Design trends 2018

The beauty and lightness of glass, as well as its qualities for displaying color, were very much in evidence. Whether used as a design detail, or a complete item of furniture, glass featured heavily, creating optical effects and a clean, airy feel. Rive Roshan’s beautiful coffee table showed the possibilities, with a clean-lined circular table made extraordinary by the spectrum of colored glass on its top. From smooth, uncolored glass to rippled and dimpled textured glass, its timeless, light-reflecting properties were used as a highlight on numerous designs.

A trend that has been bubbling for some time, this year pieces created using waste were visible everywhere – often the provenance of the ‘waste’ was not just emphasized but was also visible in the finished product, suggesting that recycled design is becoming a status symbol. Ikea have launched the KUNGSBACKA range of cupboard doors, which use wood from mills, scrap furniture and packaging materials, while new brand Pentatonic have created customizable furniture using only recycled materials, including waste plastic, cans and smartphone screens.

Last year’s ubiquitous ‘Millennial Pink’ gave way to a broader palette of pastel shades, including soft corals and greens. Youthful and optimistic, the soothing tones of pastels are also very easy to live with, making them popular on everything from large furniture (for example seating by Deadgood) to lighting and accessories. Far from being sickly sweet, however, this incarnation of pastel hues was frequently teamed with notes of burgundy, forest green and grey, creating a modern feel that is surprisingly neutral.

The Material of the Year, being embraced by designers working across many disciplines, Jesmonite is an acrylic-modified gypsum composite. Following on from the trend for Terrazzo which surged last year, this innovative new material was seen on everything from countertops to vases. It has a tactile warmth to it, inviting you to touch the surface and look closer at the detail it contains. Modern, fresh and unstuffy, it looks set to be a feature of kitchens and bathrooms for the next year as a desirable finish not just for countertops but also walls, floors and more.

Perhaps it is our increasingly urban living environment that keeps botanicals being revisited and reinvented as a trend. Certainly many designers are tempering modern, sleek materials and shapes with organic notes drawn from nature. Leaf and floral prints abounded, tending to lean towards exoticism – think palm leaves and hummingbirds for a luxurious take on the natural. Often these designs were seen on soft elements like fabrics and wallpaper (Style Library and Cole & Son leading the way), but even spaces like bathrooms had space for botanical design details, bringing an air of comfort and wellbeing into the most high-spec of spaces.