Nikki Hunt’s Design Speak

Since it’s inception sixteen years ago, the London Design Festival has become one of the most celebrated  events in the design lovers calendar.  The festival permeates most corners of the city with vendors from all over the world showcasing their latest products and ideas. With such a vast spectrum of things to see and do, the London Design Festival is pure inspiration and provides a preview into the trends that will dominate the design industry in the year ahead.

This year’s London Design Week was a riotous celebration of pattern, print and colour… I have written before about the trend for tropical prints, well this trend shows no sign of stopping and if anything seems to be getting bigger and bolder, encompassing all elements of both flora and fauna. Colours reigned supreme this year design festival, whether it comes in the form of Black Pop’s multicoloured rugs, or Pierre Frey’s latest range of wallpapers in vibrant shades and Matthew Williamson’s latest collection of fabrics for Osborne & Little, featuring a multicoloured large scale pineapple design.

Black Pop’s Rugs and fabrics, Osbourne&Little Fabric, Pierre Frey Wallpaper

Designs were bold bright and decidedly cheerful. Millenial pink, which many predicted would be a passing trend, is very much entrenched as the new neutral. And why not? It is as calm as beige and grey but with a more optimistic vibe. There was not quite so much rose gold as there was last year but gold, bronze and brass have certainly replaced cooler metal tones as the top choice for hardware and lighting. If you were in any doubt Exuberant Maximalism reigns supreme.

But the most significant new element was an obsession with trim. Bullion fringe, tassels and braid seemed to be everywhere!!!

Left Images: Decorex 2018 by Nikki Hunt

Passementerie as they are officially termed was originally used for furniture as a way to keep textile trims from unravelling, fringe has a long history in home decor, from Victorian lampshades to hippy 70’s curtains.

Decorex 2018: Images by Nikki Hunt

This year, passementerie was used to adorn everything cushions, lamps and upholstery. From dainty, bell-like tassels to relaxed, boho leather trim. Fringe is back and flowing loud and proud!

It is Paris Design Week, and the French capital is teaming with exhibitions, installations and creatives types from across the globe, all eager to discover the latest ideas, the most current designs, and be amongst the first to enjoy a glimpse into future trends. But for yours truly, the greatest source of inspiration from France has been my trip to a much older showcase of great Design. This year, I took a short 30-minute trip outside the French capital to visit the Chateau of Versailles.

As I wandered through the magnificent halls, what struck me most was just how timeless, and relevant the designs are still. A world heritage site, the Palais de Versailles harks back to the year 1682 when King Louis XIV began the mammoth task of building the Palace on the site of his father’s former hunting lodge. The palace remained the principal residence of the Kings of France until the revolution in 1789. And many of the designs that the French King implemented over 3-and-a-half centuries ago, continue to influence the great designers of our time.

The first thing that came to me as I toured the grand palace was, “well no wonder there was a revolution!”.

The opulence and grandeur are omnipresent. This palace was the palace that all later palaces were modelled on. It was the very symbol of extravagance I could so see why a French peasant farmer might feel that the national wealth was a tad unfairly distributed. So then how could such totally excessive gilt and glitz be relevant today, I hear you scream…

Well; beneath all that ostentation are exquisite details and a masterly use of proportions, pattern light and colour which have inspired designers (yours truly definitely included) for centuries. I am sure it will continue to inspire for many centuries to come.

Peter Marino, Jacques Garcia, Kelly Wearstler, Mary Mcdonald, Jean Louis Deniot, Joseph Dirand, Pierre Yovanovitch these are some of the biggest names in design  of the 21^st Century. Their works regularly grace the pages of International design periodicals and images of their work are some of the most “pinned” pictures on Pinterest. So where do these design gurus get their inspiration?

Scroll through the images below and see if you agree…

WOW… Just look at that floor! Dramatic geometric lines, sharp contrast,  magnificent proportions  – Installed in the 17th Century but could anything be more current! Just check out this home in Hong Kong by San Fransico interiors firm Bamo and an apartment by the great Pierre Yovanovitch.

Kelly Wearstler and Mary Mcdonald are two of the most celebrated American designers working today
– any guesses where they have drawn inspiration?

Perhaps from here? The Salon De Diane, Grand Apartment, Chateau De Versailles

Jean Louis Denoit is another one  of the 21st Century’s great designer.
Check out the photo of one of his recent projects featured in Architectural Digest.

and compare it to a room from Versailles below.

 Kelly Wearstler’s restaurant design for Bergdoff Goodman (below) was widely hailed as iconic by design lovers…..

but check out my picture from Versaille… look familiar?

These photos of an interior by Jacques Garcia who CNN describes as the “Creator of the worlds finest hotels”.

This has long been one of my favourite images of the work of Jean Louis Denoit.

Below is the Chapel at Versailles.

The Hall of Mirrors: perhaps one of the most famous rooms at Versailles associated with the unrestrained decadence of the pre revolutionary French Court.

And look at this interior below- thoroughly contemporary! 

Throughout the ages, marble has been the material of choice for the world’s elite. From the Parthenon to the Taj Mahal and of course London’s Marble Arch, many of the world’s most impressive monuments have been forged from this ancient rock.

Traditionally associated with luxury and decadence, today marble is shaking off its classic and ostentatious mantle (excuse the pun) and is increasingly becoming a favourite amongst contemporary designers. Today, designers are combining marble and other stones like, onyx and granite with other natural materials such as wood, leather, copper and steel to make these traditional materials feel fresh and totally current.

Design Intervention

In our modern copy and paste world, design lovers are finding a beauty in imperfections and an appreciation of the natural elements. Heavily veined stones that were once considered fussy and busy are now sought after for texture and vitality. Imperfections, once shunned are being embraced for their natural originality.

Design Intervention

Today, marble, onyx and luxurious granites are no longer confined to kitchens, bathrooms. They are appearing in a multitude of guises for use in every room of the home from feature walls to accent furniture, accessories and even decorative lighting. As the penchant for clean, homogenous lines diminishes interior designers are creating homes full of colour, life and personality and richly patterned stones are becoming a staple design tool.

And the good news is that you will find that stone does not necessarily have to be ….  Well, set in stone! Some of the most beautifully marbelicious finishes are faux.

Design Intervention

Don’t you just love this delightfully decadent powder room-in rich green with metallic highlights. The wallpaper oozes an even greater sense of luxe than the real thing ….and far cheaper too!

Indeed faux stone-inspired finishes are invading every aspect of our lives, reminding us that it is our imperfections and idiosyncrasies that make us unique and give us character and this designer, for one believes this is something that should be celebrated.