Samantha Pynn prognosticates on what trends 2016 will bring
IT’LL BE ALL ABOUT INTENSE PATTERN AND COLOUR
Dear Sam, What is the big trend(s) this year? I’m starting a blog and would love your thoughts. Thanks!! Chantal
Dear Chantal, Ever since my first trends story, spotting what’s new and notable has been like a game for me. I love seeing when themes, colours, shapes, motifs, materials and finishes recur and how people use those trends in their homes.
This year, I’m going to move away from my usual report on the top five to 10 trends. I’m putting all my money on colour and pattern. And the bold use of it.
Okay, okay, pattern and colour has been a rising trend for the past 10 years, but this year it’s super-charged and super-livable.
A few weeks ago, I walked into Toronto’s Bilbrough fabric showroom and was blown away by the front entry display of American designer Miles Redd’s line of fabric and wallpaper for Schumacher.
His collection advocates a “fearless embrace of pattern” and a willingness to “lose yourself in colour.”
It’s hard to describe Redd’s line with just one adjective — from black-and-white graphics, Chinoiserie in aqua, cobalt geometrics and watercolour prints in lilac — the line is glamorous, sophisticated and cheery all at once.
“I strive to create spaces that are animated and lively — and party-ready — because isn’t that what life should be?” Redd says.
What intrigues me most about his collection is that you don’t have to have a single blank wall. The look is classic, with an updated vibe in both the palette and the patterns. You can surround yourself from the floor to the ceiling with pattern and colour, marrying stripes with birds — and it works beautifully.
My next sign that there’s a magical colour storm brewing was Ikea’s announcement that this March they will launch Tillifalle, a limitededition collection of bright and bold Brazillian-inspired decor, including fabric, accessories, rugs and furniture. The collection includes the bright turquoises, greens and corals of South America as well as bold geometic black-and-white patterns. The Tillifalle collection is easy to live with in cold and warm countries alike because of the company’s Scandinavian take on Brazillian colours, allowing you to cover every square inch of your home in happy colour and pattern.
Finally, when you head to this year’s 18th annual Interior Design Show (Jan. 21-24), you’ll see colour aplenty. MSDS will show pink pendant lights with an orange interior. EQ3’s Assembly Collection, a collaboration with 10 emerging designers, features an übermod colour-blocked dressing table by Zoe Mowat, as well as a colour-blocked quilt by Kenneth Lavallee.
It’s exciting times in the world of design. The message from design greats like Miles Redd to big box stores and emerging design talent at the IDS is clear: Be bold with colour and pattern, and decorate with abandon. Good luck with your blog! Sam