Forget the trends

It's easy to be dazzled by the latest design trends, but authentically following your heart is the most rewarding way to decorate your home. Read on as interior design experts uncover the meaning of trends and share tips on discovering your personal style.

- JESSICA BELLEF

Cottagecore. Millennial pink. Chubby design. Do any of these words ring a bell? A quick online search of these buzzwords will reveal they are interior design trends that have popped and fizzed within the last 10 years. The words may be new to you, but the trends’ influence can be witnessed in stores and hospitality spaces, online, in print and possibly even in your home.

For centuries, colours, shapes and patterns have ridden waves of popularity and contributed to the identity of a decade. Tastemakers and revered media outlets were once the gatekeepers of trends across all facets of design, and en vogue styles would slowly filter down to the general public. Today, the relationship between trends and broader society is closely entwined in an increasingly online world of relentless information and inspiration sharing. Neale Whitaker, a highly respected interior design personality and television presenter with a wealth of expertise in publishing, is more interested in learning about why things are suddenly fashionable rather than what is fashionable. It’s so often an oblique comment on society or culture or a reaction to what has gone before,” he says.

Sydney-based designer Amanda Talbot suggests that design trends reflect societal developments and are a reading of the global mood. Well versed in the business of trends, Talbot’s career spans trend forecasting for international brands such as IKEA and Louis Vuitton, authoring multiple books and designing a slew of homes and high-profile hospitality projects. Trends come with the zeitgeist of what is happening around us,” she explains, adding that the events covered in the 24-hour news cycle shape individuals’ values and decisions about how they live. This includes what is happening economically, environmentally, socially, advancement in technology, wars and disasters,” says Talbot.