Much Ado About Flooring Trends

Friday, September 11, 2015


Bonjour my Divalings! It’s that time of year. Time to hit the books and explore the story of flooring fashions for Fall 2015.  While your kids are at school learning about reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic, it’s time for you to explore the story of fall fashion and become interior design literate. Here’s your decor primer.

As personal growth guru Vikas Malkani says, “You are the author of your own life-story.” That’s true of your home, too. Your home is a reflection of you. And as a fellow fashion diva, I know you want to add a few new touches to your home to stay hip, whether you are a hipster or not. (I fear not, if my skinny jeans and scarves don’t make me a member of the hipster club, I still have my country club membership!)

The tale of fall home style is about a wonderland where astonishing splashes of color have arrived from the East, the dark elegance of the Victorian era is taking possession, trash and clash are the newest ender’s game, and tidying creates practical magic as we purge our overabundance of clutter to find balance. So much diversity in one little season of design gives flight to the imagination.

While many spring trends are still hot, hot, hot -- subway tiles, the color grey, and large format tiles – there are some new ideas to be found. In the interior design world, according to everything from Pinterest to the latest dwell magazine, there are four new style groupings on the rise, which are hitting the runways of New York and Milan in women’s fashion as well.  Here is my take on the newest edition of the book on home style.

A Passage to India

This is pure 1970’s BoHo with a modern update. It is all about exotic woods and colorful bold prints. If you’re going to go for a full Eat, Pray, Love world traveler adventure in your home design, then you can’t dip a toe into the waters. You must jump in with both feet and explore the colors of the spice markets of Marrakesh, the teal waters of the Mediterranean, and the rich red of the desert rose. But this is no electric kool aid acid test, with love bead curtains and the scent of patchouli wafting in the air. Today’s bohemian style is elegant, tempered with the lines of lovingly restored and hand painted antique furniture. It is Indian Kantha throws and sheepskin accent pillows. It is tailored modern with a ghost of the old Haight-Ashbury handmade, fresh from today’s maker movement, It is smooth natural stone and wood surfaces paired with  “animal” textures like fur and suede. It is a fine balance of East and West.

Dark Places and Sharp Objects

I could call this gothic chic, with a soupcon of Steampunk, or Industrial meets French Country. What the trend is all about is going back to the Victorian era for inspiration and blending it with a dash of industrial and Paris Flea Market. It steals from the Stevie Nicks line “Give to me your leather, take from me my lace.” It is a style with the softness of the tufted settee in the boudoir of Dicken’s Mrs. Haversham, but with a splash of Infernal Devices. Dark blue, black, metallic trims, deep purples, and dark reds mixed with pink slipper-satin pillows and lace details. Many new bathroom and kitchen re-dos are receiving a touch of this style when using the very popular black and white hexagon tiles. They were first employed in bathrooms and the subways of New York at the turn of the last century.  All things 100 years old are new again.

I, Geek

Big Bang Theory fashions are hitting the streets, and not just on the brainiac set. Get ready to mix those plaids and foulard prints in an array of retro cool colors like pumpkin, pistachio and citron. This grand design concept gathers together ideas from a brief history of time called mid-century modern. It’s all about nubby textures and sleek wood furniture of Danish Modern descent. And  don’t  forget the wood, wood, wood floors and ceilings. It is like taking a time machine back to the age of Mad Men and The Day the Earth Stood Still (the original version, not the one with Keanu Reeves). But Klaatu, in your spaceship remodeling, don’t forget your Iron Man movie poster and precious Lord of the Rings signed prints from the artists at Com Con.

The Way of Zen

This minimalistic esthetic means cutting back to the very essence of a room. When I looked up minimalism, one article said a true minimalist only owns 100 things. Guess you can count me out. I have a hundred pairs of shoes!  But I love the look. And it is catching on. The book, The Life-Changing Magic Of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing is on top of the New York Times and Amazon bestseller lists. It is about purging the glut of stuff we own and simplifying. The look can mean indulging in the tiny home movement, or paring down each room to it’s most basic elements. At City Tile, we are seeing this trend in the choosing of solid colored rugs of the most basic earth tones, stone-look tiles, and wood floors (be they real wood, wood laminate, wood-look vinyl or wood-look tile). Beige, grey, and pale green, yellow and blues are the key colors. It is like bringing a meditation garden into the home.

Have fun, my diva-darlings, with these fall trends. Adding a touch of dork-divine to a library, bringing a bit of exotic BoHo into the bedroom, or purging a living room to minimalistic perfection need not be an odyssey into the deathly hallows. Open the book of Fall 2015 interior design and create your own household tales.


Photos: MorgueFiles (Jacky), digsdigs.com, decaholic.org, anthenna.com, and ovahomedesign.net