With black lacquer, bamboo, and astrology prints dominating the '90s, Canadian designers - and consumers - were eager to clean the slate for the millennium, turning to classical neutrals for their homes.
So, when boutique hotel chic kicked in, during the aughts, it quickly became a movement, transforming the way people decorated their homes, offices and businesses. But, as the song goes, the times, they are achangin'.
Boutique hotel chic came home and stayed.
"People really loved [the boutique hotel look] and manufacturers realized that it was easy to replicate in a cheap way, so the Zen and boutique hotel trend just kept rolling along," says Toronto-based designer William MacDonald, noting that the Martha Stewart blue-and-white striped East Hampton style, loft-inspired spaces and souped-up kitchens also had an impact on the decade.
Clean, modern, masculine designs became the order of the day, with microfibre everything, says Ernst Hupel, co-owner of 2H Interior Design and one of Ottawa's top designers. "Then it slowly morphed when we realized we wanted a little bit more personality," says Mr. Hupel, who has appeared on HGTV's Design U. "It went into that whole bling stage, where people were still doing clean and modern, but people thought ‘let's throw a chandelier in here.' "
Advice explosion: suddenly everyone's an expert
All of these trends were forming in unison with the proliferation of design media through the Internet, magazines, newspapers and television. This resulted in a more design-savvy public with a fierce appetite for renovation and decor.
"There was the television which exploded with design channels - there must be 10 design channels now," says Mr. MacDonald, who has appeared as a feature designer on HGTV design shows and is a regular contributor to Canadian House & Home magazine.
"Magazines and blogs and websites and everything, there's even stores, like Home Depot or Lowes, [that] have their own magazines on design."
Swedish Influence, espresso stains
So why this shift?
Mr. MacDonald thinks we should thank the Swedes for getting the general public aboard the design train - which in turn prompted the change in how big-box hardware stores, and even grocery stores, operate. In addition to selling paint, tools and food, now they added aisles for espresso-stained furniture, and vinyl and faux suede club chairs and ottomans.
"I think all the manufacturers in North America realized what Ikea was doing," says
Mr. MacDonald, "and Ikea sort of had this Scandinavian concept, accessible good design at a reasonable price. And North Americans, particularly Americans who ran Walmart and Lowes and Home Depot, said ‘Oh, these people just don't want shovels and hammers and nuts and bolts anymore, they want all of these things. So we should do [furniture], too.' "
Mid-century modern revival and the '70s
Mr. MacDonald also points to the revival of interest in mid-century modern furniture over the past decade. Among the most popular pieces were such classics as the Barcelona and Eames chairs, the Tulip table and chair collection, with their clean lines that complimented the neutral tones and minimalism and bigger spaces.
However, Mr. MacDonald also points to the renewed interest in '70s style, with funky colour combinations, such as rust, brown, orange and yellow, paired with chrome and shag accents. Think of Universal's movie Frost/Nixon, says Mr. MacDonald - but not all together, like it was in the '70s. Instead, the key was to be selective, putting a little bit of punctuation or pop into your interior.
Bling and a return to '80s decadence
Mr. MacDonald envisions the next decade bringing a return to the decadence of the '80s, with smaller spaces glitzed up with gold, velvet and jewel-toned colours.
He also predicts a more hybrid approach - for instance, the country kitchen decked out with a modern stainless steel countertop, a zinc countertop, say, on a red-painted country island, or halogen pendant lamps over a harvest table, while utilizing the latest in natural flooring, such as coconut, bamboo and even leather.
And of course, technology will play a huge role.
"That's what I am most excited about," says Mr. MacDonald. "At the Interior Design show last winter in Toronto, they had an interactive backsplash. It was a glass backsplash with a television and a touch computer in it - which I want but you can't get yet."
All about me, plus other predictions
Mr. Hupel's Swarovski crystal ball says it's time to inject more personality into our spaces and embrace individuality.
This may include raw wood and iron furniture, more art, and industrial lighting. And if you have a special collection, throw that in too. "We were stripped a bit from our individual personalities in the last decade," says Mr. Hupel. "We copied everyone last year. This decade, if I have a great cookie jar collection ... it's going to give someone a smile when they see it. It's not something I'm going to see on page three of the catalogue." Mr. Hupel also thinks people will go for romantic flair in their homes, blending raw woods, like white oak and American walnut, and natural fabrics such as linen, silk, union cloth and cottons, all tied to the sustainable movement.
"I don't think you are going to see a lot of microfibre," says Mr. Hupel. "There will still be a very large percentage of people's environments that will be neutral, but it will be neutral in a more real, textured, environmental way.
"So wood is going to be wood. It's not going to be stained anymore. You are not going to make wood into something that it is not. You are not going to try to force things to be what they are not.
"If you live in a small turn-of-the-century home, you are not going to force it into being a boutique hotel."
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