I have people ask me all the time so what is the hot thing in design. And then I think they really don’t want to know what the newest, hottest thing is they just want to know that what they like is ok. So I am going to say this: interior design is about the home owner, the business owner, the end user. Just because French influenced furniture and fabrics are really hot and trendy doesn’t mean that you have to go run out and change what is in your home or business to stay looking current. It also doesn’t mean that if you hate this style that you have to grin and bare it and go get yourself a settee so that you have the right look. Interior Design is about you the user, how you want to feel in the space, what your needs are and if it will work for you. Hey, all of us would make a lot more money if every season you changed your home or office to go with the trends but lets get real that is not how life works.

What is trendy, what is hot that is for the showrooms, the “runways” and the markets. Do we as designers get all gaga about them? Absolutely! When the new fabrics arrive it is like Christmas in my office. No one can wait to tear into them and see who can be the first to use the new designs. But true design is not about creating something that only lasts one season. It is about creating something that can be seen in any season or generation as beautiful and lasting. We as designers want to create an environment that is cutting edge but also classic in it’s appeal and duration. Not every design that we create will be for every person, and that is the way that it is supposed to be. We have to be like chameleons. If we have a contemporary client we need to slide into that mind set and give them everything we can. And if we have a traditional client we need to be able to switch mindsets and go from streamlined, low sitting metal and leather to tufted, nailhead, tuxedo backed sofas and wingbacks. This is our job! So if you ask me what is trendy I am going to say I can make anything trendy by listening to my client and creating their dream.

Now if you want to know what I am going gaga over here are some images in different styles that I love.

 Tufting is so hot. No matter if it is a traditional look or contemporary tufting can change the look completely and make the mundane fabulous!

Using the fashion runways in Paris and Milan to influence the direction is awesome! I love seeing color used in unexpected ways.

I love the use of grey tones to create elegance, unexpected fabrics on traditional styles and the all important nesting tables.

Patterns whether they are fabrics or rugs are so important and I love combining different patterns to create layes and depths to spaces.

So these are the things that I am I am in love with right now. I also want to hear from you. I want to know what you are going gaga over. What you want to see more of and what you want me to search out at High Point in the fall.