by studiotullia | Jan 30, 2022 | DESIGN & STYLING, DESIGN TRENDS, NEWS FROM THE STUDIO, THE CREATIVE ENTREPRENEUR
As someone whose been selling handmade designer goods online for over fifteen years, I’m used to researching trends, forecasted by countless “experts” for the upcoming year or season. While I don’t subscribe to the idea of having a totally trend-driven wardrobe or home, a touch of something reflective of our time always adds interest. It keep things from getting stale.
More marketing opportunities and online exposure for businesses comes from an awareness of current trends. Sometimes these predictions may fall flat and other times, take off.
You would be amazed just how much consumers are influenced by trends. More than you may realize.
- Design: Studio Giancarlo Valle
- Photo: Stephen Kent Johnson/OTTO
It has been one of my obsessions, partly from studying art history and design, to look at objects within their historical and stylistic context.
Societal patterns, as well as social, political, and cultural shifts inevitably impact design and fashion. And fashion is often ahead of interior design and more outrageous, so its especially fun to watch.
ETSY, one of the platforms I sell on, has a podcast for its vendors (approx. 4.4 million!), that discusses how to market handmade goods, what to sell in the upcoming seasons, and how to prepare for 2022, based largely on their 81.9 billion buyer searches.
I’ve been gearing up to coach newbie Etsy sellers in the new year so I’ve been researching Etsy quite a bit over the last several months. Here are some of their observations based on consumer buying and search patterns.
1. SHOPPERS ARE MORE INTENTIONAL THAN EVER
Consumers care more about who they are buying from; the brand behind the company, what they stand for, who they employ, where they get their raw materials and manufacture their goods. Social media is providing greater transparency and allowing for companies to tell their story.
What is Lagom?
‘Not too much, not too little. Lagom’
The translation of the Swedish concept of lagom is “enough, sufficient, adequate, just right.” While hygge is all about staying in with family (and potentially never changing out of your cashmere pajamas), getting cozy and chatting with friends in a coffee shop, basically taking the time to enjoy a moment of contentment (whatever the weather), lagom is all about moderation. Rather than seizing the moment (of hygge, if you will), it’s about living a frugal life with just enough possessions; everything functional and a life in balance. – Country&Townhouse
‘Lagom encourages us to create a happy life by choosing to live a balanced and fruitful existence.’
FROM THE ABOVE BOOK; Ten simple ways to de-clutter your home
- Create a de-clutter to-do list, crossing off each task as you complete it.
- Dedicate ten minutes each day to one task (baby steps, my friend).
- Go one room at a time and organize items into three boxes: keep, donate and throw away (never a ‘maybe’ box – speaking from experience!).
- Follow the ‘one in, one out’ rule – for everything you buy, one thing goes.
- Fill a bin bag a day with items you no longer need.
- Reduce the area where clutter can accumulate – dedicate a container for toiletries or a folder for paperwork. If new items don’t fit, then it’s time to re-think what’s in the area and get rid of something.
- Take out all the items in your wardrobe. Remove hangers and then put everything back in order of preference. Anything that doesn’t have a hanger goes.
- Create a memory box or use an accordion organizer for your kids’ drawings and other treasured items.
- Keep a basket or bag by the stairs or in a spot that accumulates clutter and slowly fill it with items. Once it’s full, sort through and put everything back where it belongs.
- Stick to the ‘one-touch rule’ for paperwork: sort it as soon as it arrives by recycling, or taking action.
Taken from Lagom: The Swedish Art of Living a Balanced, Happy Life by Niki Brantmark
3. VINTAGE/UPCYCLING/RECYCLING/RE-USE
‘Upcycling, recycling and using sustainable materials where possible is the way to enjoy the home comforts you love, without taking too much from the planet.’
Tejo Remy Rag Chair for Droog Design, 1991 – 1st Dibs
Vintage sellers are having their moment
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALYSSA ROSENHECK, Domino
Joann Palmisiano, vintage skirt turned pilllow, Rock Your Rental
4. ABSTRACT SHAPES, WIGGLES &CURVES…moving beyond mid-century
5. CURVY, SCULPTURAL UPHOLSTERY
“A curved form is subconsciously read as safe, friendly and welcoming. With everyone feeling a bit precious I think those softer shapes and angles will still be a big trend in 2022 in furniture as well as architecture.” –Sarah Sherman Samuel
“More gracious and sensual shapes, curved edges and deep, luxuriant seats.” -Martyn Lawrence Bullard
Emerald green is a longstanding jewel tone that is always relevant.
ETSY has announced it as their color of the year!
Balance, harmony, nature
Pairs great with metallics
Image credit: Little Greene
What do you think? I think a lot of it is incredibly creative, colorful, hopeful, informed, fresh…should be fun to see what’s in store for 2022!
by studiotullia | Apr 25, 2020 | DESIGN TRENDS, STUDIO NEWS
We all need DEEP BLUES and a good dose of NATURE right now to get us through what will be an arduous year for sure. Nothing like a stroll through the outdoors which offers greenery and blue skies to uplift our spirits in this challenging time full of so much confusion and uncertainty.
CLASSIC BLUE really does seem like a great Color of the Year for 2020. Not just because it is almost NAVY which is a classic, but because it evokes depth and stability. And that is something we all really need right now.
BLUE is the color of the sky and the sea. It is often associated with depth and stability. It also symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth and heaven. BLUE is considered beneficial to the mind and body.”
– Color-Wheel-Pro.com
Pantone Color #19-4052 is a little more vibrant and hopeful than NAVY. And it is not a color you’ll tire of as quickly as other Color of the Year hues like last year’s Living Coral, 2018’s Ultra Violet, Rose Quartz, Tangerine Tango, Emerald green, Turquoise, or so many other colors we’ve seen over the years.
We all need some stability in light of our first quarter kickoff for 2020. BLUE does the job. And frankly, the only silver lining in all this Covid 19 mayhem is the fact that it just might save the planet. This new reality has forced us to slow down and face the true forces of nature that ultimately dominate our existence as humans.
“PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue brings a a sense of place and tranquility to the human spirit; offering refuge, aiding concentration and bringing laser-like clarity. Classic Blue re-centers our thoughts and fosters resilience.”
Besides BLUE, GREEN seems to have center stage this year in the design world. Greens are always pleasing to the eye. In fact green is one of the most calming colors for humans, as we can all attest after a romp through the woods or surveying a grassy field. Nature has offered us a refuge in this era of uncertainty. The return of Spring is a comfort as we all venture to leave our homes. And a crisp blue sky is always invigorating.
“At this particular moment in design, the presence of plants, botanical motifs, and deep, emerald hues is breathing life back into interiors. In culture at large, the green world is everywhere:on screen, in literature, and in art. The exhibition TREES at Fondation Cartier in Paris, for example, was so well attended it extended its run. A tour-de-force of aesthetics, philosophy, and science, the show was pure visual regeneration, advancing the tree as an emblem of art and design’s power to combat ecological devastation.”
– ALISA CARROLL, Editor-in-Chief, HENRY
I pulled this mood board together as I was playing around with the color GREEN, botanical prints and CLASSIC BLUE. Besides white, and other shades of blue, I really like the greens in the mix.
FARROW & BALL has a wonderful wallpaper called HELLEBORUS that comes in several wonderful colorways. The green is just yummy though and look how gorgeous it is with that blue ceramic lamp.
TONIC LIVING has a gorgeous new embroidered floral that feels like a walk through a field of wildflowers. It comes in two lovely colorways and will be available in MAY. I think these would make beautiful curtains.
METALLICS & CRYSTALS IN LIGHTING
Brass and other metals are still on trend. I am loving these light fixtures from VISUAL COMFORT and KELLY WEARSTLER’s lamp line.
SERENA & LILY has a revolving selection of both original paintings and prints. Always worth a look.
Loving this leopard print (above) and the embroidered trim (below), both from SCHUMACHER.
FASHION used to always be ahead of HOME DECOR but it seems like they are more and more aligned.
This palette above is from STUDIO TULLIA and includes a lot of long time favorites with our customers.
I hope you find this little diversion of a blog post to be inspiring and refreshing. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my news. I am still getting into a routine of writing more often and welcome any feedback, suggestions for subjects to cover, or anything else you want to share in the comments section below.
Get outside when you can, breath the fresh air, take in the beauty of the outdoors, and breathe. And don’t forget to #STAY HOME, #STAYSAFE and #STAYSANE !
by studiotullia | Nov 3, 2016 | DIY, INTERIOR DESIGN
I finally got the orange walls covered with three coats of MOUNTAIN SNOW white paint from METRO PAINT. Now everything is looking very white.
This is where we were last week:
And this is where we are this week:
I’ve finished most of the trim in a GLOSSY WHITE from MILLER PAINT and hung up this VINTAGE MIRROR.
I’ve installed this 28″ Round Mirror from TARGET. I wanted a bigger one, but for $49 I went with this one.
We had to stop and sand the glue and carpet remnants off the stairs and side molding before we painted anymore of the stairs.
The WEST ELM ASHIK WOOL RUNNER arrived and while I wasn’t so sure about it initially, I think I can make it work.
It looked like this on the website: 
And this is what it looks like in person. This is a close up of the rug. The palette is lighter and the fibers are more coarse than the original photo, with a lot of the salmony orange pink.
I started to panic and look for another rug, with this inspo photo of a space by ASHE + LEANDRO in mind:
This is what I came up with two different woven Indian rugs from a local store, CARGO
and
but in the end, I opted for the WEST ELM rug after all. The colors seemed too busy for the hallway and the size was not really right.
MY FOCUS this last week is all about CONTRAST in this WHITE HALLWAY and a NEW LIGHT FIXTURE to replace this existing one, which is nice, but too small:
So, here’s my final check list:
- Paint semi gloss CHARCOAL black paint on stair rail and tops of stairs
- Paint all four doors semi gloss SILVER GRAY
- Paint office door to my office semi gloss CHARCOAL
- Paint stoop at base of stairs white and apply the STENCIL from HEIRLOOM142 from Canada below for fun:
5. Hang all my NEWLY MATTED AND FRAMED PHOTOS in the stairwell.
(For you Portland locals) Seth at I’VE BEEN FRAMED, was a dream to work with; along with some pre-cut double mattes that I found, he matted and assembled “frame kits” for me that made it super easy and affordable. I went in there with ten or so frames and was worried how much that was going to cost. It cost me about $50!
6. Install the custom cushions and lumbar for the new antique bench I scored at GOODWILL for $40:
I thought about painting this bench but I have decided to leave the natural wood and cane work. I am making a seat cushion and lumbar pillow to give it a more modern look and hide the missing cane work until I can get it fixed. Overall its pretty sturdy though.
6. And lastly, there is the matter off the antique DRESSER, which I am planning to also paint MILK PAINT CHARCOAL. 
I’ve got my work cut out for me, which might have something to do with why I am getting so little sleep lately…I’m worried.
See you next week for the FINAL REVEAL.
Don’t forget to check in with the FEATURED DESIGNERS:
As well as the GUEST PARTICIPANTS:
:
See you soon! Thanks for following along.
Best,
Suzanne
