Personal taste governs any redesign
tion features handmade subway tiles with names like Duck Egg, Snow and Cloud
“We think greige is making a reemergence in 2018,” says Los Angeles-based lighting, furniture and product designer Brendan Ravenhill. “A mix of grey and beige, the color brings warmth to wood and whitewashed spaces.”
Melissa Lewis of Lewis Giannoulias Interiors in Chicago says there’s a new way to tweak the perennially popular combo of gray and white: Envelop the space. “Take the warm neutrals and paint them on everything — doors, trim, walls, etc. The unilateral color makes any space feel much more refined and welcoming,” she says.
That refinement is also being reinforced with touches of drama and texture, says Charlotte Dunagan of Dunagan/Diverio Design Group in Coral Gables, Fla. The firm is using matte black accessories, light fixtures and decorative hardware in many of its projects. Warm woods like walnut and warm paint colors generate an ambiance she calls “classic modern.”
“Bold materials and textures offset by relaxing neutrals create the 2018 equilibrium,” she says. Amy Sklar. “Patterned tiles for kitchen backsplashes and bathrooms are going strong, and I’ve also been using patterned runners for stairways and hallways. It’s a fun way to add a little personality without overwhelming the space.”
Bonnie Saland of the Los Angeles-based design studio Philomela has done a fabric collection based on rocks and minerals, as well as batik-style abstracts.
“We’re enjoying the layering of pattern on textured ground, increasingly offering wallpapers on grass cloth,” she says.
Pronounced weaves, knits and channeling are in soft accessory and upholstered furniture collections at many retailers this spring, including Jayson Home
), Inmod and Target
Los Angeles designer Raun Thorp sees red coming back, in new versions and applications.
Pantone’s new palette has several vibrant hues, like Cherry Tomato, a zingy red; Meadowlark, a bracing yellow; and their color of the year, Ultra Violet.
Thorp is interested in avant garde Italian patterns now, too. “Cole & Son has some amazing Fornasetti wall coverings that will completely transform a room in unexpected ways,” he says. “Surreal pattern is so appropriate in these surreal times.”
Floral and garden patterns are cropping up everywhere, especially exaggerated ones. “The wackier the better,” says Thorp.