now that I have admitted 2011 to myself, let’s take a gander at the year to come – dare I use the word trend? Trend is kind of a dirty word. If you don’t subscribe to trends, you’re out. If you do, you’re a follower. Trend signifies a mass movement toward thinking something is nonnegotiable, but with fleeting longevity. I don’t have a crystal ball, so you should know there is nothing metaphysical or divine about these predictions – this is old fashioned research combined with unapologetic opinion.

Here are my thoughts, in a nutshell, about trends for the eleventh year of the new millennium (some are original, others are borrowed). Think of this list as a table of contents, just a tease (actual content and elaboration to follow).

Homes will stay modest and modular – lucky for us, not everything from 2010 stays in 2010.

Honesty.  Honest materials and a new era of candid green accountability.

Flamingo Pink. Seriously. (You can blame Pantone.)

Light-emitting diodes and bare filaments take the stage.

Wire structures become an essential framework.

Bamboo, concrete, wood grain, and cardboard are the surfaces of 2011.

Pattern, pattern, pattern. Geometrics are here.

Morocco continues to be a muse and Bohemian is (of course) lingering around.

Mix. Don’t match.

Urban industrial parks – more of them.

Traditional camping is last year’s glamping.

Connect with nature – inside and out.

Online magazines.

Vintage goes seventies.

ILBI steps up to the world. LEED steps aside? (Gasp.)

Accessories evolve. Objects (books!) are objectified and elephants are in (don’t worry, the horses and ostriches of 2010 will still graze nearby).

Stay tuned for my elaboration on each of the trends above.

(Image from Nubbytwiglet.)

The post Patterns, Flamingo Pink and More in 2011 appeared first on EcoSalon.