Living Room

Late last year experts at IMM Cologne, an exhibition and event business, revealed that minimalist interior design would be hot in 2011. And now we have proof!

According to findings compiled in the book ‘Interior Trends 2011′, ‘Emotional Austerity’ is to be a big trend this year.

As a result of the credit crunch, IMM Cologne believes that people are questioning what it is they need to live well. This is leading to a greater desire for simplistic, formal or severe designs that combine the basic and old with the modern and the high-tech.

John Lewis

Homebase

The Home Improvement Centre has indeed noticed a growing number of simple yet stylish room designs and accessories cropping up in the interiors world.

Kate Jacobs, home interior stylist for the Guardian, for example, recently created a variety of looks for the kitchen, bedroom and lounge, all devoted to caramel and nude hues. By blending a host of natural colours together, Kate says homes can avoid looking dull but instead be subtle and lavish.

She said: “I love white, but too much of it can be boring, so I like to use it with other neutrals.”

The Daily Mail’s Design File also tipped chic white accessorise as a celebration of the minimalist trend.

Their reporter, Emma Love, said: “Could there be anything more clean and crisp than pure white? It’s fresh, spring-like and a big trend for interiors this season.”

Next

So to get you back to basics, here are some of our favourite items for 2011 inspired by Emotional Austerity.

New look Neutrals

Top to bottom:

Megan left hand corner unit by Homebase.

Washed Linen Bedlinen, Natural, (£25 standard pillowcase and £220 super kingsize duvet cover) by John Lewis.

Ombra Chair (£125 set of two) by Next.

Image by Next

According to new research open plan room designs could be going out of fashion.

Spaceslide.co.uk, the home storage solutions company, has stated that the trend for open plan living in UK homes may be drawing to a close.

A survey commissioned by the site revealed over half of UK adults are now opting for, or have a preference for additional rooms in the home. These can be used for a number of functions such as a child’s play room or a study area.

The findings are backed by the company’s increasing sales of room dividers which rose by 36 per cent last year.

Jon Gough of Spaceslide commented: “We set about researching what was driving this trend and whether there was a backlash to open plan living – which we believe there is.

“Compared to 10-years-ago, there is increased home-working, more teenagers having bigger and better entertainment systems comprising large screens, games consoles and computers that benefit from being left set up separate to the TV viewing family area, and more students living at home – all major new ways of life for families that lend themselves to private rooms rather than open plan living.”

The Spring- Summer 2011 Collection by Habitat takes its inspiration from the heat of the Meditteranean, fun at the seaside and lazy days in country gardens.

It’s enough to make you long for the spring and summer months. But while homeowners continue to shiver their way through the winter, atleast there’s the latest collection by Habitat to give us something to get excited about.

Tapas in the Med

Bring into your home the intoxicating warmth and vibrant colours of the Mediterranean. This is a trend that brings to mind quayside tables, flickering candles, good food, and the best of friends. A great way to brighten up fitted kitchens and upholstery.

A sofa is likely to be one of the largest and, depending upon its exact situation, one of the most often used pieces of furniture in any modern home. A sofa is the focal point of many living rooms, but depending on the size of your home and any overnight guests that you may wish to accommodate from time to time, you may also want to incorporate a sofa as an element of bedroom design, for example. Taste of course is personal and you can choose from a range of materials – fabric, leather, etc. – to match the other elements of your interior design. A sofa can make a bold colour statement and coordinate subtly with your other soft furnishings, curtains, blinds, etc..

A simple, squared off design is suitable for most spaces but if you have an especially large, or small, room there are one or two design tricks that you might like to bear in mind. A sofa that reaches right down to the floor, for example, visually fills a larger room better than a sofa with legs and thinner arms which may be better suited to a smaller room. Be careful too with your choice of material, particularly if you have pets or your sofa will be exposed to direct sunlight. Leather is aesthetically pleasing but can be scratched or punctured easily, and may require occasional treatment with specialist leather cleaner. Fabric, on the other hand, may be prone to staining, pilling, etc. and may hold onto odours, dust and pet hair. Some materials may also fade, or crack if exposed to direct sunlight for lengthy periods.

Like most pieces of furniture, you typically get what you pay for with a sofa. Expensive sofas tend to be constructed from kiln-dried hardwood, and have dowelled joints and steel coil springs, designed to last for many years to come. Cheaper models may use staples instead of dowels and suffer from inferior materials, and build quality throughout, and cannot therefore be expected to last as long.