Eclectic Living by Dave Nemeth


Having just completed the 2013 Trends book and going through all the final macro trends and directions, I thought I must write about the large change in consumer attitudes towards their living spaces and the birth of this great new individualistic approach to interior decor.
Overall we are seeing a backlash to mass production, as we have realised just what damage this caused, not only to the environment but also to small industry and localised businesses. 


Prior to the recession we saw the closure of many of these small industries worldwide in our quest to get everything manufactured cheaper and more effectively in China. We saw fabric mills close in Europe which had been around for hundreds of years as well as family traditions like the handcrafted furniture industry for which Italy had been world renowned for, for hundreds of years. Here in South Africa we followed this trend, with big retailers filling their stores with mass produced product from Asia, not giving the talented industry we have right here on our doorstep a chance at all.


We are now becoming very aware of this situation and want our individuality back; we are no longer interested in merely being style drones, but wish to have our own identity and style. We want our homes to be the sanctuary away from the fast paced lives that we are leading during the week which are mostly driven by technology and we yearn for a retreat that we can truly unwind in, in every possible way. If we look at the word eclectic’s meaning – “Deriving ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources”, we begin to understand what this style is all about. It is In fact more of an “anti style” and all about personal taste and experiences.


We now start to fill our homes with goods that appeal to our senses regardless of whether they are popular or not. We see pieces from a variety of styles and periods mixed together, from ultra modern to retro and real antiques. We surround ourselves with furniture that tells a story or holds fond memories to us. We no longer put our interiors into a category of being either classic or contemporary, but rather an assortment of styles that create huge interest and become completely unique. 


This new approach to decorating is not limited to furniture and includes everything from art and object d art, to fabrics and even colour choice. We see the growth of colour blocking within the interior space as we decide what colours to combine even if the experts or design books reveal that they simply don’t go together. We see an appreciation for traditional methods of construction as well as natural materials such as wood and clay. Resurrected rusted metals and industrial pieces combined within modern spaces, these pieces remain tactile and create a truth to materials that was lost through mass production, during our years of Hyper-consumerism.


This approach to our living spaces will definitely not be short lived and certainly an attitude that represents both generation Y and Z. – As seen in SAHO

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