TORONTO — If you’re stuck in a style rut and primed for a home makeover, it can be daunting to choose from the seemingly endless range of colours, furniture options and finishes available to create a cohesive look.
Renowned American designers Jonathan Adler and Thom Filicia, along with House & Home Media president Lynda Reeves, will be dispensing decor wisdom at the Interior Design Show in Toronto this weekend.
For those of us who can’t fly over there to take in the show, the design gurus shared their personal picks for fresh ways to revive your interiors in 2015:
Jonathan Adler
The designer, author and potter describes gold as “jewelry for your home,” working well as either a neutral or a shimmering-style standout.
Adler has been basking in the golden glow by creating a vast array of decorative pieces designed to deliver warmth and shine, from glazed bowls and ornaments to accented porcelain Futura vases and gold-splattered wallpaper.
“Gold is like a one-way ticket to glamorous sparkle,” Adler said. “It can be on your walls, on your furniture, it can be your furniture.”
For those seeking a little less flash but still wanting to crank up the colour, Adler suggested embracing “springy touches” even during the height of wintry weather.
“I think a soft purple with gold always looks fab,” he said.
While new decorative pillows are a quick, easy way to add texture and colour, Adler has another recommendation for a functional and fun addition: tiny tables.
“There should always be a tiny table next to every chair, sofa, anywhere. There should be a little something to plunk a cocktail on, and tiny tables are a great place to add a sculptural feel and a bit of flash.”
Thom Filicia
More than ever, people are taking risks by combining different materials, said the designer and author.
“We’re doing a lot of this in our product room. We’re mixing a variety of different metals and finishes and really making it feel more collected and energetic and more interesting and more layered,” said Filicia, who is using unlacquered brass and nickel fixtures in a home he’s working on.
“Basically, what you’re doing is you’re trying to create a dialogue … between the metals in allowing it to feel co-ordinated but still a little bit loose.
“It’s really about being thoughtful about how you mix it so that it doesn’t feel like you’re matching every single element.”
Filicia is currently a big fan of blue and green hues, and said he sees people seeking out fresh, crisp colours versus earthier, muddied tones that once populated the palette.
Filicia also described a movement away from geometrics as a go-to pattern to those with a more organic feel, be it tie-dye or batik, an ancient art of using wax and dye as way to decorate fabric.
Filicia is seeing an increased desire to incorporate statement pieces that “exude architecture,” which may be lacking in more simply designed newer homes.
“It’s nice to have these statement pieces that bring that detail and that interest into the space,” he said.
He suggested the addition of a console as a statement piece. Whether it features clean lines or more decorative embellishments, Filicia said the mid-sized table offers versatility.
“It’s not terribly expensive and it’s just got a lot of personality,” said Filicia.
“It feels fun, it feels historical. It could go from a loft in town to a federal style house in the country.”
Lynda Reeves
The House & Home magazine founder said the days of following a set formula in home decor are long gone as increasingly confident consumers embrace individual style.
“They don’t mind going out on a limb and taking a chance and mixing two things — just as we do with our wardrobe,” Reeves said.
When individuals go bold with patterned tiles or floor coverings, Reeves said, they should pare down the rest of their surroundings.
“You have to figure out where your focal point is going to be,” she said.
“It’s either your walls with art, or your floor with decorative carpeting or tiles. Or, you can do a complete neutral envelope and then your emphasis can be on pattern on your furniture. But it can’t be more than one or two of those things or it’ll start to compete.”
Reeves said she sees big, modern contemporary statement fixtures — such as multi-armed chandeliers — as a standout trend, as well as large pieces of bold, graphic art.
As for people living in or moving into smaller spaces, Reeves said they should eschew the notion of having to buy similarly sized furniture.
“You should be buying the sofa you want to live with for the next three apartments and putting it in your small space now and moving it to a bigger space later. And you should be investing in the best sofa you can find, because that’s going to stay with you for a long time. And then on the trend pieces — like the throw pillows and the little fun side tables and the funky lamps — that’s where you go cheap,” she said.
“You’re better to buy furniture that’s your size, that suits you. Forget about how big the room is. I believe that.”
Online: houseandhome.com
jonathanadler.com
interiordesignshow.com
thomfilicia.coma
