Home interiors: Vision 2010

Source : Business Times – 14 Nov 2009

WHAT will home interiors look like in 2010? It’s not an easy question to answer, due to individual lifestyles, tastes and spaces. Still, one can look to those in the home decorating industry for some clues.

For one, Selina Tay, principal designer at Collective Designs, is hoping to see more colour. “A lot of people want a cool, resort look, so colours have been very pale,” she says. “But colours make a refreshing change and I’d like to see some exciting hues, such as oranges, reds and blues, on pieces of furniture or even walls and cabinets, just for a statement.”

It’s a sentiment that is shared by those on the retail side of home decoration.

According to Raymond Phua, managing director of Da Vinci Collection – which carries fashion furniture brands such as Fendi, Versace, Kenzo and Cerruti – softer and brighter colours are on the cards. “These are colours that would liven up the home,” he says, venturing that the direction could be related to where the markets are heading.

The Executive Home Store’s (XZQT) chief executive officer, Lim Chee Hwee, goes further – stating that purple is the colour of choice for 2010, although some may go with red or other bold shades. The furniture retailer recently opened a 10,000 sq ft flagship showroom at Ion Orchard and carries a wide range of Italian furniture.

“Modern minimalist furniture will again be the trend next year,” he says. “For wood finished furniture, walnut finishes are favoured. Metallic finishes cleverly combined with acid-treated, painted glass finishes will also continue to do well on products.”

And instead of plain leathers, expect to see more intricate varieties which carry prints, or are woven together, says Da Vinci’s Mr Phua. ‘You will also see more gloss on products instead of the usual matte finishing, and more square dining tables, as opposed to round ones.’

According to Nonie Chen, art director at Home & Decor magazine, miniature versions of signature furniture designs will also be popular, as they are less bulky and still make valuable collector’s items. In terms of lighting, she sees LEDs (light emitting diodes) – more commonly used in commercial spaces – being applied in homes.

‘The design is simplified for the home, so you will see it around the mirror frame or in the powder room,’ she says. ‘These are very subtle LEDs that can be used in dark spaces such as inside drawers, along staircases and in the garden.’

Ms Chen also expects more eco-friendly items to make their way into the home, as the back-to-nature theme comes into play, with re-cycled wood and second-hand furniture in vogue.

But while that reflects the greater interest in sustainability, Cameron Woo, principal designer at Cameron Woo Design, says it’s also a return to artisanal roots. ‘By that, I mean things that appear or may be more homemade, things that are more organic,’ he says. ‘There are a lot of manufactured items out there, for obvious reasons, but for a Christmas table setting recently, I picked up things that are all available here in Singapore, so the carbon footprints are small. I found items literally in the garden or off the street, such as a palm frond, and dressed the dining table befitting of tropical Singapore. So all we need to do is go back to appropriateness, context, source and sustainability.’

The fact that residential spaces are getting smaller these days also has an impact on what we can expect to see in home interiors going forward. This means every room has to fulfil at least two purposes, says Mr Woo.

‘For instance, I created a console table in the foyer which also acts as a writing desk for a client. So you can put keys on the table, but it also hides a laptop and converts into a writing desk. This way, when you come in, you are greeted with a beautiful console dressed with flowers, but you can also use it as a study.’

Similarly, this concept of versatility can be created in the dining room, where bench seating can be placed by the window, so when needed, the dining table can be pushed against it to create a dining nook and a foldable mahjong table can go where the dining table was.

‘Rooms performing double duty are more in demand now as apartments become smaller and our lives become more complicated,’ explains Mr Woo. ‘And it is through design that the two can meet.’