Back in November 2015 when I was interviewed for Arabian Homes Magazine, Claire Helleputte asked me a question – What do you predict as the trend for 2016?

After thinking hard about it, I felt that in order to answer reasonably I really needed to reflect at the trends that had gone before.

Just this week the UK’s Daily Mail reported that the 1970s were “Décor’s Dire Decade” and as I browsed through the amusing images of past celebrities posing in, what they must have felt at the time, their ‘trendy’ homes, it only served to ask – why do we have trends…even the bad ones? Without going into the depths of psychology or social sciences for the answers, the point is whether intentional or not, we all follow them, and as a professional Interior designer it is my job or duty to keep abreast of trends on a global level.

When we look through most magazines from any given decade there is a very definite similarity in aesthetic whether in fashion, graphics or interiors, and the 70s was a prime example. This is because designers are influenced by the social and economic matters of their time, such as the recent global financial crisis of 2008, and which we are still being influenced by today. Designers are also influenced by other creative productions such as film, art and technology etc. Finally their work filters through to the general population via media and retail.

The current trend we have been experiencing for a while now is the urban, reused and reclaimed look that we see so many forms of today, and this is attributed to the last financial crisis. When many major construction developments stopped, the investors withdrew and the developers who could continue their projects had to look for economic ways to complete them. Interior design on a commercial level is considered a luxury service although necessary, so with tighter budgets designers were forced to be creative with their concepts getting the best look for the least cost. The answer was to define styles that could make bare concrete floors, exposed ceilings, reclaimed materials, re-used lighting and furnishings seem stimulating.

In contrast, the 70s were about liberation and freedom (even though the US was experiencing war) and the hedonistic designers of that generation were the product of the early 1950s boom years, from worldwide economic recovery after the Second World War. So the ‘anything goes’ mentality was never more evident in the flamboyant fashions and bold, over-designed interiors.

 

The slim technology developed by Apple and Samsung is also having an influence in interior design.

 

It seems now generally that the economy is recovering; we have seen this industrial, vintage aesthetic which was quite dark and moody slowly evolve. In the beginning, the bare and brutal concrete and exposed ceilings were combined with deeper colour palettes of materials; this has softened becoming lighter, brighter, with monochrome accents or Scandinavian style furnishings and blonde woods. All this is accentuated with lots of green planting.

So, to try and answer Claire’s original question… there’s definitely an even softer look emerging, a revival of the 80s ice cream colour palettes of soft pinks, mint greens and light greys, but also simplified forms. This might be a good sign since the 80s were the decade of indulgence.

But lastly, I have also noticed that the slim technology developed by Apple and Samsung is also having an influence in interior design. The latest kitchens show super slim worktops, sanitary wash basins simplified to having almost a knife edge and furniture too with similar table tops made from new super hard materials. It is all heading towards slimness and simplified forms and possibly towards crisp minimalism of the early 90s which I love, but let’s hope we are never tempted to revive the 70s.