Living and furniture trends 2018: Textured naturalness

TRENDS: ORIGINAL, SMART, MULTIFUNCTIONAL

For years it has been impossible to escape the topic of sustainability. The dream of originality manifests itself in natural materials and colours as well as simple furniture forms. Despite the tendency towards naturalness, the topic "Smart Home" is also very popular, i.e. the home is digitally networked and controlled by means of apps and voice control. Another trend is towards small and multifunctional furniture, in this way it can also be optimally used in urban areas where space is limited. The urban jungle trend remains with us, real houseplants and plants in suspension devices freshen up the home.

MATERIALS: INSPIRED BY NATURE

The trend is clearly towards natural materials. Wood in a wide variety of designs is the dominant material. Most suppliers continue to rely on oak; in high-quality furniture ranges, (dark) nut is increasingly used. Natural stone (e.g. marble) is also strongly represented and is very much used as accent setting for table tops and front parts. Glass elements can also be seen this year, although with declining tendency and at the same time almost always coated on the back. Velvet and corduroy are gaining ground in seating furniture and accessories, often in a glossy finish. Individual smaller elements, such as side tables, are often made of brass. 

SURFACES: NATURAL AND TEXTURED

The focus is on textured surfaces and natural optics. For this purpose, the wood is very often brushed, blasted or textured or, in general, wood with a strong grain is used. In order to preserve the character of the wood in its originality, non-grain-accentuating oils and UV- or water-based paints (e.g. Bluefin Pure-Wood, Bluefin Smart) are frequently used. Both in the pigmented and colourless field, deep matt or natural matt (gloss level <10) surfaces (e.g. Aduro Vitea) predominate. High-gloss surfaces are only occasionally visible.

EFFECTS: NOBLE COMBINATION OF WOOD AND STONE

Furniture often comes in a material mix of wood and stone. Pure stone and rustic species of wood (e.g. knotty oak, beech heartwood, branch nut) present themselves in noble symbiosis. In addition, concrete effect is still frequently used. In general, we have observed that people like to play with contrasts: smooth and rough surfaces are combined - or powerful colours with metallic simplicity.

COLOURS: INSPIRED BY FLORA AND FAUNA

Natural colours, which appear timeless, elegant and restrained and perfectly match wood and stone as combination colours predominate. Grey shades in all nuances, blue shades (e.g. Taubenblau (pigeon blue)) or even smoky green shades (e.g. Salbei (sage)) create a natural ambience. Washed out and earthy red and pink nuances (e.g. Altrosa (old pink)) are also well represented. The new ADLER Alpine Selection offers exactly these colour ranges: calm sand shades, elegant grey shades and muted colours from the world of flowers.

SHAPES: REDUCED ELEGANCE

Simple, reduced forms and restrained designs without a lot of frills set the tone. Round shapes and rounded edges are gaining in importance, while hard corners and edges are rarely encountered.