Design Dilemma: Global Design Trends | Home Design Find
RSS

Home Design Find

No Comments »

Design Dilemma: Global Design Trends

contemporary living room how to tips advice

In a globalized world ruled by Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, trends rip through the design world faster than you can click a mouse.  Thanks to global furniture retailers like Ikea and BoConcept, today, the way we live in Brussels is the way we live in Boston. As in all matters, there are advantages and disadvantages to the increasing globalization of design. On one hand, you can say that as we all begin to enjoy and have access to similar things and ways of being, our ability to appreciate and understand each other should grow. But there is also an argument to be made that our world is becoming increasingly homogenized. Everyone’s house looks like everyone else’s house.

Whatever you may happen to think, here are three global design trends that have taken the world by storm:

 

beach style living room how to tips advice
    1. The Open Concept Home.
      From Sydney to Shanghai, from Toronto to Turin, more and more new construction incorporates an open floor plan, in which a kitchen opens to a dining and/or living room. It’s the way we want to live today, and is borne of the idea that we live much less formally than we used to. With men and women sharing equally in household chores, and with families dispensing with “help” who might have once been relegated to a far corner of the home, families are now wanting to share physical space in which they can cook with each other, talk to each other, and just hang out.

Above, a Massachusetts beach house incorporates the open concept floor plan. And below, so does an apartment in Munich, Germany.

scandinavian kitchen how to tips advice

And below, a Russian home looks much the same as the others in the United States and Germany:

contemporary living room how to tips advice

And here, a country house in Spain:

transitional dining room how to tips advice

2. Multi-functionality.
Maybe it’s a result of an increased concern for sustainability and a desire to live more lightly on the earth. Or perhaps it’s a result of burgeoning city populations around the world, meaning more of us are living in denser and smaller spaces. Or maybe it’s a result of skyrocketing housing expenses, where every square meter counts. Or perhaps we’re just getting smart. Whatever it is, it seems there has been a global move toward incorporating smart, multi-purpose furniture and design into our homes. Gone are the days when one single-purpose room might have sat unused the majority of the time.

For instance, below in Spain, PKMN Arquitectura has devised a clever way to help a home transition from open space to a closed-space layout. Rotating walls allow spaces to be used in multiple ways.

contemporary family room how to tips advice

And in Vancouver, a home makes use of a convertible coffee table that allows a living room to stand in as a dining room when necessary.

contemporary family room how to tips advice

In London, a living room in a studio apartment instantly transforms into a bedroom, thanks to a cleverly designed Murphy Bed.

contemporary bedroom how to tips advice

Also in London, a sofa bed retains great style:

modern home office how to tips advice

And in San Francisco,  a bathroom combines the toilet and bidet into one space-saving fixture.

traditional bathroom how to tips advice

 

3.Multi-generational living.

For years, this was the norm in many parts of the world. But it’s only more recently that this trend has also made its way to places like the United States where once the nuclear family reigned supreme.

Below, a Minneapolis family room includes plenty of seating for young and old alike.

transitional living room how to tips advice

A kitchen with a table on casters allows for dining space to be rearranged easily to accommodate different needs:

contemporary kitchen how to tips advice

Below, a Moscow in-law suite:

traditional dining room how to tips advice

And an in-law “cottage” in Seattle, Washington:

contemporary exterior how to tips advice

Other international trends we can identify:

An embrace of pared-down, sleek furnishings as best categorized by the Mid Century modern craze.

More attention paid to lighting and lighting fixtures.

You can receive our articles for free in your email inbox or subscribe to our RSS feed. Just enter your email below for the email subscription:

| Buy | Print

Leave a Comment