Multidimensional Lifestyles - Design und Trends 2019
SMART. MICRO. AGELESS. COMMUNITY.
Digitization, connectivity, urbanization, and demographic change – our world is changing rapidly. And we’re changing with it. Our changing needs determine the way in which we want to live, work, and coexist, which in turn influences the form and functionality of living spaces, workplaces, furniture, and fixtures. What are the long-term effects of these changes on our lives, working environments and living spaces?
Multidimensional Lifestyles
Today’s lifestyles are no longer defined by external constraints, but by desires, values and attitudes that have an effect on one’s living situation. This results in individualized lifestyles that are shaped by mobility, demographic change and digitization.
New Housing Needs
This social shift has an impact on living situations and therefore also on housing configurations. Single-family homes are waning in popularity, while nomad-style living is on the rise, and cooperative and intergenerational living arrangements are all the rage. This places new demands on the home and calls for new housing and architectural concepts.
Working Time Is Living Time
Leisure and work are becoming more and more closely intertwined. We spend most of our time at work, so a large portion of our lives takes place within working hours. As such, it is becoming increasingly important to devise new functional concepts for the workplace and create an ideal atmosphere in which the individual needs of each employee are taken into account, so that people work together more effectively as a team.
Our trend book 2019 illustrates how this will influence the emergence of specific trends in the future.
SMART – the networked home is energy efficient, networked and intelligent. New digital technology is having an even greater impact on home life. These days, this might take the form of a vacuum-cleaning robot or a smart-home assistant that recognizes which products need to be replenished, but the future will see many more tools to support sustainable and resource-efficient living. This trend is the result of an increased need for useful technology to improve well-being and quality of life. The aim is to make everyday life easier and more efficient, thus freeing up more time for leisure and spending with family.
The furniture and fixtures of a SMART HOME are functional and easy to use, supplemented with a plethora of inconspicuous, technical features. Like these new examples of technology, materials are also smart. Light shades of wood bring a subtle natural ambience to a well-arranged living space. Walls come in unobtrusive white or gray.
As the people who embrace the MICRO trend often change their place of residence due to their job, meaning that they want or have to be flexible, their interior decor is minimalistic and functional. Modern, micro apartments feature well-designed solutions for urban nomads, allowing them to travel and move home with as few trappings as possible.
As the MICRO target group tends to live in rather small spaces that have no clear division between living and working areas, so-called “third places” prove particularly appealing. Any equipment that is lacking at home is compensated for by external services. For instance, you might rent a desk in a co-working space if your own home office is too small. If you want to invite people over for dinner, you can rent a kitchen. A repair and sewing shop is on hand – there’s no need to own your own tools. The café serves as a living room and social meeting place.
Furnishings are defined by light colors, pinewood or restrained oaks in a modern look. Small, versatile and multifunctional living spaces require little in the way of patterns, instead benefiting from a minimalistic style. This clarity in the otherwise cozy ambience of the MICRO theme therefore offers urban nomads homes where they can feel at ease.
The change to the conventional understanding of what makes a family is leading to new communal modes of living among the COMMUNITY target group. Housing and living communities are on the rise, together with co-housing concepts and new living spaces with attractive communal areas. These facilitate social exchange within the community, while also providing resources for conservation.
The traditional layout of a master bedroom, nursery or living room is becoming a thing of the past, as COMMUNITY living spaces call for neutral, versatile areas within the home.
The COMMUNITY approach puts a major emphasis on aspects like naturalness and authenticity.
Oak remains a dominant material and will remain a popular furniture surface in the future. Surface haptics and synchronized textures will remain important trends.
- Patchwork interiors and materials
- Lots of plants, urban jungle
- Green as an accent color
Completely new forms of living and user markets are emerging for the AGELESS target group. For instance, they might swap a detached house in the country for an accessible home that benefits from the infrastructure found close to a city. This allows them to be more independent, remain mobile and enjoy a range of cultural offerings. People over 50 are more appreciative of good-quality housing than younger people, and are prepared to pay more for it. Women are particularly determined not to become invisible as they age. As such, they opt for fashions and furnishings that are modern, trend-oriented and sophisticated as they enter this new phase of their lives.
When it comes to AGELESS LIVING, there is a tendency toward dark colors, sophisticated stone textures, metal surfaces and dark wood shades, but now these come with striking color accents. Contemporary yet timeless furniture and fixtures that suit all age groups are typical of this dark style.
Claudia Küchen
Schattdecor AG
Director Design, Marketing and Communications
Tel. no.: +49 8031-275 1812
Fax no.: +49 8031-275 1820
Email address: design@schattdecor.de
