Speaking your language:4 trends to watch

Are you reassessing what you need to live comfortably? Are you on the lookout for innovation, trying to find a local balance in a global world, craving products with the personal touch? Well, if you are then you’ll be happy to hear that you are bang on trend for this year.

The clever people at IMM Cologne (www.imm-cologne.com) recently released the book ‘Interior Trends 2011′. Compiled by the expert committee of the international trend board, the book predicts that consumers are going to demand innovation not re-imagination, look for products with personality and seek balance between local flavor and international flair.

Apparently the four key trends for 2011 are Emotional Austerity, Surprising Empathy, Re-balancing and Transforming Perspectives. If you’re reading these words and going ‘huh?’, then you’re having the same reaction that I did. So, as these terms are bound to pepper interior design conversations around cocktail sausages and drinks served in martini glasses, I thought it may be useful to translate them for you. Here we go…

Emotional Austerity: a direct result of the recent global financial crisis, design trends have sobered up somewhat. The result? Simpler, cleaner lines that blend “the basic and the old, with the modern and hi-tech,” according to a recent www.independent.co.uk article. Think more old Hollywood glamour, than the hip hop bling of recent years.

Surprising Empathy: According to the experts at IMM Cologne, consumers don’t want to settle for recycled concepts. We want the new stuff… Which is forcing designers to push the boundaries, get creative and pursue innovation. If you’ve noticed lots of angular, folded furniture, in monochromatic colour schemes with splashes of bright colour then you’ve seen this trend in action. Basically, we’re tired of being told that the couch our granny sat on in the 70s is a ‘new’ design.

Re-balancing: No, they’re not talking about adding a yoga class to your gym routine, they’re talking about bringing back the personal touch. In an increasingly globalised world, consumers are craving living spaces that say something about them as individuals. We don’t want to arrive at a work colleague’s home and discover that they have exactly the same L-shaped faux suede sofa as us.

Transforming Perspectives: The lines between art and design are blurring, the boundaries between the real world and the virtual world are getting hazier by the day and designers are getting increasingly experimental. The bottom line? Prepare to be delighted, surprised and challenged. Who knows what your lounge suite will look like in 2012?