Trends: A review on some current design trends and how to use them.
4 years ago I designed a master bedroom with a plaster finish wall. Limewash had not yet been popularized but I found this finish to be so warm and inviting, soft, feminine and a great backdrop for any design. Ever since then, the plaster or limewash wall has been everywhere. And it continues to pop up.
According to drywall101, “Plaster has been around for thousands of years. The ancient Egyptians burnt gypsum in open air fires to produce plaster. The Greeks and Romans used plaster for architecture and decorative sculpture. Plaster sculptures were found when excavating the ancient city of Pompeii. Plaster is found throughout middle eastern architecture. The Babylonians lived in houses with plaster walls. The Abuhav Synagogue Tzfat in Israel features extensive plaster work. Plaster is even found in Japanese architecture.”
Plaster was obviously not used as a wall treatment at that point, it was used as actual walls and kept that way. But now with limewash, french wash, reeded and the endless list of applications, it has come back as a decorative finish. And so far its not going anywhere.
Zellige, which means “little polished stone”, has been around since the 10th century. It is found in Moroccan and Spanish architecture. I toured a clay studio in Morocco, in about 107 f degree weather, and watching the process, all handmade, from start to finish, was fascinating. Again, it was found in interiors here and there. It has always been widely used in Spanish and Moroccan interiors.
But a few years back the handmade, raw clay tile became very popular literally everywhere. I remember my salesperson Beth at Lazer Marble pulling me over to the side one day telling me that she has a private stash of them available for purchase. Magic words to me- private, no one else has. The ability they have to elevate a bathroom or wall feature is spectacular. The use of texture is accomplished in such a simple way. You can't scroll through a few instagram posts without seeing a couple of zellige photos posted. There are multiple companies and showrooms dedicated to zellige tiles only.
Marble is and always was, and will always be. But the usage of exotic marbles has been another recent design trend. Gone are the days of a simple white quartz or carrera countertop. The crazier the colors and marble, the better. The fact that these marbles are God-made blow my mind. Literally.
I found myself walking through the aisles of ABC Stone, Long Island one afternoon. I had just finalized my civil divorce on their front lawn, a story for another time, although they hilariously did offer to make a plaque for me as a first and hang it. So it was my client and I, plus my brand new assistant, who had just been witness to a bulk of my divorce proceedings, walking the aisles with my glass of champagne (ie lemon water) and the ogling over the most magical and ethereal stones. Every single one capturing me in a way that made me want to grab them and use everywhere. We set our eyes on a beautiful calcutta vagli and just like that it was ours. (Well, there were a few days of checking measurements and quantity etc).
Obviously there are way more design trends that have been around since I began my company- arches, grasscloths, exposed beams, cement tiles to name a few more. Some of these trends start to look dated after a few years. “Oh, you must have done your space in 2020”, is a line no one wants to hear. Definitely not the clients I have. They don’t want what “everyone is doing now”. They want beautiful and unique but not what you see everywhere.
The conclusion I have come to with trends is to use them, but use them creatively. A classic space, with the usage of trends or not, remains a classic space. But it is a designers responsibility to use trends smartly without doing what I call a trend vomit, where the space literally becomes a showcase of that specific year. We are nearing the end of 2021 and I am looking forward to seeing how and when the trend shift will happen. What will it be? Who will be the trendstarter? We shall all wait and see.
