Fashion’s pendulum is swinging away from Scandinavian minimalist and back towards a cosier aesthetic, so welcome florals and clashing prints back into the fold.
Blame it on Instagram but with everyone scrolling the same tasteful interiors, is it any wonder that we are bored by Scandi style, a byword for pared-back interiors in sludgy shades devoid of clutter and with wooden floors underfoot?
As a new season kicks off, low-key minimalism is heading into fashion Siberia with modern maximalism entering centre stage, a look that will have readers of a certain vintage recoiling in horror, for they can recall the oppressive abodes in which a flowery three-piece suite, matchy-matchy wallpaper and swirling carpet underfoot all co-existed.
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In a pre-digital world, when Scandinavian disruptor Ikea first came to Britain 25 years ago it told homeowners to chuck out their chintz out and, in doing so, heralded in an era of globalised interiors that look the same whether you live in San Paolo, Shanghai or Sligo.
Now it’s time to reclaim pattern in all its guises, from damask to William Morris-inspired tiles, go for gold and reprise leather.
1 GOING FOR GOLD
Copper has had its day and gold is the precious metal to worship this fall. It can be seen on lighting, on side tables and consoles, on kitchen cabinetry and pull handles but one of the most indulgent ways to work this in your home is in a tile format in a bathroom. These art deco-inspired fishscale shapes by Otto Tiles can create a shimmering shower room that will help gild getting up on those dark mornings. These hand-made, ceramic designs, 15cm by 17cm by 0.8cm each, cost about €458 per sq m – the minimum order taken. ottotiles.co.uk
2 SEEK OUT HIDES
Leather is once again tantalising the senses to create sumptuous seating for dining and living rooms. Cognac and fawn-coloured leather upholstery offer a very natural seating option, says Eavan English of EEDI Studio, who designed this private dining space for Ely Wine Bar on Dublin's Ely Place. Book-ending the table are curved and free-standing banquettes. Made of solid oak they are covered in a tobacco-colour, naturally tanned leather and fabricated by John O'Connell Furniture to a design by English, as was the oiled extendible table, whose deep copper timber tone is the result of Rubio Monocoat oil, a coloured oil. eedistudio.ie; jocfurniture.com
3 MAKE A STATEMENT WITH LIGHT FIXTURES
Tiffany-style lighting is making a return and parasol purveyors Sunbeam Jackie launched its first chandelier collection earlier this summer at Liberty, London. The designs blend sculptural know-how with the decoration of stained leaded glass. Each light fixture, which is made of vintage and designer fabrics, encased in resin and held together by an aluminium frame, is bespoke and hand-made to order for the firm's Cornwall-based studio. Dimensions start from a height of 65cm and diameter of 90cm. Prices start from about €20,000. sunbeamjackie.com
4 PICK PATTERNS
Glasgow-based Timorous Beasties has never shied away from the eclectic. Its latest wallpaper is a dramatic and vibrant take on damask, a fabric that featured in big houses and stately homes, that was named from the fine patterned fabrics produced in Damascus, in modern Syria in the European middle ages.
Its Totem Damask is an extravagant highly patterned paper featuring vertical totems made of floral damask imagery. Available in nine colourways, each 10m roll of wallpaper features no repeated patterns. You can connect the sheets together using the vertical stripes, which allows all manner of customisation. The designs cost from €135 per sq m. timorousbeasties.com
5 COMEBACK CARPET
After almost two decades out of style, the patterned carpet is centre stage this season as one of the easiest ways to add print to a room. In an era of open planning, a textile underfoot also helps dial down any ambient noise. At the high end is Mourne Textiles, a new partnership with Ulster Carpets. For an affordable way to weave print in, check out this Formations pattern by Carpetright. Pictured in charcoal Geo, the 80 per cent wool twist is a collaboration between the carpet company and UK magazine House Beautiful. It costs about €55 per sq m.
carpetright.co.uk; carpetright.ie
6 DRAMA IN THE BEDROOM
Bedrooms, like bathrooms, are increasingly being seen as Zen-like spaces to which one can retreat, rather like the neutral but luxurious rooms of five-star hotels. This champagne-coloured four-poster Langdon bed from Next will set the scene nicely. The design includes a blush pink velvet headboard and base and it comes in three sizes from double to super king. Prices, which exclude a mattress, range from €1,148 to €1,365. The heights range from 149cm for the double to 242cm for the super king size. next.ie
7 SIGNATURE STAR SIGNS
Decorating to play to your star sign's strengths is now a thing which is all very well if you live solo but if you share your space with a clatter of people, it can become quite, well, visually noisy. Those who favour bold statements might like House of Hackney's Cosmos which features hand-painted illlustrations of creatures synonymous with each of the 12 astrological signs. In midnight blue, about €232 per wallpaper roll, you might even be able to convince yourself that it mimics the night sky. It also comes in a celestial blue and a fabric option, €119 per metre, if you'd like your furnishings to match your walls – another big trend this winter. Download the SkyView app to help show you the shapes of the constellations in the sky. houseofhackney.com
8 BACK TO NATURE
Natural materials are very much in vogue with materials like bamboo, cane, jute, sisal and seashells firmly back in fashion. Their texture and authenticity is being celebrated and their use also acknowledges important ecological concerns about sustainability.
Fun is a mother of pearl cascade chandelier designed by Verner Panton who was inspired by the play on light created by natural materials. This is the man who said most people spend their lives living in dreary, grey-beige conformity, mortally afraid of using colour. So if you find yourself nodding in agreement, this pretty and playful pendant might be a very good first step away from modternity's greyification. It is available from Blackrock-based Nordic Elements where it costs from €1,544. nordicelements.com
9 KITCHEN DOWNSIZE
Those who favour kitchens the size of ballrooms way wish to look away now for former Wallpaper editor-in-chief Tony Chambers, now head of consultancy at TC & Friends, along with artist Ryan Gander have banded together to launch a compact kitchen sink stystem whose premise is a long, trough-like device, made of Silestone, atop which "countertops", actual wooden boards, are set to create a flexible prep space. The design highlights functionality and ergonomics in the kitchen, and is inspired by space-saving kitchen units seen in Japan. otomoto-life.com
