Spring 2015 interior style trends

Natural aesthetics, vibrant patterns, bold motifs, the perfect blend of masculine lines and soft curves and streamlined styles, to mention but a few things, will fuel the design industry and influence some of the design outlook for Spring into Summer 2015. Last year saw an undeniable lean towards personalising our homes in unique ways that showcased our lifestyles and personalities; and that will be the order of the day into this year too, but with added emphasis on making our personalized homes practical, functional and relaxing too. 2015 trends will celebrate personality, serenity and versatility; and this celebration will influence modern interior design in a way which will see it becoming more elegant and sophisticated, whilst still showing even more individuality and creativity than previous years.

Retro and Vintage styles products continue to be popular as does the up-cycling and repurposing movement, which many budget conscious homeowners are finding to be as frugal as it is aesthetic. Maybe that table isn’t as old as you first thought and just needs some ‘new love’? Apart from reviving it, could you use it in a different room altogether to better effect? It’s all about working with what you’ve got, recycling or repurposing, buying appropriately only when you need to and being individual. Unique character and charming details are important when it comes to decorating our homes this year.

Old and new design ideas will be teamed together and this fusion of styles will add an individual and unique look to modern interior trends for the coming year. Popular interior design materials will include salvaged wood, metal and stone to add elegance and luxury to spaces. Metal and wood combinations will be popular trends for classic and contemporary furniture; and white marble will add a touch of luxury across the board from bathrooms to living rooms.

Mid-Century Modern

On a similar vein ‘Mid-century-modern’ has been making a comeback over the last couple of years and 2015 looks likely to see an “out with the new - in with the old” mentality, as throwbacks to design elements from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s, at the time considered as modern design, will make their mark in 2015, but not in retro style – in a more ????? way. Using small vintage pieces such as lamps, clocks, planters and cushions in theme will be a popular way to introduce this trend, but we will also see an abundance of mid-century modern furniture being recycled, re-purposed and reintroduced into schemes to create authentically stylish interiors. Here's a gallery of some mid-century modern inspiration to give you a good idea how to achieve the look......

The style translates well into kitchens where the key word this year is glamour. The decadent design and colour scheme of this gorgeously streamlined kitchen, offers an unmistakeable style nod to the best of the 1950’s, but not in a retro way, in more of a 50's American Diner chic way, and a liberal dash of bold colours against the classic black and white combo base colours, really makes the room pop!

Wallpaper and Decals

Handmade embellishments (keeping the ‘artisan’ trend alive) and earthy textures will find their way into our homes this season but we’ll be saying goodbye to tropical motifs and kitsch feature walls. Having said that, however, wallpaper is coming back in a big way! Say goodbye to plain white or beige walls and say hello to wallpapers with efflorescent designs and designs reflecting the trend for nature’s influence. Wallpapers not only add colour but texture too and texture (and layering textures in particular) is a big player in 2015. If you get hot under the collar at the thought of committing to whole walls of pattern, however, then consider another up and coming trend – wall decals. Wall decals offer the option of a bold pattern statement but in the confined and somewhat controlled way that wall art or canvasses would provide. But you can be as bold or as subtle as your taste commands so the creative possibilities and uniqueness are unlimited.

On a similar vein, stencilling is apparently tipped to be making a big come back, but thankfully not in the form of the kitsch and flowery, trailing grape vines and over the top borders of the late 80’s and early 90’s. The trend will lean more towards all over stencilled patterns, which in effect create unique wall art designs which offer more personality and individuality than an off-the-peg wallpaper might do. This season’s trend though will see stencilling creeping onto our floors and other large surface areas, adding to the trend for ‘layering’ our interior schemes. Stencilling is inexpensive and requires little or no expertise to achieve effective results, thus proving a thrifty but effective way of transforming a wall or floor space. Another change in home décor trends is “carpets climbing onto chairs and sofas”, leaving the floor to tiles or wood (and the option to stencil??). Not taken literally, this means rich textures and tactile feels on furniture and natural wood and mineral finishes on floors.

Natural Aesthetics – Bringing the Outdoors Indoors And on the subject of the wind of natural textures ravishing our homes, then undoubtedly one of the biggest style trends to gain popularity will be the ‘green’ movement. Not the colour green however, I’m talking the living, organic and eco-friendly kind!

Wood and leaves are appearing widely in art, photography and interiors. The natural appeal, referred to by some designers as ‘Nature’s Prescription’- and others as - ‘Sylvan Style’, is a trend whereby we invite natural aesthetics in the form of raw, naturalistic materials into our interiors. Traditional wooden furniture and home accessories are giving way to raw-edged, unfinished products. Woods washed with colour, wood effect flooring, wood cladding, wood furniture, log piles, stone and stone-effect flooring, carvings made from rock, organic shapes, powdery surfaces and uneven edges, continue the organic green trend and find favour among home design enthusiasts and professionals.

More exotic types of material like henna wood, teak, bamboo, palm and papyrus are finding their way back in to our interiors and handmade wooden lighting and home furnishings with a slightly more homespun feel are gaining popularity. The basket lamps and papyrus chandelier above are interesting examples.

More examples above include Eric Turp's chair, which is made by adding arms and a back rest to a simple log. Simple pieces of decorative wall art can be expected to include cut bamboo, pressed leaves (palm and ginkgo) and organic seed pods. The detailed composition is by Bangkok based artist, Thamarat Phokai, and is created using hundreds of pieces of teak wood in different textures and tones. The shapes are hand-cut and pieced together using dovetail joints; and a marquetry cabinet is upcycled with an ‘interesting’ treatment from oddments of timber. The trend leans towards colours found in nature too.

Colours that stand out such as blurred bronze, worn copper or oxidised layers. But fear not all novice interior designers and alarmed homeowners! If you don’t fancy the idea of an ‘urban jungle’ and copious amounts of ‘scrap’ wood in your living spaces, then here are some more realistic and slightly less ‘cutting-edge’ examples of how this trend can effectively be adopted in your home.

With its wooden cabinets, slate grey walls and floor, stone effect tiles and natural wood cabinets showing off the grain patternation to best effect, the bathroom on the left is a perfect example of 2015 ‘chic’ sylvan-style; and on the right a much more rustic but not over the top approach to the Sylvan and Nature’s Prescription theme......

and here are a few more examples of how this raw and rustic approach can enhance your interiors in a very effective and aesthetic way that you probably could live with!

‘Living’ Rooms

The inclusion of ‘Living Walls’ of greenery and foliage inside our homes has come to the fore over the last few years, but the trend now takes on a whole new approach, again reflecting our desire to merge the outside with the in and vice-versa and to open up/out our living space. This will happen in every way from small organic style accessories to huge plants, rugs which mimic grass in design or texture, all sorts of natural fabrics from wool to fur and elements from stone and slate to.........

sand, gravel, salvaged wood, bone, horn and iridescent shells. Even sculptural (but functional) elements will evolve, taking their inspiration from nature’s shapes, for example, the tree bookshelves above.

The possibilities and creativity are endless, but these elements all pay a key part in ‘Nature’s Prescription’ ....

and the idea of inviting themes from the natural world into our interiors, to help us feel closer to nature; .......

so that from the comfort of our own homes we get to experience that same wholesome, stripped-back, at-ease feeling that we get in the great outdoors.

Some experts are even predicting that we will be making a ‘splash’ indoors to create a more complete natural experience, by including internal water features in our schemes. The sound of trickling or free flowing water is a relaxing and therapeutic one, so the thinking behind this trend is to bring the outdoors natural theme to your ears as well as to your eyes; and demonstrates that we should by no means shy away from using organic elements in our interiors.

We will see the distinction between indoor and outdoor gradually fading. This trend may accelerate more quickly in warmer climates than ours initially, but we can expect to see our back yards and gardens populated by indoor-like pieces, in the same way as our living rooms become adorned with outdoor elements.

Driven by our desires to be more in touch with nature and to have more leisure and outdoor time, as well as well as a general, worldwide, lifestyle-shift towards being healthier people who spend less time in their living rooms and more time in their kitchens (where they gather, chat, cook and eat) before heading outside; we can expect to see architectural changes in our homes, as the vogue for opening our homes up towards the ‘Great Outdoors’ will see installations of vast areas of glass, or indeed glass walls, which slide, fold or swivel to give greater accessibility to the outdoors, ultimately transforming the indoor room and the garden into a single space.

The modern kitchen above, looking out of a vast expanse of glass onto a gorgeous vertical garden is a prime example and one that I for one could definitely live with! As regards colour, our desire to have ‘greenery’ in our homes draws on a palette of greens and mineral hues, creating spaces where mimicked or real nature, blends natural elements seamlessly with interior elements. Green itself will become a prominent ‘accent’ colour. Particularly fresh spring greens used against earthy base tones such as brown and grey and natural finishes such as wood, stone and slate.

Simple accents such as plants, candles and ornaments will do the trick. See how they infuse a fresh, energetic and living quality to the raw wood furniture in the rustic kitchen above. Note also the window wall. Crude, unfinished, DIY timber furniture like this (and in the image to the right) is also said to be an ‘in’ look for 2015 too, as it fits with the natural trend.

And finally on the subject of the green movement and bringing the outdoors in, I know the above image is a little extreme as an example to say the least, but I had to include it because there are some wonderful ideas in it and you have to admire the commitment and enthusiasm attributed to the thought process that went into creating this weird but wonderful interior. It certainly takes injecting personality and character into your interiors to a new level! Using natural elements in design can be challenging, but fun; and can help you to create something really unique.

Metallics - Going for gold!

Last season saw copper climbing the rankings as the favoured metallic colour, its warmish red tones taking preference over gold, for everything from taps and lighting to occasional furniture, fabrics, wall papers and paint colours. Other warm metallics such as bronze and sienna tones joined the rankings too, all taking preference over the cooler steel, chrome and nickel tones.

Gold, gold and more gold, however, is predicted to be making a comeback in 2015, but the trend for metallics, whilst still leaning towards the warmer shades of copper and bronze, is shifting more towards a mix of metallic tones.

Tempered metals such as a clean copper and textured metals, can be paired with white marble or plush fabrics to add a feeling of luxury and opulence combined with warmth.

Mixing and matching gold with silvers, stainless steel, wrought iron and coppers,..........

or going bold with all gold are all favourable options, but there are no rules here really. Introduce the look in any number of ways from sink taps, handles, lighting fixtures, picture frames, through to furniture, furnishings and accessories such as side tables, luxury bedding or curtains and vases to name but a few.

If you don’t fancy a whole new fit-out or the expense of fixtures and fittings, then making small changes such as revitalising existing picture frames with gold leaf (or cheaper still gold paint), repurposing an old chest of drawers with gold handles or adding a gold or metallic cushion or two into the mix. The image above shows how just a touch of coppery-gold spray paint can update a simple concrete pot, or a few brass nail heads revive a picture frame, bringing them both bang up to date! Spray painting furniture pieces with good quality metallic-finish paint can also be as effective as it is frugal.

Warm metals bring a luxurious, gilded look, full of opulence to a space. This trend can even be transferred to tableware such as cutlery and plates for quick style updates; and adding warm metallic touches to your home could be one of the simplest ways to bring a touch of on-trend fashion to your home in 2015 as the look mixes well with rustic, ethnic, vintage or modern design styles. Renowned interior designer Kelly Hoppen says on the subject of metallics this year.. “... mixing warm metals, such as copper and rose gold, with cool ones like silver is particularly hot right now..”

And the feel for metallics coming from American Designers is that they are no longer interested in matching every metallic in a single room because it is too staged; instead preferring to adopt the strategy of layering metallics with a mix of silvery, black and gold metals to create riskier and more stylish options.

Minerals & ‘Real’ Textures

Minerals and textures will be here in a big way too this year. Naturally occurring (real) minerals such as sand, stone, agate and marble as well as ceramic and handmade, textured, homewares (we’re talking plates, bowls, wall art, vases, serving trays, storage containers etc., etc.,) will be popular throughout the home from kitchens and bathrooms to bedrooms and living rooms.

A fabulous white marble, belfast style sink and subway tiles with beveled edges give a small kitchen a some serious mineral WOW factor!

Concrete A new element set to make its mark in 2015, but not yet mentioned, is good old concrete!

This useful man-made compound is by no means new in itself, but its use and introduction into our interiors as an aesthetic feature is; and its popularity is rapidly on the up in home interiors. Concrete floors are nothing new, but concrete is now finding its way onto our walls, worktops, tables and sinks as an aesthetic material capable of being adapted into numerous finishes and textures. It doesn’t stop there though, as also new for 2015 is the use of concrete for smaller more decorative items such as lighting, planters, serving ware and even decorative ornaments. “Far from being considered cold and utilitarian, concrete is enjoying its moment to shine as the new 'raw' material for the season”.

So to summarize on this section about spring style trends, look towards 'Nature's Prescription' for inspiration for your interior style. Adopt natural and mineral elements, greenery and minerals, throw in a dash of metallic, a measure of up-cyling and re-vamping and embrace the season's trends with the freshness and enthusiasm that spring brings!