2011 Interior Design Trends

 

There have been many interior design trends this year, below are just a few of them. 

Wallpaper on the Ceiling

This trend it similar to the feature wall.  After the feature wall people began wallpapering their rooms and this in turn influenced people to put wallpaper on their ceiling.

Yin and Yang

We all need balance in our lives and the same is true for interior design.  You should have a balance of bright and dull colours, light and dark, etc.  This trend isn’t going anywhere soon.

Ethical Flooring

Ethical flooring was very popular this year.  Lots of people are going eco-friendly to help the environment so they are choosing to use environmentally friendly flooring.

Eco-Friendly Design Products

There are many ways to make your home more eco-friendly, from shutters to furniture to paint. Below are a few eco-friendly products.

Wall Panels: These ultra-textured MDF wall panels made by Architectural Systems, Inc. in their Sculptured Collection are packaged in completely recycled cardboard. They are made with no-added-urea formaldehyde. You can get the panels in either unprimed wood or primed in white.

Shutters: NewStyle Hybrid Shutters has GreenGuard Indoor Air certified, extremely energy efficient shutters. The shutters come in 11 frame styles and either stained or painted finishes. They have the same grain pattern and color as real stained wood and they have the stability, strength, and uniformity of manmade materials.

Dining Room Table: Henry Hall Designs has designed a dining room table made of 100% recycled aluminum. It has a zinc plate patina finish that is very durable as well as FSC-certified teak wood. The Cast Outdoor collection also includes chairs, smaller round tables, and benches.

Fireplace: Morso has created an eco-friendly wood-burning stove that is energy efficient.  Advanced purification systems and refined combustion technology reduces particle emissions when the woodstove is burning.  The woodstoves are made from 98% recycled material.

Paint: Mythic paint is the only latex paint that doesn’t contain VOCs and is non-toxic. It’s available in 1,232 colours and in satin, matte, and semi-gloss finishes. It is also available in primer as well as paint.

Creating An Eco-Friendly Bathroom

There are many things you can do to design an eco-friendly bathroom. Below are a few eco-friendly bathroom products.

Toilet: One of the best ways to help the environment is to save water. This can be done by using a toilet that has smartflush technology which uses less water than a regular toilet. Caroma’s Invisi Series II saves 330 gallons of water per person per year. This toilet hangs on the wall so it also saves space.

Towels: Sina Pearson Textiles has great eco-friendly bath towels. Their Global Village Collection uses a moisture repelling polypropylene fabric. The fabric is completely recyclable and will not harm the environment in any way.

Vanity: The newest eco-friendly trend is a wood substitute called Kirei Board. It is strong and durable while remaining lightweight. It is being used for different types of furniture such as cabinetry and other case goods.  Kirei Board is made out of a material called reclaimed sorghum straw as well as formaldehyde free adhesive.

Bathtub: A company called Sonoma Cast Stone creates Earthcrete bathtubs that are made from recycled concrete-like material. This material is more light-weight than regular concrete.  It doesn’t use any river rock and uses an impressive 87% less delta and river sand.  By doing this, local waterways are not impacted as much.