With the London Design Festival in full swing, the various furniture showcases of new collection launches have revealed a big trend that’s sure to sweep through interior designer’s portfolios quickly: retro is officially back, and with a contemporary twist. While the sunken pit living rooms of the 60’s-70’s are not returning (we hope), the color schemes and shapes associated with furniture is definitely having a moment during the festival. Modern chic brands like Cassina, B&B Italia, and Heal’s have been making the most of the trend, with their new collections offering a wide range of colors and materials in their furniture.
Cassina has taken a wide range of creamy pastel colors and created a series of sofas and chairs with rounded edges to suit the trend. For a modern take, they’ve incorporated metal framework into the pieces, to offer a more compelling look that helps the piece blend into a room as a statement piece, and never feeling forced with its bold, but relaxed colors.
Heal’s offers a more traditional design in sofas and lighting, but hasn’t backed away from the trend of a big statement color sofa. With offerings in red and electric blue, their velvet-covered sofa in the new collection is worth basing the room around, with a texture and look that feels modern and fashionable, while still being the kind of piece you’re eager to get home from work and flop down onto. While Heal’s may be the least design heavy brand in this trend, they’ve mastered the balance between art and practicality in designing contemporary furniture for any home.
B&B Italia has launched a new collection, complete with their new showroom in London’s Brompton neighborhood. The collection doesn’t typically embrace the unique color choices the other have, but instead sticks to traditional, high-end options like leather and suede seating, with a few interesting chairs with a fur upholstery. Where the collections reaches back to an older design trend is in the shape and structure of each piece.
Several chairs feature big, swooping lines, bulbous cushions, and wraparound circular sectionals. While the designs are very bold, the leather collection is still a chic addition for a room’s look without seeming overkill. One of the most interesting pieces in the new line is the set of shelves, with different sized sections to help give a more curated, textured field for its contents.
Images courtesy of Tim Latterner
