Ask interior designers what they like in new home decor and you’ll get varied answers, says Sally Morse, director of creative services for Hunter Douglas.
“We spoke to four top interior designers from different parts of the country — Martyn Lawrence Bullard in Los Angeles, Martha Angus in San Francisco, John Phifer Marrs in Dallas and Fawn Galli in New York,” says Morse. “Not surprisingly, they agreed on many of them, but with their own, uniquely personal twists.”
1. Live smart
Bullard says the smart home is important, from the ability to preset the water temperature in the kitchen sink to automatically positioning window shades for privacy, security and various design and lighting effects.
The Hunter Douglas “The Art of Window Dressing” app, a tool the designer calls “genius,” provides a virtual showroom of the vast array of styles and lets you preview how your selections will actually look in your home.
2. Punch up with colour
Angus and Galli agree bold colours are most effective when used in small doses against gently-hued backgrounds. Citing a cerulean blue lava stone-topped table in a neoclassical dining room, “A huge blast of amazing colour like this adds drama to a room,” Angus says.
3. It’s all about you
All the designers are adamant about mixing furniture styles, as Galli explains, “to create something that is very individualized and original.” It’s the gypsy look, done by “mixing items from different designers and periods.”
“People are moving back to buying antiques and mixing them with pieces from other eras,” Bullard says.
4. Winning windows
“Window treatments are invaluable for making a room’s design look finished,” says Morse. “John Phifer Marrs told me he likes natural grass shades, because they’re relaxed but ‘dressed.’ Our Alustra Woven Textures that feature unique combinations of intriguing fibres that gently filter light, provide the same feeling.”
5. The right lights
Polished, tailored, timeless style, nothing fussy, is definitely in for 2015. One aspect of this are the sculptural chandeliers and pendants created with LED lights we’re seeing now, where the light is actually part of the sculpture itself,” says Angus.
“This is one industry that doesn’t sit on its laurels, but keeps moving forward with useful and creative items that add joy, comfort and beauty to our lives,” says Morse.
BY MYKE THOMAS, CALGARY SUN
