Home decor trends 2012

KARACHI:

The home is a private island, away from the daily grind and the crazy chaos surrounding every day. So why shouldn’t our private spaces be the most pleasant, comfortable and aesthetically pleasing environments. Who better to tell us how to accomplish this herculean task than furniture designers Sabiha Rita Hasan and Ainee Shehzad Salim. 

Contemporary meets classic

Salim: 2012 should be exciting as it will be more eclectic with contemporary and classic styles coming together. Colours like silver, gold and maroon will be featured in exciting new fabrics along with traditional weaves. Polishes will be electrifying as well as traditional. There will be experimentation in the finishes.

Hasan: Embracing vivid colours is the way to go for 2012.  Focus on the kind of colours that are mood enhancing and combine intense shades with balancing tones.

Diversity

Salim: Wood furniture with leather, brass, glass and other metallic accessories will be popular. Diversity is the new trend. Using just one medium is a bit mundane. There will be exciting combinations of different mediums this year.

Money matters

Salim: I work with both limited budgets as well as no holds barred budgets. The skill is to create beauty that does not depend on anything material. It is imagination and ideas in a tangible form, not dependent on cash value.

Avant-garde look

Salim: Why would you want your home to look exactly like someone else’s?

Hasan: 2012 brings forward old ideas remodelled according to new trends, effortless elegance, vivid colours and out of the ordinary combinations and contrasts. Most clients in Pakistan don’t make annual or seasonal changes, hence trends on the whole don’t exist, or if they do then they tend to linger for years.

Five Home Decor Tips For 2012

• Think out of the box — give your home and other spaces a brand new personality. Brightly coloured cushions with interesting embellishments, flowers, vases and paintings instantly liven up rooms.

• Be bold, be daring. Don’t be afraid of using multiple colours

• Incorporate interesting pieces. Although sofas, tables and chairs are practical but make sure you have interesting pieces that have aesthetic as well as practical value like huge mirrors, statues and wall-fixtures in the room.

• Create the perfect setting around you. How you live and what you live with is important. Beautiful surroundings are well worth the effort and expenditure.

• Create less cluttered spaces.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16^th, 2012.