London Design Week 2017: We’re talking Texture, Tweed, Spring Greens, Marbling and all things Exotic

Spring has just about sprung, London Design Week is in full swing, so we started the week with a visit to the Design Centre in Chelsea Harbour to see what the new season has in store.

There’s a TEXTURE takeover…

“Texture” is huge this season and is being used across a wide range of products from fabrics to ironmongery. We love it, as it’s seeing the re-introduction of a range of muted, natural colours allowing the texture to do the talking. The new range from Larsen below does exactly this.

Lighting is also embracing the texture trend. Many pieces in the new collection from Porta Romana take inspiration from the cratered textures of the moon.

We also love NATECRU! This term apparently combines the two words: “natural” and “ecru” and it’s the new Pierre Frey collection of various textures using natural fibres only and just a few neutral colourways. Hemp, linen, wool, cotton, silk, and cashmere are all embellished by the quality of the yarns, the weave and the finish.

With texture comes a very modern TWEED…

Tweed is no longer conjuring up images of traditional country houses… it’s been reinvented in an array of colourful and interesting weaves, many of which would look equally at home made up for London Fashion Week. Manuel Canovas has taken its trademark colour palette of bright orange, pink, yellow, turquoise and applied it to this fun new range of tweeds and textures.

… and these unusual Coco Shell tiles

… which are both unusual and striking from Elitis. We spotted them in the Abbott and Boyd Showroom, beautifully made and in any colour you could imagine. The potential range of applications is huge, we’re thinking bathrooms, table top etc.

Spring Greens

With the Pantone Colour of the Year being “Greenery” there’s a lot of it about, in every shape and form. Our favourite this season is the collection from Abbott and Boyd, it’s easy on the eye, we love the patterns with an almost ethnic feel and the lack of palm-trees! The collection also comes in monochrome.

Marbling

Marbling continues its renaissance and is working well in lighting design as well as on wallpapers and fabrics. These marbled shades at Porta Romana caught our eye, as did this “Italian paper” fabric by Beata Heuman.

All things exotic

A final theme this season is “Ethnic”.

Wallpaper specialist Cole & Son has launched a particularly “wow” range of wallpapers in collaboration with Ardmore Ceramic Art celebrating African traditions and culture. Below are “Khulu Vases”, “Leopard Walk” and “Singita”. It is matched in its vibrancy by another ethnic inspired range from Etamine, part of Zimmer & Rohde called Marché Dakar. We love its originality; the designs conjure up the atmosphere of a crowded marketplace in an exotic location, the perfect antidote to a grey London day!