TOP TRENDS FOR 2006

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TOP TRENDS FOR 2006                                                 
By :
Gabriele Campbell, ASP, CID

With good design becoming more accessible, affordable, and definitely more interesting, trends for 2006 can be contained in one word – PERSONAL. Design this year is all about personal expression, personal journeys and personal needs. Your home is the place where your individual style comes alive! Spend time pursuing your hobbies and personal interests. Rejuvenate, relax and reinvigorate yourself. Let your soul detach from everything external.

The colour palettes of 2006 will stir up visions of far-off countries as travel-inspired hues enrich every room of your home. Rich red-purples, vivid orangey reds, intense greens and dark yellows appear with ebony and ivory accents. Neutral palettes are influenced by the varied colours of skin, both human and animal. Your personal palettes of expression develop and broaden as your design confidence grows. Embrace the trend to blend styles – rustic with modern, and traditional with retro. Your home can be a new, eclectic canvas that articulates your personal tastes in décor.

In housing, there will be more attention to architectural details (which add value to property and lifestyle). Focus less on adornments and more on sound structure. Practical floor plans take precedence.  Invest in sophisticated and efficient storage solutions for closets, garages and pantries.

The kitchen continues to be the heart of the home. It is the centre for socializing and connecting with family. Cook up some heart warming, delicious, mouth-watering combinations to nourish your senses. Think of grand open-concept spaces with unified flooring, colour palettes, furnishings and accessories. Find beauty in restaurant-quality appliances and furniture-quality cabinetry.

Specialized areas continue to find their place in the home as we see more games rooms, home theatres and home gyms. The need to cocoon grows as the only sanctuary to be found is at home. Create special spaces that speak to the core activities that reinvigorate your soul.

Your bathroom becomes your personal day spa as the most private of retreats takes on luxury finishes in wood cabinetry, glass partitions, with tile flooring and surrounds. Bathrooms get larger as we see more bump-outs and additions. Even spare bedrooms can be converted.  Create comfort and opulence with high-end finishing details in faucets, fittings and accessories.

Lighting and light fixtures in the past were the most overlooked design element in decorating and renovating projects. New styles, shapes and finishes in lighting add an element of surprise and yet another venue for self-expression and creating continuity. Add flexibility and drama with dimmer switches, pot lights, pendant and recessed lights in every room.

Texture is the key word in fabrics, both visual and tactile, as we give more to our senses to enjoy and embrace. Silk, linen, mirco-fibre and woven fabrics make their way into our homes in drapery, upholstery and bedding.

Consumers have developed an environmental conscience with a focus on energy efficient furnaces, insulation, roofing, and windows. With the Canadian Government offering home-owners federal grants for upgrades, it is easier and more affordable to minimize our personal impact on the environment.

Expressing your individual style in 2006 becomes natural. Find freedom and ease of expression in creating spaces that live up to your PERSONAL needs.