By Gillian Drummond

 

In perusing the design magazines and reviewing all the emails and periodicals I receive from the home furnishings industry, I definitely see some new trends in the near future.  Some of them are old, classic ideas that are re-emerging in a new way.

Brass
Brass is showing its glowing head again. With more modern coatings you can keep it bright and shining. It can also be allowed to mellow with age into a patina that gives it a more rustic feel. (Think of a four-poster modern bed that has mellowed into a more traditional feel in a country bedroom.) A brass chandelier can look more glamorous and modern in shiny brass, or more old and rustic in aged brass. There are many possibilities.

 

Wallpaper

Wallpaper has made a comeback. The possibilities of its uses are endless and it comes in patterns, textures and a wide range of colors. A deep eggplant-colored grass cloth on library walls, for example, warms up the room and gives it more depth than painting, glazing or lacquering the walls would have.

A small powder room is a great way to get a lot of bang for your buck while making a big statement. In a room with very high ceilings, a large vertical repeat will pull your space together.  Wallpaper can still be neutral but add visual interest. In a room with awkward angles, using a wallpaper can make these angles disappear, and if you use a matching fabric the whole room becomes a charming and intimate space. This is a wonderful way to treat a bedroom up under the eaves of your house.

I love wallpaper behind the shelves of a bookcase. Imagine using a tortoise shell or one of the papers that looks like the old fashioned end papers used inside of the covers of a leather book.  Make an outdoor sunroom using a bamboo pattern, or paper your ceiling for an unexpected surprise. Wallpaper is a great solution to lots of decorating challenges.

Today, with all the new primers and sealers for your walls, wallpaper is much easier to remove. If you want to remove old wallpaper, mix a solution of equal parts hot water and fabric softener and spray your walls with it before removing the paper.  Remember to prime and seal you walls well before hanging paper.

 

Table skirts
Table skirts are re-emerging. I have always loved them as they can be a nice break from too much wooden furniture in a room, or from having too many legs on your furniture. I used a skirt on a console table in a dining room that I recently finished. The table underneath had shelves for more dish storage. My client loves it and it brings more color and softness into a room that has a great deal of wood and has lots of legs on the table and chairs.

Skirted tables are also wonderful used as dining tables and you can have a few skirts to change the theme or mood of the room as you wish. The tables do not have to be round. A square table with inverted pleats from top to bottom at each corner can be stunning. I like to put glass tops on skirted tables to make them more practical to use and keep the tops clean. Table skirts can be simple and plain or rich and romantic. They are a wonderful place to use trim to add detail.
Paint color

For 2015, the biggest stories in color are varied. Pantone has declared that the color of the year is Marsala. With plum, wine and earthy undertones, this rich red hue looks beautiful and luxurious in leather. It is, in my opinion, not a color that you want to make a fashion statement with, but used with subtle restraint, it can bring great warmth to a room.

Sherwin Williams has brought back coral in a paint called Coral Reef. It is a vivacious color and is the perfect mélange of pink, orange and red. We haven’t seen this color for a long while. It is bright and cheerful and a wonderful accent color.

 

The other colors that I am being asked for are subtle blues, greens and grays. These bring peace and tranquility to any interior. They are wonderful for covering large places like walls or ceilings and can be livened up with accent colors. Benjamin Moore’s colors for 2015 include these colors. They have five color stories.

 

The other classic colors that are everywhere are blue and white – especially indigo or deep blue and white. (Think of Chinese vases or blue and white checks in a country setting.) Classic and timeless, they can always be mixed with other colors, and will never go out of style.

 

Flowers

Flowers are the other design element that I see coming in. Use your imagination and bring your garden into your home with flowered fabric, pillows or wallpaper. This is the element that the English used so well in their homes whether humble or grand.  I have always loved flowered fabrics and cannot imagine living without them. They don’t have to look old fashioned, and there are many contemporary flowered designs available now to brighten your rooms.

 

Current trends should only be incorporated into your home if you love them or you are using them as an accent to refresh what you already have. Nothing fades faster than rooms decorated in the latest trends without expressing your personal lifestyle and preferences. We all want to live with what makes us happy, peaceful and glad to be at home.

 

Gillian Drummond’s design studio is in Tryon, N.C. To learn more or to contact her, visit drummondhouseco.com, email infor@drummondhouseco.com or call 828-859-9895.