Furniture

According to the trend analysis conducted by the imm cologne Trendboard, the realities of the world around us are effectively reflected in both people and the latest designs. We are increasingly aware of the perceived and real changes in our lives, which directly impact our lifestyles and home furnishings. Today's design expresses social transformations, the shifting balance of nature, changes in our day-to-day lives and our sense of personal responsibility. People are looking at old, familiar things in new ways - and combining them to create innovative designs. Values are being challenged and new rules for aesthetics established.



"Interior Trends" illustrates the order within the movement



The imm cologne Trendboard is a panel of material and design experts as well as creative minds from the design and architecture industries established five years ago to bring order to this mass of emotions and experiments. The book of four stunningly illustrated interior trends suggests that the order visualised in each shot resonates with the promise of future transformation. A feeling of change and the attempt to capture the moment can be sensed in designs of the products themselves. Opposites are combined at both the aesthetic and material levels. Fleeting materials are contrasted with lasting ones, and the complexity of shapes and patterns triumphs over minimalism. People's willingness to experiment with design is on equal footing with their desire to ensure the survival of classic or vintage designs in the future.



The common denominator: Sustainability and purpose in design




Even lovers of harmony and balance can fall victim to the lure of design. The new technologies and social utopias it promotes turn apartments upside down. But all developments in interior design - the enthusiasm for new and spontaneous forms and efforts to create something truly innovative without losing a sense of the past - are driven by a passion for meaningful things, or products with a purpose. Arbitrary shapes, the random use of materials and emotionless design have no future. In this context, sustainability and green design are impacting all levels of style and arrangements - in both the material and aesthetic senses.



"Interior Trends 2009" - the cutting-edge benchmark for the interior design sector



For the fifth time, the international furnishing show imm cologne shows the interior design developments that will shape the upcoming season in their book "Interior Trends 2009". This successful publication has become a definitive work on industry trends for interior designers, furnishers and architects. It compiles the elaborately illustrated interior trends developed by design experts in a bold and practical format. Connections are made between furnishing trends, lifestyles and universal topics in society in short, emotional sketches. No other trend report provides such a compact, emotionally complex and detailed representation. As publisher of the handy book, Koelnmesse provides this professional tool as a service to the furnishing industry, planners, design enthusiasts and media representatives in the lead-up to the imm cologne. In combination with informed by cologne, the lecture and exhibition forum held at the show, trade representatives will experience the complete picture of the latest trends in the interior design and furnishing sectors.



The Trendboard of prominent experts analyses consumer needs and design trends



The different interior trends in the book are developed by a team of five to six designers, architects, material experts and design journalists: The imm cologne Trendboard. The panel, which changes every year but includes some "veteran" members, meets for a two-day workshop each summer to examine and discuss their impressions of the latest developments in society and design. Future consumer needs are compiled for the four most important interior trends and assigned to different target groups in society, so-called milieus. Materials and colour samples are used to define these interior trends down to the smallest detail.



Interior Trends 2009



Extra Much reflects the end of restraint in design, even for those who value a harmonious balance between colours and forms as well as old and new. Consumers who traditionally favour harmony are rejecting minimalism in exchange for something more creative and bold: More complex and playful forms, new materials, such as technical plastics and expressive colours ranging from may green and loud yellow and orange shades to the fundamental blue-green hue. People want designs which are less balanced and more extreme. They are opening up to new technologies and virtual worlds. The design is left to follow its own rules, instilling products and lifestyles with the impetus to test the limits of new technologies. As if to compensate for this aesthetic, obsolete industrial pieces are reconceived to create design objects and old materials like aluminium and plexiglass are rejuvenated through new processing methods.


The Near and Far interior trend is poetic in its combination of elements which don't seem to fit together. Plastic is used like a natural material, and simple materials are paired with high-tech constructions. Based on the principles of nature, this approach attempts to find the relationship between the microcosm and macrocosm, between the smallest detail and the big picture. Instead of being limited to recyclable materials, the concept of sustainable design is applied in a systematic way. The focus is on the idea itself - the possibilities of sustainable production and consumption. The principle of transience is used as a theme in the design. After all, change is an essential part of a sustainable system. Paradoxically, the individual piece of furniture is given a greater significance as a self-sufficient, self-contained object rendered desirable by its very existence. In essence, the overall design is only a sum of its parts. Near and Far extensively features white as well as warm grey shades, some beige and rose-coloured accents for a more reserved colour palette. Natural materials like sea grass and bamboo are used. Delicate shapes and transparent structures underlie the fleeting and fragile aesthetic of the design elite.


Tepee Culture demonstrates the pure joie de vivre of an optimistic generation - one which expresses its love of nature and passion for interior design with individual, original, emotional and complex pieces as opposed to opulent forms. Design means ecological responsibility. The home becomes an ideal world in which the furnishings and lighting are inspired by friendly animal themes. Paper is used as a design material to reflect sustainability. Rough surfaces and recycled materials reflect the authenticity and history of the furnishings. Circular forms are combined with fauna or birds' feet motifs, and lamps are reminiscent of octopuses. The space is dominated by a full, warm red tone, combined with brown and green shades as well as ochre and blue accents.

The interior trend Re-Run Time interprets sustainability in terms of how designs stand the test of time. The designs are reduced to their essentials in a search for truth. People want security and prefer stability over change, naturalness over originality. Legendary designs are given a second chance to prove themselves - classic, simple and unadulterated designs, the look of day-to-day life. These reminders of the styles and knowledge that have been handed down to our generation are made fit for the future. They are refined until their true value is revealed in every pore - or by changing an essential detail, proportion or dimension. The primary colour beige is combined with red and brown tones. Natural materials, such as leather, horsehair, silk, wax and wood dominate the overall look.



The Trendboard



This year's Trendboard is made up of both familiar and new faces. Two creative personalities guarantee the continuity of the group. One is New York designer, creative consultant and critic Stephen Burks, who specialises in the area of packaging, lighting, industrial and furniture design with his Studio Readymade Projects. Architect and designer Eero Koivisto is on the board for the fourth year. He is known for his work on international construction and interior design projects as co-owner of the renowned Stockholm architecture firm Claesson Koivisto Rune. New impulses to this year's board came from Marcus Fairs, the London-based author and editor of the influential online design magazine dezeen, and Israel native Arik Lévy, art director, designer and owner of Studio Ldesign in Paris, who critics regard as a successful crossover between art and design. He was recently voted "Designer of the Year 2008" by Elle Decoration magazine. This year's line-up also includes material specialist Giulio Ridolfo, designer and textile consultant at Italy's creative stronghold Udine, who has made a name for himself with his unusual works for Patricia Urquiola.


English and German versions of Interior Trends can be ordered from Koelnmesse (Koelnmesse GmbH, P.O. Box 210760, 50532 Cologne, Germany, Tel. +49 (0) 221 821-0, Fax +49 (0) 221 821-2574, E-Mail imm@koelnmesse.de) for €25.00 (VAT included, plus shipping