Classic design or trend?

Interior Design follows fashion in its immediacy.  At this moment in time, fashion trends are moving at breakneck speed.  However, very few can afford to change their interiors this quickly.

In the 90's and early 2000's we were told that we needed a neutral interior to come home to after a long and hectic work day.  We even lined up our artwork along the walls in neat rows, all framed in black, and all identical in size!

Next came the term "pop of colour."  Interior Designers put a toe into the waters of colour by adding a few bright objects, but still within a neutral interior.

But now we are finding Designers having more confidence to expand their repertoire with use of colour.  What we are beginning to see is experimentation with layers of colour throughout the room.

I have just described some colour trends.  However, Interior Design concepts are classic, and they remain constant.  The rules may be broken, but the underlying principle is unchanging.  Simply put, the room needs a sense of harmony, as difficult as this may be to achieve.

Adding colour into the mix adds to the difficulty of achieving this harmony.  This is because each

object in the room has a weight due to various factors: its scale in proportion to the size of the room and ceiling height, its actual size, its placement in the room, its contrast with other objects surrounding it, and, very significantly, its colour.

Classic design creates a calming feeling of harmony, whatever neutral or colour is used.