Modern Minimalist Bed with Stylish Wooden Finish Bicolore by Azucena

This high quality bedroom furniture is one of so many modern furniture lines and furniture products such.

As the chairs, beds, desks, tables, sofas that was created by Italian company, Azucena

As “Bicolore” this modern minimalist bed furniture comes with stylish wooden finish and available to enrich.

Your minimalist bedroom design. This trendy modern bedding furniture decoration...

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2010 decor trends

With 2010 marking the kick-off of both a new year and a new decade, it seems only fitting that one of the emerging trends in interior decor and design would be of global proportions. From furniture to accessories, international influences in decor are expected to surface in the coming year.

Yanic Simard, principal designer at the Toronto Interior Design Group, says the trend is one that blends elements from Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe to combine for a culturally chic look.

Simard recommends starting with a neutral colour like grey on the walls, which creates a perfect base for bringing in vibrant colours and bold patterns from around the world. And there's no need to stick to just one particular international influence, he says: "You can have [an] African furniture piece mixed with Chinese silk brocade pillows and an Egyptian mother of pearl storage box. That's the beauty of it."

Suzanne Dimma, editor of Canadian House and Home magazine, says the ability to seek out international items has been prevalent for a while thanks to the Internet, helping make it easier to purchase and source such pieces.

"You don't necessarily have to go to the store in your neighbourhood. You can get what you want from around the world," she says. "I think that's a huge thing for retailers and for stores, as well. The world is your oyster now."

Dimma says exotic carpets, such as the faded kilim carpet featured among the top 2010 looks in the magazine's January issue, are very on-trend.

"Last year, we were seeing a lot of really graphic carpets with bold high-contrast colours. Now they're kind of more home-spun and handmade."

Long before the recession hit hard, Dimma says, people started to transition towards investing in pieces with longevity. "You're seeing people looking for those pieces that are going to last them a long time, not something that they're going to have to replace a year from now, because furniture is expensive and people want their investments in their houses to last."

When it comes to investment pieces, Simard suggests spending money on a beautiful suspended fixture or table lamp.

"Now the trend is to use not one light but a grouping of many fixtures together or many bulbs together which makes it very sculptural."

Simard says gold is making a comeback in finishes, with many new faucets emerging in the metallic colour, as well as cabinetry hardware, plumbing fixtures and knobs.

"We've seen a lot in fashion, a lot of gold accessories and jewellery, so of course it trickles down to design," he says.

Opting for more of a white, matte gold gives a very new and vibrant look, he adds.

Both Dimma and Simard say there has also been a re-emergence of wallpaper. Simard says wallpaper with geometrical patterns is popping up, as well as designs inspired by Islamic architecture and infused in vibrant hues like orange, purple and teal.

The patterned paper is even being used to decorate ceilings.

"It's like another way to have fun with wallpaper," Dimma says. "It's also less of an investment. If you wallpaper your entire room, it can add up." For those seeking to add a punch with colourful patterns or bold hues, they may consider heeding the call of the wild. Simard says animal prints are back for 2010, but he suggests doing it in small doses, like a zebra-print ottoman or throw pillows worked into a monochromatic scheme.

Dimma says she definitely sees velvet emerging as the fabric of the moment, from a covered sectional in one featured look to another with crushed velvet cushions. Simard says another trend - and something they're trying to do in design - is integrating a few rooms, like the kitchen, family room and office, for example.

To keep it aesthetically appealing, they are using some modular furniture. Consisting of stand-alone, free-standing cabinetry pieces, modular furniture can be assembled in various ways and incorporated into a new design or matched up with decor already in place. That could entail a kitchen island or countertop that looks like a piece of furniture, he notes.

Simard says incorporating modulars can work well in both modern and traditional spaces. "You can use a modular cabinet and sink but use a more traditional tap," he said. "You've got to mix the old with the new, which brings the transitional approach and gives you so many more options."

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How to make a moodboard

I love it when interior designers play around with moodboards - it all looks so arty and imaginative and creative. But do they actually serve a useful purpose? Yes, says interiors stylist Jeska Hearne, who showed me that moodboards can be as useful as they are aesthetic. After all, lots of designers use moodboarding in some form or other to keep an archive of their favourite pieces and to create a certain style.

Hearne has a stock of scrapbooks that she has made into "moodbooks", collecting images, colour swabs, and fabric samples of ribbons and lace. These help her focus and come up with good ideas when she's feeling in need of inspiration.

"If you're planning to redecorate, you might have seen lots of pictures that you like in magazines, but you can't really get an idea of how that style or scheme might work in your own house without trying it out on some scale," she says.

"A moodboard helps you focus and helps you keep your ideas together, so that you don't start going over the top - it's a reminder of what you need and don't need and what colours you want to work with. It's easy to get distracted and start buying all sorts when you're redecorating, only to find it doesn't work when it's all put together. A moodboard helps you sort this process out."

I've recently been tempted to try out a grey and yellow colour scheme. I have been tearing out images in these shades that grab me from favourite reads such as Living Etc and Elle Decoration, and collecting velvet and wallpaper samples.

When I met Hearne, I dumped the whole lot on a table to sort through for our moodboard. She too came armed: she carried a huge bag stuffed with magazines, sticky tape and a metal rule.

"I don't even bother with scissors - the whole point of the board is to not take too much time making it look perfect; it's just to let the ideas come together," she explains.

Some interior design schools say you need a certain type of board, or a certain type of glue gun. But unless you're planning on being a professional interior designer, you really don't. We stuck everything on to a whiteboard using masking tape - it's messy and sprawling but easier to tear things down if you don't like the look of it against a particular colour or background. You could just as happily use a pinboard, or Blu-Tack pictures on to a piece of thick cardboard as you go.

I started by picking out my favourite wallpaper samples - Dandelion, Muscat and Saplings by Miss Print - all various shades of yellow and ochre, some tempered with a greyish silver.

Hearne says: "It's always best to start off with one piece that you want to build the rest of the room around - it can be wallpaper to set the scene, or it can be something like a favourite armchair or a rug whose colours you love. It sounds silly but if it's a possession that you already have - like the rug or furniture - then take a photo of it, print the picture, and actually stick it to the wall so you can see it in context with other colours."

Against the wallpaper, I started taping up pictures from magazines to get an idea of what a room in those shades would look like - a cool grey room with yellow accents from Elle Decoration and a grey bedroom from a Living Etc shot. Hearne suggested a piece of green velvet, in a shade of lime that I'd never have considered, and when we stuck it up speculatively, it surprisingly matched.

"That's the point," she smiles. "You get to experiment with styles and colours and textures before you commit to them."

Did it help me focus? Yes - although I thought I wanted feature wallpaper, the moodboard made me change my mind and stick to a soft grey background instead. It gave me new ideas, too, such as injecting a hit of midnight blue here or lime green there, along with the yellow.

If nothing else, it's always fun playing at Blue Peter-style sticking and pasting. Whether I actually implement the ideas on the moodboard is another matter …

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Mooroolbark shop fire devastates owner

A MOOROOLBARK wedding decoration shop was completely destroyed after a fire broke out in a storage area early this morning.

The owner of Events with Style, Sheryle Griffiths said the business would trade on despite losing everything in the blaze which started around 2.30am.

A devastated Ms Griffiths said other decoration businesses would help her fulfil wedding bookings and she would have to talk to her insurance company before deciding what to do with the shop.

Region 13 Yarra Area CFA operations officer Jason Lawrence said seven fire trucks took 45 minutes to get the blaze under control.

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Bedroom Decor, Colors, Accents and Design Ideas

After all, most homeowners are more concerned about getting the decor in the rest of the house just right, and neglect their own bedroom. It’s easier to fall asleep if the master bedroom is calm, clean and put together. It also helps in the romance department if the room is a little getaway from everyday life.

Choose calm colors for the room. Blues, greens and tans are colors that soothe the eyes and mind and are very easy to compliment with colors on bedspreads and accessories. If the walls are blue, a brown or pristine white bedspread looks nice. Tan walls give a clean slate as almost any color coordinates with tan.

Do not put too many things on the walls or shelves. Keep the decorations simple with only a few pictures on the walls or a few floating shelves with only one vase on each of them. Display knick-knacks in a spare room or somewhere else but retain a few sentimental items in your bedroom decor.

Don’t underestimate the candle factor. Candles are romantic because they elicit the feeling of warmth and sensuality. Romance comes in two forms with candles; appearance and scent. A few scented candles or a candle in a small, crystal bowl surrounded by rose petals is a great way to see the romance.

A comfortable bed is key, but a comfortable looking bed is also important to the bedroom decor. Down comforters, or even a down alternative, are extremely fluffy and just beg to be laid on. They are more of a winter blanket but in the hotter months they look just as nice folded at the end of the bed with crisp bright sheets underneath.

Curtains are also important to the feel of a room. Sheer curtains are great for bedroom decor, but if you are like me, you hate a bright room first thing in the morning! So room-darkening vertical blinds are paired with sheer curtains. The color should correspond with the bedspread or compliment the color of the walls.

Last but certainly not least is the topic of a television in the bedroom. There are studies stating that a television in the bedroom cuts a couple’s intimacy in half. I happen to be of the belief that if I am in my bedroom I am doing one of two things, neither of which involve the television. But, if you insist on having a TV in your room, put the television in an armoire. The television is still in the bedroom but it’s not a focal point.

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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."

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