Have you ever walked into a room decked out in light wood floors and sensed an instantaneous sense of calm? Maybe you’re one of those people who are constantly adding to their bedroom collection of timber-potted plants and do not quite understand how to stop.
Well, you are not alone and there is reason for this classic trend amongst interior designers and house extension builders. We humans, especially the design-obsessed among us, are innately attracted towards timber. It is an extension of our age-old need to get in touch with the natural world – one which has slowly crept back into regions of our home and working lives as lifestyle necessarily speeds up around us.
Nature-inspired layout (a fancy, design-y expression for wood) brings a whole host of health and wellbeing benefits, caused by light in a new report by Planet Ark. Wood is a renewable building material that uses low energy levels in manufacturing and improves air quality by moderating humidity.
Exposure to architectural timber frames and products has been demonstrated to lower the heart rate and stress reaction in students and employees, improving one’s psychological state and cognitive functioning. Essentially, spending some time at a timber-inspired room will make you feel happier and calmer. Double win. And plus, wood looks damn pretty. Here is some inspo to your next fit out – beginning with stated timber-potted plants.
Timber accents are also having a moment. With a natural ability to add warmth and depth to a variety of stylish interiors, wood has designers branching out and moving with the grain when it comes to creating meaningful home details with a new, contemporary look. In an increasingly virtual world, wooden accessories are supplying an organic, earthy sense of soul.
Our clients are gravitating toward simple substances which have stood time, according to Kate Sullivan, brand marketing associate for Rejuvenation, which makes hardware and fixtures. Sullivan said that we are seeing an emergence in organic designs and manufacturing processes that aim to preserve and accentuate the natural beauty in untreated wood.
Raw, live advantages and knotty imperfections improve everything from tabletops and mirrors to chairs, desks and frames, while hand-hewn tree stumps function as side tables, footstools or additional seating – all incorporated in designs pulled up by home extension builders. Polished, center-cut pieces of sustainably harvested tree trunks with rings and rough edges intact find new life as tabletops, and twisted branches of driftwood are mounted and re-imagined as sculpture.
The result is one of a kind. No matter what, no two trees are going to have the same grain, according to Casey McCafferty, designer and owner of Venice-based CBM Woodworks. You are going to have a really exceptional piece. McCafferty credits social websites with stoking interest in craftsmanship and building respect for innovative processes. People realize we have a whole lot of use and time really interesting tools to create some cool things.
The trend can be rooted in the serendipity of fashion. With a change from spare, unadorned insides, the new year is ushering in a Moody zeitgeist that prioritizes the welcoming warmth of a finely manicured nest over stark minimalism. Fortunately, a little can go a long way. Rustic accents – such as wooden crates, ladders and barn board-tiled walls – talk to a metropolitan farmhouse aesthetic, while modern interiors might incorporate abstract or abstract designs that fuse the warmth of wood with marble, glass or metal. Surfaces are left untreated, darkly charred or polished using a light oil, wax or lacquer. To determine the best way to clean the bits, McCafferty said it’s important to understand how the wood was treated.
To be on the safe side, he guides only wiping the wood with a soft, clean cloth. When washing things like a cutting board, make sure to wash it immediately. McCafferty said that after it is dry, place some mineral oil on it and keep it lubricated because if it dries out, it may divide.
Reclaimed wood, on another note, is among the biggest interior design trends alongside glue laminated and engineered timber of recent decades. In the coffee shops of Shoreditch into the studio flats of Silicon Valley – reclaimed wood tables and floors are everywhere. Well, no more. Anything reclaimed or that seems recycled is definitely on its way out, according to David Alhadeff, founder of New York gallery The Future Perfect.
Dark wood, a habitual firm favourite, are set to disappear from interiors in 2017 because it seems a little heavy. The new hot stuff? Terrazzo, according to a Wall Street Journal tendencies roundup – that is the cement of Resin pieces with pieces of marble suspended inside. New York designer Mariela Alvarez said it is one of those classics which folks underestimate. It is virtually indestructible and great for flooring.
Another designer, Drew McGukin, told the newspaper from 10 paces back, it reads as clean, fresh and neutral when showing texture and dimension up close. Reclaimed wood is not the only design fad on its way out as specialists declare pallid pink a no go for the New Year. Colours including pale pink have been everywhere for the past couple of years but have a brief life-expectancy, said Charlston-based designer Michael Mitchell.
No one looks great sitting on a pink couch. Instead, contemporary and moody forest green is tipped to take its place. This is because it could be made to seem present and new when paired with grays, blacks and white, coming together to create a classy look. Likewise the omnipresent modernity of open floor designs is taking a back seat with a return to compartmentalised rooms, particularly kitchens.
Loft-like living is not for everybody, said San Francisco designer Grant K. Gibson. In years past, everyone knocked down walls to make ‘great rooms’ with kitchens linked to living spaces, but people realised that they actually desire a feeling of separation. At dinner parties notably, people do not especially want to see a cluttered kitchen.
