Gallery: Top 12 decor trends for 2012

 

Avocado bathroom suites, sandy-coloured fridges, plastic-smelling lino floors, shaggy shag-pile rugs - We all know some home-decor fads can cruelly creep into home-decor faux pas sooner rather than later. That's why our 12 pointers for 2012 are designed for the tasteful long haul.

 
 
 
 
GO THE EXTRA SMILE<br> Just as theatre-goers are flocking to see farces in these economically down-turned times, so homeowners might want to add frivolity in their space. Raise the gloom with hooks that look just like cranes (just slip them over doors) ($24.95 at Paboom, 2209 West Fourth Avenue) or these pink money-bank pigs ($269 at <a href="http://designhouse.ca/" target="new">designhouse.ca</a>).
 

GO THE EXTRA SMILE
Just as theatre-goers are flocking to see farces in these economically down-turned times, so homeowners might want to add frivolity in their space. Raise the gloom with hooks that look just like cranes (just slip them over doors) ($24.95 at Paboom, 2209 West Fourth Avenue) or these pink money-bank pigs ($269 at designhouse.ca).

Photograph by: Handout photo, Designhouse

 
GO THE EXTRA SMILE<br> Just as theatre-goers are flocking to see farces in these economically down-turned times, so homeowners might want to add frivolity in their space. Raise the gloom with hooks that look just like cranes (just slip them over doors) ($24.95 at Paboom, 2209 West Fourth Avenue) or these pink money-bank pigs ($269 at <a href="http://designhouse.ca/" target="new">designhouse.ca</a>).
WALL ORDER<br> Be imaginative, be bold is the new mantra when it comes to your statement walls. For a giant oversized swath of witty and notable wallpaper, see the patterns from Sweden's luxe makers, Sandberg: Mr and Mrs Collins, Golf or Florentina (from $110 per roll at Orling & Wu Home, 28 Water Street; <a href="http://www.orlingandwu.com/default.aspx?" target="new">orlingandwu.com</a>).
REINVENTING CHANDELIERS<br> These blingy flourishes continue to add drama to the lighting world in 2012. Watch out for new pot-light chandeliers and extravagant beasts such as New York architect Daniel Libeskind's 350-lb., nine-foot-tall by 2.5-foot-wide eL Masterpiece Chandelier. For chandelier inspiration closer to home, dip into downtown hotels such as the newly launched Xi Shi lounge at the Shangri-La (total chandelier count: 13 - they are even in the loos) or the Rosewood Hotel Georgia. Also check out Heather Ross's antique gilded-metal Italian three-arm chandelier with leaf garland ($895 at Heather Ross [in house], 1525 West Sixth Avenue; <a href="http://www.heatherrossinhouse.com/" target="new">heatherrossinhouse.com</a>).
RETRO ACTIVE<br> When the Canadian-owned Fairmont Savoy Hotel reopened in London last year after a $350-million refurbishment, it led the way with a strong art-deco flavour. Because, presumably, there's nothing like a retro piece of furniture to remind us of the really great times. See pieces such as Urban Barn's reflection mirror ($199, as before) or Ikea's classic Karlstad furniture pieces (from $279; Ikea, 3200 Sweden Way, Richmond; <a href="http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/" target="new">ikea.ca</a>) or the upcoming launch of its new Emmie quilt covers, curtains and rugs inspired by the 19th-century six-million pattern samples held in the Musee de l'Impression sur Etoffes in France.
INSIDE OUT, OUTSIDE IN<br> Who wants all that manicured malarkey? Working out what works well in a West Coast outdoor space is all about low maintenance - and that goes for the furniture that makes itself at home inside as much as outside. Industrial Revolution has landed some handsome indoor/outdoor gear - stainless-steel chairs with a weave seat and back and steel-and-glass tables. (Start price for chair, $475, side table, $360, and dining table, $925, at Industrial Revolution, 2306 Granville Street; industrialrevolution.net). Inform Interiors also has the iconic Corbusier collection from Cassina, now available as an outdoor option (from $2,198, 50 Water Street; <a href="http://informinteriors.com/" target="new">informinteriors.com</a>).
PUT THE PETAL ON<br> Florals pack a greater punch this year. For spring vroom, see the Chardon cushion ($259, at Mint Interior, 1805 Fir Street; <a href="http://shop.mintinteriors.ca/" target="new">mintinteriors.ca</a>) as well as Indaba Trading's orchid canvas (approx. $10 at Kali Trading, 1000 Commercial Drive), or its hydrangea collection ($12, at Chintz & Co, 950 Homer Street; <a href="http://chintz.com/" target="new">chintz.com</a>).
SHOW YOUR METAL<br> Stainless steel and chrome may be safe choices, but bronze and copper are rising to the fore - as seen in both Michael Aram's expansive bronze tortoise sculpture ($2,750, at Bernstein & Gold Interiors, 1168 Hamilton; <a href="http://www.bernsteinandgoldinteriors.com/" target="new">bernsteinandgoldinteriors.com</a>) or the 19 copper series by Omer Arbel.
TWO-TIMERS<br> With smart designers continually ensuring that beauty and functionality are not on different trajectories, the boundaries are pushed year-on-year with double-duty d&#233;cor. A perfect example for 2012? Be enlightened with handmade soy candle holders that turn into food-safe bowls once you're at your wick's end. Designed by Angela Sands, founder of Iowa's Luminology, it costs $55, at Walrus, 3408 Cambie Street (<a href="http://walrushome.com/" target="new">walrushome.com</a>).
LIGHT-YEARS AHEAD<br> There's a stronger vein of lighter industrial woods hitting the stores. Check out the Dockyard sideboard, $999, from Urban Barn, 2345 Granville Street. (u<a href="http://www.urbanbarn.com/" target="new">urbanbarn.com</a>).
SWITCH ON LED<br> Move over incandescent. Households increasingly look set to switch to light-emitting diode (LED) lighting this year - just like VanDusen Botanical Garden, which saw its 1.4-million-strong light display go mainly LED this past month. Although traditionally more expensive, this more energy-efficient light source is increasingly being used by designers for their creations. Turn on to their seductive power via the rotating LED Pixo Lamp by Pablo - complete with USB charging port in its base ($209, at <a href="http://designhouse.ca/" target="new">designhouse.ca</a>).
MOVERS AND SHAPERS<br> Nothing will be normal about the shape of your new bowl, or light, or chair, et al in 2012 - At the vanguard of this reimagining of shapes and materials is Vancouver's Omer Arbel with his 19 copper series ($4,100 at Inform Interiors, 50 Water St., Vancouver; <a href="http://informinteriors.com/" target="new">informinteriors.com</a>). Also see entreNous' funky Tonellidesigned glass table sculpture ($2,692 at entreNous, 1088 Homer Street, entrenousinteriors.com) and Calligaris's wiggly centrepiece bowl in cloud grey ($113, 102-1014 Homer St. in Yaletown; <a href="http://calligarisstore.ca/" target="new">calligarisstore.ca</a>).
ROOM WITH A HUE <br> Think of it as the quickest shortcut to the Eighties: The colour gurus at Pantone will be encouraging us to embrace the far-from-shy "Tangerine Tango 17-1463" - everywhere from the bedroom to the sitting room. Just as fashion designers such as Tommy Hilfiger and Elie Tahari are testdriving the tangerine dream in their collections, the home is flexing its colour muscle. Such spirited pieces include food-safe lacquered bamboo bowls (from $42 at Nest Interiors, 522 Beatty Street, <a href="http://www.nesthome.ca/" target="new">nesthome.ca</a>); Philippe Starck's 'Masters Chair' for Kartell - with an overlapping nod to designs by Eames , Saarinen, and Jacobsen ($269, at designhouse, 851 Homer Street, <a href="http://designhouse.ca/" target="new">designhouse.ca</a>); and Farrow & Ball's Blazer or Charlotte's Locks paints (approx. $80 per gallon, At Home, 1530 Marine Drive, West Vancouver; or Perry & Co., 6131 West Boulevard, Vancouver). More red in colour, but no less a statement is the Andrew Morgan bed throw ($190, found at Victoria's Inn at Laurel Point as designed by Vancouver interior guru Robert Ledingham; <a href="http://laurelpoint.myshopify.com/" target="new">laurelpoint.myshopify.com</a>).
ROOM WITH A HUE <br> Think of it as the quickest shortcut to the Eighties: The colour gurus at Pantone will be encouraging us to embrace the far-from-shy "Tangerine Tango 17-1463" - everywhere from the bedroom to the sitting room. Just as fashion designers such as Tommy Hilfiger and Elie Tahari are testdriving the tangerine dream in their collections, the home is flexing its colour muscle. Such spirited pieces include food-safe lacquered bamboo bowls (from $42 at Nest Interiors, 522 Beatty Street, <a href="http://www.nesthome.ca/" target="new">nesthome.ca</a>); Philippe Starck's 'Masters Chair' for Kartell - with an overlapping nod to designs by Eames , Saarinen, and Jacobsen ($269, at designhouse, 851 Homer Street, <a href="http://designhouse.ca/" target="new">designhouse.ca</a>); and Farrow & Ball's Blazer or Charlotte's Locks paints (approx. $80 per gallon, At Home, 1530 Marine Drive, West Vancouver; or Perry & Co., 6131 West Boulevard, Vancouver). More red in colour, but no less a statement is the Andrew Morgan bed throw ($190, found at Victoria's Inn at Laurel Point as designed by Vancouver interior guru Robert Ledingham; <a href="http://laurelpoint.myshopify.com/" target="new">laurelpoint.myshopify.com</a>).
 
 
 
 
 

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