Home decoration in 2010

Celebrity designers, media, trade shows, bloggers, manufacturers, marketers, merchandisers and retailers all produce a swirl of information that sets and drives home trends for the coming year.

It's Angela Ringo's job to translate it all. As the interiors editor for the trend forecasting outfit Stylesight, Ringo has identified five trends that she says will define home decorating in 2010. They are:

1. The warming of minimalism. "It's still austere, but it's been warmed up with natural materials," Ringo says. Trendsetters: Calvin Klein Home and the Japanese gift and home accessories maker Muji. 2. Sensible design. Often appealing to younger, first-home-types, this is a simple, stripped-down, sometimes industrial look. "It's very space-conscious," Ringo says.

Trendsetters: Belgium's Maarten De Ceulaer Design Studio and British furnituremaker Guy and Brown.

3. Vintage and antique inspiration continues. "It could be real vintage or made to look like it," Ringo says. "It's this eclectic trend, with a lot of transforming old things into new things."

Trendsetters: Casegoods designer Ellen Seegers and furniture designer Piet Hein Eek. Both are Dutch.

4. Surreal, Rococo, NeoBaroque revival continues. This is about layering ornate details in a contemporary way. Think fancy wallpaper behind lacquered, high-shine furniture, and artful spaces with an air of mystery. "It's about mixing contemporary with Old World," Ringo says.

Trendsetters: Spanish artist/designer Jaime Hayon, who likes to blur the lines between art, design and decoration; the Elle Deco Suite by Maison Martin Margiela at the CitÚ de l'Architecture in Paris; and last year's "Continuing Curve" exhibit at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.

5. Natural elements and recycled materials. Gone are the days when green was a sociopolitical catchphrase. Now it's a lifestyle and a business model.

"It's the zeitgeist," Ringo says. "There's really a sense of community around anti-throwawayism."

The impact on the home is huge, with natural materials becoming the new "bling." Green design will continue its takeover in 2010 as the home-design world moves toward a culture in which managing ecological impact is the norm.


Colour codes

The paint industry has its own take on these trends. Behr characterises its popular New Year's colour groupings as Soft Structure (pale grays and tone-on-tone), Artisan Voyage (inspired by global flea markets), Dark Glamour (black accents, peacock blue), and Farm House Craft (organic is the operative word). And Sherwin-Williams groups the home colour trends as Rooted (earthy browns, spicy reds, blackened purple), Treasured (time-tested tones like smoky blue or yellow pumice), Simplified (muted grays and buttery yellows), and Refreshed (inspired by sunny days and blooming gardens).

The Pantone Color Institute's pick for the colour of the year in 2010 is turquoise. Reminiscent of tropical oceans and Native American jewellery, turquoise "represents an escape to many," says executive director Leatrice Eiseman.


The way we want to live

Trend-watchers really only need to look as far as their favourite trendsetters to find a take on home design in the new year. Thom Filicia from "Dress My Nest" on the Style Network predicts updated wood panels and energy-efficient, reliable, good-looking appliances and furnishings will rule 2010. And designer and author Elaine Griffin picks honey-brown walnut and midtone finishes for wood furniture, throwback geometric prints on upholstered furnishings, and the ongoing influence of runway fashion on looks for the home. From comfortable clothes come comfortable, well-fitted furnishings.

Better Homes and Gardens has been watching and narrating such annual trends for more than 80 years. For 2010, the magazine sees the biggest push at home to be the creation of integrated family rooms, or built-out kitchens. These spacious rooms can accommodate meals, work, crafts, homework and entertainment all at the same time.

"People are demanding this because they realise this is how they want to live," says Oma Ford, Better Homes and Gardens' senior deputy editor of home design. "They want spaces that serve more than one purpose."

In the past, she says, nesting was about acquiring things. Now it's about simplifying our lives and decluttering our homes. Ford says the mind-set for 2010 is this: "I don't want to be stressed out by all this stuff. I want to feel lighter and cleaner. I want some of this weight off my psyche, and off my floors."