IDS Toronto returned this January in a restrained format: less square feet, fewer booths, a tighter speaker offering. I want to call it curated because it sounds more intentional, but it is likely the bi-product of the changing design world and the reality that how we source has literally shifted under our feet over the last few years. Either way, it was a joy to weave through suppliers, some new to me, and feel the palpable design brain engage and activate.
There are almost always obvious take aways at these trade shows, trends that leap out and feel on repeat. This year is definitely the Year of the Wall.
Wall treatments have always had their place in good design. Wainscotting, paneling, wallpaper, faux finishes have each claimed real estate in the residential interior designer’s mind at different times and served to finish a space that would otherwise get a lick of paint. But in the way any creative art form always seeks to level up, how we treat walls is getting a good once over.
Mural, Mural on the Wall
Wallpaper has been having a renaissance for a minute. Ok. More than a minute. Even the most fervent deniers are now drinking this wall covering Kool-Aid, present company included. But the modern take on murals is super sizing this much-loved design move, taking large graphic scenery, landscapes, imagery, anything into residential design.
The history of mural design reaches centuries back, its roots firmly connected to storytelling. But what is on offer now is less to capture and hold history and more about contributing bold, memorable design moments. This feels firmly modern and elevated and a bit risky and it all makes me tingly.
Fluting Forever
Wood panelling feels like a groovy throwback and harkens to one of my very favorite design eras – the mid-century. But this is not the veneer of my childhood. AGT has launched a Profiles collection that is giving me all of the feels and has set my creative brain on fire with ideas. Square and rounded slatting, narrow shiplap with a reveal are offered in panels that snap together like Lego. I can see these living on walls proper for texture or adding interest and dimension to millwork. I can see these replacing headboards and being a backdrop for a dramatic gallery wall. Brain on fire.
Living Walls
This one has me flummoxed. I am not a plant person. Nope. Never have been. But I can always appreciate good design. Clusters of succulents and cascading plants defy gravity in wall mounted planters. The aesthetic is very cool and I get the benefits to noise reduction and air quality in commercial applications. But some things should not be alive in residential design. Walls fall into that category for me.
Concrete. Tile. Anything Goes.
Once upon a time, you had to properly fortify, strap, prep, clad a wall in order for it to hold anything other than dry wall. But innovation is allowing previously heavy materials like concrete and larger format slab tiles to be thinner, bigger, lighter and require less fuss, lowering its material and installation costs. The result is a shortcut to seriously fabulous walls.