• Fabrics: Pattern is back with a bang.  Paisley, patchwork, plaid, animal prints, and birds are all very popular.  These fabrics can be found in traditional colorways or in very modern interpretations such as brown and teal paisley or an animal print with a fuchsia background.
• Color: Earth colors remain very popular.  While these colors include brown, tan and green they also include colors from the farm such as eggplant purple, red that mimics a bright radish or a dark cranberry, orange that can be soft and muted like a peach or vibrant like a fresh orange and greens that range from dusty sage to vibrant lime.
• Design Style: Contemporary style is enjoying a resurgence in popularity.  The clean lines and minimalist feel offer an escape from today’s hectic and volatile world.
• Eco-friendly: Being “green” continues to be important to home owners.  Consumers are looking for wood furniture made from a renewable source such as bamboo or that has been responsibly harvested.  Organic fabrics are now available as upholstery and drapery fabric.

Keep in mind that these are just trends.  While you may not want a bright orange couch, adding a lamp with an orange base will add some punch to a neutral room; paisley pillows will bring a retro feel to a family room and a plaid wing chair in a den can be very inviting.  How you introduce trends into your room is, of course, your cho

Chair Rail: One of the things you can do is to use it as a cute little chair rail that follows the circumference of the room and breaks the wall up between an upper and lower quadrant to decorate and fill in.  You can use a staple gun, or a hot glue gun to fasten it to the wall.

Frame: Another way to introduce a feather boa is to use it as a picture, poster or pillow frame.  This takes the place of a traditional frame for a large savings and adds that extra little splash of color and texture that increases the visual interest of the pieces you are displaying.

Letter Art: A new trend for girl’s rooms is to decorate and use large block letters to spell out either a name, or a cool word that applies to the hip new world your child is becoming a part of.  Think how much more distinct the word DIVA would be on a wall surrounded with a bright, pink, feather boa to top it all off!

• Switch your photos out periodically.  You can replace your everyday family photos with pictures representing the season or holiday.  For example, choose photos of family vacations and place them in lighthearted frames to display during the summer season.  During the holiday you can use photos of the kids visiting Santa throughout the years. And don’t stop displaying these just because your kids are grown!  The fall season is the perfect time to show photos of Halloween costumes, apple picking, sporting events etc.  And, of course, winter ski pictures will remind you of great times with your family.
• Group a collection of black and white photos on the wall.  Framed in matte black frames, this creates an interesting gallery for a hallway or stairwell.
• Have throw pillows made depicting each family member.  This will eliminate arguments during TV time as to who gets what pillow.  And what a unique way to decorate a family room.  You can include the family pet or grandparents who live out of town.  And if there is a member of the family who is away, such as a serviceman or woman or a parent who travels frequently, these pillows are a nice way to “stay connected” during their absence.
• Have a piece of pop-art made using your favorite photograph.  You can choose an Andy Warhol look, a collage of photos or a picture enhanced to look like an oil painting.  This is an affordable and personal way to add custom artwork to your home.

Unlike paint colors or furniture styles, family is not trendy.  It will never go out of style and is always in fashion.  So be creative and display your family photos with pride.

Image by Dennis Wong

Pani, who some call the “high priest” of Acapulco Design of the ‘50s, is best known for the furniture he designed for the chic Hotel Reforma in Mexico City, created (not coincidentally) by his architect brother, Mario.  Refined but incredibly ornate, Pani’s furniture seems to share little in common with the designs of Barragan, an architect who also created furniture for several of his clients’ homes (and his own); profoundly influenced by LeCorbusier. Barragan is the quintessential minimalist.

Juan O’Gorman (yes, he really was Mexican; his father was Irish-born) created spectacular tile murals, but his early, functionalist architectural design got a jump-start when he designed the home of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in the early 1930s.

And then there is Pedro Friedeberg, the wacky, surrealist designer whose crazy “hand chairs” (shaped like a cupped hand) and wildly colorful clocks he described as “criticizing the absurdity of things.”

Some of the hottest design dealers in New York are also currently planning exhibitions focused, too, on sustainability in contemporary Mexican design – a trend other designers around the world are also picking up, but which integrates particularly well with Mexican design tradition.  Maybe that explains the growing popularity of Mexican design right now – at least in part; or maybe it’s the fun colors and happy warmth, especially welcome in grim economic times.  But from the look of things, Mexican style is definitely the place to be looking now for new ideas and inspiration.

Other hot trends to watch for now:

Anti-WiFi paint: created by a lab in Tokyo, this paint, made with aluminum-iron oxide, can absorb high-frequency radio waves, like the ones used for WiFi.

Sustainability, of course: look for furnishings and floors made of cork, bamboo, and even paper.

So-called “hybrid furniture,” like a carpet-covered sideboard recently featured at the London Design Festival.

Then again, that’s not unlike what Pedro Friedeberg’s been doing all along…which brings us back again to Mexico – obviously what design is about right now.

-          Try adding throw rugs on floors, or exchange several smaller rugs for one larger one of deeper, richer pile

-          Add decorative cushions to couches, chairs, and to pretty up your bed.

-          Think of texture: heavier curtains at the windows are one idea, but pattern (tapestry prints, for instance) and thicker, heavier materials, even in monochrome, create a lushness that pale cottons and other summer fabrics lack (but will cast to (fresh) winds when spring returns).

-          Similarly, if tablecloths dress your end tables and storage trunks, consider putting the cloths away for winter and replacing them with woven or rag scatter rugs – or take your cute from the Victorians with small, lusciously-colored Turkish ones (they don’t have to be antique!)

-          Toss a blanket across a couch. Not only does it make the room look more inviting and cozy – it makes you   cozier in it!

-          Add darker accessories, focusing on rich colors like scarlet, sapphire and topaz.

-          Piles of books add another element of coziness and warmth – don’t be shy about leaving them strewn about here and there (just not lying open – you can ruin them!)

-          Play up any dark wood accents in your home, from floors to headboards.  Add a pretty area rug on a stair landing to focus attention on the dark floor there.

-          If your taste tends towards the minimal – lots of black and white and gray – and a splash of red: a shiny ceramic vase from Droog Design or the MoMA Design store, or bright orange (okay, it’s not really red) bittersweet arranged in a dark corner can work wonders.

Now light a few candles, curl up on the couch under the blanket, gather up a couple of the books you’ve left spread about, pour yourself a cup of tea, and enjoy!