What's Cool and Hot in Design for Spring 2010!

With the April High Point Market rapidly approaching on the home furnishings side of our business and HD Expo coming up in May on the hospitality and commercial side, my designers and I have naturally been deeply immersed in thinking about the design trends, colors and styles that are most in demand as 2010 warms up from a cold winter (and from a cold economy).

We’re seeing the realities of tight budgets and frugal thinking combine with the normal human desire for something “new” play out in some interesting ways. Our hotel, resort and entertainment clients seem to be trending toward more simple designs, clean lines and natural-looking materials as “minimalist” takes on new meaning this year. Hospitality, healthcare, office space, and other commercial clients are requesting oversized, but simple florals, trees, vases and urns to fill large spaces in indoor and outdoor design-scapes.

In terms of color, the blue side of the color wheel has been drawing our attention a lot lately ... we think, for multiple reasons. Our component suppliers have been delivering absolutely gorgeous and breathtakingly real hydrangeas, delphiniums, alliums, orchids and snapdragons in vivid blues from cobalt to navy, cerulean to aquamarine. Combine that with some the most beautiful blue glass bowl, vase and urn designs we’ve ever seen and we’ve got an almost endless ability to be creative in blue.

Blue also tends to be one of those colors that delivers valuable effects beyond beauty. I recently read an article in which Melanie Coddington of Coddington Design (who was recently named one of House Beautiful's 20 interior designers to watch) said, "In the last year, people were looking to be calmed and comforted by interiors." I think that’s really true and décor done in blue themes can definitely have a calming and comforting effect. Perhaps that is another one of the reasons we’re currently seeing so much blue across the design landscape.

Of course, it’s a big world and there are still plenty of people who want traditional looks, classic designs, flamboyant styles and every other design theme under the sun. But for spring 2010, the dominant themes we’re seeing in home, office and commercial environments include clean and simple designs, natural-looking materials, over-scale sizes and (of course) lots of blue!