So, the other day, I was scrolling through Instagram, and I came upon this post by Apartment Therapy that I immediately stopped at. It was a picture of a kitchen, and the owners had used dalmatian print wallpaper to cover up something from the past. I was looking at this picture, that I found very appealing, for some time before it registered that the cabinets that were reading very modern to me, were the very same 80’s white melamine cabinets with wood trim handles, from my childhood home. Until this picture, my take on those cabinets has always been, ugly and dated. All it took was this fresh perspective to completely flip my perception. Looking at these cabinets in a new light, I saw some of my favourite things: white and wood together, un-fussy details, and sustainability. All of a sudden, I knew in the future, I could present a client an alternative to ripping them out, saving our landfills from so much waste.
Laura once came out to my family’s dilapidated old farmhouse (think insulation hanging from the ceiling and tickling your shoulders), and we went into the haunted basement where we found a really old, falling apart dresser. I saw that, but I also saw the hardware that was so awesome, and made sure to save it. Laura commented on the fact that she couldn’t see the hardware when it was on the gross dresser, but admitted it was cool when I pointed it out. Taken out of the context of a ruined dresser, the hardware still had life and value. Trends coming back usually just require you to take them out of the context you knew them from the first time, in order to see them in a new light.
This past week has been filled with creative exploits. I’ve been working on a project and I’ve been so immersed in visuals and ideas, that I wasn’t surprised that another returning-from-the-past trend also embedded in my brain. Guys, I’m obsessed, as of this past Friday, with rattan and caning. My kijiji searches can prove it. I know that rattan has been trending for awhile now, but I wasn’t completely on board. It never quite made sense to me in a design context. Rattan, to me, was still the Golden Girls, and the settee in my husband’s grandmother’s sun room, covered in all the tropical peach and green fabric.
And then, I was working through a room on a mood board, and I was struggling with a chair, and knew it had to be light, and natural, and of a certain scale. I went in search of it, and came out obsessed with rattan. All of a sudden, I could pick it out of a picture, and covet it. I’m so excited to use it in this and upcoming projects. I’ve also got an angle on some awesome cane chairs, in mind for an upcoming project.
I love that there are people out there who can see these things first. I love that they can update a relic and make it relevant. I love that moment that it takes and clicks in my head. It keeps design fresh and exciting and fun, and I know the inspiration is going to just keep on coming!
What trends are you excited about? What ones can you not (yet) embrace? We’d love to hear about it in the comments!
*interesting fact (to me only)* In search of the cane chairs on a Kijiji run in a cool area of town, I saw a woman approaching in the distance. From how she was dressed, I assumed she was a woman in her 50's. As she came closer, I realised she was actually a twenty-something, and my perspective changed, and I was all, "Whoa, she's cool." Perspective is everything, my friends. Give rattan a chance.
Also, the cane chairs were a bust and would have been destroyed by my children in seconds. The search continues!
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