7 Trends From the London Design Festival
Classic revivals, tech-enabled sustainability and vibrant color were a few of the trends seen at the 2023 event
Feel-good designs, bright colors and timeless craftsmanship were on display at the London Design Festival 2023, which took place in various locations around the capital Sept. 16-24. We put on our walking shoes to bring you a roundup of the main interior design trends, themes and innovations popping up across the event.
Kofika coffee tables, HagenHinderdael with Novavita Design
2. Sensitive Use of Technology
The Material Matters exhibition featured some great examples of designers combining tradition, sustainability and technology. The Wicker Story, for example, displayed woven products designed using technology to create complex patterns that are then crafted by skilled artisans. The technology helps to ensure that handwork and natural materials can be used effectively and wastage is reduced.
The use of 3D printing is also becoming increasingly widespread, and HagenHinderdael showcased its 3D-printed sugar and wood objects at the exhibition. These included the new Kofika coffee tables, pictured. They’re a collaboration with Novavita Design using 3D-printed sugar, recycled milk packaging and coffee waste.
10 Fresh Furniture and Decor Trends for 2023
2. Sensitive Use of Technology
The Material Matters exhibition featured some great examples of designers combining tradition, sustainability and technology. The Wicker Story, for example, displayed woven products designed using technology to create complex patterns that are then crafted by skilled artisans. The technology helps to ensure that handwork and natural materials can be used effectively and wastage is reduced.
The use of 3D printing is also becoming increasingly widespread, and HagenHinderdael showcased its 3D-printed sugar and wood objects at the exhibition. These included the new Kofika coffee tables, pictured. They’re a collaboration with Novavita Design using 3D-printed sugar, recycled milk packaging and coffee waste.
10 Fresh Furniture and Decor Trends for 2023
Filigrana light, Established & Sons
3. Vibrant Shades of Lighting
A number of lighting designers are embracing color this year and some of them showcased their vivid creations at the festival.
Established & Sons’ playful installation, Love at First Light, displayed a new addition to its colorful Filigrana Light series, pictured, and also showed off the Mark Light by Martino Gamper, a Venetian mouth-blown glass pendant light with colorful accents.
Mud Australia introduced its collection of three porcelain lamps designed collaboratively by Zachary Hanna and Shelley Simpson. The collection features designs that are multifunctional and portable, and come in a range of soft pastels.
Shop for lighting on Houzz
3. Vibrant Shades of Lighting
A number of lighting designers are embracing color this year and some of them showcased their vivid creations at the festival.
Established & Sons’ playful installation, Love at First Light, displayed a new addition to its colorful Filigrana Light series, pictured, and also showed off the Mark Light by Martino Gamper, a Venetian mouth-blown glass pendant light with colorful accents.
Mud Australia introduced its collection of three porcelain lamps designed collaboratively by Zachary Hanna and Shelley Simpson. The collection features designs that are multifunctional and portable, and come in a range of soft pastels.
Shop for lighting on Houzz
Welcome bar cabinet, Matthew Raw for The New Craftsmen
4. Decor That Brings Us Together
An overriding topic at this year’s show was that of collaboration, and the Brompton Design District named its theme Conviviality — The Art of Living Together.
Fels introduced its Farm Shop project, where designers were invited to take part in a residency on Grymsdyke Farm, Buckinghamshire, to design an element of a dining collection. The idea was to think about how the setting and community help to inform design and how it connects us to those around us.
Similarly, The New Craftsmen’s Join, Assemble, Hold project showcased two cabinets by makers Bibbings & Hensby and Matthew Raw. These are an overflowing pantry and a welcoming bar cabinet, pictured, both of which provide a focal point for gathering.
At the Greenwich Peninsula Design District, meanwhile, there was a panel discussion called Shaping the Future: The Importance of Creative Collaboration, which looked at “the importance of physical and digital spaces for collaboration.”
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4. Decor That Brings Us Together
An overriding topic at this year’s show was that of collaboration, and the Brompton Design District named its theme Conviviality — The Art of Living Together.
Fels introduced its Farm Shop project, where designers were invited to take part in a residency on Grymsdyke Farm, Buckinghamshire, to design an element of a dining collection. The idea was to think about how the setting and community help to inform design and how it connects us to those around us.
Similarly, The New Craftsmen’s Join, Assemble, Hold project showcased two cabinets by makers Bibbings & Hensby and Matthew Raw. These are an overflowing pantry and a welcoming bar cabinet, pictured, both of which provide a focal point for gathering.
At the Greenwich Peninsula Design District, meanwhile, there was a panel discussion called Shaping the Future: The Importance of Creative Collaboration, which looked at “the importance of physical and digital spaces for collaboration.”
Shop for furniture
Nice to Meet You Again installation, Morag Myerscough
5. Spaces That Make Us Feel Good
There was a time when interior design’s impact on well-being was a secondary consideration, but that’s changed somewhat in recent years. And now the psychological effect of our surroundings is taken more seriously. This is so much the case that a few exhibits focused on it at this year’s festival.
A group installation, An Exploration of the Aesthetic at Home, for instance, looked at the importance of joy and beauty in the home. The organizers wanted visitors to consider what they surround themselves with and whether it boosts or impedes well-being.
Similarly, Metculture’s pottery exhibit, The Preciousness of Superfluous Things in the Space — Ceramic Craft and Artistic Pottery, encouraged us to cherish those small items, such as utensils, that we use every day.
And at Shoreditch Electric Light Station, Morag Myerscough’s installation, Nice to Meet You Again, pictured, played host to a panel discussion celebrating color and looking into its impact on our psychological health.
7 Color Trends for 2024 at Maison & Objet
5. Spaces That Make Us Feel Good
There was a time when interior design’s impact on well-being was a secondary consideration, but that’s changed somewhat in recent years. And now the psychological effect of our surroundings is taken more seriously. This is so much the case that a few exhibits focused on it at this year’s festival.
A group installation, An Exploration of the Aesthetic at Home, for instance, looked at the importance of joy and beauty in the home. The organizers wanted visitors to consider what they surround themselves with and whether it boosts or impedes well-being.
Similarly, Metculture’s pottery exhibit, The Preciousness of Superfluous Things in the Space — Ceramic Craft and Artistic Pottery, encouraged us to cherish those small items, such as utensils, that we use every day.
And at Shoreditch Electric Light Station, Morag Myerscough’s installation, Nice to Meet You Again, pictured, played host to a panel discussion celebrating color and looking into its impact on our psychological health.
7 Color Trends for 2024 at Maison & Objet
Virtue Aura pendant light, Serendipity Design Studio
6. Flexible Luminosity
There was a focus on how lighting designs can help manipulate the light they emit. Products that allow the user to change the shapes that are cast from the light were on display at the festival.
Motarasu showcased the Dawn wall light, designed by Danish Bly Studio, which is a simple oak beam supporting a circle of washi paper. The paper can be opened and adjusted to cast light in the direction it’s needed. The light is designed to be placed on the wall above a bed, so two people can use it for reading at the same time.
On display at The Truman Brewery in Spitalfields was Serendipity Design Studio’s Virtue Collection of bamboo lighting, pictured. Circles of bamboo can be positioned at varying points along the light fitting to cast unique patterns on the surface below.
7 Stylish Contemporary Lighting Trends for 2023
6. Flexible Luminosity
There was a focus on how lighting designs can help manipulate the light they emit. Products that allow the user to change the shapes that are cast from the light were on display at the festival.
Motarasu showcased the Dawn wall light, designed by Danish Bly Studio, which is a simple oak beam supporting a circle of washi paper. The paper can be opened and adjusted to cast light in the direction it’s needed. The light is designed to be placed on the wall above a bed, so two people can use it for reading at the same time.
On display at The Truman Brewery in Spitalfields was Serendipity Design Studio’s Virtue Collection of bamboo lighting, pictured. Circles of bamboo can be positioned at varying points along the light fitting to cast unique patterns on the surface below.
7 Stylish Contemporary Lighting Trends for 2023
Wall installation, Monica Correia
7. Warm, Optimistic Hues
Color palettes at the London Design Festival this year reflected tonal trends we’ve seen emerging recently on Houzz. Burnt orange, soft pinks and various shades of purple were popping up all around the festival.
The hues on this wall installation by Monica Correia, pictured, are those at the more vivid end of the spectrum. Elsewhere, however, there were softer versions of the colors, with the orange becoming a pale coral and the purple a gentle lavender.
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Shop for home products
7. Warm, Optimistic Hues
Color palettes at the London Design Festival this year reflected tonal trends we’ve seen emerging recently on Houzz. Burnt orange, soft pinks and various shades of purple were popping up all around the festival.
The hues on this wall installation by Monica Correia, pictured, are those at the more vivid end of the spectrum. Elsewhere, however, there were softer versions of the colors, with the orange becoming a pale coral and the purple a gentle lavender.
More on Houzz
Read more design stories
Read more industry show and fair recaps
Find design and remodeling professionals
Shop for home products
1. Timeless Revivals
An acknowledgment of the lasting appeal of classic design was apparent at the London Design Festival this year, as a few brands took the opportunity to display revived pieces or items inspired by the craftsmanship of classic designers.
Ligne Roset, for example, reintroduced its chesterfield-inspired Kashima sofa, originally designed by Michel Ducaroy in 1976. Carl Hansen & Son exhibited its Nature collection, which pays tribute to the work of the early 20th-century Danish designer Kaare Klint, while Aram introduced three new rugs inspired by architect and furniture designer Eileen Gray’s gouaches, pictured.
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