Interior Design Market Trends [INFOGRAPHIC]

There are some very positive trends taking place in the marketplace for interior designers, manufacturers, and suppliers.According to a June 29^th article at WoodworkingNetwork.com, “The business of interior design has been quite good over the past 12 months, and American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) expects that to continue. Last year’s State of the Industry report showed that interior design had fully recovered to pre-recession levels, and the momentum carried through this year, with only slight moderation. With all indicators showing robust growth, this is a good time to be in the interior design business."Further, the report from ASID shows strong and consistent growth in the interior design business, with the number of designers up nearly 12%, and with design firms growing by 6% in the past year. Check out the infographic below for more of these exciting interior design market trends…Even better, with new home construction (up 8% to 35% for multi-family) and business/commercial building (up some 9% nationwide) on the rebound, the factors that influence and drive growth in the design profession, included competition, costs and profitability, industry economy, pace of change, perceived lack of value, regulation and liability, sustainability, and time factors show no signs of slowing down these current trends in the marketplace.Design Elements that are Spurring Interior Design GrowthWhy is this happening, you may ask. Well, as we’ve discussed in two previous blog posts within the past year, sustainability and technology have become critically important elements in the marketplace, both of which are helping to drive these upward trends. Other elements that are being incorporated into interior design projects, and that are having a powerful influence on growth in the industry, most often include health, innovation, science and tech, and security.For more on how technology and sustainability are driving market trends in interior design, check out these two posts:Interior Design Tips – Yes, Sustainability is a ThingKnow Your Marketplace – Millennials Influencing Interior Design TrendsHave you seen an uptick in design projects during the past 12 months? Which design elements seem to be driving growth in your marketplace this year? Share your comments below.

Interior Design Tips – Yes, Sustainability is a Thing

As mentioned in a previous post, Know Your Marketplace - Millennials Influencing Interior Design Trends, the influence of millennials is growing, in many ways shifting the focus and goals of the interior design industry. Of the many ways in which this demographic is influencing our market, sustainability may be the most important – and enduring – as it become ever more important to other age groups and market influencers.As explained by the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), sustainable design encompasses more than simply “thinking green”. Sustainable design goes beyond being just efficient, attractive, on time and on budget. It is a design that cares about how such goals are achieved, about its effect on people and on the environment. An environmentally responsible professional makes a commitment to constantly try to find ways to diminish design's impact on the world around us. It is also a smart way of doing business: sustainable design is the fastest growing segment of our industry.Green Design PracticesRather, sustainable design reflects an all-inclusive approach to a designer’s professional responsibilities, by employing:

• Integrated building design developed by collaborative multi-disciplinary teams
• Indoor environments that support occupant well-being and productivity
• Resource and energy efficiency
• Social equity at local and global levels
• Protection of the natural environment
• Positive economic impact of optimized operational and maintenance practices, and life-cycle cost assessments

Whether the ultimate design goal is decoration, renovation or architectural detailing, all interior designers must stay abreast of current trends in the field.In the design industry, today’s fastest-growing segment is the incorporation of sustainable, or “green”, interior design. From the use of rain water collection to supplement waste water needs, to using sustainable materials such as bamboo, innovation is high when it comes to designing a sustainable space.ASID offers a series of reports on sustainable design practices, materials, and products. To learn more, click on the links below:

• The Sustainable Suite (PDF download)
• Interior Design and Global Impact Series (PDF downloads)
• Part 1 - Environmentally Preferable Coverings (453 KB)
• Part 2 - Environmentally Preferable Coverings (481 KB)
• Part 3 - Environmentally Preferable Coverings (342 KB)

Have you begun to see this trend? Is sustainability a thing in your marketplace? How have you responded?

Bold or Subtle Interior Designs - Often, the subtle will draw the eye better than the bold

Every neighborhood has one it seems, the garish purple (or pink) house that all of the neighbors complain about, and that the HOA seems powerless to resolve. Yet, while bold design choices need not overwhelm or offend, the question must be asked: Which is the right choice for your client, bold or subtle?Additionally, one might ask, how bold? Or how subtle? And of course, who decides?Clients often look to make a statement when they ask you to help them reimagine a space I their home. It’s the nature of that declaration, combined with the personalities involved, that will determine just how audacious or delicate a pronouncement your client will wish to see you offer them.While none of the examples below are particularly outrageous, the differences are certainly clear, and telling. The key to success will often be to present your client with degrees of differences that address their inclinations and vision. That way, if you happen to move beyond their comfort level, you will be able to easily pull back.Which kitchen speaks to them most clearly?Though the only difference between these two kitchens is the palette used on the walls, they have clearly different feels to them. When you consider other possibilities such as alternate flooring, lighting, and appliances for example, the opportunities for making a bold or subtle statement become much more obvious. (ParadeOfHomes.org)Which feel fits?What would you change in these family rooms?While the layouts are identical, opportunities abound for personalizing these similar spaces, based on the desires and personalities of your clients. You could easily shift the feel of the first with different flooring, while a splash of color would transform the second. Then again, perhaps each of these homeowners made deliberate choices that reflect their lifestyles to perfection.What would you ask to learn more about their bold or subtle choices?Personal choices like these are extremely individualized and, as we all know, homeowners can be very protective of them. Yet, if they’ve asked for your help, they are seeking alternatives and must be coaxed gently toward the direction you think best, based on the vision of the space they’ve presented. Keep in mind though that moving too far in either direction, whether bold or subtle, may cause problems in the long term.No matter how bold you believe they wish to be, it may be best to offer relatively subtle choices at first, until they tell you to “Go for it!”

Colors and Accents – When Just a Splash is Enough

White remains the most popular color for rooms in most homes, mainly because they are versatile and “feel” clean (even when they’re not!). White rooms might create a modern sophisticated feeling of serenity, or make a fun artistic impact on the energy of a space when you add a splash of color.If your goal is to avoid overwhelming a space with too much color, the use of colorful accents may be exactly what you, and your client, are looking for.The examples below may begin with a pure white canvas but, with the judicious and intriguing use of colorful textiles and accessories, these clean and simple styles are accented to create gorgeous central focal points within the spaces.Pencil in some colorWhether a home office, child’s playroom or an artist’s studio, the way these colored pencils are used to add color to this space is far more than just creative – it is inspired!Clever accents for a white bedroomAdding color to this white bedroom, along with enhanced spacial definition and character, could not be simpler, with the addition of a colorful Mexican weave blanket. (HomeDesigning.com)Off-targeted, focused accentsOff-center yet still a clear focal point, this splash of yellow at the window in this room helps to balance the other colorful accent pieces in the room.Good morning rainbows in the kitchenIt’s hard to argue with the colorful kaleidoscope that have been added to enhance this otherwise simple kitchen space.While many clients will ask you to add color to their spaces, and their lives, many will also fear overshooting the mark. This is when a splash of colors and accents is just enough to keep them happy.

Know Your Marketplace - Millennials Influencing Interior Design Trends

As we mentioned before, in this post Staffing for Retail Furnishings & Furniture Stores, millennials are driving much of what is happening in the staffing of businesses in the 21^st Century. However, these 18 to 34 year olds are beginning to have a strong influence in home design, as well as the design of workplace environments.While it’s always important to understand your client base, the rapidly evolving marketplace in which we live and work today can make this difficult. Technology and concern for the planet are both influencing how home owners and business owners view the spaces in which they choose to live and work.How to Appeal to MillennialsFor example:According to REALTORMag, an online resource for Real Estate Professionals, “Millennials don’t view their homes as a status symbol or long-term investment but as an important purchase for living now and enjoying life. But they also know that as they age, their tastes and style of doing everything may also evolve.”This type of thinking creates a radical change in the dynamics of your target audience; with a smaller, urban feeling combined with functionality, simplicity, and efficiency, blended to a green and healthy space, being of paramount importance to this quickly emerging demographic. Knowing what millennials want, and when they want it, will keep you at the forefront of your market.

1. Fast information gathering – Whether looking for a house or what material to use for a kitchen countertop, this niche doesn’t immediately dial up a pro. They first look for ideas for what’s chic online from resources such as Houzz, Pinterest, Instagram, Etsy, and retailers’ websites. This means that you must do the same!
2. Urban and smaller – Besides choosing to live in dense downtowns, cost is another factor for diminished square footage. They tend to be financially conservative for a host of reasons, making your job that much tougher as budgets will tend to be somewhat limited and restricted.
3. Fewer embellishments – Millennials are not generally looking for all the traditional details and fancy materials that can increase a home’s price. Keep your designs simple and on point and only embellish if and when they ask you to do so.
4. Open, multifunctional interiors - The interior layouts that attract millennials come in all sorts of variations, but the key is fewer partitions and walls since this group likes to socialize and live casually. Keep the space as open as possible, while maximizing functionality.
5. Low maintenance – Millennials are NOT lazy but, since work long hours and have many interests, they do prefer materials that require minimal time and care, such as faux wood or porcelain tiled floors that mimic wood or vent less fireplaces.
6. Technologically efficient, green, and healthy - High on millennials’ wish list is being able to use all their “toys”. Tablets, phones, audio systems, programmable LED lighting, and energy-efficient heating and cooling systems rank high on their list of priorities for both entertainment and communication. Interiors with lots of outlets and flexible placement of charging stations are also appealing. Renewable and reclaimable materials such as bamboo and glass rank high on their list of values.
7. Value-minded – While they may splurge on a favorite furnishing or appliance—maybe an imported coffee machine that grinds and brews their favorite beans—they’re also highly value-conscious. A big reason is that they know trends keep changing, especially when it comes to the “latest” technology.

With something like 80 to 90 million people becoming home owners, it’s important that you focus on this demographic as you market and offer your interior design services.

Hot Design Trends for Spring 2016

Once you’ve reimagined the space in a client’s bathroom or kitchen, replacing bathtubs and faucets or appliances and dinettes, what do you have left to work on for them? According to the Houzz.com home design website, your best move to follow is to focus on the two Vs: vanities and views.Farmhouse-style vanity solutions that workBringing style to the vanity area of a client’s master suite may not be at the top of your list of priorities when you contemplate redesigning the bath area, but it should be; not least because it will be a focus of attention for the “Lady of the house”. It also emphasizes your creativity and attention to detail, which will boost the value of your design suggestions for your clients. (See our recent post on Value-based Selling.) No longer an afterthought, this space has become a focal point of the bathroom, with functional elegance as a centerpiece of which the homeowner can be proud.While tucked into its own well-defined area, this vanity has actually opened the space considerably, with a design that extends all the way to the ceiling, where LED strip lighting illuminates a cove overhead.Kitchens that focus on exterior viewsFar more than a mere space for cooking meals, kitchens have long been a gathering place for families, and will continue to be for decades to come. The reasons for this can vary greatly from family to family, but the fact is that kitchens are often seen as the centerpiece of the home, from which all other spaces radiate.Yet, staring at appliances during a family meal or discussion leaves little on which to focus, which brings us to kitchens with a view. In some cases, a truly awesome view…It makes little sense to limit the view of the coast at Big Sur to a single room, when such a breathtaking site is available to those in the kitchen as well.Why would you restrict such a panoramic view by making it available only to those in the living room? Instead, bring the open lifestyle your clients must have been seeking when they chose this location right into their new kitchen.If you are willing to “think outside the box”, just a bit, your clients will be able to enjoy the view outside the house from every room within it. After all, if your clients were willing to make the investment in a home with such a view, it behooves you to make it available to them from every possible location.These are just a copule of the design trends were beginning to see for the spring of 2016. What have you begun to see in your market?

Some Very Good News for Interior Designers

In her recent column, State of the Industry: Interior Design, Susan Dickenson of HomeAccentsToday.com shares some very good news for interior designers and design firms.“According to [a report by the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) in their] 2015/2016 Outlook and State of the Industry, interior design sales topped $8.6 billion and the dollar value of products specified annually by U.S. and Canadian designers has reached $68.5 billion, a 35% increase since 2010 (adjusted for inflation). Since 2012, the total number of interior designers is up by more than 10,000, an increase of 33%, and design firms have grown by 13,257, an increase of 7.5%. Growth is expected to continue, albeit at a more modest rate of 4% per year, through 2022.Designers interviewed by the ASID, as well as by Home Accents Today over the past year, have been consistent in reporting that while business is booming, the customer landscape and selling channels continue to change, affecting how interior designers are competing for their share of the consumers’ decorating dollars.”Interior Design Market TrendsBeyond these market trends however, the interior design industry is also evolving. What are being labeled as “macro-trends”, Health & Well-being, Technology, Sustainability, Urbanization, Globalization, and Resiliency are beginning to alter the focus and energy of designers as they work to meet the cyclical demands of an ever-changing client base. Just as holistic medicine and wellness training have taken their markets by storm, a holistic approach to interior design is becoming transformative in the marketplace.Further, interior designers are realizing the necessity of using social media for advertising and customer engagement; a trend which can only grow as platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google +, Pinterest, YouTube, and other social sites continue to build traction amongst young and old alike.Finally, the “significance of education and advocacy” among potential clients continues to grow, as both clients and designers seek higher levels of credibility and competency, requiring increased credential licensing and/or designer licensing at the federal or state levelWhich of these trends have you experienced in your design business? Have you begun to focus your energy and creativity on holistic design solutions? Share your thoughts and experiences with us here.