Hot trends in home design-Calgary Herald

What is hot in interior design in years? Latest interior design Show in Toronto featured four scorching trends:

Bling

The show was flooded in the glitter and gleam.

Swarovski crystals, often was integrated into the bathroom furniture, sprayed on window blinds and wallpaper, sparkling as glow beds in gas fireplaces and twinkling like buttons on upholstered furniture. What was decorated with crystals was in bright shiny glass kitchen counters, polished surfaces and flashy accessories.

"We are dealing with faucets like jewelry," says Robert Calabrese of Aquabrass (aquabrass.com), Concord, Ont.-based distributor if the new line of bathroom faucets is called AquaCristal brings bling to the bathroom.

Sun Glow window floor coverings of Canada (mysunglow.com) add Swarovski trim and draws on some of its window blinds for what the company calls "delicate shimmer."

"It is a fun decorative element," says Sun's glow Diane Nevins of Crystal, add bling is particularly popular among young people-"a generation of bling and everything that glitrer."

Black

Black is still a great neutral. IKEA, for example, cast away from his Swedish reserve and presented an all-black kitchen, positively radiated edge: black counters, cabinets, sinks, faucets, pots, pans and backsplashes, even a black stove (well, anthracite, actually).

' Black is sexy, and cozy, ' says IKEA'S Andrea Mills, explains with his black kitchen, IKEA tried with "kick it up a notch and show maturity IKEAS design.

Anna Portanova Frini furniture, in Woodbridge, Ont., says black speaks to glamour, which finds expression as we shake off our recent economic funk. It is also-along with white and grey-a part of a palette of neutral countries, which can be used to display textures, geometric patterns and shapes, and be a base for outbreaks of color.

Things can be black, but they are often shiny or accompanied by luminous mirrors, metal, acrylic and acrylics. (See Bling).

Bespoke

The word means custom made, and it speaks to the feeling of luxury that is to find their way back into the design.

Paul Smith Claim Canada (kravetcanada. com), a company that sells textiles and furniture, talked about the "quiet sophistication and Dim a little elegance" in the new design, structure, which includes linens, silk and ethnic motives.

He also talked about a return to colours, including purple, purple, and strong Greens and blues.

Strong colors were in evidence at the Elte (elte.com/furniture), a Toronto furniture company if Second Life carpets combine green mantra of "reduce, reuse," with cuttingedge appeal and unique products.

Second life is Persian carpets, rugs that are 40 to 80 years old, explains Elte's Ken Metrick. Carpets are deprived of their original color and vibrant modern redyed in nuances.

Metrick explains that people buy neutral furniture and use blankets to give their rooms a color pop.

Carpets are also worn to be reused in whole, the few cut and the pieces are sewn in patchwork blankets and redyed.

Also was very distinctive-and advanced-gorgeous textured wallpapers Roya manufactures and delivers Canada (royacanadainc.com). Roya's Prime the walls of the art (primewalls.com) includes its Shardana collection with embossed metallic surfaces and handplaced pearls. (I mention Shine was a trend?)

British

One of the most visited the collections on Show were of British-inspired furniture from UpCountry, (upcountry.com).

A traditional-looking sofa upholstered to represent a Union Jack attracted much attention and so travel trunks with the same design.

Upcountry's Andrew Ward says the wedding in April, Prince William and Kate Middleton stirring up interest in all things British.

There was a vintage feel the British collection, and it made use of several pieces of reclaimed or repurposed. (Repurposed or reused pieces were all-where on the Show).

Like so much else, but traditional UpCountry collection-in feel-were set by the shimmering crystal lamps.

The British appeal was not limited to the living room: Victoria + Albert (vandabaths.com) is a British company which was in Toronto to present a new line of luxury bathtubs and sinks. Made of South African limestone, bathtub and sinks is actually a mixture of pulverised rock and resin designed in slim, liquid forms.

The company's Jonathan Carter says rock and resin mixture is naturally heat to contact and, consequently, these sleek bathtub keep their longer heat.

After a weekend at the Show was a nice warm bath as a fine idea.