Decorating & Design
February 13, 2018
Discover House & Home’s Top 10 Design Trends For 2018
This year, our homes will have an infusion of energy, buzzing with get-happy prints, curvy shapes and fresh colors. Click through for House & Home’s top 10 design and home decorating trends for 2018 — it’s your guide to the newest looks and must-haves.
Curvy furniture is making the rounds, popping up in both high-end designer showrooms and mainstream retail roomscapes. The sinuous shapes are undeniably inviting: consider a designer velvet chaise that beckons with wraparound arms. Studies show that curvy furniture evokes feelings of relaxation and hope over hard-line alternatives, and in spare, contemporary interiors, they’re a welcome sweet spot.
The days of making interior doors a feature with glossy black paint are fading — they’re now performing a disappearing act. What’s behind this movement? An instant cool factor that doesn’t require tearing down walls or major construction. The trick to this sleight of hand is concealed or pivot hinges, and trim that continues across the surface. What a relatively easy — and stylish — way to keep a secret.
Lighting is having its moment in the sun. Whether it’s the result of designer collabs with established brands or the rise of independent makers spawned by Etsy, it’s never been easier to find statement lights that could double as sculpture. Industrial, articulated fixtures are being nudged out of the limelight by finer pieces with slim profiles, layers of dichroic glass and minimalist, mod shades.
Get tips for decorating with statement lights.
For those who dream of a walk-in pantry but lack space, an all-in-one freestanding version is the answer. Some tricked-out models boast interior lights and can house small appliances. The best versions look custom-designed, so they can segue seamlessly into contemporary kitchens, or embody the much-loved Euro farmhouse style made famous by British firm deVOL Kitchens.
Gutsier than beige, luscious camel easily straddles the fashion and home worlds; the color translates beautifully across a range of materials, from grasscloth wallpaper and leather sofas to lacquered lamps. Much like its sartorial counterpoint, the camel-hair coat, this classic hue has a timeless, rich quality that feels new all over again.
Get tips for decorating with camel.
Painterly tile finishes that convey cool fluidity are a sea change from the visual jolt of high-contrast patterns. Rich, jewel-tone tiles laid in customized stripe and color-blocked patterns make the morning rush feel calming and orderly.
The safe haven of home has increasingly become the prescription when bad news fills our screens. Creators like Spanish artist and designer Jaime Hayon deliver high-end home furnishings with a wink, mastering the playful silhouette. With daily use, colorful, whimsical accessories and trompe l’oeil effects are little ways to lift the spirit and coax a smile. And who doesn’t want that?
Thanks to the internet, the world is a much smaller place — a craftsperson’s wares traditionally made in Africa or South America are now just a click away. Authentic handmade pieces like African Kuba cloth ground a home, bring a note of sophistication, and encourage designers and manufacturers to look beyond their borders for inspiration.
Shop modern artifacts at Shop House & Home.
Consider this serene look an antidote to the round-the-clock stimulus blasting from phones, computers and wearable tech. Representing a confluence of earth and sea, this trend is a hybrid of Scandi minimalism and sublime Japanese zen. Perhaps that’s one reason this style seems so at home in coastal areas: much like looking at the sea, the quiet beauty of handcrafted items and a nature-inspired palette give the eye and brain a spot to rest.
New digital methods and a return to hand production now means small-scale outfits can whip up fabric and wallpaper on demand. Customers thirsty for patterns with the exclusive cachet of artwork know they won’t spot these in a neighbor’s home.