In November, the Modern Homes team attended the Sleep & Eat exhibition at London’s Olympia.
We love finding out about the latest trends, and although this particular trade show is intended for the hospitality industry, it’s a great indicator of where things are headed for homeowners, too.
The show was as fascinating as we’d hoped, and we think the following trends (inspired by some of the hospitality industry’s biggest brands) are likely to make their way into the domestic market over the next few years.
Classic, iconic forms
It feels like we’ve lived through an era of simple, contemporary designs which have resulted in an indulgent use of whites, minimalist furniture and the acceptance of smart home technology.
We love those styles, but we also loved to see what Swiss bathroom design company Laufen have been up to. Turning to “feminine curves with angular, masculine elements”, they’re combining classic and contemporary designs rather brilliantly.
The result is considerable use of ceramics, soft lines and an overall classic feel. Quite a feat!
Bringing the outside, inside
Celebrated British design firm, Morgan, used Eat & Sleep to introduce its new Kaya range of lounge furniture.
This caught our eye, because Kaya uses timber frames and soft upholstery to create furniture that looks luxurious, but which also harks back to the Kenyan rainforest from which it takes its name.
Kaya furniture is designed to be ‘open, honest and pure’, just like the trees found in the rainforest. So, while this isn’t quite filling your living room with trees and plants, it is bringing their essence indoors.
Custom textile prints
New to Sleep & Eat this year, Prestigious Textiles were in London to show off their new range of prints and jacquards.
The designs on display were beautiful, but what got us excited was mention of their forthcoming bespoke service.
This will allow Prestigious Textiles customers to create their own designs for textile prints. The company will then print the design onto a ground of the customer’s choice.
Custom print work in homes isn’t anything new, but the idea of it being textile-based really is exciting, and we’d expect to see this trend carry over to the domestic market pretty soon – particularly with the cost of print having fallen considerably in recent years.
Antique lighting
The broad range of smart home lighting on the market has provided homeowners with an almost limitless choice for how to illuminate their home.
Despite this, it is nice to see more traditional lighting hit the market, and Dutch lighting company Marie Martin showed off some fantastic designs at the exhibition.
They clearly have a love for antiques, which is reflected in their choice of bronze, brocade, and even velvet for their lighting.
Which room can you picture that in at your home?
Wall coverings
If you’ve fallen out of love with wallpaper, Belgian wall covering manufacture Omexco, might just get you back on side.
They were at Olympia to show off their latest printing and embossing techniques, and the results are pretty stunning.
Known as the Aruba collection, these high-end wall coverings use natural materials including raffia and water lily. They’re combined with linen yarns and ecological non-woven wall coverings to create multi-layered surfaces.
This might be a bit too ‘out there’ for certain homes – indeed, like many design trends on this list – but that’s the point of Eat & Sleep, from our perspective. It’s designed for hoteliers and restauranteurs who want to make bold statements with the latest designs.
As time draws on, and those designs become more commonplace in the hospitality trade, they’ll soften, and become more digestible for homeowners.
Which of the above trends has got you most excited about what you could treat your house to in 2020?
If you’d like some further design inspiration for your kitchen or bathroom, remember to get in touch with the friendly team at Modern Homes and we’ll help turn your vision into reality.