Design trends for spring 2017

The totally tropical trend is everywhere, and perhaps a bit too all-encompassing for its own good. So for ease’s sake, we’ve rechristened it “jungalow” – a combo of jungle and bungalow, which was coined by LA-based designer and blogger Justina Blakeney. On her immensely popular, fun-loving blog thejungalow.com about boho living, she offers decorating tips on how to handle “colour, pattern and plants”.

Osborne & Little’s new Rain Forest print by textiles designer Kit Miles (£62 per metre) fits the jungalow trend well, while Habitat has plenty of rattan this season (the Koba chair is worth a look, £295, habitat.co.uk). Try vintage kilims on the floor and walls (Perch & Parrow has lots, starting at £685), and dress once-empty corners with oversize succulents.

This is probably the most inspiring way to incorporate Pantone’s colour of the 2017, “Greenery” – a fresh yellow-green that apparently “evokes the first days of spring when nature’s greens revive, restore and renew”. It’s a tricky shade to embrace in interiors, so channel it here in the form of large scale botanical prints from Graham & Brown wallpapers  or House of Hackney – or with the Little Blue Leafy Bowl by Amy Isles Freeman (£100, the-z-list.co.uk).

There’s also a tropical-meets-Africana theme at large, from Zoology cushions at Jonathan Adler (from £275), which feature gorillas and ostrich, to the totally fabulous Ardmore Collection by British wallpaper company Cole & Son (wallpapers start at £75 per roll), a collaboration with Ardmore Ceramics which takes these super-collectable and exuberant ceramics from KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa and mixes with African wildlife with Zulu beadwork and woven basketware for its inspiration.

Add in the latest statement piece, Olli Ella’s Be Free seagrass wallhanging (£25) – this year’s answer to the Juju feathered hat – and you’re in the jungalow zone.

New opulence
No, this isn’t about Donald Trump’s presidency ushering in a new-found love of brash, gilded bling. This is far more sophisticated than Las Vegas glitz and dictator chic. It’s about our long-standing love affair with Art Deco glamour. So think lush velvets, vellum (lacquered goatskin is having a moment at Jonathan Adler, with his Trocadero range), soft shapes, reflective mirrored surfaces, marble and brass accents appearing in refined details.

Bethan Gray’s Shamsian collections (starting at £1140) lead the way here, with ombré dyed maple wood embellished with curvaceous patterns outlined with fine brass inlays. And Italian designer Cristina Celestino’s Happy Room for Fendi furniture, with its mix of travertine, marble and pink lacquered wood and brushed brass elements, is bound to trickle down to high-street stores in the form of curved shapes, coloured marble and a gentle, muted palette.

Marks & Spencer has captured the essence this season with their Luxe Revival look of homeware. It’s all very vintage Great Gatsby: the decorative façade of the Carraway sideboard (£849) echoes the sunburst geometrics of Thirties designs, while elegant brass-framed pieces include the marble-topped Barclay console and deep teal velvet Dante sofa.

Meanwhile, their Loft Oval Mirror (£69) is very on point, a dashing combination of this trend and the next…

Pop goes the 80s 
Anyone visiting the new Design Museum in Kensington can’t fail to notice Morag Myerscough’s vivid signage that spells out Designer, User, Maker in giant black letters against multicoloured background. She’s part of a new generation of graphic artists, including the likes of Camille Walala, who are drawing upon influences that range from the geometrics and primary colours of the cult Eighties design movement Memphis (much beloved by David Bowie) to Pop Art and graffiti-inspired artists like Keith Haring.

You have to be clever to work this into an interior stylishly, and it’s a trend that projects a youthful energy – so unless you’re furnishing a teenager’s bedroom or trying to replicate an Eighties album cover, you might want to tread lightly and keep it to accessories such as ceramics and textiles – or one investment piece.

It’s about pattern clash, bright geometrics and Sharpie-style black outlines. For the most sophisticated take, try a Jonathan Saunders Turner cushion for The Rug Company (£345), or look out for Lee Broom’s high-end limited edition collaboration with Wedgwood, launching in April. Shanghai-based design company Maison Dada is producing pieces in a similar vein, with their Little Eliah Table Lamp (£810) launching in a few weeks at Maison Objet.

More affordable options include West Elm’s Roar + Rabbit Confetti vases (£19, westelm.co.uk) and Ikea’s Spridd collection (from £3), a partnership with fashion designer Kit Neale that aims to cater for today’s “nomadic lifestyles”, with rugs, mugs, tents, boxes and duvet covers emblazoned with loud, expressive prints. It’ll take you back to being a fresher heading off to uni.

Beat the blues
Cobalt blue, has it ever gone away? That shade so beloved of artists and tastemakers – from Yves Klein and Matisse, to Yves Saint Laurent at his magical Jardin Majorelle, and our very own Sir Terence Conran, who likes it in a shirt – is everywhere. “It so vibrant and almost luminous,” explains Habitat’s creative director Polly Dickens. “It worked so well as an accent colour last season that we’ve now expanded it into a full range.”

Like denim, Cobalt is an easy colour to mix with so many other shades and materials, from whites and pinks to terracotta, rattan and cork – materials that are also experiencing a renaissance.

Peter Gomez, head of Zoffany, the fabric and textiles company, has enjoyed watching this shade gain ground. “We have seen the trend for darker dramatic shades, such as Ink and Prussian Blue, for a while now, and this move towards brighter jewel-like colours such as cobalt is really exciting, as it shows a real sense of confidence and bravery. These intense rich blues are a fabulous way to create impact.”

You’ll find kitchen classics like cast-iron casserole dishes and tableware in this shade at Sainsbury’s, and Tom Dixon has also got the blues. He’s dipped his toe in with his “Washing!” bathroom range, which includes a series of multi-functional boxes that combine marble, copper and striking cobalt blue glass (from £75-£115). Components are interchangeable, so “they can stack and nest like a modernist sculpture”.