The black loo (and other trends you didn't see coming)

Just when you thought it was a truth universally acknowledged that toilets were white, along comes a trend to knock you off your perch. Or throne.

So black loos are now a “thing”. And in the interests of ensuring you won’t be caught off guard when the conversation next turns to interior design, we have compiled a brief round-up of surprising* new trends for the home.

Do with them what you will.

* May not be surprising if you pay close attention to this sort of thing.

Little black loo

Black has been finding favour with interior designers for some time now, but its recent star turn in bathrooms takes the trend to the next level.

From toilets and sinks to taps, showerheads and toilet roll holders, bathroom accessory makers have embraced the dark side with gusto.

Sydney interior designer and decorator Anoushka Allum of SmartSpace Interiors says the new ranges of black fixtures and fittings work beautifully alongside timber finishes to create a warm, inviting look in bathrooms.

“I would generally use a feature tile that worked in with the black too, something with either black or charcoal running through it. If you aren’t a fan of strong pattern, this can be as simple as some darker veining in a tile or stone,” Allum says.

Photo: Kim Sargent

Black accessories tend to wear well but don’t think they mean you can get out of cleaning duties.

“Black does show up water marks more easily than white or chrome, so it’s no excuse not to clean as you normally would,” Allum says.

Private parts

Australia’s love affair with open plan living could be on shaky ground if a new push to create more private spaces in the home takes hold.

Laura Greenwood of UK-based trend forecasting agency Scarlet Opus says there has been a surge in designs that prize solitude.

“It’s all about making things small and creating a sense of well-being, making things a bit more private,” says Greenwood, who was in Melbourne this month for the Australian International Furniture Fair.

A piece of furniture called the Orwell fits into this category. Created by Spanish design duo Alvaro Goula​ and Pablo Figuera​, the Orwell can be used as a bed, a daybed, cabin or lounge. Heavy quilted curtains can be pulled down to dim sound and light, making this grown-up blanket fort the perfect spot for taking a nap.

From a galaxy far, far away …

Here’s a trend that’s sure to leave you seeing stars. After making their mark on fashion runways, planetary patterns have commenced their orbit into home wares.

Star-struck designers at the Milan furniture fair in April included Swiss textile company Schonstaub​, with its Nebula print range of rugs and towels, and Diesel Living and Seletti​ collaborating to produce a Cosmic Diner dinnerware collection.

Australian astronomer Fred Watson says he’s not surprised by the emergence of cosmic patterns as a design theme. When the first photographs with true-colour representations of objects in deep space were produced in the 1980s, pop culture was quick to embrace the aesthetic.

“They were everywhere – mostly in books, magazines and record jackets, but they found their way into fabrics and ceramics too.”

Make like a Viking

Good news, Game of Thrones lovers – it’s time to bring John Snow home with you. In an interior design sense, of course.

Writing in his interiors blog The Life Creative, Sydney stylist Chris Carroll credits TV shows Game of Thrones and Vikings as inspirations behind the trend.

“The Viking trend is first and foremost subdued in colour,” Carroll writes. “Banish pops of daring hue and scrap all dreams of accent colours. This look is all about neutrals on neutrals; predominantly greys, browns and cool blues.

Texturally, layer soft textures (think faux fur, cable knits, rope and crumpled linen) against harder textures such as dark woods and rusted metals. “The more battered and bruised these materials are, the better.”

Of course, don’t let things get too real in your quest to rock the Viking look. Actual, real-life Viking homes were dimly lit, unpleasant-smelling joints with tiny beds, according to this blog about Viking turf houses: “It has been suggested that people slept sitting up in the Viking age, with their backs against a wall or partition, or even against their shields.”

And a few for the road:

• Transparent furniture: see Patricia Urquila’​s Shimmer range.
• Athleisure for the home: see Atelier Biagetti’​s gym-inspired furnishings.
• Geological patterns. Think bark, sediment and stone-inspired prints.