Much like we can expect from the American people in next year’s election, the votes among the nation’s top interior designers and manufacturers are split when it comes to forecasting what will be “hot” in home decor in 2008.
The good news is that there’s no mudslinging or veto power. In fact, design bipartisanship is encouraged, as it results in a myriad of choices for today’s style- and value-conscious consumers.
Here are the top 10 trends on the ballot for 2008:
1. The Incumbent – Wall murals are always a hot ticket, particularly those produced by Hopkins, Minn.-based Murals Your Way (www.muralsyourway.com), the industry leader in the production of decorative wall murals for more than 35 years. “Personalization is the key driver in mural selection,” says Todd Imholte, president of Environmental Graphics, the company that operates Murals Your Way. “We are finding more and more people choosing a mural that fits their personality.” With a gallery of more than 5,000 wall mural images, as well as the ability to create a custom mural from a personal photo or artwork, the possibilities are truly endless. Some of Hollywood’s celebrities are using the murals from Murals Your Way like Madonna, Julianne Moore and Woody Harrelson. (more…)
From a Marie Antoinette-themed room with faux python-covered walls to a monochromatic treescape mural depicting a misty morning dawn-themed hallway, designers from New York City to Greenwich unveiled their latest styles yesterday for the first-ever designer showhouse to benefit Greenwich Hospital.
A 10,000-square-foot 1928 French-manor-style mansion at 200 Stanwich Road got a complete makeover by 17 designers, a photographer and a muralist. Each designer was free to paint the walls, create moldings, bring in new furniture and paintings, redesign the windows, and even decorate the terrace to feature their work and create a new look for the traditional house.
Some of the designers made dramatic changes to their spaces. Some of the rooms of the dwelling went from family rooms to chic living spaces. The owners of the home, Richard and Ginna Kelly, have relocated while the Greenwich Designer Showhouse is being held. (more…)
The hothouse colors, the hand-painted tiles, the lazy drift of hammocks and mosquito netting: If you visit Mexico, it’s hard not to fall in love with the look and the lifestyle.
But unlike a craft or curio that you can pack in your suitcase, Mexican style isn’t always easy to bring back home. And if you do, it may not look the same. Hibiscus pink, you may say to yourself. What was I thinking?
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Furniture once was considered an investment. People saved up for sturdy pieces that, with a little upholstery work here and there, would last a lifetime.
Now durable furniture is harder to find. A higher price tag or a brand name that had a good reputation when your parents got married doesn’t necessarily signify better quality today.
“The quality of furniture has gone down dramatically,” says Don Fuhr, who spent 52 years in the furniture business. His family owned Fuhr’s in Shawnee, a showroom that specialized in better-quality brands before closing in 2006. “Furniture has become about keeping costs low.”
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New York designer Alexa Hampton once traded in her Volkswagen Jetta for a custom-built, down-filled club chair from the best upholsterer in Manhattan.
Not a surprising $5,000 exchange from the daughter of the late Mark Hampton, the design legend who brought Bush Blue to the White House in the 1990s, worked with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Pamela Harriman and created one of the first successful designer furniture collections.
When her father died in 1998, Alexa Hampton took over his prestigious Madison Avenue office. Now, at 35, she has brought the business into the new century, furnishing lofts in Manhattan, delving into licensing of lighting and furniture, appearing regularly on two PBS design shows and making Architectural Digest’s list of the top 100 designers.
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