It was slimmer pickings than in years past for trend-spotters at Toronto’s Interior Design Show. Major themes, such as green sustainability and organic shaping, as well as minor motifs, such as LED lamps and waterfall faucets, had all been seen before. Faddish touches – like the overuse of black in lacquered cabinets, carpeting and wall sconces – seemed destined for a short shelf life.
We picked up on the fact that, yes, brushed steel kitchen appliances are being brushed aside by other metallics, strong signature colours and wood veneers. Sinks are moving away from rectangular stone troughs and round ceramic bowls toward oddly shaped cell structures (it appears Will Alsop was right about something, after all). And many bathrooms are returning to the glass-and-dark-wood days of the late Victorian and Deco eras.
As always, though, there were singular things deserving of a more concentrated spotlight than that offered by the Direct Energy Centre’s overhead fluorescents. Following, you’ll find our take on what we thought great.
