We’ve been out and about trend spotting at the Paris shows and closer to home. Move over Scandi minimalism and welcome brighter colours, graphic pattern and individual character.
‘Excuse my French’ was the theme at Maison et Object, Europe’s biggest trade fair in Paris. The message of this new wave of radical designs was to be bold and bizarre and not bourgeois. To revitalise old crafts, play with opposites and bring a breath of uniqueness to an increasingly standardised world. A rediscovery of French savoir-faire.
The Trend Mook at Maison et Objet, Paris 2019 – Excuse My French!
According to Vincent Grégoire from the Paris-based forecasting agency NellyRodi, they also possess a certain je ne sais quoi — that indescribable Gallic quality that exudes an easy allure, an effortless chic and a distinctive sense of style.
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Headboard by Tara Craig of Ensemblier. Photograph by Natalie Dinham
Over here, we’d politely translate this as classic with a twist where a new generation of creatives are refashioning the English country-house look to bring personality back into the home. Vintage fabric headboards, elaborate ottomans, drinks trays and scatter cushions. But it’s all about balancing pattern and curated chintz and of course the beauty of English florals.
Alternative Flooring’s Quirky B Liberty Fabrics Flowers of Thorpe Summer Garden Carpet
Both these French and British design directions share a love of tactility, a need for emotion and a call for individuality over globalisation.
It seems that The Memphis movement overtakes midcentury modern as the furnishing du jour. Celebrated textile designer and weaver Margo Selby combined her patterns with velvet. Memphis her new collection for Osborne & Little is a vibrant range of woven fabrics including cut velvet in graphic geometric formations and stripe designs. The patterns are inspired by the recording artists from Memphis and Motown, the homes of blues and soul in the 1950’s and 1960’s. The colour palette features Margo’s distinctive use of vibrant fuchsia, cherry, teal, jade and citrus as well as quieter tones of sage, silver and grey.
Memphis, Margo Selby for Osborne & Little – seen at Paris Déco Off 2019
Natural stone takes colour too with an array of coloured marbles. The design world looks beyond classic white Carrara to rose, rust and green shades. Alternative Flooring take coloured marble to the floor in the new Boutique carpet collection created in collaboration with Zoffany.
Boutique Serpentine Malachite, Zoffany for Alternative Flooring
In chaotic times, humanity finds solace in its own inner circle. Another trend we saw was that of rounded edges and in particular the lozenge. This shape is a playful pill-like form and it was upholstered in Art Deco-inspired velvet. Watch out for softly sculpted tub chairs and curved sofas too.
Boutique Serpentine Celadon, Zoffany for Alternative Flooring
A buzzword was Biophilia, the relationship between humankind and nature. Natural materials and plant-life, bringing the outside is not so much a trend but way of living.
People want to create a home that is happy, consoling and comforting and that means textures from the softness of carpets underfoot to the snugness of the sofa.
Well-being takes a step further with Veganary. The new vogue for vegan interior design is here. Interiors are not just sustainable and eco-friendly but now filled with entirely animal-free products. Time to take a fresh look at our plant-fibre floors then. Grown in coastal meadows is Seagrass Herringbone full of natural character and as uplifting as golden sunshine.
Alternative Flooring’s Seagrass Herringbone carpet
We all know catwalks find their way and into our homes. Have you hankered after a camel-coloured coat this winter, well you are going on the right direction as beige is coming back? Think caramel and coffee or chestnut brown with mustard accents for a seventies touch. Brown on brown is the fashion combination of the season…
Alternative Flooring’s Wool Herringbone Zig Zag Button bespoke rug with a Cotton Herringbone border, Make Me A Rug
Scroll down for more fabulous flooring and interior inspiration in our blog
