Trends 

This page provide you with brief information about trend forecasts in 1999 done by  magazines and trend watchers. 

Taste groups:
No changes.
General:
Natural look, the interior becomes worldly, soft glossy colors.
Trends:
Natural look.
World interior.
Colors:
Lilac/gray; red, black, whites, grays, woods; green and white, cream and ecru; metal and wood

Flower Art:
Soft and cool.
Unexpected confrontation.

Prophecy for 1999 made in 1998

Magazine Woonbeeld: Perscentrum wonen in Haarlem, and the Dutch Interior Institute

Woonbeeld

As the world becomes smaller, trends mix in the same way as cultures do.

1 House of light: Bright and functional. Open, transparent and mobile. Rooms seem large because there are few fixed walls. Furniture is light and mobile. Hard materials are in evidence, but are not high tech. Plastics are dull and velvety. Metals such as stainless steel and aluminum radiate softness and are used in wire netting or spiral shapes. Glass is important. Wood is applied as board. There are often several layers in window decoration. The floor is shiny and not interrupted.

2 House of color: inspired by the 50ties, 60ties and 70ties. Secondary use of colors and a cheerful design; green, orange, ochre and purple emphasize furniture with round, oval or organic shapes. Courage and humor, the effect is important. Soft colors on the walls, woodprints, and cheerful straw patterns. Old influences are updated. Lathed walls are back, but this time stained in colors. Chrome, aluminum or stainless steel are often used as frames for furniture. Deep-pile carpets, fur and fluffy drapery. Rough woven blended fabric for curtains. Material for furniture is shiny or hairy. Many interlocking organic shapes, no repetition of form. Each element is self-contained. Unity is created by a smooth interior.

3 The house of Zen: harmony of contrasts in light and dark, dull and shiny. Japanese elegance and Western comfort combined. Deep dark colors alternated by light effects. Sober design and clear lines. There has to be serene peace. Use of natural materials: linen, flax, cotton, wool, raffia and cane. Dark wood like ebony, wengé and rosewood will be combined with light wood like Betula and Fraxinus. We also see dark varnished steel and iron in furniture and lamps. Japanese calligraphic effects play a large role. Structural effects are important: carpets with a woven relief, rough coir-matting, slate or granite, curtains with open weaving in flat binding. On furniture we see the wide velvet rib again, and woven materials like cane and leather.

4 The House of luxury: classic and contemporary. Modest classical design combined with luxury and comfort. Furniture is simple but designed in detail. A use of rich materials. Soft strokable textiles, woolen carpets, downy pillows suggesting wealth. Various woods, often varnished or tinted. Metal dull or shiny. Marble, stone or wood on the floor. Velvette, linen and leather are used in novel ways. Walls are papered, often with a trompe l’oeuil. Curtains of soft velvet over a second layer of white lace.

1 Refined primitive: robust forms and rough materials, but in combination with the simple and the subtle. Natural materials, wood, metal, concrete are combined with soft textiles like silk, wool and felt. Lines are clear cut and radiate luxury. Minimalism. Brown and gray hues.

2 Allusion: The sensual interior, comfort and relaxation. A little sensual. Soft colors like liver, lilac, gray. Strokable materials and imitation fur. Incense and aromatic scents create sensual surroundings. Soft colors like beige, lilac, brown, and sand.

3 Chinese red: a severe interior with a wayward touch due to the red or red-black color. Minimal entourage with dark wood e.g. wengé, colors aubergine and purple. A clean interior in light gray and white. There is a dramatic contrast.

4 Solo and performance: differences in structure between the soloist and the set. Differences in structures are emphasized. Materials are characteristic and radiate richness. Simplicity with depth. A sub tile palette of colors creates tension.

5 Back to basics: minimal design. Wengé with stainless steel, Orient inspired. A Zen atmosphere with contrasting materials. Wood is either dark or light blond. Simple design in ceramics or glass.

Burg consultancy

Sense of green. Green becomes important: it stands for growth, change and awakening. Layered structures, impression of wear. Combinations of green and white, cream and ecru. The effect must be full of life and honest.

Minimalism is coming, design with constructions and frames of branches, flowers between weavings, flowers solitaire in low containers in kenzans and special fixations, mono bouquets with a few refined additions.

Fashion; gray tones.
Cars; colorful toys.
Corporate image; express the image of the company.
Clarity.
Quality.

Rowan Gibson, trend watcher

Take personal action.
Set trends yourself, do not follow them.
Use your imagination and creativity.
Take the initiative.
Adopt a way of living.
Find customers and keep them.
Meet the requirements of the customers.

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Last update of this page 23.05.2004