Design in 2020 – what will furniture design look like?

What do you think 2020 will hold for furniture design?

We have seen a resurgent popularity of natural materials and we see this growing next year. Timbers in natural finishes are joined by woven materials, cane, bamboo seagrass and we envisage the finish of these becoming more casual and less polished.

The mid century look that has been popular for some years now is starting to make way for a new retro inspired by the bold shapes and finishes of the 1970s. We are seeing bold silhouettes and puffy forms on upholstery as well as some of those characteristic finishes from the 70s such as corduroy and mirrored finishes. This has been around in bars for some times and interiors studios such as Dimore are doing a great job of contemporising this.

Velvet doesn’t show any signs of slowing down as a materials but we are starting to see more diversity now in the form of boucle, sheepskin and other textured fabrics.

It almost goes without saying that we’ll be seeing a continued increase in sustainability coming through products and practices. With increased demand, sustainable materials are becoming easier to source and there will be a huge focus in design on building sustainability through the whole supply chain.

What is your favourite furniture design project from 2019 and why?

I loved the textiles that Dimore Studio showed in Milan this year. They were an amazing eclectic mix of pattern.