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From My Radar To Yours: What’s New in Interiors this month

This idea of a news page seemed to go down well when I did it for the first time last month so here’s this month’s round up of events and general newness that you might want to know about or investigate further. In no particular order but starting with the first one to land in my inbox last week:

pot filler tap from perrin & rowe
pot filler tap from perrin & rowe

1 A trend report from tap makers Perrin & Rowe found that in 2020 six out of ten people chose a finish other than chrome for their kitchen tap. I think that’s significant: it shows that brass isn’t a passing fad so if you like it choose it. It shows that perhaps, as a nation, we aren’t playing it safe and going for the traditional option quite as much but choosing what we really want to have and, perhaps, it shows that despite what we say trends do influence us.

It doesn’t have to be brass though. If you still lean towards silver (and feel that brass may pass) look at brushed nickel which has a warmer feel to it than plain chrome. You can then match handles and light switches if you want. I have a black kitchen tap (which apart from the fact that it leaks) is another classic colour because it goes with everything. The report also found that boiling water taps are also growing in popularity.

brass tap from perrin & rowe
brass tap from perrin & rowe

2 As the focus on sustainability continues to grow, Danish brand &Tradition have created a chair made entirely from recycled plastic. Designer Hee Welling dedicated nearly a year to researching the right materials for Rely, an environmentally-friendly chair. The recycled plastic for the shells comes from two different sources; the black shells from old car interiors and the coloured plastic from post-industrial waste. After being crushed into small pieces, they are mixed with colour and readied for injection moulding.

recycled plastic chair from & tradition
recycled plastic chair from & tradition

For the upholstered version of the chair no glue is used. Instead, the upholstery is attached underneath. This allows it to be replaced without ruining the base of the chair, thereby extending its lifespan. Choose from six different seat colours with five bases or three type of upholstery. It costs £191 from Connox where stocks are low but remember you don’t have to have them all the same colour.

recycled plastic chair by &tradition costs £191
recycled plastic chair by &tradition costs £191

3 Sticking with sustainability as a theme and Rockett St George have added a range of mango wood furniture to their collection. I’m a long-standing fan of RSG, as many of you will know, have first met Lucy (SG) outside Budgens 12 years ago and asked where her fabulous gold bag was from (I’ve just launched a website she said….). They were one of the first brands to sign up to Design for Diversity and I’m thrilled to see this step into sustainable furniture.

Mango wood is a by-product of the food industry and the wood is only harvested when the tree stops producing fruit (after around seven to 15 years). Then new trees are also planted so the farmers can continue production.

mango wood desk from rockett st george with three open drawers
mango wood desk from rockett st george with three open drawers

This desk won’t take up much space and you can double it up as a dressing table or have it in the sitting room and slide the work stuff away at the end of the day.

4 Continuing the diversity theme and this month sees the launch of The Cornrow, a shop selling homewares with a modern black aesthetic and featuring products created by, or sourced from black-owned businesses. Find everything from tea towels and books to tableware and hosiery.

ankara print tableware from thecornrow
ankara print tableware from thecornrow

5 Next up is the news that H&M has collaborated with the fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg and what’s great is that it’s not fashion but homewares which is perfect for all of us who have reached a stage where we might just be more excited by the arrival of a new cushion than a new top. “I want people to take charge of their home decor. The only rule I have is that your home should reflect who you are. The main point is to create a space that you’re incredibly comfortable in and is a true expression of your personality,” she said when the collaboration was announced. I can’t wait for this one which will include vases, cushion covers, blankets and candles but sadly not until next year. 

HM announces collaboration with the fashion design Diane von Furstenberg
HM announces collaboration with the fashion design Diane von Furstenberg

6 Some of you may remember that I have written about The Haines Collection before, Jules Haines set up her business to sell surplus fabric left over from interiors projects or manufacture (including some seconds). You can often find small volumes and they sell at around half retail price so it’s one to keep an eye on. Jules has just announced that she has partnered with The Headboard Workshop to create bespoke headboards. Go to them first to choose your style and then to the Haines Collection give them your order number and they will sort the rest out. They have also launched a leftover lighting section too.

7 Talking of lighting, Timorous Beasties, the Glasgow-based textile design studio, has launched a range of lampshades. Prices start at £130 for the smallest but it is a way into a designer piece if you can’t stretch to metres of fabric or wallpaper. Pictured is Storm Blotch but have a look round the whole collection because there are some gorgeous ones and you could really bring a room together around one of them.

storm blotch lampshade by timorous beasties from £130
storm blotch lampshade by timorous beasties from £130

8 Let’s talk paint colours now. Farrow & Ball say that Hague Blue and Ammonite are their most searched colours at the moment. That’s a gorgeous soft navy (I have it in the bathroom in the loft) and a natural stone shade, which is a great neutral for woodwork if you want to avoid white but don’t want to be too dramatic about it!

hague-blue by farrow and ball
hague-blue by farrow and ball

However, I took part in a trend panel for Geberit the other day, which will be live on their IGTV tomorrow (if you visit now you will see me chatting about bathroom decor) chaired by Michelle Ogundehin with Sophie Robinson, Busola Evans (associate editor of Living Etc) and Ruth Mottershead, of Little Greene, who said that green paints were flying out of the door at the moment. I can vouch for that as I am currently planning my office do-over in the fabulous Puck. I’m sure it’s because we all feel starved of the outdoors this year but, that said, it was a colour that has been creeping up over the last couple of years so perhaps it has just been accelerated. What do you think? Blue or green?

little greene puck
little greene puck

9 So we’ve covered sustainability, trends, paint colours and lighting what’s left? I’m going to leave you with these gorgeous tiles by CTD in shades of deep blue, green and burgundy. They come in an elongated classic metro shape, are satisfyingly glossy and can be laid in traditional brick, fashionable vertical or classic herringbone style. which will you choose? There are also lots of other colours too.

poiters tiles in indigo from cdt tiles
poiters tiles in indigo from cdt tiles

So that’s what’s been on my radar this month. Let me know what you think.

 

Tags : brass tapsinterior newsnew interiorsrecycled chair
Kate Watson-Smyth

The author Kate Watson-Smyth

I’m a journalist who writes about interiors mainly for The Financial Times but I have also written regularly for The Independent and The Daily Mail. My house has been in Living Etc, HeartHome and featured in The Wall Street Journal & Corriere della Sera. I also run an interior styling consultancy Mad About Your House. Welcome to my Mad House.

10 Comments

  1. Hi Kate…. your office… i vote for the green 😂 I’m about to go green in our bedroom which I was originally planning to do in Blue!!! There are So many lovely greens now.

  2. I love the fantasy wallpaper above the poiters tiles. Does anyone know who makes this and the name of the design?

  3. I’d love to know more about boiling water taps. It’s a very seductive idea, but what is the environmental (and financial) cost of having boiling water constantly available? Presumably they are plumbed in via some kind of water heater, but where does this go and how much space does it take up?
    I also love the lampshades!

  4. Thanks for this it really cheers me up in the morning to have something nice to read and look at before I start fighting with kids to get out of bed….

  5. A ‘pot filler tap?’ I have no idea what this is (guess the clue is in the name) or why you would need one, but I want it!

    1. Yes, I agree! A kind of status kitchen item in the US, or perhaps a necessity in a large kitchen? lets you fill heavy pots from a tap over the hob, saves schlepping heavy pots to the sink then back to the stove. Sadly my kitchen hardly large enough to warrant…

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