By Aisha Sultan
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Spring gives furniture a chance to cut loose.
Trends don’t move in home furnishings the way they do in fashion. For obvious reasons, people don’t cycle through sofas and tables like skirts and jeans.
But as the seasons pass, aesthetics become more sharply in focus and speak to the moment. The sparks of color outside inspire the same impulse to freshen décor inside.
This year, a continuation of the themes resonates most strongly with the world around us — bringing the outdoors in, reusing and reclaiming pieces from the past, brightening with mood-lifting colors — ways that create a sense of authenticity in our lives.
We checked with some St. Louis, Mo.-area furniture retailers on which trends caught their eyes for spring. Here are our favorites:
Angela Mathey, co-owner of the White Rabbit: Mathey says she is continuing to see reclaimed wood being used in home furnishing and pieces that feature a strong natural look. She has noticed furniture that may be lighter on top and pieced together with chunkier legs. This trend includes mirrors put together with reclaimed wood.
Pamela Calvert, owner of Savvy Surrounding Style: “It’s a time for adding color to the scenario of your room,” Calvert said. She favors pairing bright colors like orange and yellow with gray, for balance and contrast.
Kristina Starr, owner of Rocket Century: All the “pop” colors, like tangerine, bright yellows and greens, are perfect for spring, Starr said. Mixing the modern lines of décor with those colors is a continuing trend.
Many of her finds come from hunting through estate sales and thrift shops, so she keeps an eye out for vintage glassware. Hues can be used to pull color out of décor, or shapes can draw interest.
Suzanne Woodard, owner of the Refind Room: Beyond yellows and oranges, bright greens and blues are also more present in home furnishings right now, Woodard said. She offered examples of specific pieces that embody a current yet iconic look: a mahogany table with Queen Anne legs or Shaker-style chairs.
She likes mixing different types of wood within the same space and added an outdoor teak chair to a living room arrangement.
Resito Pecson, owner, Twigs & Moss: The Belgian influence of white-washed pine and natural woods is still going strong, Pecson said. He is also seeing a continued interest in reusing vintage pieces in modern ways. In his shop, he has taken vintage doors and attached them to custom-made metal legs to be used as a coffee table or dining room table.
The appeal of using salvaged material is in creating a unique, custom look, which again speaks to the desire for pieces within the home to reflect an authentic reflection of the owner’s style and values.
Nancy Barrett, owner and designer, Decorating Den: Barrett sees the current infusion of color as an expression of relief of coming out of a recession. She added fuchsia, magenta, lime green and blue on her list of colors to watch.
“Blue never goes away, but it comes back in incarnations,” she said. “People are more willing to take a chance with color rather than just sticking to accessories with color.” In color-rich furniture, she is seeing more prints on upholstered furniture. Geometrics and big florals are coming back, she said, such as individual elements on a very large scale.
About the Author
