Trends 
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| Trends & Trade - Trade Fair Reviews | |
| Thursday, 19 January 2006 | |
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imm 2006 - Cologne starts the new design season (For home accessories, see Maison & Objet January 2006 summary, with 2006 color trend chart) “Luxury” is the buzz word for high-end interior design 2006. More is more and more is better. Or at least that’s what their end of the industry is selling consumers this year. Neutral colors as a base have been replaced by black in most cases— yes, someone said it: black is still the new black. If you don’t have lots of friends, plan to pass quite a few nights on the sofa in front of the TV because this year’s sofas are so deep and soft they can double as a bed! All this luxury,however, is meant to be shared. It’s no longer about “me” it’s about “we”, and it’s about the home. No, it's about making your home your castle.
 In 2006, the black or steely grays (or occasional blinding white) are highlighted with powder blue, orange, lime green, and berry. Cotton corduroy ribs are wide, velour fabrics for the pillows are soft rich colors, often with floral laser-cut motif, same color on same color. Woods are exotic, with a return to palisander among others. Carpet shag is medium-length toward long, chandeliers are exaggerations on classic themes. The laser-cut floral motifs appear in surroundings on dividing screens  (Zanotta), bed linens, and wallpaper. Red, white and black dominate lacquer finishes and non-upholster ed seating. Some sources say pink is in, but only German-based Interlübke (intro photo and above) dared to do an all-pink installation to show visitors just how over the top this season really inspires to be. Great emphasis has been placed on high-tech in both design/production innovation (left: stereolithography and selective laser sintering produced Lotus.mgx manufactured by Materialise, designed by
FOC Freedom Of Creation, Amsterdam, Janne Kyttanen designer) as well as the actual end product. The home theatre is the center of attention, with many manufacturers incorporating hardware for ease of plasma viewing at all angles and in all rooms.
Luxury, luxury, luxury. At the end of the day, high-end design has always been about luxury. That extra zero on the price tag is what makes it high-end. The irony is that in order to pull down the Gs to be able to afford 2006’s luxury, you’ll probably spend very little time at home! But when you do, you will enjoy it and how! Now more than ever it's true that the one who dies with the most expensive toys wins. Next stop: Home Accessories at Maison-Objet (Paris) 27-31 January.  P.S. Those are lots of little Barbies dressed in pink on the shelf above the TV in the intro picture. |
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The products presented were, nonetheless, almost all very familiar, right down to the new designers (who will be presented in future 3LC editions). Some manufacturers didn’t even try to fake it and tastefully underscored the timelessness of mid-century modern and previous successful products (Vitra, right, and Flexform). But for the most part, we saw a great deal of this stuff in 2005. Unfortunately, that most people don’t renovate their interiors as often as they renovate their wardrobes is a double-edged sword for the industry. Truth be told, Milan is still to come, and that’s where the big action is always concentrated. So don’t make any decisions just yet. | < Prev | Next > |
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