Interior Design Trends of Instagram: January 2016

Is there anything more effortlessly chic than herringbone parquet flooring? The look was popping up on our news feed this month with Apparatus Studio (@apparatusstudio), Home On The Runway (@homeontherunway) and Belle Magazine (@bellemagazineau) all posting covet-worthy herringbone pattern doing its thing.

The true beauty of this time-honoured technique is its ability to transcend eras and decorative styles. From Parisian pied-à-terres to rustic lofts, flooring of this kind is chameleon-like, lending its cool yet refined appeal to just about any space.

Windsor Smith’s (@windsorsmithhome) caption was the ultimate mic drop when she posted this photo of a flawless ivory curved sofa and its elegant sitter –“Sit together? Sit across? Favourite reply: curved sofas. Because when the arc is just right, the body naturally plays coy.”

Curved sofas are undoubtedly the sofa shape for 2016. As reported in last year’s Trend Report, they were already making a resurgence with interior designers but they’ve now become a hot topic within the industry as a whole. Watch this space for a Spring/Summer LuxDeco design exclusive.

One of our favourite Instagrammers, interior designer Ryan Korban (@ryankorban), didn’t fail us this month with this flawless living room which mixes contemporary and antique pieces to perfection in what we’ve come to term as The New Elegance. ELLE Decor’s (@elledecor) take on modern elegance came courtesy of this Timothy Haynes and Kevin Roberts living room which approaches colour with caution for everything except the “screaming pink” modern canvas which hangs above a refined arrangement. Wesley Moon (@wesleymooninc) bookended the trend with an admirably simple dining room of graceful Mid-century chairs and a barely there modern dining table. A suspended pendant configuration is all the space needs to make a subtle statement.

Of any material, ceramic is having the biggest makeover right now. We said it and Australian House & Garden (@houseandgarden) agreed. Their shot from Maison et Objet came with the caption “Larger scale ceramic works definitely on the rise”. A recent visit to Willer – one of London’s most exciting local galleries – inspired interior designer Laurie Carey (@lauriecareyuk) to share these Willer Limoges and Nymphenburg glazed ceramics which are made interesting by their oily paint effect. And at Top Drawer, we were excited to catch up with ceramic artist Alex McCarthy (@alexmccarthyceramics) and his textural glaze designs. Look out for Alex’s textural wares in our upcoming Spring/Summer collection.

As French film director Claude Chabrol once said mirrors “let one pass through the surface of things” and this month’s fascination with the reflective things has proved that. Not only did Dior (@dior) construct a hall of mirrors as the backdrop to its A/W16 couture show world inside, the fashion house created an origami-like structure outside the Musée Rodin which optimistically reflected the day’s clear blue skies. As much an art tool as it is an everyday staple, artists haven’t been slow to make use of mirrors as a way of commenting on various environments either. A spotlight on Klaus Pinter’s colossal 2010 ‘Rebonds’ installation by Trendland (@trendland) and its world-distorting abilities encourages the viewer to consider situations through different eyes whilst the “spiritual architecture” of Shirin Abedinirad’s Babel Tower was the focus of an article in OPUMO (@opumo).

It’s probably the post-festive comedown talking but simplicity and January go together like black and white and it seems we’re not the only ones.

Architectural Digest’s photo director Michael Shome inspired us with the working model for Noguchi’s ‘Slide Mantra’ at the artist’s Queens-based museum. Apparatus Studio and its Neo-classically simple styling was offered a well-deserved place in Architectural Digest’s (@ad_germany) feed. And Alyssa Kapito (@alyssakapitointeriors) opted for an understated vignette of an empire shade topped table lamp, a few vases and a single winter bloom.

As Kelly Wearstler (@kellywearstler), India Mahdavi and Nicolas Ghesquiere (@nicolasghesquiere) are our witnesses, marshmallow quilting is the hottest thing in upholstery this season. A look that encompasses all the sumptuousness of Art Deco with quirky 1970s Wes Anderson vibes, this trend has been channelled by the truly influential for a while now. But, having seen their recent posts this past month, we’ve got a feeling it’s ready for a more mainstream spotlight. Definitely a design statement, the undulating and welcoming forms of these chairs and sofas make just about any colour cool (the jury was out on pastel pink until we saw the marshmallowy decor of Sketch (@sketchlondon)) and the resulting comfort is so off the scale we can hardly handle it. This is one to try before any of your friends do.