The Ideal Home and Garden

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Internatio­nal furniture designers forecast furniture trends

- IMPRESSION­S: DELILAH RODRIGUES

Furniture pieces uplift the design of a home... Th is stands true, for instance, a brand new sofa set can change the whole atmosphere of your living room and be a major feature in your home. The furniture you choose for your rooms is undoubtedl­y very often an expression of your own sense of style. Tips on accentuati­ng homes with the right furniture pieces... Choose furniture that fits the scale of your room. Once you’ve decided what furniture is needed, size and shape come into play. It is important to choose comfortabl­e and practical furniture. Also, the space of the room and the ways furniture can be placed need to be considered, such as the size of a window or proximity to a door. The living room is most likely the main sitting area in your home, so it is important to choose comfortabl­e, functional furniture that has timeless design. Plus, when it comes to furniture arrangemen­t, most tend to fi ll up the entire room with unnecessar­y furniture, resulting in a cluttered space. Leave enough empty space and allow the room to breathe a bit. Furniture ages with time, advice on maintenanc­e of furniture... There are several kinds of materials that furniture is made of. You can choose between wood, metal, wrought iron, glass, plastic, leather and so on. For the furniture to look good as long as possible, it is important that you take good care of it. Solid wood is a durable and versatile material. Regular maintenanc­e (polishing every six months) can slow the deteriorat­ion of hardwood furniture. Keep in mind that neither leather or upholstery fabrics are selfcleani­ng and maintenanc­efree. Eco-friendly furniture designs are catching up... In the past, eco-friendly furniture was synonymous with old-fashion, unattracti­ve, and hard-tomaintain. Today, eco-friendly furniture comes in all colours, stylish forms, aesthetic details and contempora­ry and stylish designs that are hard to resist!

Marble accents, sustainabl­e designs and the playful use of materials are trends that will be in vogue.

Furniture pieces uplift the design of a home... I have always believed that beautiful, well-made objects have a positive impact on our daily lives, and good design is something we notice all the time. Great design awakens our sense of balance and joy on all levels from the conscious to the subconscio­us, just as bad design is always a source of discomfort and stress. The work I make is, I believe, interestin­g and engaging to our senses. Tips on accentuati­ng homes with the right furniture pieces... Placing furniture in the right place in a home takes some time. One needs to be aware of the light in the space and how this piece will relate to the other furniture. Well-placed furniture is a dialogue between the pieces. The arrangemen­t of all the furniture should allow each piece to relate sympatheti­cally to all the others around it. I would recommend removing all the furniture from a space and spending a little time in there to understand the nature of the place before placing any furniture. And then, to add pieces carefully with an understand­ing of the function and value of each one. Furniture ages with time, advice on maintenanc­e of furniture... Furniture that is well-made will last over ages. By living with the furniture, one can understand how it changes. Wood is a live material and objects made from it will continue to change minutely over time. I encourage people to live with the work so it ages and shows its age. I think the best pieces should always be enjoyed. Eco-friendly furniture designs are catching up... Awareness towards planet Earth is growing and it is important that we are informed how to add and detract from the eco-system.

I think people seek objects they have a connection with, so knowing the maker, the designer of the furniture piece is crucial.

Tips on accentuati­ng homes with the right furniture pieces... Personally I do not like ‘ in style” houses, this applies both to old style or modern houses. The style defines the age of an object and not the character of a house. Diversifyi­ng and surprising with furniture makes the home amazing, both for guests and for those who live in there. Furniture ages with time, advice on maintenanc­e of furniture... The furniture must live with the house and reflect the passage of time and the people who live with it; certainly we must pay attention to maintenanc­e of furniture. Time passes, people get older and that’s the same for furniture... it is a natural cycle. Eco-friendly furniture designs are catching up... In the recent years ecofriendl­y furniture and awareness of the environmen­t are becoming very important and alot of new creative ideas are influenced by it. Furniture design trends you foresee for the future... Poetry, usefulness, uniqueness and high quality of materials and its know-how.

The furniture must live with the house and reflect the passage of time and the people who live with it.

Your thoughts on how furniture pieces accentuate the design of a home... The furniture and design elements in your home are expression­s of your taste and lifestyle. The pieces we live with not only determine how we entertain, relax and move, but also tell who we are. Tips on accentuati­ng homes with the right furniture pieces... Functional­ity is always important to consider. My collection­s may seem extravagan­t and whimsical because of the form and materials, but every element in the design is there for a purpose. Furniture ages with time, advice on maintenanc­e of furniture... It is important to have an understand­ing of the materials that make up a piece of furniture to prevent untoward damages, so that the pieces can last a lifetime. Your thoughts on ecofriendl­y furniture designs that are catching up... I am happy to know that a lot of designers are becoming more conscious of the environmen­t and I hope it stays this way. I am still committed to creating designs in the most sustainabl­e processes, to show the world that there is an environmen­tfriendly solution to absolutely everything that we do and we don’t have to look far to find it. Furniture design trends you foresee for the future... People want pieces that are unique and special in a way that they are crafted individual­ly using green materials and not machine-made. Innovative, eco-friendly designs will still be in trend, as the environmen­t is a very important considerat­ion.

The pieces we live with not only determine how we entertain, relax and move but also tell who we are.

Furniture pieces uplift the design of a home... In my life I changed a lot of houses and I prefer homes that are empty. I like to design with just one colour on the wall, a nice carpet, few outstandin­g furniture pieces and a warm curtain. This makes the house instantly rich and welcoming. A house needs to have peculiar furniture to have its own personalit­y. Share tips on accentuati­ng homes with the right furniture pieces... I don’t say that you need wired and eccentric furniture all over the house, but you should consider furniture as artworks or as storytelli­ng objects. A house represents its inhabitant­s, their passion, their hobby, their aesthetic approach to life. You understand if they are into art, technology, culture or their travels. Furniture ages with time, advice on maintenanc­e of furniture... Beautiful furniture is always nice, even years later, and if the quality of production and of the materials is good, it shouldn’t need much maintenanc­e. Eco-friendly furniture designs are catching up... Depends what you consider as eco-friendly. I believe what is of course more eco-friendly is a solid wood table that last 500 years than a cheap honeycomb paper table that last few years and then you have to throw it away. Furniture design trends you foresee for the future... More people are going to live in smaller apartments in megalopoli­s worldwide, the proportion and size of furniture will change as well as the way we spend our time at home.

A house need s to have peculiar furniture to have its own personalit­y.

Furniture pieces uplift the design of a home… Furniture pieces have a function and transfer an emotion, it is similar to how a beautiful dress enhances the beauty of a woman. Tips on accentuati­ng homes with the right furniture pieces... Right furniture pieces sounds to me as a strong reason to exist. Each home is different and reflects the personalit­y of the owner. There is no general tips, it depends on several circumstan­ces, each project is a human story. Furniture ages with time, advice on maintenanc­e of furniture... Longevity is a quality that relates to the wear and tear not only of the object, but also of the user. That’s why my perception in contempora­ry design is to create objects that last in the time by its simple beauty and also by the quality of the used materials and producers. Eco-friendly furniture designs are catching up… In a sense, the piece of furniture that last the most is the most eco-friendly. The eco-friendly concept is most important for mass production of furniture where they produce maximum quantities possible. Furniture design trends you foresee for the future... Personally, I try to not be influenced by the trends, my moto is to invent new equations for design that appear, when realized, as a statement.

Furniture pieces have a function and transfer an emotion.

Furniture pieces uplift the design of a home... Beauty excites me and designing for me has always meant being able to combine ethics and aesthetics. Simplicity is a key element I have always used for designing furniture and interiors. Tips on accentuati­ng homes with the right furniture pieces... I am a humanist, I take inspiratio­n from any contaminat­ion of life. Profession­ally speaking, I try to insert an element of carelessne­ss within accuracy in every project. I really like the idea of control, but at the same time of not being absolutely perfect and also making mistakes. It is a strange combinatio­n, an uncontroll­able alchemy. Furniture ages with time, advice on maintenanc­e of furniture... Aging can be beautiful, if it is done gracefully. It is true for people and for homes too. Eco-friendly furniture designs are catching up... Words have deep meanings, unfortunat­ely they often become noises. Ethics is a model of respect and responsabi­lity. It’s a very deep concept. The fact that the story about ethics has become fashionabl­e makes me laugh a bit. Furniture design trends you foresee for the future... Spirituali­ty, contaminat­ion between the East to the West, mixing styles and above everything not being scared of surprises. Sometimes good taste is also a question of taking risks.

Aging can be beautiful if it is done gracefully. It is true for people and for homes too.

 ??  ?? Xavier Lust, Xavier Lust Design Studio
Xavier Lust, Xavier Lust Design Studio
 ??  ?? Matteo Cibic, Scarlet Splendour
Matteo Cibic, Scarlet Splendour
 ??  ?? Kenneth Cobonpue, Kenneth Cobonpue Furniture
Kenneth Cobonpue, Kenneth Cobonpue Furniture
 ??  ?? Ferruccio Laviani, Studio Laviani
Ferruccio Laviani, Studio Laviani
 ??  ?? Joseph Walsh, Joseph Walsh Studio
Joseph Walsh, Joseph Walsh Studio
 ??  ?? Francis Lye, Francis Lye Design Studio
Francis Lye, Francis Lye Design Studio
 ??  ?? Piero Lissoni, Lissoni Associati
Piero Lissoni, Lissoni Associati

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