Connectivity, wellness and sustainability
Experts weigh in on design influences, hot technological trends for 2021
With 2021 bringing a renewed interest in creating beautiful and connected homes, many are looking to see what exciting design trends and innovations are sprouting to the fore.
“This (past) year has shown us that there is more to life than product innovation and colour. It comes back a little bit to culture: to think about sharing values, passion, vision. This pause has allowed us to do that, to take a deeper dive into what is possible when it comes to physical and emotional wellness,” says Veronika Miller, founder of Modenus Media, a global connect movement, bringing European brands to North America.
Miller shared her thoughts at a virtual confab discussing design trends emerging for 2021. The event also showcased new and innovative products from around the globe, everything from smart home security options to the latest in countertops.
According to the experts, three themes are dominating the design landscape for 2021, starting with connectivity.
“I think that smart homes and especially voice activation is the platform to connect the entire home together,” says Amber Mac, tech expert, author and Tv/radio host.
Companies like Schlage are upping the game when it comes to home security and connectivity with smart Wi-fi systems, and smart locking systems.
And with everyone spending more time at home, working, studying and cooking together, one of the trends highlighted in the discussion is taking cues from commercial and hospitality design and applying it to the residential sphere. Technology plays a big part in that, but when it comes to design, it goes deeper, encapsulating how people live and move through their homes.
Acoustics, for example, something designers rarely considered, are becoming really important as more people are communicating over Zoom and other virtual meeting platforms, and often in the same room as others. Space planning is top of mind, as well as designing with minimal touch points, which leads to the second theme — wellness.
“What is design going to look like. Everyone is watching the design world right now,” says Trevor Kruse, CEO at the Interior Designers of Canada. “We are really working hard with members to help them evaluate projects, to look with some depth to the solution and to become design leaders in the areas of technology and wellness.”
Spa-like experiences and products with touch-free features are also dominating the landscape.
“In 2020, the home was characterized as a place of personal refuge, a place to find a sense of comfort and connection and safety,” says Par Frozen, brand manager for American Standard. “And health and wellness are a part of that. It's a trend that we see continuing.”
She says that the demand for bidets, hands-free faucets and notouch flush toilets has increased exponentially.
“As we see COVID integrating into the consumer psyche, we see a change in attitude in the type of products they are demanding. Consumers are expecting products to deliver healthier, cleaner living, but also to deliver on commitments to reduce environmental impacts,” says Frozen.
Which leads to the third theme — sustainability. Products like bidets reduce toilet paper use by 75 per cent, while hands-free products like faucets substantially reduce water use.
At Grohe, design and technology have come together in new products launching in 2021 — everything from eco-faucets that reduce water consumption by 50 per cent, translating to a savings of 31,000 litres of water per faucet per year, to smart showers.
When it comes to colour trends, many designers agree that shades of greens and blue are top of mind, as are strong earth tones. Look for teals and moody, deep jewel tones, weathered limestones and sunbaked clays.
But experts caution on getting too caught up in colour trends.
“We are seeing some of these as situational and temporary. We are in a much different mind set than we were in during March or in July, so our behaviour towards colour is going to dramatically change pretty quickly,” says Miller.
Of course, switching up wall paint is fairly easy and inexpensive as trends change, but big ticket items like appliances are a different story.
So looking for flexibility in design solutions will be key.
And that's something that luxury European appliance designer Fulgor Milano has noted. It has devised an innovative product, spurred on by an explosion of interest in reinvesting in homes in post-lockdown Italy — architecturally designed kitchen ranges that offer easy to switch colour kits that change the colour of the range from the standard stainless steel finish.