Interior design aspects to give up in 2019

As early as the second half of last year, magazines and blogs, through the voices of esteemed designers from the US, UK, Europe and Australia, began to present the trends for the coming year. In general, they express their views on "what will be worn", but also what they'd like to stop seeing in interior design in 2019. With quite a few recommendations under the heading "so, don't" I tried to find the common denominator. The recommendations below resulted, with the vast majority of those telling us how we should decorate in 2019 agreeing that these trends should go.

No greys, monochromatic decor or predominantly white interior design in 2019

Grey, so used in years past, has become saturated and out of favour. The recommendation is a return to warm tones of brown. We are urged to abandon neutral colours and move towards those with more personality.

Even monochromatic decoration is no longer on the designers' radar. We should avoid 'tone-on-tone' combinations, with walls, sofas and curtains in shades of the same colour. Let's choose more colour that brings a better tone and a desire for adventure.

Among the hard-to-accept monochrome decorations is white. Keita Turner, fromKeita Turner DesignNew York, believes that interiors should have colour, personality, evoke adventure and make you feel happy. So "leave the boring white palette out and bring in the colours," she says.

Industrial and rustic industrial design is in free fall

Designers are tired of exposed pipes, factory decor and aggressively exposed beams. Industrial design, which has been in the spotlight in recent years, had its last moments of glory in 2018. No more wooden poles and old pipes, factory trolley-like tables or lamps made of thick beams and chains. In 2019 we're being urged towards warmer tones, towards styles that allow for the most personal expression.

Maximalist design to replace minimalist design

For years minimalist design is the one that dominates the interiors. The Scandinavian style, present in many furniture and interior decoration stores coming from the Nordic areas, is simple and easy to adapt to less generous spaces in apartments. It's a style that appeals to young people, characterised by lightness, naturalness and simplicity, and offers just what is needed.

Designers are starting to consider it too simple and lacking in personality. As a result, they turn their attention to other styles with means of expression closer to their own personality. Some even say that this year the trend will be the opposite and many designers will adopt the maximalist style. I'll come back to it soon.

The very large living room, without a table for family and friends to gather around, will undergo some changes

Living as spacious as possible has been the obsession of recent years. In the not-so-large apartments in the blocks, the dream of a spacious living room was realised by breaking down walls and joining the living room with the kitchen and pantry. The table was eliminated because it took up too much space. Islands, bar-style poles or coffee tables were made for eating. Parties meant Swedish buffets and socialising in small groups.

Many believe that such an organisation pushes away instead of bringing together. "Save the dinning room!" is the cry of designerJanie Molsterwhich urges us to give up the very large living rooms and leave room for the traditional table around which to gather friends and family.

Furniture in cool, metallic colours is no longer to designers' taste. Bar trolleys are leaving interiors to make way for bookcases and console tables.

Gone from interior design in 2019 will be cold greys and industrial design and metallic accents on furniture. Furniture is returning to warm tones, rounded edges and comfort.

Bar trolleys with all their metal armoury are out, giving way to bookcases, poles and consoles. Subtly suggesting a return to books and reading? Who knows, but I like to think so!

Themed design or design with popular, Moroccan or tropical influences will no longer be among the designers' recommendations

There was a trend a few years ago to decorate the interior of the home based on a theme. This trend will disappear from 2019 onwards, with a subtle mix of styles being preferred.

Gone are the days when houses were decorated in traditional Moroccan style, when shops sold framed millets, ebony figurines and other decorations from exotic countries. In 2019 designers recommend mixing styles to avoid monotony.

The popular culture of our own country or of other countries will no longer dominate the whole room, but will only be accents represented by a specific object. The recommendation is that objects should be authentic, avoiding copies and imitations.

NO decoration for decoration's sake, art gallery style walls or huge words on the wall

The same recommendation to have one authentic, valuable piece of art and not a lot of other small items cluttering up the look of the house applies here too.

"Better leave the walls white, clean, if you have nothing to say. Being eclectic doesn't mean putting paintings on the wall willy-nilly, no matter what. To me, it's about channeling your personality so that you create a beautiful space that you can breathe in" - says the New York designer Nicol Fuller.

The same idea applies to the "art gallery" walls, with many frames framing photos or themed paintings. Everything will be replaced by a single large piece, possibly a picture divided into 2-3 paintings.

Another trend that has had its heyday is decorating walls with large numbers or letters that make up a word. For example, in the dining area, "EAT" is written in half-metre letters on the wall. In this case, too, it's better to leave the wall white.

The ideal place is the one that represents you, where you feel "at home"

Designers have always been the ones to bring or take away trends in decorating spaces. They have shown us how we can combine materials, styles, colours so that our interior design is as harmonious and effective as possible. But we make the choices. And we make them because they represent us and make us feel good. So, if you like to have framed photos of the best moments spent with your family on holiday on your wall, you're not going to take them down because it's not on trend. The important thing is that where you live feels like 'home'.