Just over two weeks ago, the first design fair of this year ended: imm Cologne 2019. This edition of the fair, set in dynamic mode the furnishing industry, attracting overseas trade visitors while it also saw growth in numbers of visitors from other European nations. Its interior trend echoes were loud and clear as you’ll be able to see for yourselves from the inspiring images I put together. Any surprises? Perhaps a couple that reminded me that interior design must have an element of fun in order to create that reflective impulse of ours to own something even if we don’t necessarily need it. So without further ado, here are the best highlights from the imm Cologne 2019 fair.
The most recognizable trend of all is that of curvy furniture that is still going really strong. The second trend is all about colors. There were tons of earth tones including mustard, rusty and some green hues. Pantone’s living coral was also one of the protagonist colors.
Alongside those colors, pastel hues surfaced. Honestly, they’re not much to my liking, but perhaps you might fancy them (the photo below from Trend Atmospheres is representative of the pastel hue trend). I prefer more saturated colors and yes, there were still plenty of them around too.
Staying on color trends, beige wall paint is the next up-coming neutral wall color that is off-staging white for while. In reality, white is going to be thrown in the decor mix along with other colors as opposed to being the main backdrop color. Also, there is the resurfacing of colored marbles with strong veins (very popular back in the 60’s and 70’s). Moreover, striking eye-catching geometric patterns in textiles juxtaposed against the governing soft forms. Top that with gold metallic accents that were very much around everywhere.
Let me not forget that cane furniture is still on the rise, emitting that organic vibe; at this point though I would like to remind everyone that organic does not imply sustainable too. Those two concepts are not the same and as such their terms are not interchangeable. In any case, the great thing about cane furniture in my humble opinion, is their beautiful informal note with a quality from a past era…
Obviously, many of these trends will be filtered down before they reach the High Street shops. So if any of you are wondering what I would be putting in my home, then I would say one of those comfy modular velvet sofas! (I haven’t decided on the color yet, but seriously that is what I truly need). Now if I could possibly combine that sofa with that brilliant accent wall as in the first image that got me excited then, I would be thrilled. Unfortunately, I can’t have such an accent wall (for I have an open floor space where living, dining, cooking and working areas all collide), but I can always dream of the possibilities.
On a more serious note though, the biggest design challenge of all that is underlined in every design fair is to address functionality with pleasing aesthetics. This is the very reason I share all these with you, because ideas spark possibilities that could later become tangible design plans.
Till later. Yours,
P.S. All images are courtesy of Elisabetta Rizzato, the founder and mastermind of Italianbark.