What's Hot in Interior Design? – Bring on Green and Zen Concepts
Interior Design is a profession, which usually starts out for many who study it as an extension of art appreciation, architecture, industrial design or furniture design – to name a few career path choices. Most Interior Designers will have a passion and enthusiasm for art, and when you combine this with any type of design background you get a pretty exciting result.
For an Interior Designer, deciding what is hot or not can vary greatly from one year to another, although in recent times the trends have maintained a certain level of consistency without too much variance. While Interior Designers will know what design options are favorites for the year, the key to a successful interior design is a clear understanding of primarily what your needs are, current design trends, and how together they will influence your space.
So what is hot for 2008? The specialists are advising that everything green and eco-friendly is hot right now. Basic design concepts fall in to three categories; forms, colors and materials, and these will be the fundamentals for basic design concepts with the key words being; recycled, organic and raw.
Everything green is very in, with more and more people paying attention to how green their lives are: from choice of cars, clothing, cleaning and building products, we are gradually seeing the benefits of using environmentally friendly products. Some designers have always considered earthy elements for enhancing the visual appearance of a space. Things like allowing more light into an internal space through the creation of windows, installation of glass panels instead of walls, increasing the appearance of space by adjusting the ceiling heights and exposing wooden beams.
Green trends can be found everywhere within the home and are becoming more in tune with the environment through the use of natural looking and feeling materials and products.
Environmentally friendly, innovative, cost effective and attractive! Polished cement has been around for a while and is definitely in this year. The process involves grinding and polishing either a new cement slab or an existing cement floor. It is highly durable and is extremely low maintenance.
Bamboo flooring has developed in to a highly sought after flooring option for many. Bamboo is one of the most renewable natural resources available. It is technically not a wood but a grass and needs to be cut and used prior to it falling every 5 years. It is durable, comes in many colors and will suit most budgets.
Apart from making a choice between all the energy efficient lighting options available, an interior designer can provide advice on the choices available to add natural lighting options for your space. At the cheap end of the scale, it is possible to install a sky light or the most expensive option would be to rearrange rooms by the partial or total abolishment of walls.
Just because you decide to use the eco-friendly paint option doesn’t mean it has to be a neutral color – although this does appear to be a bit of a trend for 2008 as well. If your designer convinces you to include a few bright color options to your spaces this year you will be able to find many colors to suit your taste that are produced to environmentally friendly standards.
The second main trend this year is to keep everything 'zen'. Daily living can be very hectic and what is more important than being able to come home at the end of the day to a relaxed and energized space.
The idea of keeping your home completely minimalist may scare you, but there are options available which will help you to sort through the clutter and create spaces enriched with free flowing air and light.
Keep all the bench tops in the kitchen, laundry and bathroom clear of excess 'stuff' keep most of your cooking utensils, cleaning products and other items either on shelving or enclosed in cupboards. Keep things up off the floor and try buying just a few quality items rather than cluttering the home with lots of accessories.
Every year will bring a new design trend, so make sure you are ready! It is important to really know your tastes and your needs when choosing a new design option. With New York City having some of the best designers in the world, you will be sure to achieve the right result for your home.