The world changed in 2008 in ways that nobody predicted and this is now affecting the style of homes and interiors. Colours, patterns, construction, feel and functionality are all under the microscope. Find out what direction interior design will take in 2009. 2008 was marked by calamity in banking, business, job security and home ownership so there should be no surprise that it has affected sentiment towards domestic interiors. This will manifest itself in changes in 2009 and beyond.

IN: Good Design

The last five years has seen a boom in cheaply made furniture imported by the container load from China & Asia, but this is about to tumble. More customers will seek out quality rather than disposability. They will also seek local skilled crafts people to repair or revamp their home and its contents.

IN: Longevity

People are increasingly staying put and not going to move home for several years or more. That means that home making is in the acsendance rather than property speculation. Homes will start to look like individual homes rather than “show homes”. Furniture made from solid quality wood that will last and that will get more beautiful with age will emerge.

OUT: Bling

Ostentatiousness or bling has had its day. It may still linger in some quarters as a last hurrah of a debt-fueled boom at the start of the 21st century but bling cannot be sustainable, morally or environmentally. In homes this reached its zenith with expensive looking but cheaply made furniture; a new leather sofa might cost less than an average person’s weekly take home pay. The consequent disposability of domestic interiors will give way to a more thoughtful approach to style and design in coming years.

IN: Natural materials

Sustainability and green issues will increasingly permeate homes and design. We have reached a tipping point where energy efficient light bulbs, food miles and recycling of domestic waste are common place in countries like Britain. This will continue to develop with increased use of wood, natural fabrics and other materials derived from sustainable sources.

OUT: Beige and neutrals

In recent years many homes were decorated in neutral colours since these are proven to be least offensive to prospective property purchasers. However now most home owners have realised that they will not be going anywhere soon they feel much freer to express their suppressed taste for colour or pattern in their home. Most people still won’t be brave enough to go to the outer limits of taste (a 100% faux art deco home, or a truly goth palace for example) but there is a definite shift in direction happening.

IN: Mend and make do

The current recession has clear winners and losers. Shoe repairers are seeing a boom in business whilst shoe shops are forced out of business. Likewise for many people it makes great sense to re-upholster or restore their furniture; a new look without the debt. Once the big ticket items have been fixed on a budget there is still some money left for a coat of new paint, updated window dressing or stylish accessories – all without a bank loan.

OUT: Spend and be happy

As recently as spring 2008 glossy homes magazines and lifestyle supplements of newspapers were still exhorting people to spend large amounts of money on, if we are really honest with ourselves, pointless and unsustainable items and gimmicks for our homes. For example, can anyone suggest a good reason why one should swap a perfectly good tap over the kitchen sink for one containing a dynamo and lamps that light up the water various colours? In reality the design industry was increasingly inventing items with limited aesthetic and zero functionality that marketers could then use to part money from customers. The new economic reality will no doubt have an impact on this level of overt consumerism.

IN or OUT: Annual predictions

Annual predictions are a fun way to gaze into the future but in most cases they prove to be derailed by the world taking a perverse pleasure in going in its own direction. Almost universally the world’s leading academics and economists failed to predict the last 12 months of financial turmoil, so what hope is there trying to predict what colours will be popular in the next few years? We can try, but it is much more fun to produce a design for your home that does not slavishly try to “stay on trend”. Instead why not work with your interior designer to produce something that you really like and that will be close to your heart for several years to come.