Three anti-trends in repair that it’s time to forget about
Renovation trends change slowly but surely: they stay at their peak for years, sometimes decades, and then are inexorably transferred to the archive of history. Viktor Shutka, the chief architect of the Kvadrim design repair service, told us about what has long gone out of fashion and what should be avoided in the interior.
Keeping track of trends in design is quite simple – they are covered by fashion magazines and regular design exhibitions around the world. The situation with anti-trends is more complicated – we learn about them from the rare articles of specialists who follow the phenomena in design and try to find those to which the market is losing interest. The situation is further complicated by the fact that it is not easy to single out anti-trends in their pure form: mass interest in a stylistic solution could have disappeared, but it is partly used in interiors in one form or another. We will look at three overt anti-trends that are gone.
The urge to make palaces out of apartments appeared in the 90s, when crimson jackets and six-hundredth “Mercedes” ruled the ball. Rhinestones, gold, massive expensive natural wood furniture dominated the interiors of wealthy houses. In small apartments, this luxury echoed with rhinestones, gilding, fleecy carpets and voluminous crystal chandeliers. A substantial part of the space of the already tiny bathrooms was occupied by voluminous stucco molding, the windows were hidden behind multilayered dusty curtains. Photo prints were popular, and the more realistic, the better: huge roses could bloom overhead, and the sea abyss opened up underfoot. The apartment looked like a museum, in which there was something to see, but did not want to stay to live.
Today, such decisions are reminiscent of a published politician. They look at him, smile, pat him on the shoulder and feel sorry for themselves. Prints with huge raspberries or black and white photos of cities on the whole wall are gradually going out of fashion. Just as the place of voluminous curtains in small apartments is increasingly taken by neat roller blinds and pleated blinds, and gilding and massive furniture sets have been replaced by handmade accessories and compact modular furniture.
But interiors in the “all at once” style have served us well – they have become an inoculation against unnecessary luxury. They quickly got tired of them and realized that the house should reflect the character of the owner of the house, and not the society as a whole.
Of course, a lovely crystal chandelier or a print with your favorite photo will never go out of fashion if they are memorable and evoke pleasant emotions. But there is no need to create the former heap of unnecessary expensive things and stucco moldings at home.
Typical designs of Khrushchev and Stalinist buildings are to blame for their appearance. Having received a compact, unpretentious house-box, the family was at first happy, and then the individuality took its toll, and they wanted to dream up. It was at that time that drywall appeared – an inexpensive, unpretentious material that allowed everyone to play architect. And they immediately took advantage of this: the apartments began to turn into fancy honeycombs with curved walls and all kinds of niches. A special chic was created by multi-tiered ceilings, where each layer had multi-colored illumination. The overall picture was complemented by fake fireplaces, tables, shelves – the popularity of artificial partitions grew in arithmetic progression.
And then it began to decline. City dwellers realized that space was needed for life, not for drywall, and gradually left this fashion in the noughties.
Drywall has gained a reputation for being an economical and convenient material, in which it is convenient to hide wires and pipes in boxes, as well as to level hopelessly crooked walls or ceilings. But building a house in a house with its help is no longer fashionable.
Neon colors and gradients
A dazzling blue sofa set against a slightly acidic lemon wall was once all the rage. This is how progressive revolutionary designers called for rebellion, persuaded not to be afraid of color and bold combinations, calling it all the fashionable word “pop art”.
This color combination was really in the spirit of the times. But he had one drawback: if the color was measured in decibels, then the noise level would be close to life-threatening. The abundance and saturation of colors literally started headaches, and people gradually realized that a house in the style of “explosion in Los Angeles” does not warm the soul and does not bring peace. The owners, and the design masters themselves, retreated towards natural muted tones.
They tried to find salvation in the gradient technique, aka ombre. It was about a smooth transition from color to color through washed out shades. A professionally executed gradient really looks impressive and original. But in practice, even experienced artists rarely succeed in mixing colors so that it is neat and beautiful. And this technique, as well as the idea of neon colors, has left the minds of renovation practitioners.
Nevertheless, splashes of bright colors are welcome in modern, practical minimalism, and in an ultra-fashionable loft, and even in a discreet hi-tech. They not only do not spoil the picture, but also make the interior lively, give zest. For example, among light monochromatic pillows, one lemon-yellow one will look flirty and boring even in a delicate muted bedroom.