What’s hot?

Oh, trends. Soooo hard to keep up with. Me, I’m usually just cottoning on to a clever colour combo (chocolate brown and blue! ooh how lovely!) as it slides down the trend-o-nometer and something else takes its place.

But really, so what? I’m not that much of a stylista that I feel like I have to keep up just because something’s ‘in’. In fact I’m not a stylista at all. I like what I like.

That said, it’s fun to keep abreast of what’s happening with design trends because, well, it just is. And I personally LOVE writing about them because they give a snapshot of lots of things: the economy, the public mood, technology.

One of my fave places to shop in Tucson, the boutique paint store Citron Paint, recently held a free little pow-pow on what’s hot in interior trends. Owner C J Volk ((full disclosure: a good friend of mine) was reporting on her recent visit to Paris to the trade show Maison et Objet.

C J Volk, wearing the colour that will be the new neutral for some time to come

What did she find?

* Texture is huge. (Can texture be huge? Now there’s a philosophical question for you. In design, yes indeed it can.) Various textures, from wall hangings to rugs to lamp shades, is what it’s all about. My fave: some rugs made out of brightly coloured tufts of reclaimed, recyled materials.)

* It’s time to wave your flag. And particularly if it’s British. Have you noticed the amount of Union Jacks adorning armchairs and T-shirts these days? (I have a T-shirt, but haven’t ventured into the furniture just yet). And it’s not just because of that Royal Wedding. You’ll see the use of Oxford-style stripes, Hogwarts-like ties, anything that shouts “I belong to this club, and I’m proud of it!”

* Gardens are creeping up the way. To be more precise, vertical landscaping is a big hottie. ‘Pocket’ plant pots that hang on a wall are popping up all over the place, and they’re a great space saver if you don’t have a big yard.

* Patchwork isn’t just for quilts. It’s going to be in chairs and on rugs and on flooring too. Flooring? How so? She showed us a pic of a floor made out of old shipping crates, and the popping colours in there gave wooden flooring a whole new future.

* We want authenticity. It’s not hard to see why: we’ve gorged on fake Hollywood, on people who’re famous just for being on TV, on Wall Street bankers lying to us, of the Government lying to us. We want things – people, objects – that tell real stories, that, in C J’s words, “speak to us a bit more richly.” With our spending capability way down, we want frugal, but “frugal that’s fun, not frugal that’s dreary”. Hence the patchwork, and knits, and textures that resemble our grandmother’s crochet.

* Gray is still the ‘hot’ neutral colour, and will remain so for five to six years.

So there. Ms Volk’s thoughts. If you saw her stunning abode, you’d know to trust her. And if you want to find out more about Citron’s series of workshops and talks, check them out on Facebook, or visit www.citronpaint.com