Geometric shapes and yellow are hot for fall
As I was driving down a city alley the other day, a flash of fur caught my eye. No, it wasn’t another chimpanzee-sized rat.
It was a formerly prized possession: a faux Moroccan Beni Ourain-style rug, pale and shaggy with a dark diamond pattern, a once-bold accent that had imbued its owner’s apartment with of-the-moment style. Until that moment passed. Or the dog had one accident too many.
Whatever the reason, all trends must pass, and fall is a time when we look around and reassess the house we are about to cosy up in for the foreseeable future. (When is spring, anyway?)
That’s when we notice the artwork we still haven’t hung, the pillows that aren’t quite the colour they used to be or the rug that’s no longer as chic as we thought it was. This is why, DIY decorators, designers wisely advise us against trends.
“I actually try to steer clear of trends,” said designer Summer Thornton. “They’re more likely to look dated in a few years.”
Still, if you’re ready for a fall update this year, Thornton and fellow designer Amy Kartheiser weighed in on some of the fresh ideas that are floating around right now.
Get into (postmodern) shape
Geometric shapes have been a huge design trend for several years, but it’s time for a twist.
The abstract art of the 1980s is influencing everything from fabric and wallpaper prints to metal wall sculptures to sofas with curved backs.
“I’m pulling elements and inspiration from the late 1800s up through the 1980s and everything in between,” Thornton said. “People are branching out more and pulling from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s.”
Go wallpaper-crazy
And speaking of the ’80s: “The wallpapers of the ’80s are coming back,” Kartheiser said. “We had wallpaper in every single room growing up.”
The design world, she said, has been bringing that idea back, and it’s catching fire.
“People are feeling bolder and more confident in their choices, and I always tell clients that it’s the thing you’re the most afraid of that you end up loving the most once it’s installed. That’s what wallpaper and big bold prints do.”
Take the plunge into granny chic with an allover floral.
Try a mellow yellow
Terracotta is poised to take over from “millennial” pink as the colour of the moment, but soft yellow might be a better bet for an accent colour that looks cool now and has staying power.
“Some colours become wildly overused and popular,” Thornton said. “But I think any colour can feel fresh if it is used in a new way, because it’s more about the combination of colours and how they work together than any single colour.”
Yellow can mix with terracotta or add a spark to blues.
“I don’t like bright, sunny yellow,” Kartheiser said, “but I love golden yellow. It’s very warm and cosy, and it also gets into that brass colour that you see everywhere. There’s something comforting about it.”
Hang a portrait
Whether you have your own private Louvre or just a carefully chosen piece or two, consider adding a portrait to your mix of artwork.
“I think there’s something about people’s faces that engages you or draws you in,” Kartheiser said. “Think about Mona Lisa — how many people have talked about that portrait of this woman?”
The unveiling of the official portraits of Michelle and Barack Obama this year sparked even more interest in the art form, she said.
Portraits don’t need to be family members and they don’t need to be expensive to look good.
Vintage portraits, whether photographs or paintings, can often be found in antiques stores or thrift shops.