Men's fashion invades interior design

Tartan throw by de Le Cuona

Ethan Herringbone dinnerware by Ralph Lauren Home 

When I talk about the close connection between fashion and interior design usually I mean women's fashion, but it is also very interesting to find that menswear textile patterns have invaded interior and product design - as ELLEDECOR publishes in its latest ussue. Inspired by the classic menswear many designers create stylish objects for our homes - but I am wondering how many of us would use them? What do you think - are they intended for men dominated interiors?

Collection Drummond wallpaper by Ralph Lauren Home

Warm and cosy under our feet

It is time to think about adding more warmth and cosyness in our homes. Carpets and rugs are a simple way to achieve this while changing the whole atmosphere in the room.

Warp & Weft - Highlands

 Some beautiful new products -  Highlands collection above by  warpandweft.com is made using a silktweeding technique, which interweaves Indian mulberry silk with unbleached Himalayan wool and. below: 

Mexican designer Liliana Ovalle's abstract pattern La Lomita carpet for Nodus Rug is in wool and silk and is made in Nepal using handcrafted methods.

Paola Lenti - Spin

Cords, braids, knitted tubular fabrics, conceived by Paola Lenti and produced exclusively for the Brand, are loom woven, hand tufted or simply sewn, to create rugs and mats which are unique for their aesthetics, chromatic effect and functionality.

But, if you want something exotic and follow the very popular trend for hand-made designs and also the new love for felt, you may buy a shyrdak felt rug  - a type of felt invented by nomadic tribes 2,500 years ago to insulate and decorate yurts. They are usually hand-made in Central Asia, especially in Kyrgyzstan.

Fall fashion - for yourself and for your home

As I have posted many times, fashion and interior design appear to be very much connected, especially in the last years. A fresh proof about that follows.

Couture & Casual: it’s the mix that counts! - this is the what - the autumn show in Frankfurt which opens tomorrow -  predicts to be the one of the most important trends:

"for the autumn/winter season, 2011/2012 – elegance meets cosiness, high-end meets casualness. Homes styled from top to bottom are a thing of the past. Today, it’s the blend that counts. The designer sofa is shown off to best effect next to a side table from the flea market. And why not combine cool materials, such as stainless steel, aluminium and leather, with knitted fabrics, wool or felt?"

The same trend appears in autumn fashion collections. too:

Akris - designer Albert Kriemler

(photos above from VOGUE)


And another trend - PURPLE again!

The September issue of American VOGUE Kate Moss wears a gorgeous purple Alexander McQueen dress. It is considered by many that it sets the tone for what to expect every Fall.

And one more

Purple Reigns in Interior Design for several years already and it obviously continues to be popular and loved by many designers, decorators and style-conscious home owners.  

"Purple Power - From aubergine to amethyst, this dynamic color can transform a space in surprising ways" writes ELLE Decor 

left - design by Jamie Drake











 below - dining room of decorator Amy Fine Collins

The image above illustrates also very well the trend about 'the mix that counts!" 
I like the freedom of mixing styles and materials, as long as it is done with knowledge and good taste and think that this trend will continue to be popular because it shows quite well the contemporary style of life and way of thinking. What do you think?

One of the most noticable trends from Milan 2011

Patricia Urquiola's Foliage sofa

Gentry sofa by Patricia Urquiola

is in fact not new at all - Rough look and Quilted finish have been popular among designers for several years. We saw Inga Sempe's Ruche sofa designed for Ligne Roset in Jan. 2010, also the Bouroullecs' Ploum sofa and so on. Even the not so new Urquiola's Bohemian collection used this technique, but in a very refined form. Tthis year, at Salone, all of her new designs had quilted finish, only she has obviously given up this refined style. Is this a confirmation of the Rough luxe trend that started somewhere at the beginning of the recession? 

Patricia Urquiola's Klara chair

BIKNIT Patricia Urquiola

The Swedish firm Gärsnäs introduced a quilted chair with upholstery that can be easily removed for dry cleaning.

Ligne Roset, 'Ploum', Design Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec

Milan 2011 highlights

Nature inside our homes

I like very much this continuing trend in interior design - to blur the boundaries between inside and outside. There are so many ways that design can help us bring nature into our homes - have a look at some suggestions from Milan Furniture Fair:

V ertical Garden Carpet by Nuala Goodman

Nectar Lamp by Rebecca Asquith

Monstera by Philip Ahlstrom

Grass Light by Jovana Chris Lei

photos by Inhabitat

Wig by Tania Da Cruz

 This one is my favourite :)

Lights tell stories in addition to being purely functional

This is 'Bang' - as in the Big One - a giant light sculpture for Lasvit created by Fabio Novembre  using sheets of fused glass and hand blown glass (via)

 No UV, but good light! - that is the idea behind this fantastic 'sky light lamp' by 5.5 designers for skitsch
 more at designboom
Net is a table lamp that doubles as an iPad or iPhone dock, designed by Philippe Starck with Eugene Quitllet for Flos, that has a docking connection atop the LED fixture and a small vertical stand behind the devices keeps them propped up. In addition to the sheer functional beauty of recharging devices without cluttering the desk Net offers customers the possibility to use their phones or tables as digital picture frames. An iPad user might even get a wireless keyboard and thus have an instant work space with task lighting, keyboard and screen.
.

Fascinated with glass

Carlo Scarpa

I am fascinated with this picture! One of the most beautiful creations - elegant, charming and ... simple as form and color combination! The picture is from Designnws and is part of the exhibition in Museo Bagatti Valsecchi
Venini which celebrates his ninetieth years of history presenting a great selection of Lighting and Object Collections.
Obviously glass had a very distinctive presence at Milan Furniture fair this year. Some more inspiring glass creations:

_'Colour on Colour' mirrors by Johanna Grawunder for Glas Italia

'Candy' lights by Jaime Hayon for Baccarat

A lot of wood at Milan furniture fair 2011

The trend for using more and more wood in furniture and interior design continues this year at Milan Furniture Fare, too:

Reclaimed furniture at Spazio Rossana Orlandi by designer Piet Hein Eek: "I bought 600 to 1000 cubic metres of wood some time ago which needed to be used up. The simplest way to make a seat is by stacking wooden blocks to form a chair or sofa... "via

I suppose that Fan (left) is Tom Dioxon's answer to Urquiola's last year remake of the classical Windsor chair - Comeback (which is plastic). As he writes:

"Fan is a modern take on the classical Windsor chair. A British archetype converted to a contemporary silhouette, Fan makes an exclamation mark in any environment. The process involves spindles of wood carefully turned, thinned and steam bent to create the slatted silhouette. The wood is then stained in our new highlight colour, Indigo. Fan has a black leather seat pad." 

But I like very much its natural wood version above, image from designapplause.com.

The Bouroullec brothers ‘Osso’ (engl.: ‘Bone’), a new solid wooden chair for the small, family-owned company Mattiazz. They say:

 “We were particularly interested by the fact that all the equipment is powered by solar energy and that the wood is coming from the surrounding areas to be carefully selected without the use of any chemical treatments. They came back to the basics and this is precisely what piqued our interest and our fascination for the Mattiazzi family’s endeavor”

Raw Edges benches at Dilmos gallery

source

'Pl(a)ywood' coffee table by Silvia Knüppel, on show as part of Design Deutschland

Customization trend in Bathrooms: Create your Own Decor

Well, not exactly your own style, but your choice from several combinations :) There are actually three floral-abstract décors to choose from—Playground, Pretty Silhouette and Cherry Blossom—all available in the color schemes of blue, orange and violet. O.novo Style, the individualized décor for the wash stand launched by Villeroy&Boch can be matched with O.novo Style furniture that is perfectly color-coordinated to these vanities with the fresh new décor. Users can assemble their favorite combination with just a few clicks of the mouse with the online configurator.

Sustainable Design at Milan Design Week

barbara vos

Now in its eighth year, Tuttobene will present a crop of  Dutch designers who are out to prove that industrial design can have a more sustainable production process. Products range from a Sheep Chair and Tex-Tiles that combine bathroom tiles with LED lighting, to 3D printed design and laser-cut chandeliers. via

Floris Wubben

Noa Haim

ExpanTable round

Trends ISH 2011 - Bathroom Interior: Away from the Wall!

Villeroy & Boch 'MY NATURE'

Antonio Lupi Design

Antonio Lupi

Sieger Design for Alape

Sieger Design für Alape