Timeless luxury reworked with a contemporary touch. That’s the abiding inspiration direct from Italy, says interior designer Lee-Ann Bell, who recently returned from the Milan Furniture Fair.
The world’s largest furniture fair, the 56th annual Salone del Mobile saw over 340 000 design devotees from 165 different nations descend on the Milan Fairgrounds for five days in April. Among them was interior designer Lee-Ann Bell, founder and owner of Mezzanine. Here is her take on the top trends influencing home furnishings in 2017.
1. Marble Goes Mainstream
Perfectly poised on a mild-steel base, this Nero Marquina marble table achieves instant heirloom status.
Marble’s effortless elegance and enduring appeal is, fortunately, no longer the preserve of those with diamond-encrusted pockets. In fact, everywhere is coming up marble. Used in its raw, stone form in furnishings, cool monochromatic marbling is also the pattern du jour on runways and is increasingly being translated into textile and wallpaper applications. Especially popular is Nero Marquina. Extracted from Basque Country in Northern Spain, this high quality black stone marble with its distinctive white veining has a chameleon-like quality that makes it well suited to both traditional and contemporary interiors.
2. Nesting Instinct
Stack ‘em or spread ‘em, nesting tables are sleek, lightweight, and endlessly versatile. This bevy of beauties combines black oiled oak with mirrored bronze and honed white Carrara marble.
The ultimate realisation of form meets function, nesting tables have been resurrected from the posh parlours of 18th-century England to find their place in virtually every room of the modern home. Designed with mobility in mind, these Russian dolls of the table world can be arranged in an endless variety of functional and stylish configurations and because they’re available in so many materials, from timber and marble to glass and steel, there’s a look to suit every design inclination.
3. Touchy-Feely Fabrics
The divine is in the detail. Hand-stitching and home-spun upholstery fabrics and soft furnishings attesting to quality craftsmanship were in evidence aplenty at this year’s Milan Furniture Fair.
Balancing today’s pervasive monochromatic palettes, weaves, knits and herringbone designs lend three-dimensional interest to upholstery and soft furnishings. Associated with one of our most primitive of instincts, textured and tactile finishes encourage us to explore through our fingertips; to feel, physically, the difference between smooth silk, rough linen and warm wool. A stimulus for the sense of touch, textures provide an awareness of the intrinsic qualities of a fabric and, for this reason, integrity and quality are foremost when it comes to choosing them. Only the softest of cashmeres, the finest of cottons and the supplest of suedes will do.
4. Back To The Eclectic Eighties
As seen in Milan, the punchy primary palettes of the never-to-be-forgotten ‘80s return in accent hues and gradated schemes that signal a more timeless take on the Rubik’s-Cube era of clashing psychedelic brights.
The unconventional, playful, artsy and often flamboyant designs of the eccentric ‘80s refuse to be forgotten. This time round, however, they adopt a sophisticated style. Where four decades ago, primary colours dominated, in 2017 the palette is more nuanced. Think moody hues juxtaposed with exaggerated shapes and overly structured upholstering – the furniture equivalent of the severe silhouettes that ruled the runway back in the day. Doffing a dandy Boy George béret to the 80’s post-modernist movement, the unconventional mixing of materials and textures adds a further element of non-conformist playfulness.
5. Cupboards Come Out Of Hiding
At the 2017 Milan Furniture Fair, the everyday becomes cause for celebration as cabinetry comes out of the closet, its function now being one of display rather than disguise.
Storage is made spectacle as cabinetry no longer serves to conceal but rather to display the accoutrements of daily living. Bookshelves incorporate LED and strip lighting and black backdrops throw into stark relief the objects exhibited against them, instantly drawing attention to their sculptural qualities. Built-in cupboards, meanwhile, boast transparent fronts – a trend that yields infinite possibilities given the array of stained and metallic-sheen glasses on the market today.
To see Mezzanine’s offering, which includes a locally produced furniture range designed by the Mezzanine team and European designer homeware brands, visit the Parktown North showroom and retail store or go to mezzanineinteriors.co.za.
