10 Design and Decorating Trends for 2018
Forecasts from international design fairs combined with user favourites tell us what's in for your homes this new year
The new year usually brings about plans to refresh your home, whether it’s a full-on renovation or a refresh for the coming Lunar New Year festivities. Brush up on 2018’s design trends to inspire you, picked out from Houzz data gathered from popular photos and stories, as well as expert forecasts.
2. Heart Wood
Paint brand Dulux’s Colour of the Year for 2018 is a soft, warm pink-brown called Heart Wood. It’s a good colour to start with if you’re not as confident in rich colour blocking as the above-mentioned designers. A more subdued, sophisticated version of last year’s Millennial Pink, we think this colour is more liveable and applicable in Singapore homes, and it has more longevity than the next trend…
Paint brand Dulux’s Colour of the Year for 2018 is a soft, warm pink-brown called Heart Wood. It’s a good colour to start with if you’re not as confident in rich colour blocking as the above-mentioned designers. A more subdued, sophisticated version of last year’s Millennial Pink, we think this colour is more liveable and applicable in Singapore homes, and it has more longevity than the next trend…
3. Ultra Violet
Colour expert Pantone forecast Ultra Violet as the 2018 Colour of the Year. While it fits in neatly with the trend of rich colour blocking, it’s a statement colour that you either love or hate. We’re waiting to see if it will take off like 2016’s Rose Quartz and Serenity, or flop, like last year’s Greenery.
Colour expert Pantone forecast Ultra Violet as the 2018 Colour of the Year. While it fits in neatly with the trend of rich colour blocking, it’s a statement colour that you either love or hate. We’re waiting to see if it will take off like 2016’s Rose Quartz and Serenity, or flop, like last year’s Greenery.
4. A new minimalist silhouette
Lightness and simplicity debuted as the new black, or redefined ‘basic’, at both the Milan Furniture Fair 2017 and Maison & Objet Paris. Slim silhouettes and streamlined shapes were reflected in large and small pieces of furniture …
9 Key Trends at the Milan Furniture Fair 2017
Lightness and simplicity debuted as the new black, or redefined ‘basic’, at both the Milan Furniture Fair 2017 and Maison & Objet Paris. Slim silhouettes and streamlined shapes were reflected in large and small pieces of furniture …
9 Key Trends at the Milan Furniture Fair 2017
5. Curves
Streamlined curves were also spotted at the Milan Furniture Fair 2017, demonstrating the demand for a softness in shape. Curves are even more impressive when they’re bespoke, as in this kitchen counter, because it shows off excellent workmanship.
Streamlined curves were also spotted at the Milan Furniture Fair 2017, demonstrating the demand for a softness in shape. Curves are even more impressive when they’re bespoke, as in this kitchen counter, because it shows off excellent workmanship.
6. Florals
Statement-making florals are said to be in this year. We know – it’s hard to visualise big, loud flowers in our space-starved apartments. But you can make this trend work if you went monochromatic, as in this wallcovering from Starwalls. The cooler palette works beautifully with modern, minimalist furniture or the ubiquitous Scandi-porean (Scandi-inspired Singaporean) style.
Statement-making florals are said to be in this year. We know – it’s hard to visualise big, loud flowers in our space-starved apartments. But you can make this trend work if you went monochromatic, as in this wallcovering from Starwalls. The cooler palette works beautifully with modern, minimalist furniture or the ubiquitous Scandi-porean (Scandi-inspired Singaporean) style.
Tiles have gotten a new finish, as these ones that were launched at the International Exhibition of Ceramic Tile and Bathroom Furnishings (CERSAIE) so as to appear like seamlessly applied floral wallpaper – in keeping with the florals trend mentioned above. Pictured is Wonderwall by Cotto d’Este, which uses a technological innovation that mixes stoneware with fibreglass, making it possible to make tiles as big as 100 x 300 centimetres while maintaining a thickness of only 3.5 millimetres.
8. Nostalgia balancing industrial styling
Said raw, industrial look is becoming tired these days – with many designers and design watchers wishing its demise – but it’s still very much in demand with homeowners. Clever designs balance the coldness of the industrial style with Singapore memorabilia, as seen above.
Read the Houzz Tour: Vintage Dreaming in a Filmmaker’s Modern Apartment
Said raw, industrial look is becoming tired these days – with many designers and design watchers wishing its demise – but it’s still very much in demand with homeowners. Clever designs balance the coldness of the industrial style with Singapore memorabilia, as seen above.
Read the Houzz Tour: Vintage Dreaming in a Filmmaker’s Modern Apartment
9. Antibacterial materials
Another innovation launched at CERSAIE, and forecast by Houzz USA to be big this year are antibacterial materials such as the countertop (above) and the shower gasket (below) shown here. Perfect for time-poor homeowners, these materials will help keep our homes healthier.
Another innovation launched at CERSAIE, and forecast by Houzz USA to be big this year are antibacterial materials such as the countertop (above) and the shower gasket (below) shown here. Perfect for time-poor homeowners, these materials will help keep our homes healthier.
10. Semi-open plan
We see a lot of kitchen walls being hacked to create a seamless, free-flow living, dining, cooking space but homeowners are realising that they don’t want too much open-ness. Enter the semi-open concept or plan, where the kitchen is visually still part of the open-concept space, but is semi-segregated with the use of a half-wall and windows or full-length glass partitions.
3 Clever Semi-Open Concept HDB Kitchens
We see a lot of kitchen walls being hacked to create a seamless, free-flow living, dining, cooking space but homeowners are realising that they don’t want too much open-ness. Enter the semi-open concept or plan, where the kitchen is visually still part of the open-concept space, but is semi-segregated with the use of a half-wall and windows or full-length glass partitions.
3 Clever Semi-Open Concept HDB Kitchens
Screens or grille walls are also coming into play to demarcate semi-open plan spaces.
Bonus trend: Multi-generational living
Still going strong from 2017, homes overseas are adapting this lifestyle and design trend that Singapore is very familiar with. Houzz Australia is reporting the rise of granny flats and extensions, and forecasts multi-generational living as a lifestyle change that the next decade will embrace.
TELL US
What’s big on your design list this year? Have you spotted the next big trend of 2018? Give us your predictions in the Comments!
Still going strong from 2017, homes overseas are adapting this lifestyle and design trend that Singapore is very familiar with. Houzz Australia is reporting the rise of granny flats and extensions, and forecasts multi-generational living as a lifestyle change that the next decade will embrace.
TELL US
What’s big on your design list this year? Have you spotted the next big trend of 2018? Give us your predictions in the Comments!
Local designers such as The Scientist, Minimology by Minimo and Studio Wills + Architects have been displaying a deftness in their use of rich colours in smaller spaces in their latest projects. They’re not afraid to introduce deep jewel tones or dark moody hues to create a richer look, and many more homeowners and designers are taking notice.
Read the Houzz Tour: A Newlyweds’ Home Goes Dark and Gilded