Recently, we traveled to NeoCon in Chicago to hear all the big designers talk about trends. One trend that kept cropping up is the blending of home and work life. Why now? You might ask. Stick around for a few minutes and we’ll tell you. By the way, we’ll be talking more about trend alerts in the upcoming blog posts, so be sure to watch this space!

Curves and the softening of modern design

Before the Pandemic, modern design was all sharp edges, corners, and more black and white–both in design and in actual form. Now there are curves everywhere. From sofas to office chairs to ceilings, curves delineate the new designs. There are even entire buildings that are made of curves! While we don’t recommend retrofitting an entire building to make it curvier, you could make your office or furniture curvier–with great results!

Ahead of the curve

With the curvaceousness of new design, cocooning is the order of the day. people want to be surrounded by softness, which they have more at home. And they’ve been at home for two long years, so they’d like some of those creature comforts they have at home, but at work! People might not always be able to bring their fuzzy fuzzy pets to work with them, but they can have more of the soft and fuzzy designs.

Window film is softer, too

So many designs now have the soft gradients in window film. There used to be hard lines, with bands of window film. Now there are no more bands. There is softness everywhere. Harsh lighting is gone, too. Not only are these lights curvy, but their light casts a soft glow, too. And the colors include more grays, roses, and oatmeals. All colors you associate with home and not with work.

Modular and inclusive furniture

Furniture that includes and can expand or contract is a huge trend right now. Being able to easily add more chairs or include a latecomer to a meeting is so critical. We need flexibility in design as well as in our thoughts!

A move from the global to the local economy

People want to work from home. And if they can’t work from home, they’d like their offices to look and feel like home. There’s a socioeconomic implication to modern design. Between the Corona virus and everything else happening, certain personal accoutrements have softened up. Everything’s comfy. We need to soften our stances, too. The entire shift right now is going local. Farmers markets are big. It’s more modest, more local, and more real. There’s a huge element of comfort and sincerity, which comes out in more soulful design. Shipping is expensive. Local economies, handmade stuff, all are incorporated in design. Design is the acceptance of the collective unconscious.