The main trends of European interior design.

Interior design in different regions of our planet, how interior designers and architects see the world, what ideas are striking the European design world in the north and the south, inspiring Nordic carpenters, Mediterranean tile makers and all creative minds in between? And which local topics deserve a wider audience? Here are some highlights.

enclosures: Lana from Ondarreta to Habitat Valencia
2019 was all about earthy colors, especially reds, yellows, browns and greens. Now, this palette takes on a distinctive fall hue, ranging from deep pink to burnt terra cotta to a rather sharp orange.

The organizers of Formex (Stockholm; August 21-24, 2019) also used the same color scheme in their own infrastructure of the exhibition, this can be seen in the interior design of the cafe.

Tile: sheet shapes from the Even collection by Panaria Ceramica
A similar palette decorated for the bathroom is on display at Cersaie (Bologna, Italy; September 24-28, 2019), an international trade fair for architectural ceramics and bathroom furniture. While black and white tiles and bathroom schemes aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, sage, marsala and pastel pinks are the dominant colors in the bathroom this fall. This was true not only for tiles, but also for fixtures and accessories.

Tile: ZYX in Cersaie
Nature is In
Houseplants and plant motifs have been making a comeback in recent years with redoubled force, as evidenced by our collective obsession with the ever-Instagrammed fiddle leaf fig leaf and the prevalence of plant-themed murals, murals and wallpaper.
This autumn, we see how exotic plants give way to local vegetation, for example, bouquets of hydrangeas.

Teak Dakota by Muubs at the MIA Design store in Helsinki.
Raw Is Hot Wood also hit the scene in a big way. At Helsinki Design Week (Helsinki; 6-16 September 2019), raw and heavy or light and airy wooden elements took center stage, with something in between taking a back seat.
A similar trend followed in Formex, with lots of minimalist branches in tall vases, very rough reclaimed wood and worn industrial metal.
Similarly, at Decorex International (London; 16-19 September 2019), a wood craftsman made a chair in the design hall, allowing visitors to see the level of skill and craftsmanship that goes into making handmade pieces.

Side table: Studio Ville Auvinen at Raw/Raw at Helsinki Design Week.
Wabi-Sabi
Perhaps it also contributes to our growing love affair with imperfection. At the Raw / Rawka exhibition at Helsinki Design Week, wood from the Finnish forest met the Japanese aesthetic of washi-sabi, which celebrates the beauty of the imperfect, humble, temporary and authentic, and raw wood fits right in.

Ethnic craft at Maison et Objet
It’s all about authenticity
Or maybe it has to do with authenticity. This fall, it was hard not to notice handmade items that emphasize craft. The textiles looked handmade and the bottles seemed blown.

Handmade ceramics
The ceramics also looked handmade. They were hotter than Formex hot, especially the rugged and hand-built versions.

This pottery on display is a great example: magnified with a historical look
This coincided in Finland with the debut of oversized versions of classical Scandinavian music, such as the Alvar Aalto vase by Iittala.

Maison de Vacances at Maison et Objet
International Touches
East Asian inspiration was a hit at Milan’s Salone del Mobile back in April, and the influence of international art and design continued to be evident this fall. In addition to the already noted Wabi-Sabi aesthetic, we saw a variety of international influences on display at Maison et Objet (Paris; September 7-11, 2019). American woven wool, carp benches from India, Senufo folk crafts from West Africa, four-leaf clover designs from Islamic traditions and origami lamps are expected to make an impact in 2020.

Notre Monde at Maison et Objet

Comfort
Comfort was also a big theme, with plenty of large cushioned cushions – especially on the Maison et Objet sofas – and ultra-soft velvets.

Duistt at Maison et Objet
heralding a bygone era
The influence of the past, especially Art Deco and 1950s designs, was strongly felt this autumn, showing up in wallpaper, armchairs, sideboards and other storage areas.

Cabinet: Petra Collection by Artesi
The Cersaie exhibition showed that in the decoration of walls and floors we also returned to the classic tile with a small rectangle in a folded vertical arrangement.

An exhibition by Carla Baz, one of the winners of the Rising Talent Awards at Maison et Objet
A Little Glitz and Glamour
Velvet, continued to appear on sofas, stools and ottomans with copper pedestals. This is a stark contrast to the imperfect and natural look discussed above.
Coffee tables in green marble on very thin legs also made an impression on the latest edition of Maison et Objet.
At Habitat Valencia (Valencia, Spain; 18-21 September 2019) we also saw a move towards more elegant wood, in contrast to the Nordic trends in raw wood. Oak has been a favorite for a long time, but now we’re seeing more elegant, sophisticated and warm woods.

Stool: Unite before and after assembly from designers Antti Tuomi and Sakari Hartikainen’s collaborative exhibition at furniture store Casuarina at Helsinki Design Week

Make it – and customize it – Right at the intersection of these two major movements in the design world – luxurious comfort and the raw imperfection of handmade – is another big trend of 2019: customization and DIY.

In Helsinki, we saw flat self-assembly parts designed to be assembled without any tools. It’s also easy to take them apart again to replace broken components individually.