Is your home trendy enough? Why authenticity beats high fashion every time

Hard as it may be for any of us now to believe, a luxury floor material for the kitchen just a few decades ago was linoleum. The vaguely plastic, hard but flexible tiling most of us know and love was common in high-traffic areas of homes, offices and locations like hospitals by the time of the Industrial Revolution, and though it was notable for being inexpensive, that was precisely what made it a luxury. It was a technical marvel for the emerging affluent and would stay that way until the 1950s post-war boom years when higher-quality PVC and vinyl took over, and eventually ceramic, natural stone and hardwood.

Luxury home interiors today are defined by a few key factors: how natural they are, the refinement and authenticity of the design, and how tech-forward they may be. Luxury interiors range from Patricia Urquiola-designed sofas to exotic plants incorporated in a residential green wall.

Current trends are varied, but sustainability has remained a major topic in every corner of the home. Sophie Ashby, founder and creative director of London’s Studio Ashby, points to biophilia, antique furnishings, eclectic zoning and sustainability as trends to watch for in luxury home interiors this year. “From these trends, we can see that modern luxury is no longer shiny and gold – it is gravitating towards designs that are a well-considered mix of beautiful, authentic and tactile materials,” she says.

Su Seam Teo, partner at LTW Designworks, which is responsible for bountiful luxury hotels, says that biophilia – the incorporation of nature into the home – is emerging fast, and the five-star hotel aesthetic is fully entrenched, “using lighting, materials, amenities to get the look of a luxury hotel”, notes Teo. However, increasingly, technology – from smart-home systems to state-of-the-art electronics (always on trend) – is defining home luxury.

As Teo describes it, biophilia is about more than adding a pot of ferns to the corner of the living room. It’s about having “nature on living walls or [having] live plants around the house, where nature and people are connected”. As techy as we may want to get, current luxury design is seeing interiors veer away from the ultra-modern for the home. Interiors are now “placing greater emphasis on injecting individual character and texture into design schemes”, adds Ashby. “After long days spent in front of computer screens, a comfortable and homely space to switch off in is a lot more appealing than a completely utilitarian scheme that mimics our office space.”

An easy way to do that is with some greenery. If there are hurdles to creating green walls at home, British celebrity designer Katharine Pooley suggests starting with hand-painted wallpapers with botanical themes.

Sophisticated and intensely artistic, wallpaper, when applied properly, can add style and monetary value to a home. “One reason why this trend has gained traction is that it draws on the beauty of historical interiors and artworks but reinterpreted for a contemporary setting,” says Pooley.