Top trends for 2008

NeoClassical Lamp by Niermann Weeks

Canadian House and Home profiles their 'Top Trends' for interiors for 2008 in their January issue. Let's see what the New Year Brings! I will be heading to interior furnishings and decor market in January, it will be fascinating to see the new directions!

Forest - Outdoorsy graphic influences, filled with tree and tree influences (birch) , birds (owl's) and other woodsy aesthetics such as mushrooms. Look for faux (and real) branch furnishings, lighting, and nature influence in art and accessories, and prints in fabrics, and wallcoverings. Whimsy!

Canvas Art Panels

MOMA Owl Lamps

Birch Wool Rug

Jewel Box - Gemstone color influence as an accent, with hues such as emerald, ruby and sapphire. Rich textures such as velvet, satin and shantung, and finishes such as gold leaf or etching. Use as an accent or in a small space.

Casino - Hit the Vegas strip with mod 70's prints, gold and glossy surfaces, graphic wall papers and animal prints (leopard, baby!).

Granny Chic - Modern yet reminiscent, the new look takes the classics and gives them a twist, be it color, texture, or print. Vibrant candy colors and modern handicrafts define this look.

Modern Baby - trend toward sophisticated and functional (thank goodness, finally!) design in all things baby related, as in Kate Spade baby plates, clean lines and great color. (orange is the new pink and baby blue).

Fair Trade - Social responsibility hits our living room, fair trade sourced product or recycled items transformed into design with conscience.

Bamboo Fiber Rug

Neo Classical Now - Greek and Roman classic lines are updated with fun colors such as bright yellow and turquoise and unexpected materials. Design elements include egg and dart and the classic Greek fret.

Root Vegetable - We called this early, but House and Home adds beet red and carrot orange to the palette.

Global Textiles - Kilim returns, but add mola, patchwork, hand wovens and embroidered pieces for a world bazaar of fabrics in upholstery, pillows, rugs, linens and accent pieces. Once again used as an accent, don't over do it.

Hot and Cold - Warm metallics such as bronze and matte golds mix with cooler hues like lavender, while cool silver tones are mixed with warmer corals. Metals can also be mixed together.

The Design Minds at Hearth and Home Blog is geared to support design center staff and the new construction industry in selling options and upgrades to the new home consumer. Subscribe for updates. Contact Krisann Parker-Brown for merchandising or marketing support of your design center. She will be happy to work with you on your assortment and presentation to ensure you are on track for the upcoming decor trends.

Krisann Parker-Brown is the merchandising manager for Hearth and Home Technologies, the leading manufacturer and retailer of fireplaces and hearth systems. Krisann supports design centers and new construction builders in presenting Heat & Glo, Heatilator and Quadra-Fire hearth systems, and consulting on design center merchandising, point of sale and the consumer experience. Contact her at brownkr@hearthnhome.com or 952-985-6537

Prepare for The Sales Trend in Multi-Family

Closet World

Downsizing consumers will appreciate organization upgrades

A New York Times article yesterday pointed out the obvious, housing starts are down, and the continued glut of inventory may mean more of the same for a bit longer. On the positive side, the article reported an increase in multi-family activity, including apartment buildings and condos. 'Mixed use' developments are also on the rise.

Simplifyre Modern Electric Fireplace

Design centers must be nimble and flexible as the market continues to adjust. When determining your product assortment, the condo, active adult or multi family consumer will still want options and personalization in their new home.

Simplifyre Cabinet Fireplace

Many manufacturers offer options that fit this market well. Categories that make sense include closet organization and cabinet upgrades. This is especially appropriate for those consumers who may be 'downsizing'.

Hearth and Home offers the Simplifyre Electric Fireplace. The fireplace can be built in, or is also offered in beautiful cabinet choices that can fit a variety of decor styles.

Simplifyre

The Simplifyre is a versatile choice for adding a fireplace to practically any
room in the home
Easy to install—anywhere in the house
Easy to use—no mess, no fuss
The Simplifyre features a clean-faced appearance that creates a simple,
elegant look.

Features:
Standard on/off remote
Realistic brick refractory throughout firebox
Built-in fan and heater
4,500 Btu/Hour Heat Output
Standard 120V
Standard mesh screen
Cabinet options—from traditional to contemporary
Optional fronts

Thinking ahead on options and upgrades for the multi family consumer can support design center sales in this time of change in the housing industry.

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Business
Housing Starts Decline 3.7%
By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM
Published: December 18, 2007

The housing market, in its deepest rut since the early 1990s, showed little sign of stabilization in November, and economists expect conditions to worsen in the near term.

The report reflected a shift toward multifamily homes, like apartment buildings and condominiums, as builders predict more families will be unable to obtain mortgages in the months ahead.

Groundbreakings of multifamily units ticked up last month, keeping pace with a 22 percent rise over the last 12 months.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/18/business/18cnd-econ.html?ex=1355720400&en=0ae31a2bd33cddcf&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

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The Design Minds at Hearth and Home Blog is geared to support design center staff and the new construction industry in selling options and upgrades to the new home consumer. Subscribe for updates. Contact Krisann Parker-Brown for merchandising or marketing support of your design center. She will be happy to work with you on your assortment and presentation to ensure you are on track for the upcoming decor trends.

Krisann Parker-Brown is the merchandising manager for Hearth and Home Technologies, the leading manufacturer and retailer of fireplaces and hearth systems. Krisann supports design centers and new construction builders in presenting Heat & Glo, Heatilator and Quadra-Fire hearth systems, and consulting on design center merchandising, point of sale and the consumer experience. Contact her at brownkr@hearthnhome.com or 952-985-6537

Bringing the Outside In and the Inside Out

(Photo: Bruce Buck for The New York Times)

The 2007 Better Homes and Gardens Media report that 'Holistic Design' is becoming a trend in consumer choices. "The trend is toward a mix of natural materials—and materials that mimic nature. We see the trend in all design styles. The green movement is certainly fuelling this trend as well, even if subconsciously. Some spaces are built with renewable or local sources. Even these natural materials aren’t specifically “green,” the trend to green is increasing the consciousness of natural color palettes, natural looks, and natural materials."

The report continues on to highlight the trend to eliminate the boundary between home and the outdoors. "We push so much nature away in our workday buildings, but at home we can blur the boundaries. We can bring nature into the home, feel like we’re more connected to it. With our increased consciousness that true nature is vanishing, we can have little pieces of nature in our homes—these are ways of being with it, preserving it. "

Techniques for blurring the boundary between indoor and outdoors are many. Use outdoor entertaining space as an extension of the home. Use flooring as a surface to move from indoors to outdooors to help make this transition seamless. Tile or stained cement work well indoors and in covered outdoor areas as well.

Kemiko Concrete Products

A recent New York Times House and Home profile shows how Michael Trapp brought nature inside his home in the Berkshires. He places 8 bare birch trees at the perimeter of the living space, and blurs the transition to outdoors with a floor to ceiling windows. (Ranch House Spectacular - Jane Garmey, New York Times)

Green - Satisfying the Underlying Values of the Consumer

The latest Iconoculture report digs into the green trend. Iconoculture calls the trend "SustainAbilities", defined as "How long will the planet and its resources last?" This trend is driving consumers and businesses to choose sustainable means and ways.


What is important to business in the new home sector are the values that motivate consumers to make specific purchasing decisions. We can consider these values in determining everything from our product assortment to our marketing messages, to the specific way we target each home buyer group.


If you haven't already made some moves down the 'green' road as a company, you are falling behind. Iconoculture says that "SustainAbilities" has already surfaced to the consumer mainstream in the home/garden sector , as well as beverage, community/world, fashion, food, transportation, work and learning sectors. It isn't far behind in entertainment, media, money/spending, retail and technology.


Knowing your design center is a blend of the home/garden/money/spending/retail consumer worlds, it tells us we had better get moving!


From Wikepedia: Personal Values


Personal values evolve from circumstances with the external world and can change over time. Values are applied appropriately when they are applied in the right area. Personal values are implicitly related to choice; they guide decisions by allowing for an individual's choices to be compared to each choice's associated values.


Iconoculture lists values and motivators that drive this type of green consumer behavior:


sustainability
Based in environmentalism and ethics – the notion that personal and business decisions should maintain Earth and its resources.

environmentalism
Preserving and conserving irreplaceable plants, animals, places, energy sources and other resources vital to the well being of Earth’s ecosystems.

conscience
Ethics, fairness and responsibility tug at you to do the right thing. The world will be a better place, and you might just become a better person, too.

flexibility
The ability to bend, adapt or change course quickly. Flexibility is the key to staying vital through ups and downs, highs and lows.

fulfillment
The satisfaction of realizing dreams for family, community and world.

hope
Wishes, desires, a better tomorrow – all within reach from the optimistic viewpoint of hope.

integrity
I say what I mean, mean what I say and act accordingly. Resolve, strength and courage to do what you know is right, in every arena of life.

leadership
The ability to see beyond the moment to a bigger, better future and take others from here to there. Equal parts communication, strategy and motivation.

legacy
The desire to leave behind a lasting reminder that will outlast our earthly departure.

practicality
Forget theory. Practicality gets down to the reality of how things actually work and get done.

responsibility
The buck stops here. Being accountable and answerable for your actions or the actions of others.

Every decision you make about product assortment is a perfect opportunity to show home buyers your green leadership as a builder. Work with your major manufacturers to make the best choices for this conscientious consumer. Many choices, surprisingly, are no more expensive to the builder or to the consumer.

*I recently wrote a letter to the editor of Dwell magazine, (one of the best American magazines of design, lifestyle and aesthetics, balanced by sustainability, responsibility and environmental impact) My letter chastised Dwell for showcasing a vent-free fireplace in a magazine known for targeting the green conscious consumer. (No, It hasn't been published yet, but I am watching!)


Working for Hearth and Home, a fireplace manufacturer who takes indoor air quality very seriously, I was shocked that Dwell and the project architect failed to consider the long term and unintended costs of an unvented hearth system. Excess moisture leading to mold, unhealthy indoor air quality, odor and interior soot are all potential by-products of an unvented hearth. These issues would be eliminated by specifying a direct-vent gas fireplace which is endorsed by virtually every Green building program as well as the American Lung Association). (Of course a Heat & Glo, Quadra-Fire or Heatilator hearth system could fill this need)

Case in point, as a builder, it is critical that you point out to the consumer the product and building decisions you make that support their green values, and challenge your manufacturers to share their expertise in this area. This can be done in the selling process, by packaging or bundling 'green' options, or by calling out choices with special logos or informational signing.

Iconoculture is a leading consumer strategist and trend expert company, based in Minneapolis. Their clients include companies like Toyota, Master Card and Sony. You can sign up to receive their weekly consumer trend newsletter here.
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The Design Minds at Hearth and Home Blog is geared to support design center staff and the new construction industry in selling options and upgrades to the new home consumer. Subscribe for updates. Contact Krisann Parker-Brown for merchandising or marketing support of your design center. She will be happy to work with you on your assortment and presentation to ensure you are on track for the upcoming decor trends.



Krisann Parker-Brown is the merchandising manager for Hearth and Home Technologies, the leading manufacturer and retailer of fireplaces and hearth systems. Krisann supports design centers and new construction builders in presenting Heat & Glo, Heatilator and Quadra-Fire hearth systems, and consulting on design center merchandising, point of sale and the consumer experience. Contact her at brownkr@hearthnhome.com or 952-985-6537