Here’s what to expect from design this year, according to our very stylish crystal ball December 27, 2019First and foremost, congrats on making it to the end of the decade. What a time! We've certainly seen a lot: Millennial pink! Memphis! Hygge! Plants! Sheepskins! Remember chevron? Anyway, enough of the past…let's look to the future, shall we? In order to gauge a sense of coming trends and sound knowledgable at parties, I asked a few of my coworkers, a few designers, and some generally cool people to tell me what they think is going to be all the rage in 2020. So sit back, relax, and take notes, because I'd bet the success of my New Year's party small talk on the fact that these trends will be everywhere sooner than you think.
Blockier Shapes"We don't tend to examine trends too much, but what we've personally been interested in recently are blockier, more graphic shapes. There have been a lot of soft, amorphous, almost cuddly shapes dominating design and interiors for the last couple of years. We love these, but are really enjoying working on heavier, more brutalist pieces at the moment, like our new I Chair—it's still comfortable, but has a more assertive presence."—Emma Jay of Los Angeles–based design studio Estudio Persona
Beautiful Storage"I think beautiful wall storage will have a moment. I just bought one of the Joe Colombo Boby Carts after months of searching for the most visually pleasing way to store my art supplies. Because so many people are tapping into their creative sides and making things with their own hands—an antidote to our work culture, which is so focused on screen time—they'll need storage solutions for their crafts. And while we always want things to look beautiful, when you think of wall storage, beautiful isn't the first word that comes to mind. But I think we'll be seeing more options like this wall storage because this…this is something."—Erika Owen, associate director, audience development, Clever
Statement Doorknobs and Pulls"We're always telling anyone who will listen that replacing doorknobs and cabinet hardware is one of the easiest home upgrades you can make—and it's totally rental-friendly! But I predict 2020 is the year those everyday necessities will finally steal the spotlight. I was blown away by the pair of eye doorknobs Nick DeMarco made for Ellen Van Dusen's house. Ditto, Green River Project's collection of gorgeous wooden cabinet pulls. And OMG these resin door handles by Doug McCollough and Katie Payne for L.A. Door. Move over, status ceramic!"—Sydney Wasserman, special projects director, CleverKindercore“I love the chance to latch onto and trash-talk a new trend in equal measure (hello, millennial pink), so when New York magazine invented the concept of Kindercore, I couldn't stop thinking about it. Sure, it takes a lot of ideas from movements we've seen before like Bauhaus and Memphis Milano, but it's also just a great word to categorize this "Lego, but make it fashion" concept. It combines a slew of Clever-approved styles like color blocking, bright hues, and strong geometric designs, and I think we'll be seeing it pop up everywhere from cafe interiors to furniture collaborations.Since Pantone has announced that the color of the year is Classic Blue, something very close to our fave Hyper Blue, I see bright, buzzing primary colors as a fresh way to begin a new decade. It's like we're starting from the beginning with a chance to build a foundation from childlike colors and simple shapes. Kindercore gives your brain a minute of relief and fun, and honestly, some much-needed lightheartedness."—Zoe Sessums, associate editor, Clever
Ceramic Furniture"Ceramics are having a big moment and we are beginning to see new forms appear, not just in accessories and lighting, but in seating, tables, and more. Designers such as Eny Lee Parker and Chris Wolston have shown us there is no limit to what you can create with ceramics. These handmade pieces are a great way to incorporate a conversation piece into a space with a unique story of how it came to be."—Aric Yeakey & Jared Heinrich of Love House, a showroom and gallery space in New York CityVintage Maximalism"Vintage maximalism—lots of color, warmth, antiques and eclectic touches—is about to be huge. I think in the age of social media (which feels like it's at an all-time high point??), we are all craving our own unique stamp on our spaces. We are looking for unknown and unnamed pieces to make our personal spaces stand out from the crowd."—Tali Roth, interior designerTexture Galore"Putting my personal (and strong) feelings about this glorious trend aside, let's look to the experts, shall we? We saw an array of textures and colors juxtaposing each other quite seamlessly at Design Miami this year, from balancing out quirky faux-fur pieces with colorful woods, a la AGO Projects, to the quadruple threat that is the Jonathan Trayte lounge chair finished with marble, cowhide, steel, and woven polyester."—Gabriela Ulloa, assistant to the editor in chief, ADA New "It" Chair"Designed for the Swiss Dietiker Mobilier in the '70s, the dining chair by Bruno Rey is about to be everywhere. In general, I think interest will continue to move away from now-ubiquitous midcentury and deeper into the '70s and '80s. I first saw [the chairs] pop up on Home Union's Instagram a couple of months ago, and have since noticed them being used in new restaurants Onda (by Sqirl's Jessica Koslow and Contramar's Gabriela Cámara) in L.A., and Sincerely Tommy's new vegan restaurant ST Eat & Stay. On top of that, Flynn McGarry of Gem (which now features a beautiful rendition of Josef Hoffmann's bentwood and cane chair) snagged a lot of his own from Home Union. If restaurants are any indication of where design is headed, get ready to see these chairs all over Instagram soon."—Wes Johnson, designer, CleverThe Plywood Vase by Pezzi is the ultimate example of modern trompe l'oeil. Courtesy of Bi-Rite StudiosTrompe L'Oeil"Trompe l'oeil is an art technique that uses realistic imagery to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects exist in three dimensions. Forced perspective is a comparable illusion in architecture. As we move away from traditional modernism, there's been a continuing return of figurativism in visual arts, and with it, we're also moving into more organic forms in furniture. Classical ornamentalism is having a very good moment, and I think this will become more mainstream in 2020.I'm personally thrilled to see this revival because trompe l'oeil is one of my favorite design movements! It borrows from neoclassical ornamentalism and has most recently manifested through the guise of postmodern design, which we've seen in the furniture of Robert Venturi, Garry Knox Bennett, and Piero Fornasetti, among others. It's been most recently represented in the collective works of several contemporary furniture designers and in the visual arts. I think we can expect to see a lot more of this come forward in ceramics, furniture design, and textiles."—Cat Snodgrass from Bi-Rite Studios, a New York–based 20th-century and contemporary design store