The cards in the game have changed. If the pandemic brought an unprecedented look at our homes and a search for versatile spaces in which we could work, rest and enjoy leisure in equal measure, its end has broken the established rules and now is the time to dream and live so big. Fighting against soothing colors, impersonal furniture and ubiquitous wood are some clues that our experts in the field provide to find a magazine-worthy interior design. If your year's resolutions include renovating and preparing your home, learn why you should focus on interior design (and what you should throw out) in the coming months.
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Goodbye to neutrals, hello to burgundy and orange
Although Pantone (American paint and color company) predicts a gentle and calm year for 2024 with its shade Peach Fuzz (a pastel peach). Experts in the field are clear that in the coming months we will be offering a palette with much more personality. Fabián Ñíguez, an interior designer known for his eclectic taste and author of the latest Ana Milan House, explains that the excess of gray and white has its days numbered: “They were a trend for a while, but now they are monotonous and without Personality.” This style often resulted in excessive minimalism, leaving spaces lacking character. They are colors that ensure neutrality and relaxation. “They form a perfect canvas for creating scenarios, but alone they are left aside.” To break this monotony, the interior designer recommends using vibrant colors or decorative elements that add vibrancy to the environment, be it a striking piece of furniture like a A table or sofa in warm tones or applying paint to the kitchen tiles.
Because Alba Vázquez Codesido, founder of Basamenta and one of the big promises in the renovation of private homes during the pandemic, is betting everything on a winning color. “The serenity of terracotta, pink and makeup colors has not yet left the interiors, but there is an evolution towards burgundy in its most sober way.” The Galician architect adds oranges and reds in their brightest and most energetic version to this color list , which “if we combine them with textured, rough and natural materials, the result will be round.” And if we want to adopt a riskier proposal, Vázquez suggests adding accents of electric blue to the warm combination, for example in kitchen furniture or room dividers. “It seems to me a very suggestive and not crazy combination that we should explore in 2024.”
A home will be sustainable or not
These small daily gestures that we have practiced for decades, such as choosing light bulbs and low-consumption appliances or encouraging recycling, have given way to a global emergency that also affects the interior design of our homes. “It is important that we practice conscious sustainability, both in materiality and in lifestyles. “We must first believe in it and then bring it into our surroundings and, in this case, into the houses we design,” says Lorna de Santos, the big discovery of Casa Decor 2020, which is reflected in the world through her wabi-sabi aesthetic Recycled materials were overshadowed. , from natural fabrics made by hand in national artisan workshops to textures made from dust from marine debris.
The designer of Bascoat, the new restaurant by Nagore Irazuegi and Rodrigo García in Madrid, gives some brief recommendations for its implementation. “We need to ensure that reused or environmentally friendly materials have a lower cost so that we can use them. We must view energy efficiency as a long-term investment, conscious and committed to our natural environment and the materials it provides for us to continue to enjoy. Without them there would be no separation and we need them given the hectic lives we find ourselves in.”
Raúl Martins, famous for his classic and vibrant style that enchants prestigious residences in Madrid, Paris and London, makes sustainability within everyone's reach with a few easy-to-implement strokes. “I recommend removing dark colors, especially on surfaces like walls and ceilings. This is a way to save energy because they absorb light and force us to use more light. In addition, they take away the optimism of the rooms, make them visually harsh and create a very trendy atmosphere.”
The interior designer deals with special projects such as the renovation of a castle south of Paris and a modern villa in Estoril (Portugal). The interior designer points to upcycling as a beautiful and sometimes economical way to recycle and generate less waste when decorating a home. “My idea is to encourage people to take a beautiful vintage armchair and incorporate it into the living room. There are many antique shops, flea markets or even online stores where you can look for them and give them a new life with a fabric made from recycled elements. At the beginning of the year I am presenting a textile collection with some designs made from PET. “This is how we meet the three Rs of recycling: reduce, reuse and recycle.”
An extravagant chandelier or mirror
The days of minimalism are numbered. As we emphasized at the beginning, the calming colors have given free rein to a scenario that invites you to play and dream. For interior designer Fabián Ñiguez, the aesthetic core of 2024 lies in not discarding anything, enlivening the heterogeneous and applauding the theatrical: “I like to work with eclectic maximalism, a decorative trend that combines different styles, colors and textures Creating an eye-catching environment is dramatic, which has become more important in recent years.”
To use it successfully, the professional continues, just follow these simple tips: “Try to combine different styles of furniture and accessories to create a unique and personalized space.” You can, for example, combine a modern coffee table with an antique one Combine chandeliers.” Other interior designer recommendations include adding different textures to the home furnishings or incorporating a statement element that adds drama and unifies the room, such as a large, colorful piece of art or an extravagant mirror. And we must not forget to play with color. “Eclectic maximalism is about being bold with color. Don't be afraid to mix bright and bold shades. You can add color to your room with pillows, curtains, rugs and other accessories.”
Interiors with personality
A place where we feel more like ourselves than ever before. This will be the goal of a well-executed interior design for 2024, according to Carlos Tomás, founder of EstudioReciente – creator of a transversal design concept for homes and private spaces. “This idea of the house as a nest and a protective shield.” Peace against the world will lose its power, it will become a refuge for our values rather than just our lives. Therefore, the local must be taken into account in the interiors through the use of colors, materials and construction solutions. “The interiors are not intended to calm us down as before, but to motivate us,” says the interior designer.
To reinforce the trend in a future renovation, Carlos recommends opting for a more casual use of colors and combining materials with metal effects, stones, marble and local woods, away from the ubiquitous natural oak. It is a forceful reaction, explains the expert, to the fashion that prevailed in the last decade and promoted the standardization of colors and materials to fit into the speculative system of real estate value. “In the United States it has created a very strong movement against uniformity, and everyone likes the idea of this material or this solution, and when it goes on sale it will have a higher value.” But. What value does it ultimately have for the owner?” he ponders.
Out with wood paneling, welcome to stainless steel
The second decade of this century will be remembered for the repeated search for inspiration in nature to conceive our long-awaited sanctuary. From the organic and curved shapes in sofas and other furniture, to the stucco on the walls that imitates sand, to the ubiquity of wood in every nook and cranny of the house. “It's a difficult affiliation to reject, and that doesn't mean that straight lines predominate above all now, but the fever for organic has its days numbered. Now it's being integrated more subtly instead of dominating everything,” says Galician interior designer Alba Vazquez Codesido.
This trend, adds Carlos Tomás, can be seen above all in the use of materials with greater visual presence and character: “We will see a lot of stainless steel, aluminum and chrome in different elements.” We no longer see so much gold or Brass. Opposite, there is also a return to marble and wood with a lot of pronounced grain. But interpreted differently than the decadent luxury of the 90s. Now they are returning to stimulate the sense of touch in the new interiors.” The kitchen is the preferred space when it comes to applying this philia for cold materials as an alternative to the predominant interior carpentry craft of recent years.
Review: Mastering the Surfaces and Icons of the 20th Century
The old is more alive than ever. For Ana Arana and Enrique Ventosa, founders of the architectural firm Plutarco, it is clear that the success of good interior design lies in looking back and learning from the masters. “We have always been great supporters of Le Corbusier, Aalto, Charlotte Perriand and Eileen Gray, but now there is a clear tendency to look at the work of these pioneers of modernism in the 1930s: their way of thinking about space and interior design “Simplicity and sophistication with areas of color and a mix of materials are very present in rooms,” they reflect.
Note the tiled walls outside the kitchen and bathrooms as in house E-1027, designed by Eileen Gray between 1926 and 1929, the high-gloss ceilings that crown the Paimio sanatorium designed by Finn Alvar Aalto, the grilles and pavé walls of the living unit Marseille or the color compositions of Villa La Roche in Paris, both directed by Le Corbusier, are a strong inspiration for future interior design. “It is no coincidence that these elements are increasingly present in our interiors and we believe that this will continue in 2024,” they emphasize.
As a masterstroke, experts recommend complementing the room with iconic pieces of furniture, “but mixed with other, more contemporary pieces.” like all of Muller Van Severen, the Bouroullec brothers or Inga Sempé… They will always be a success and it is a way to bring this look back at the Modern Movement into the present.” On a more earthly level, we can achieve this by We combine color surfaces in room-dividing elements, for example a grid to separate the dining room from the living room or the bedroom from the dressing room. Not only do they fulfill their function, but they also give the complex a strong architectural presence. “It's an easy way to bring a change to your home, it's also reversible and easy to modify and customize.”
A completely tiled house
As suggested in Plutarco and already predicted by the Irish architect and furniture designer Eileen Gray, covering the walls with tiles will not be the only task of the bathroom and kitchen. Arana and Ventosa are now working with EstudioReciente to design the common and private areas for a hotel in Ibiza and are aware that the tiled walls will have their golden age in 2024. “They are in their maximum splendor, but not as usual, we.” I have to give up plain colors.”
The postmodern tiles of Nathalie Du Pasquier or the pioneering work of Studio GdB with its personalized tiles that combine technology and passion for craftsmanship are a very trendy option that we can apply to any partition in our home. “Studio GdB creates unique pieces in color gradients that are reminiscent of the tiles of the 70s but brought into the present.” The architect duo emphasizes the endless possibilities of applying this type of XL color pattern in our home and for dynamism in every corner care for. “It's also a very easy trend to place on a surface you want to personalize, such as a living room, a bedroom headboard or a bathroom cabinet.”