Here at Livingetc we rely on Keith Flanagan to keep us up to date - he tirelessly views all the important decor launches so we - and you - don't have to. Keith is a design expert, a editor with an exceptional eye who has a talent for spotting trends as soon as they happen...or sometimes just before they're about to.
And this month has been a busy time. In New York, brands are rushing to get launches out in time for Spring, and Keith is combing through everything to pick out his edit of what's hit right now. So this is what has caught his eye and will be helping to inform what we report on this year.
A mix of furniture, window treatments and even wallpaper, these are the new ideas from the best home decor stores that Keith knows are setting this years big interior design trends.
Take a bow
On a recent visit to Schumacher’s new Soho office – where lucky designers dream up textiles and home decor throughout four sunlit floors – Marian McEvoy, a real hoot who made her name as fashion editor throughout Paris and Manhattan for decades, walked me through a delightful collaboration with the NYC-founded brand.
Nodding to the charmed life she now leads in her Hudson Valley cottage, the collection of botanical-themed fabrics and wallcoverings pulls from designs the decorative artist had scattered about her home (Dara Caponigro, Schumacher’s creative director and a longtime design editor herself, visited the cottage and hand-picked pieces in situ). There are cheerful motifs like Pretty Petals (its darling daisy is rather personified, and looks happy to see you with leaves that almost wave hello), and graceful patterns like Tendril Stripe(vertical rows of leafy vines, a natural way to incorporate stripes) throughout the tidy collection.
But the most unexpected pattern of the bunch is no doubt her Bow-Wow-Wow print, above, a budding striped bow that’s a shoe-in for any powder room — further proof that bows are currently in fashion, and always in bloom.
PERSONAL TOUCH
For another launch that’s close to home, washable rug brand Ruggable tapped its founder, Jeneva Bell, on a collection inspired by the personal style you might find throughout her San Diego abode (think dark academia, Spanish revival and European farmhouse).
The Founder’s Collection’s 22 pieces have a definite antiquey feel – channeling the types of old school rugs that are definitely more difficult to wash, making them something a workaround for decorating with antiques – but several feature modern and neutral color schemes in varying shapes that can easily sneak vintage style into contemporary interiors.
The Imani Ivory Opal rug, for example, features a pattern so subtle it reads rather like a contemporary solid, making it a gentle way to add warmth and texture even to decidedly minimalist homes.
See the whole collection here.
High lights
It’s not nice to pick favorites, but I’ve long been a fan of Zoe Feldman’s work. The D.C.-based designer has a knack for interiors that are just right, a comfy combo of classic and modern design (it helps that she leans into mid-century design, the era that has a firm hold on Millennials like myself). And so I was excited to see that her new collection for lighting brand Mitzi (her first-ever lighting designs) gives tried-and-true silhouettes a much needed twist. Expect plenty of aged brass accents, mid-century shapes, and bold shades that usher in contemporary lines and playful colors, fixtures that can easily update a range of interior styles.
If I had to pick just one? The Batya Table Lamp, pictured here, features a color-blocked base with rounded segments of blush and Bordeaux red. It’s perfectly balanced, and in perfectly good taste.
See the whole collection here.
Fire starter
Years ago I noticed that sculptural fireplaces were upending the market’s mostly traditional designs, stoking an architectural feature that’s arguably anachronistic in contemporary homes (there’s nothing homier than a hearth, but we do have more efficient ways to warm up our interiors).
At the time, Dallas’ Chad Dorsey Design was ahead of the curve, having launched STRIKE, an artful line of mantels carved from hand-selected blocks. And now, his second collection takes it up a notch: eight new customizable designs flex even more geometry, each with at least three stone and marble parts, often with dynamic interlocking features.
You’ll find achingly bespoke details, from intricate flutes to diamond cross-hatching and reeded columns, all rendered in rich materials guaranteed to create a dramatic focal point in your living room. Hinge, pictured here, nods to classic dovetail joinery with nine different fragments that appear almost moveable – but alas, they are absolutely monumental.
