Top Trends from the London Design Festival 2016

Spheres & Cylinders

I’m absolutely in love with this trend! Spheres add a really conceptual, artistic vibe to any interior scheme, particularly when they’re combined with angular lines. Lee Broom’s infinite monochrome spherical lighting installation at his Shoreditch boutique during London Design Festival was one of the highlights of the festival.

London Design Festival Top Picks - Spheres & Cylinders by Giopato & Coombes at Decorex this year.

Giopato & Coombes’ display at this year’s Decorex – Contrasting burnished brass with paper thin transparent glass.

I was also a huge fan of Giopato & Coombes’ display at this year’s Decorex, which contrasted burnished brass with paper thin transparent glass.

Texture

Another London Design Festival top trend was texture. It’s so important to me to incorporate texture into a room – the right combination can completely change the aesthetic.

Marianne Kemp showed some gorgeously colourful woven horse hair designs at Decorex. She uses small batches of horse hair, mixed with cotton and linen to create the most incredibly unique fabrics, window shades and woven light fixtures. I can imagine this on the wall of a contemporary hotel – adding just a touch of the bohemian.

London Design Festival Trends - texture. Marianne Kemp showed some gorgeously colourful woven horse hair designs this year at Decorex, a key trend at the London Design Festival 2016.

Marianne Kemp’s woven horse hair design showcased at Decorex this year.

Oceanic Themes

Aquatic colours – think teal velvet for instance, or scalloped shell-like silhouettes which always evoke an idea of the 1920’s for me. I fell in love with this shell-shaped chair at this year’s Decorex – it would be the perfect touch of colour to any bar area.

Top trends at the London Design Festival included 'Aquatic' - teal velvet and scalloped, shell-like furniture.

Aquatic-inspired teal velvet, shell chair spotted at Decorex this year.

Metals Cast as Wood

This year’s London Design Festival saw quite a few brands showing metals cast into the shape of gnarled tree branches or other styles of wood. Every scheme deserves a touch of the organic and I love this new twist on that.

Cast Chandelier by Cox London, an example of the 'Metals Cast as Wood' trend spotted at London Design Festival 2016

Magma Chandelier by Cox London spotted at Decorex this year

Satin Brass

Copper and rose gold tones have been dominating contemporary interiors for the last few seasons – it’s now the turn of satin brass, which is distinctly cooler in tone.

Satin brass, a key trend at the London Design Festival 2016

Michael Northcroft’s new collection featuring touches of satin brass

Stone & Marble Art and Accessories

There are so many accessories and objet d’art on display at the London Design Festival. I found that that this year, those that I stopped to truly take in, were those that juxtaposed the raw with the refined.

Stone and marble accessories, a key trend at the London Design Festival 2016. Featured here is a cast glass and granite sculpture by Thomas Scoon

Stone & marble accessories, a key trend at the London Design Festival. Featured here is a cast glass and granite sculpture by Thomas Scoon.

Roughly cut stone, combined with marble or glass, for instance, can work in almost any interior scheme, and is sure to make an impact.

Straw Marquetry

I am always enthralled by straw marquetry. The technique requires incredible skill and attention to detail. For me, the team at Jallu Ebénistes are really raising the bar. They execute this centuries-old tradition incredibly, but give each piece a contemporary twist.