home: trend [ flexible furniture ]

Furniture and homeware design has to keep up with changing needs and demands of everyday living.

Heloisa Righetto, of trend forecasting and analysis service WGSN Lifestyle predicts a move towards furniture that facilitates numerous different activities, and that the furniture will become ‘more fluid and less about novelty’.

Modular units, sofa systems, and customising your functions as you need is growing essential in the home. As lifestyles change and what we need from our living environments develop, our furniture can flex to accommodate those needs. Changes in work, play and leisure can push towards what we demand from our homes.

There has been a surge in integrated charging systems where electronic functions are combined with furniture or home accessories. Integration isn’t just for kitchens; stores including IKEA offer affordable products where wireless charging is designed into everyday products including bedside tables and lamps.

Flexible furniture as a concept is also beneficial to many peoples reduced living space (either by choice or finances) and furniture that can multifunction is both space saving and efficient in costs e.g. a sofa that incorporates seating, storage, room dividing and even the table is a three-in-one or even four-in-one piece. Even with the complex design specifications, and quality in that furniture this will no doubt be cost efficient.

Similar to flexible furniture we can also use the term ‘modular’ when a product or item furniture can be constructed of different components that can regularly flex and change to your needs. A modular sofa can adjust to how many people need seating, how you wish to relax or what direction you wish to face – both being easy to regularly change as well as add to with new modules. IKEA is an affordable leader in this market.

1 Built in side table on sofa

2 Modular sofa from IKEA

3 Flexing between sofa or bed with ample storage underneath

4 SELJE charging side unit £50 IKEA

5 Urban Highsleeper (contemporary model of a firm favourite – the bunkbed with desk and storage) £409 RainbowWood

6 Bunkbed storage combination system

7 Vintage midcentury day bed unit with storage

8 RIGGAD Wireless charging work lamp £49 IKEA

home: favourite thing [ light box ]

We love this ‘stage door’ light box from great London based home and interiors brand, Violet And Thistle.

A cool accessory for a room, quirky, with an industrial feel. A worth while investment for a statement in a room as well as additional lighting.

£69

home: featured [ Red Candy ]

Their tag line says it all – ‘Shut up beige!’ But Red Candy certainly isn’t just a bright attack of colour with no style, this online store curates a huge range of homeware and furniture for every room, combining great style, materials, trends and good prices.

They are confident with colour and every great product will bring a fresh new look to a room. Red Candy promise to make ‘your home into the brightest place this side of the sun‘. From vibrant kitchenalia and modern cool furniture to quirky soft furnishings and bright fun wall prints, the brand offers great affordable gifts, ranges that sit well together to style a whole room and fun novelty (but cool) home accessories.

We absolutely love the designer feel lighting collection with a mix of modern, Scandi, industrial and retro styles, and the cool furniture selection.

The brand’s current ‘hot right now’ product is the great Orange Fox Light at only £28!

home: trend [ pink ]

1. Ted Baker Peony Bedding Range £35 – £110 / House Of Fraser

2. Shocking pink (try Crown at B&Q)

3. Pale Pink (Try Dulux at Homebase)

4. Stardust Quartz tiles £6.84 p/sqm / Porcelain Superstore

5. Geometric Cushion £12 / Urbanara

6. Bagsie Sofa £2095 / Loaf

7. Honolulu Wallpaper £20 / Graham & Browne

8. Shut Up + Sit Down Print £21.50 / Skandivis

This is a trend to expand what may be a naive view that pink is just for little girls or lounges in the eighties.

Modern pink interiors are cool, striking, yet calming, and the range of shades that sit together well and with other colours give ample opportunity to find the right shade to work for you.

Hot pink look clean with white // Pale shades looking subtle against warm woods

Layering up shades of pink is so effective for a rich inviting interior

Choose pinks to suit you. Pink can be introduced in small details, accessories and soft furnishings. Bolder use of the colour can be for walls in paint or wallpaper. The strongest look is combining shades for every element of a room and building the look with textures and patterns.

If pink seems to much to have as the main colouring in interior design then try using it as a highlight colour. It’s a perfect addition to a monochrome room and works beautifully alongside other high light colours including copper, soft grey and beige.

Perfect pink patterns and textures from cushions (see below for buying)

(From left to right / row by row)

|| Swirly Fur £4.99 The Range • Tropical Bird • Butterfly Matthew Williamson £11 Debenhams ||

|| Striped £138 Iconic Dutch • Lotus £35.99 Turnbull & Thomas • Renee Embroidered £29.50 Marks & Spencer ||

|| Las Tanner Knit £35 John Lewis • Shell £95 Amara • Watercolour Floral £12.55 RedBubble • ||

home: featured [ The Barbican shop ]

Museum and tourist attraction shops are always full of great gifts, homeware and amazing design, and the shop at The Barbican is no different.

Not just for a postcard or a branded pencil this store is full of well curated ranges of modern designers including super ceramics, prints and homeware gifts.

The whole retro, midcentury (up to the 80s) design is emulated in the styles and trends that the products are designed to. If you like industrial, brutalism and midcentury design you’ll love the shop and be able to fill your home with great pieces.

And if you love that design even more, check out The Modern House (the modern estate agent) to see if there’s properties available to buy in The Barbican complex – love the style, live the style.
Goods available online but for the full range visit the store on site.

home: trend [ rattan ]

A once favourite for suburban semi conservatory furniture and popular up until the last couple of decades, rattan has had a recent surge of popularity and with many brands designing new chic modern styles, rattan is the perfect addition to the contemporary home.

It’s flexible and sits well with both minimalist interiors as well as bohemian ecletic styles.

Create the perfect look with dark wood floors, kilim rugs (we love the selection at West Elm), fresh white walls and lace white curtains (try IKEA Alvine Spets).

1. MALU vintage rattan bedside table £55 La Redoute

2. ALSEDA stool £20 IKEA

3. BOJA lamp £52 IKEA

4. OONA rocking chair £352.50 Graham And Green

5. IVYLINE planter £79 John Lewis

6. INQALUIT KUBU footstool £42.25 La Redoute

7. RADVIKEN chair £120 IKEA

home: nice price [ wine glasses ]

Perfect for summer dining, we love these well proportioned Villeroy and Boch wine glasses currently in the Selfridges sale.

Originally £14.90

Now £10.43

Search the rest of the homeware sale for some great prices in ceramics, kitchenalia, glassware and small appliances.

Selfridges Says

‘Crafted from 24% lead crystal, this traditionally sized goblet from Villeroy & Boch is perfect for white wines. A weighty glass, with dimpled detailing around the bowl, it’s perfect for dining outside and bound to be a compliment to any dinner service. The lead crystal gives the glass both extra strength and remarkable clarity.’

home: featured [ La Redoute ]

You may not have discovered the gorgeous homeware and furniture at La Redoute but it certainly needs to be on your radar.

If you make your way past all the great clothing to choose from, the interiors department is full of great quality, on-trend design, a good price range (to ensure you can find some great pieces at affordable prices), as well as a super sale section.

There’s a mix of chic, contemporary, modern minimalist and midcentury modern styles. With superb patterns and colours in their soft furnishings, great design and style in furniture and perfect choices in home accessories – every inch of the home can be cool and timeless.

This French brand that has actually traded since 1837, they’ve got some incredible designers under their belt.

”La Redoute makes French style accessible to all – with stylish looks and timeless pieces – plus guidance and advice on how to look good. You get a great choice of clothes that fit well and flatter – the way only the French seem to know how. All our communications; website, catalogue, mailings and emails, give you useful ideas, tips and best buys. The prices make it great value too and it’s all delivered straight to your door. That’s what we call French style made easy.”

Over the decades they’ve collaborated with big names including Sonia Rykiel, Victor + Rolf, Antik Batik and Isabel Marant.

”La Redoute has worked with the biggest names in fashion from Karl Lagerfeld to Naomi Campbell”

home: trend [ pendant lighting ]

A bold way to influence the style and feel of a room is to use a statement pendant lighting feature.

We’ve hunted for our favourite collection of great big, great design lighting (see 9 pictures) but so many stores are offering super statement lighting often at very affordable prices.

Grab bargain pieces at IKEA, Tesco, Affordable Lighting or Dunelm. Head to Made.com or Habitat for mid range pricing, and spend big at Nest.

1. Danish Chimney Lamp // Modern Classic 199.95

2. Tom Raffield No.1 // John Lewis £295

3. Galveston // Laura Ashley Was £125 Now £60

4. Sequoia Wood Chips // Hutsly £196.50

5. Tuli Cluster // Made.Com £79

6. Nordic Geometric // Not On The High Street Was £99.95 Now £49.97

7. Single Globe Cage // Homary £90.98

8. Arcadia // Atkin + Thyme £79

9. WH Pendant // Tea + Kate £679

home: featured [ A Splash Of Colour ]

The gorgeous, modern, cool homewares from A Splash Of Colour will give you endless shopping choices to make your home perfect.

They stock a great range of soft furnishings, furniture, prints, lighting, homewares and candles. The designs are modern, contemporary and quite exquisite. Browse their great inspirational website and treat yourself or shop for amazing gifts.

The quirky designs are very unique. Everything has been considered – furniture shapes create great angles, clock designs are fun and abstract, the colours are candy sweet and crisp, and there’s so much to create unusual accents and features within your home.

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