Are already here
all about attention to detail and comfort, says Auckland interior designer Sonya Cotter.
‘‘Clients will pay for comfort,’’ she says. ‘‘And they will spend the extra dollar to get something that will last. People are hunkering down and planning to stay where they are for a while, so they want their home to feel comfortable and homely.
‘‘Today, it’s about beautiful pieces, things you love and cherish. We no longer want to clutter up our spaces as we did after the minimalist look was over. We are showing our personality more in the things we put into our homes, rather than creating a home for the next person who buys it.’’
Cotter says ‘‘furniture islands’’ are a key trend. Sofas and chairs no longer cling to the edges of a room – today they sit in the middle, and they often provide 360-degree seating that allows for different interactions and connections.
‘‘Everything is modular, and nothing is fixed,’’ the designer says. ‘‘Furniture can be moved and should work wherever it lands. The monolithic coffee table has gone; now we have a layering of side tables.’’
Cotter says curved sofas are especially in vogue as they aid the circulation through the living spaces. In the coming year, we can also expect to see more tassels and fringing, more beige and brown with dark greys, and more interesting grains and patterns in stone.
Multi award-winning NKBA designer Mal Corboy believes we have never had so many choices, with new materials and designs readily available almost as soon as they appear overseas. New Zealand has caught up, the designer says.
‘‘I was in Milan for the big kitchen fair this year and found it all pretty ho-hum, and that’s because what we are doing here is cutting edge, and our manufacture is as good as anywhere in the world. A few years ago, it would be two years before a new product or idea found is way to New Zealand; now it’s six weeks.’’
But Corboy has noticed a move away from minimalist kitchens. ‘‘People are not looking to Europe for design ideas as much as they once did. Now they are getting on social media, such as Pinterest, and seeing kitchens in America and other countries, and they are wanting a softer look, such as a Cape Cod or Hamptons style.’’
The designer says people are also taking sustainability into account and are looking for eco-friendly shows on TV, such as My Kitchen Rules and MasterChef Australia.
‘‘For the same reason we are being asked to supply more specialist appliances, such as a sous vide (for cooking vacuum-packed food slowly in a water bath) and induction cooktops.’’
And what about the Internet of Things (IoT)? Intelligent refrigerators are now commonplace. That’s just the start. Analyst Gartner estimates that 20.4 billion IoT devices will be in use by 2020, up from 8.4 billion IoT devices last year, which in turn was 31 per cent more than the previous year.
That trend is influencing the design of our home interiors – while people living in a house want to remain ‘‘connected’’, many designers are providing breakout spaces that provide a degree of separation for children and teenagers using their own devices. Invisible charging stations are often built into a kitchen bench. The smart home has never looked smarter.