by Eric Craven
Content Manager, Barewalls.com
Forget
about trends heading west from New York
- today, Northern Californians are setting
the stage in home decor. America's youngest
cities offer more opportunities for invention,
and the chance for decorators to break away
from tradition.
Ironically, emerging side-by-side with the
cutting-edge technological innovations of
Silicon Valley is a yearning for the past.
The latest wall decor trends heading east
from the coast are centered on nostalgia
- a desire for simpler times.
As
an online art retailer, Barewalls.com is
in a unique position to watch evolving trends
in wall art and decor. It's interesting
to look at what people are really buying
and where. At the moment, nostalgia is the
guiding force, influencing decor choices
more than ever.
Contemporary Nostalgia
Think Cape Cod, circa 1920, with all the
trimmings. Men are zoot-suited, shadowy.
Women are mysterious. And everybody is dining,
dancing and romancing under vast coastal
skies.
Whether
it is the romantic narratives, or the earthy,
natural colors we can only speculate, but
prints by contemporary painters Jack Vettriano,
Juarez Machado and Raymond Leech are the
hottest trends in wall decor today. These
painters create what can best be summed
up as contemporary nostalgia - merging the
stillness of Edward Hopper with film noir
plot lines to create one-scene vignettes.
Where to hang a Vettriano? The prints' soft
browns and neutral colors mean that they
merge easily with a variety of decorating
schemes. But because the colors are not
outspoken, these images work best solo,
where they can stand out against simple
decor.
Cafe
Culture
A hundred years ago, the next trend in wall
decor was just commercial art. It was very
good commercial art, hand drawn by classically
trained artists - but advertising, nonetheless.
Today,
classic advertising posters are more than
mere promotion. Home decorators are realizing
the impact of vintage advertising reproductions.
As a result, posters offering up everything
from vacations to champagne are imparting
their whimsical innocence to homes across
the country.
Part of the charm of vintage advertising
posters is that their subjects seductively
address a room. As a result, these images
are perfect for more public areas in the
home. For example, a vintage cognac poster
works well in a living or sitting room,
while classic food advertisements are a
natural choice for large, social kitchen
areas.
Pre-Raphaelite
Fairy Tales
A third nostalgic trend is making waves
in home decor circles - prints of Pre-Raphaelite
paintings. The Pre-Raphaelites, painters
such as Dante Gabriel Rossetti and John
William Waterhouse, are renowned for their
dreamy princesses and Ophelias, painted
true-to-life, with rosy-cheeked idealism.
Why
the revival? Well-loved for their dreamlike
narratives, Pre-Raphaelite images take us
to a world of fairy tales and bedtime stories.
Perhaps a little piece of fantasy is the
perfect antidote to today's harried pace.
Pre-Raphaelite
images are sensual, perfect for intimate
locations such as in suite bathrooms and
hallway nooks. As small, framed prints,
alone or in a series, these images work
especially well in breakfast nooks, studies
and children's rooms.
