Interiors trends have so many triggers. Sometimes it just takes the opening of a high-profile hipster hotel to spark a UK-wide fascination with exposed copper piping (or pictures of food with googly eyes). A nation's desire for a cerise dresser can be ignited when a pink-obsessed celebrity opens her door to a national magazine. Even social media has a part to play in determining the colour of our walls or the design of our chairs.
As with fashion, when it comes to working new trends into your home, the key is to select those sympathetic with your style. But unlike fashion, trying a new colour scheme on for size isn’t going to make your bum look big. So why not give one of these décor trends a go – what have you got to lose, apart from a dated home?
1) Dark green
This colour is increasingly prevalent in many top interior designers’ schemes. While bright emerald green has been a popular choice in the first half of 2016, over the coming months we’ll see the growing popularity of deeper greens, both on furnishings and as a feature wall colour. We're loving the Sofas & Stuff Leconfield sofa in Valese Fir (see pic above)…
2) Marble surfaces
Anyone with even a passing Instagram interest (I make no apologies for my own obsession: @pinkhouseinteriors) will know a decent flatlay (when you photograph items from above) requires a decent background. And it doesn’t get much better than white marble for modeling your latest still-life colour pops. So for the increasing numbers of us who are keen to prettify our Insta feeds, having a slab of marble close by, which handily doubles as a luxurious-yet-practical kitchen counter, is a lust-have for our social street cred. How about this lovely table from MiaFleur, below?
MiaFleur marble and brass side table
3) Outside in
Bringing plant life inside is a look that never really vanishes in interiors – and summer tends to revive our interest in sun-soaked greenery. This House of Hackney-led trend has been given a turbo-boost by the unveiling of the Hemingway bar at the newly renovated Ritz Paris, with its overgrown, luxurious feel. Avoid the not-so-cool dead plant look by investing in a fabulous faux - we love the range at Rockett St George. Look out for an exciting Pink House styling project that channels this very-now verdant vibe, coming soon...
Ritz Paris Hemingway bar
4) Fashion meets furniture
Thanks to the effects of family life, here at The Pink House we are forced to cheat on fashion with furniture (take our quiz here to find out if you’re doing the same). So this fashion-meets-furniture trend is right up the street of many a babysitterless mum; if we can’t get to the shops to buy new clothes (or the bar to show them off), then at least fashion can come to our home. The likes of Matthew Williamson (his upholstery range with Duresta in available at Sterling Furniture in August) and House of Holland kickstarted the vogue for fashion-inspired interior décor this year, and the living-room-as-catwalk is set to continue well into 2017.
Matthew Williamson X Duresta
5) South Africa
It’s a truth generally acknowledged, that when it comes to interior design, where Kit Kemp (co-owner and designer of Firmdale Hotels) goes, the rest of the world follows. Kemp is known for her ability to tame even the most riotous pattern and colour combinations, as well as for her love of the artisanal and exotic. One of her current crushes – which combines all of the above - is new kid on the interiors block Halsted Design, whose fabrics and furniture feature increasingly heavily in Kemp’s stunning hotels. Halsted’s bold, beautiful designs are inspired by the brand’s home country of South Africa, and are set to spark African fever in living rooms across our land.
Monkey Palm Oasis cushion by Halsted
6) Pink!
When Fearne Cotton starts using the hashtag #pinkhouse and Instagramming pictures of herself painting her home pastel pink, you know you’ve got a trend in the making. But as we at The Pink House know, it’s all about the right pink at the right time. We’re currently obsessing over our new Sofas & Stuff Haresfield snugglers, bespoke upholstered in Samoa Velvets Tupai with hot pink Designers Guild Varese velvet piping. Gorgeous!
The Pink House's Sofas & Stuff Haresfield snuggler
A version of this post appears on the Sofas & Stuff blog
Of the many wonderful pink doors I’ve seen, one stands frame and fanlight above the rest. And that is the hot pink, be-googly-eyed front door belonging to hip handbag label Hill & Friends’ fabulous founder Emma Hill, behind which she lives with her 12-year-old son.