Trends in interiors over the past 25 years.

We are all aware of the vast changes in decor throughout the ages for example, the Victorian days, modernism, post modernism, through to distinctive styles of the 50's, 60',70's, and of course the 80's. For many however the 90's through to now, seem to be a monotone confusion, with not much separation of styling as had been seen through previous decades. There were however some very distinctive things happening over the last 25 years, which most have quite probably forgotten or rather chosen to forget.

The early nineties was dominated with what everybody referred to as pink beech and this furniture which was mostly imported from Italy was seen in most contemporary homes of the time. This furniture was imported from Italy along with a host of chairs, which varied from more classic varieties like the bustle back, through to high back Macintosh influenced styles to the hugely popular Pisa chair. The original pisa chair with its raffia seat, adorned thousands of kitchens, dinettes and restaurants around South Africa.

In contrast to this look, yet happening at the same time was the so called modern look, which was dominated by chrome and glass. This furniture was also mostly coming out of Italy and in dining rooms was generally coupled with the Marcel Breuer chair, which was having a huge revival at the time. The more discerning home owner was however fixated with high back white leather chairs, also perched on these tubular chrome frames. This styling was definitely the most memorable of the 90's with the obvious gaudy classical pieces being abundant as well.

Enter the 00's and almost overnight furniture went from light beech wood to dark colours whereby one could hardly even identify the wood grain. With terms such as Mocha, Wenge, contemporary Mahogany, there was little difference between these new fictitious colour palettes. So how and why did such a radical change suddenly take shape in the furniture industry and where did all the Italian furniture go? The answer is quite simple; the manufacture of furniture became dominated by China! The dark furniture was the result of foil and other cheap veneers, which had never even seen a tree and which were pressed onto chip boards and not even MDF, in most cases. Chairs were no longer constructed from Beech wood, but rather rubber wood and home stores and furniture retailers were all selling the stuff in volumes. The modern styled furniture was also being produced including far cheaper chrome and glass tables as well as the leather replicas, which were now being done in PU. This furniture continues to dominate in the mass retailers, but there has been a definite revolt, with people rebelling against mass production.

There were certain other styles that also dominated this period such as the ostentatious glitz and glam, which included Damasque overkill, tones of mirrored furniture, crystal chandeliers and overdone window treatments. Alongside this we saw faux Zen minimalism and an ethnic revival which considered everything animal print to be hot and hip.

Welcome in 2010 and we start seeing a new kind of industrial revolution, an almost anti technology movement and a stripping down to basics. Raw, weathered, rusted and beaten materials have a newfound aesthetic appeal. Interiors boast concrete floors and face brick walls, whilst furniture is an eclectic collection of meaningful pieces. It is still early days for this new industrial look which will continue to evolve and I firmly believe it will have more longevity that styles from previous decades. Consumers no longer simply follow trends like sheep and although there are underpinning themes, it is now the age of individuality and a very exciting time indeed.