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It had to happen eventually – after years of cool, neutral colours and minimalist décor dominating interior home design, the tide is finally turning in favour of a far richer and warmer palette.
The unremitting sea of white, beige and grey, enlivened only by the occasional pop of pale, retro-pastel colour, is on its way out, to be replaced by deep jewel or autumnal colours and opulent fabrics and furnishings at the opposite end of the style spectrum.
Owner of Warkworth’s Guthrie Bowron store Allie Jones says this new looks is spreading throughout all areas of home decor, from paints and wallpapers through to curtains, cushions and homeware.
“The cool minimalist Scandi style is very much over and maximalism is in vogue again. More is very much more,” she says. “In paint, pink and blush are giving way to earthier shades of ochre and cinnamon. As we move from autumn into winter, we’ll see bolder accents of teal, ultramarine, mauves and every shade of orange, from warm russet to cool peach.”
In wallpaper and fabric, bold prints with an emphasis on nature are coming in, with tropical palms and vivid exotic flowers in patterns aligned with rich, deep-dyed plain accent items.
“It’s time to think of wallpaper as the artwork in the room and we’re seeing the emergence of rich textures and lush colours that emphasise this,” Allie says. “And in fabric, velvet is still on trend. Its timeless opulence works well in drapery and scatter cushions. Colours are autumnal shades of moss, copper, bronze and gold.”
US colour specialist Pantone’s Colour of the Year – Living Coral, a vivid orange-pink – will also increasingly feature in the decorator’s palette, she adds.
In home furnishings it’s a similar story, with people tiring of the fashion for trendy ‘fast furniture’ bought online or from a chain, preferring instead to seek out character pieces that will last for longer than a matter of months.
Jan Schimanski has run her Dreams gift and home décor store in Maungaturoto for nine years and says her customers are increasingly looking for original items that they won’t find anywhere else.
“I’ve recently started changing what we’re selling, bringing in different types of products,” she says.
“Now, it has to be more authentic, people want something in their home that has a real point of difference.”
Jan imports furnishings and homewares from a number of different countries, including France, India and Nepal, many of which have been adapted or upcycled, such as a console table made from an antique iron balustrade, old shutters turned into a mirror or Indian mudbricks that can be used as condiment holders.
“I’m always looking for different markets, to bring in more imported goods, but with a slight twist,” she says. “Something people can’t find around here. That’s what people are looking for.”
