June 6, 2023, 4:48 am | Read time: 4 minutes
Furniture experts from around the world are currently gathering in Cologne for the “IMM Cologne Spring Edition 2023,” a trade-only event. Design specialists anticipate that a new zeitgeist will influence our furniture and home decor. The international furniture fair will showcase how this trend manifests.
Good moods can be quite contagious. And home decor can be a reason why people feel upbeat or positive. Many want to create an optimistic, cheerful atmosphere in their own homes–a trend also evident at the international furniture fair IMM Cologne 2023 (June 4-7).
Shift in Mood in Parts of Society
Markus Majerus from Koelnmesse notes more colorful decor ideas than before. Many more pieces of furniture are now oval to round, even the lines of box furniture are often curved. “Because when I’m happy, when I’m cheerful, when I’m having fun–that doesn’t fit with angular, rectangular furniture and strict colors,” says Majerus.
The trend analysts at the Cologne furniture fair interpret this development as a shift in mood in parts of society. “We’ve been living with a lot of negative news for years, we’re even inundated with horror news like COVID-19 and war,” says Majerus. “That’s why our home has become a refuge.”
It will remain so–but with a different perspective. The IMM spokesperson: “We don’t want to constantly make life miserable for ourselves. We want to be happy again. The trend of cocooning is therefore being reinterpreted.”
Cocooning Is Being Reinterpreted
The term cocooning refers to retreating into one’s own four walls–like caterpillars of many moths weaving a cocoon around themselves and leaving the outside world out. The home is made particularly beautiful and cozy. “During the COVID-19 era, we needed that to escape stress,” explains Majerus.
This desire for a feel-good atmosphere remains. “But we don’t want to lock ourselves away at home. We want to wake up in a beautiful apartment in the morning and be in a good mood–and then take that mood outside.”
In an extreme form of this development, “adults are designing their homes a bit like a children’s room, playful and lovely,” says trend analyst Ursula Geismann, managing director of the Initiative Furnier + Natur. This trend is called childcore or kidscore. It can also be seen at the IMM Cologne Spring Edition 2023. “The Memphis design of the ’80s and the pop culture of the ’70s are also making a comeback.” In other words: bright, unusual, sometimes even bold.
Trends from IMM Cologne 2024
What to Consider for an Outdoor Apartment
A Bit More Color, Even More Curves
In the form that this development might make it into most households, not much changes compared to what you currently find in stores, says Majerus. The round shapes are increasing again, and there’s a bit more color.
Majerus mentions light violet, blue, and rust colors. Trend researcher Gabriela Kaiser discovers many new items in terracotta, rust, and curry colors. “And above all: grayed and olive green tones.” But according to Kaiser, the colorfulness doesn’t return in full force–we don’t live in a Villa Kunterbunt, unless, of course, you follow the trend toward childcore a bit more.
The furnishing examples from manufacturers are often kept tone-on-tone, with gentle gradations. An example: “In recent years, we’ve brought a lot of wood into our homes,” says Kaiser. “Now we’re enhancing the color effect by adding a terracotta or curry-colored sofa, for instance. This makes the atmosphere in the room warmer, cozier, and more comfortable.”
Style expert Geismann also sees colorful accents, especially in home textiles like upholstery covers, but also in decorations. In such doses, the strong colors are not too dominant.
A Dose of Positive Mood
“Actually, they are a contradiction to the mood in the population,” says Geismann. “It’s currently more in a minor key, if not downright bad. But we’re trying to find straws to become more optimistic. Things have to go on somehow, and they have to go on positively.” It doesn’t have to be a ball pit; fresh colors and shapes can also brighten the mood.
With material from dpa