Colin & Justin’s New Trends for Spring 2009
The one thing guaranteed to get us though a grizzly and grey British winter is the prospect of Spring lurking just around the corner! Yup, with its air of freshness and new life, Spring is a tantalising season that excites us more than any other. It’s at this time that our ideas for the home spring forth like blossoming flowers as we desperately try to encourage you (and your domestic inner sanctums) to break free of the dowdy shackles of darker days and take on a new and much lighter persona. Just like our clothing, home decor should be forward thinking, comfortable, personal, and above all… fashionable!
Hmm…so now you’re feeling stressed, huh? Thinking you can’t pull it all off? Well panic not! To make sure you always know your ‘Crystal d’Arque’ from your ‘Philippe Starck’, here’s a fabulous Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan ‘what’s hot and what’s not’ trend guide for 2009! Yay! Read it and reap, guys, to ensure you stay on domestic trend! And watch, in awe, as your home becomes a brighter and eminently fresher place…by design!
Colour is back… again! The best antidote to all those dreary sepia skies is to ‘pop’ your home with bright tones and shades. And get this; most major colour forecasters are predicting that the colour trend to watch as Spring approaches is ‘VIBRANCY’. It’s THE big buzzword in home design this season.
The trick however, is to be bold, but to be bold subtly. But hold it - isn’t that a contradiction in terms? Well, no! Allow us to clarify - raw, clashing colours can be gorgeous but you should always take time to balance everything out by tempering your design with translucent or neutral tones to soften proceedings. Doing this will create vibrant harmony at home. Navy blue, as far as we’re concerned, will replace predictable black as a decorating contrast colour especially when teamed with white. And purple, winter’s hot fashion shade, will be softened by the sun to become lavender. Gorgeous! Use punchy yellow to add levity and sunshine, and harness its luminosity to contrast with smart sharp grey or to tone in with the subtlest of orange shades.
Three very different greens round off this season’s colour palette, capturing as they do a theme of freshness and rebirth. Use vibrant natural green to provide the quintessential spring hue of fresh grass. Try dark citrus inspired greens (like ‘moody’ lime) to create a calmer look or incorporate reflective Lucite green tones to provide a subtle hue with delicate and very elegant shimmer. A key trend this season is to mix city with country. As such, combine scary concrete grey and friendly leaf green, or use fresh green with complementary blue to mimic sky and fields.
Complement your fresh look with the gorgeous fragrance of Ambi Pur Spring Meadow, an effortless aroma that combines the tanginess of luscious citrus, the freshness of morning dew and the purity of white flowers. Ahh! As part of Ambi Pur’s Spring Collection, you can enjoy Spring Meadow in a perfume plug-in and in the revolutionary 3volution plug-in. Ambi Pur 3volution combines three alternating but complementary fragrances that are released in a continuous cycle, one after the other, every 45 minutes, so your nose never gets used to the fragrance and you can enjoy it again and again and again. You can also enjoy the complementary spring fragrance of Fresh Garden in a toilet rim block.
Adding Gloss Gloss finishes (especially on furniture) will be HUGE this season both in vibrant colour and in crisp clean white. This season, allow yourself to become a magpie and take a shine to anything that’s glossy! Use a signature piece of furniture in isolation (like a bright yellow Ikea sideboard, for example) in a white washed room to create an art gallery exhibit style or add a large single coloured iconic vase or object to create a serious talking point. Your choice of furniture can also serve as a way to add colour (in addition to function) so embrace that Holy Grail combo of beauty and practicality. The influence of the iconic iPod can be seen in the rise of gloss white furnishings and accessories and with white car sales across Europe being on the increase, it seems that these days it pays to be all white on the night!
Lighten Up
Just as the days are getting lighter, so too should your home! As Spring
approaches, it’s time to pare down your dark wood furnishings and
replace it all with blonder, lighter timber tones. Invest in low slung, long
furnishings or sand down your existing darker pieces and colour wash
them with white to create a dusty, sun baked look – think Scandinavian
chic meets Andy Warhol pop and you’ll soon be on track. Tones to favour
for this look include pink and citrus, all of which will add a candy-like,
‘manufactured’ colour feel that should contrast perfectly with your
fabulous new natural timber. And always remember to cater to your
olfactory senses too, and NOT just elements of a visual nature. Try Ambi
Pur Spring Orchard, an uplifting heavenly scent that is
gorgeous to the power of ten!
Spring Orchard completes the Ambi Pur Spring
Collection of fragrances and is a harmonic collection of
sparkling fragrances inspired by freshly cut flowers,
the zestiness of fresh fruits and the delicate fragrance
of spring blossoms. Spring Orchard is available in a
perfume plug-in and in the 3volution plug-in. Ambi
Pur 3volution combines three alternating but
complementary fragrances that are released in a
continuous cycle, one after the other, every 45
minutes, so you can always notice the aroma. To
complete your spring clean freshness, you can use the
complementary fragrance of Blossoming Flowers
available in Ambi Pur’s toilet rim block.
Eco-chic
Eco chic continues to be popular, and, as the increasing range of exciting
earth conscious products continues to blossom, so too does our desire to
have them. Shop organic, Fairtrade and recycled and don’t forget that
buying second hand items is a form of recycling! Using the afore
mentioned light timber also ties in with this look and glass accessories are
totally essential… but in a less sleek way than before. Be on the lookout
for bumpy textured glass, or finishes that are reminiscent of running
water or chunky ice. Handmade items for the home will continue to be
popular… HOWEVER - being rustic doesn’t mean you have to be rough! So
LOSE the sackcloth and replace it with woven linen for a much more
sophisticated approach to Eco-chic. Try Biome Lifestyle for a great
selection of eco-friendly and ethically sourced home accessories or One
Eco Home for seriously sexy home kit with a conscience.
Affordable Luxury
Even as we continue to watch our spending this season, we still want to
feel special at home, don‘t we? As such, we demand that our accessories
are as rewarding as possible. We thoroughly expect to be swathed in
cashmere, linen, silk and satin and encrusted with precious stones and
crystal! The good news, however, is that you don’t have to be Liberace to
feel good about this trend! This is where our unquenchable quest for
adornment comes in as we add simple splashes of elegance to our
domestic worlds. So take heed! Invest in crisp white cotton bedding with
luxury trims in suede and linen or add elegant touches to your sofa with
bejewelled cushions and beaded throws. The new ‘Influence’ range from
Matalan should do the job! It is, quite literally, one of the most
astonishingly good value ranges on the market and its quality and pricing
is second to none. Gorgeous things priced cleverly to suit even the
tightest pocket!
Reinvention
This year is a great time for delving into the past to come up with the
future as new interpretations and re-editions of tried and tested home
classics continue to signify. Indeed just like the motoring industry, where
icons such as the Mini, the Fiat 500 and the VW Beetle have been reborn
with new technology, your choice of home furniture and accessories can
be tailored to follow suit. Think of retro diner style coffee makers (the
ones that work at the push of a 21st century button) digital ‘Roberts’
radios (which look effortlessly retro on the outside but pack a state of the
art punch behind the scenes) and ‘old school’ record turntables that
connect to your computer and you should soon get the gist! Yup, the
‘reinvention’ trend is all about mixing traditional with technological!
Independence
This season it’s all about YOU and no-one else (go on, indulge, you know
you deserve it!) being your best, your most honest and your most
comfortable at home. You see the focus of this trend is about being self
sufficient - so take a stand and unleash the be(a)st in your home! Find
your style, explore the inner you and become totally at one with your
space! In today’s ever more stylish world there are no hard and fast
boundaries, but we recommend you remain sufficiently aware of (but not
a slave to) key domestic trends so you can successfully rebel against
them and let a little self indulgent designer anarchy take over. Rules?
Whatever! Sometimes they’re simply made to be broken…
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