Design trends you can expect to see starting to grow in 2020.
2020 brings with it a plethora of design trends. In particular a few trends that appeal to my aesthetic and sentimentality. In fact 2020 designs are very in keeping with much of my lifestyle and philosophy. So what can we expect to see more of in the area of industrial design, retail, home decor and fashion inspo?
New retro
Colour combos with geometric designs reminiscent of an 80’s and 90’s influence invoke a nostalgic aesthetic, like the 50’s and 60’s aesthetic once dominated the design landscape these two more recent decades now hold their own with a design appeal sympathetic to the 30 and 40 something crowd drawing from childhood memories of a time when technology was more simplistic and radical design meant colour blocks, pastels, neon and a strategically placed ficus plant.
The 2020 version of this aesthetic combines the slightly more minimalist Nordic design coupled with the 50’s and 60’s pattens and shapes in furniture.
Interior design that draws on the simplistic aspects of the 80’s and 90’s will just require a hint of block colour, neon light, or colours reflective of the era to transport you back a few decades.
Furniture and interior design draw on the block colour appeal of the 80-90’s with simplistic design with function only slightly overwhelming by a need to ‘be modern’ as was the focus of the 80’s. A bit of a Back to the Future feel carries through the styling trends we’ll see with old and new overlaying the 80-90’s feel.
Three main design trends that may very well contribute to the 2020 design history books already made an appearance in the 2010’s however we’ll be seeing them reach fruition in 2020:
Sustainability and Recycle
Sustainability and recycled materials have been around for a while but we’ll also see these paired with 80-90’s retro. The necessity to recycle has never been quite so urgent as it is now. In this decade we’ll be seeing materials recycled from anything destined for landfill, including furniture, homewares, fabrics, timber, crockery, electronics and plastics.
Hopefully we’ll see a shift once again to the love of painted old furniture in bold block colours that we saw in 90’s when we discovered the need to recycle furniture. Also the mix and match that the Cafe culture so beautifully adopted seems to be shifting into the home turf along with more recent use of earthy home made crockery mixed with vintage and retro recycled crockery and cutlery. Furniture once only hipster urban dwellers utilised, such as the much loved 60’s chairs will see more mainstream establishments understanding the ethical necessity to utilise recycle furniture. So let’s all get on that bandwagon and go for used and upcycled furniture, homewares and crockery.
Wellness focus in design
Wellness, mindfulness and awareness have become the catch cries done to death in recent years ...in the 2020’s however this isn’t about to change...but it isn’t a bad thing. With society now questioning the over use of mainstream medicine, education, religion and fitness they’re turning to alternative options of meditation, yoga, mindfulness, aromatherapy, crystals, earthing, nature walks and even magic and incorporating it into their design aesthetic.
Us flower children have been doing this for decades however it’s encouraging to see a new generation shifting away for authoritarian wellness and health to more spiritual and authentic wellness that means creating wholistic healing spaces which includes environmental and decorating choices. Which leads to the next trend, possibly the strongest trend of the next decade.
Biophilia
Biophilia, the need to interact with nature took off in the last 5 years but in the 2020’s it seems the link with the wellness decorating and design aesthetic creates the perfect synergy and it’s about to hit the sweet spot. More and more the condition of biophilia is becoming the norm not the exception as people feel the need for, and connection to nature and all living things.
We now know grounding and earthing has scientifically proven benefits, so it’s a natural progression that we start to incorporate all things earthy into our living spaces. This means plants, obviously but also materials derived from the earth that retain a sense of natural aesthetic appeal.
The need to create nature connected interior environments has both physiological and psychological benefits, instinctively we know this. So you’ll be seeing the trend of nature filled healing spaces like bathrooms.
The spa look now takes on the holiday retreat aesthetic as we desire to self sooth and heal not just focus on beauty and hygiene in the bathroom. The nature connection works particularly well here with the combination of elements like wood, plants, stone, water etc.
The 80’s and 90’s trends blend with the wellness and biophilia trends to create environments that are reminiscent of a time when new and modern design overlapped with the more minimslist lifestyles.
Again the wellness and biophilia trend start to combine with the use of natural materials below, which fulfil the nature connection aspect of design.
So to sum it up 2020 is the year of Retro 80-90’s, wellness, biophilia, nature connected, sustainability and recycling design aesthetic.... phew! And I’m loving it!