At the very least, it's being redefined during an uncertain economy as we approach the next decade.
"There's a change away from the hip modernism we've borrowed from hotels with all the Lucite, mirrored furnishings and bright yellow and turquoise geometric carpets," said interior designer Peter Dunham of Los Angeles, whose client list includes Ben Affleck. "We want comforting things. More American pie, less flash in the pan."
So what exactly is in store - and will be in stores - for our homes in 2010?
"More craft and things that have been touched by hand," said Keith Johnson, buyer-at-large for Anthropologie stores and the subject of the Sundance Channel's "Man Shops Globe." The eight-episode series followed Johnson to South Africa, India and across Europe as he sped through flea markets and met with artisans in search of Holy Grail furnishings and accents.
BLACK ON TRACK
Black walls are turning up in home mags and blogs, much bolder versions of the grays we've grown used to.
"Dark walls actually make smaller rooms look bigger," said Susan Bartlett Crater, granddaughter of Kennedy White House decorator Sister Parish. Crater and Libby Cameron this year wrote the book "Sister Parish Design on Decorating" (St. Martin's Press, $35). "Black also pops color in a sophisticated way."
Patricia Shackelford of Kansas City, author of the nationally recognized design blog "Mrs. Blandings," included a post on world-renowned interior designer and Kansas City native Thomas Britt's black walls of the 1970s. Some of the rooms looked as if they could have been ripped from modern magazines that feature black rooms with crisp white trim and accents.
Designer Peter Dunham is even seeing black in furniture upholstery, such as black Chesterfield sofas. And Edwardian-like black coincides with what's popular in fashion, he says.
TO GRANDMOTHER'S HOUSE WE GO
We've heard "this ain't your grandma's ..." A new buzz phrase just might be "that's so granny."
Patricia Shackelford thinks we'll see more patchwork quilts, hooked rugs, needlepoint and chintz.
"On 'Top Design,' a contestant (Ondine Karady) was criticized for being too 'grandma' for using a crocheted throw," Shackelford said. "Actually, she was on to the next trend."
Shackelford said it's the return of Sister Parish design, using heirlooms or pieces with history. "It's a way to bring comfort to formality," she said.
Susan Bartlett Crater said using family pieces can be stylish. "My grandmother always said houses should be receptacles of memories," Crater said. "What better way than using grandmother's things?"
GRAFFITI FURNITURE
Antiques in recent years have become more affordable. But some pieces can be unwanted, drab even, and call for help.
"Antiques don't always have to be these sacred things," Keith Johnson said. "They can be reinterpreted."
When "Man Shops Globe" visited Belgium, Johnson asked an artist to breathe new life into a wooden Louis XV headboard by spray-painting it, graffiti-style.
Graffiti artists have over time earned street cred, and some have gained respect.
MADE IN THE U.S.A.
In 2010 and beyond, a "made in the U.S." label will resonate strongly with buyers, because people want to strengthen the economy. Buying more local items also is better for the environment.
HOMESTEAD CHIC
More of us are growing vegetables, crafting our own cheeses and battling city hall to keep chickens in our backyards. Just as we've been reconnecting with the land, look for that bond to strengthen in the rest of the home. We'll use more locally harvested wood and reclaimed barn wood.
We're becoming fonder of burlap-style grain-sack and rustic linen pillows. The fabrics follow on the heels of the classic rural European look popularized by Belgian designer Axel Vervoordt. He sparingly mixes industrial furniture with worm-holed unstained wooden pieces. Restoration Hardware's latest furniture seems to be directly inspired by Vervoordt, Peter Dunham and Patricia Shackelford say.
FLEA MARKET FRENZY
Many made their first visits to flea markets and thrift stores in 2009, a trend that will get even bigger in the new year.
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A recent visit to the Salvation Army store turned up 48-cent pieces of classic creamy Ironstone dishware.
"People aren't doing the full-scale bathroom and kitchen re-dos they were a few years ago," Dunham said. "But they can easily perk up a room with textiles or a new lamp."
"Wary Meyers' Tossed & Found: Unconventional Design From Cast-Offs" by Linda and John Meyers (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $27.50) features how-to ideas for Aunt Millie's stuff and thrift-store finds.
INNOVATIVE RECYCLING
In an episode of "Man Shops Globe" in which Keith Johnson travels to South Africa, he talks about how recycled items will be purchased only if they are beautiful. On a visit to a store called Magpie, he fell in love with a chandelier made of Barbie legs and milk-bottle caps. At the end of the show, we learn President Barack Obama commissioned a $4,800 recycled chandelier for his daughters' room at the White House (based on Johnson's recycled find).
DESIGN MAGAZINE EVOLUTION
Two popular design magazines, Domino and Metropolitan Home, published their last issues in 2009. On the upside, 2009 saw the start of a new online-only magazine called Lonny (www.lonnymag.com). We wonder if there will be more.
CONVERGING LIKE CRAZY
We anticipate more design apps (short for applications) for our smart phones.
Sherwin-Williams in 2009 introduced color-matching software for the iPhone. You can take a picture on your phone and match it to a paint color, which is highly useful now that camera phone quality has improved.
LAUGHTER INDUCING
We don't mean talking Jerry Seinfeld bobbleheads, although those would be stellar desk toys. What we do expect to see are more imaginative everyday household items designed to tickle our funny bones.
Keith Johnson recently visited Design Miami, a show that is gaining prominence worldwide, and "Grandfather Clock" got his attention. It's a large wooden piece with a clock face in which a blurry gentleman on a screen keeps passersby up to the minute by erasing the old time with a paper towel and redrawing the current time with a dry-erase marker.
"We need things that make us laugh," Johnson said. "Or at the very least, make us smile."
