Design professionals reveal where they find inspiration

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When looking at trends in architecture and interior design, the shift in the public’s taste and perception of design ironically originates from professionals who eschew the idea of following trends. Colour predictions from paint manufacturers might appeal to homeowners doing a renovation project but don’t have the same influence on architects and designers. Rather, directional changes in society have a far greater impact on how structures and interiors are imagined.

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Omar Gandhi, principal at Omar Gandhi Architecture, observes that more significant societal concerns, like sustainability or designing for more resilient architecture when it comes to what he describes as unknowns, can be framed as trends.

“Those are trends to some extent, but I think they may be just a little bit deeper,” says Gandhi, who has practices in Halifax and Toronto and was in Vancouver this fall speaking at IDS.

Big economic changes like supply chain issues and inflation affect how both commercial and residential spaces are designed and constructed. Gandhi says everything relating to construction became expensive after COVID — even for a simple home renovation.

“I think because of this, people are becoming accustomed to the idea of smaller spaces,” he notes.

“Things like wall finishes are becoming popular again and I think with good reason. It could be a more economical way to do something really beautiful, like wallpaper or a limewash paint finish. I think a lot of that stuff stems from new and inventive ways that aren’t actually that new.”

Craig Stanghetta, founder and principal at Ste Marie Studio in Vancouver, has designed and managed numerous residential and commercial builds that include restaurants, bars and public hotel spaces. Recently, Ste Marie completed work on the lobby and a downstairs lounge in the Hotel Georgia, Meo, a new Chinatown restaurant, and Italian eatery Elio Volpe in Cambie Village. Elio Volpe, Stanghetta says, was a big project and, with high construction costs, they decided to focus on visual impact but used a less expensive material for larger areas of the space. Texture became a way to create the look they wanted to achieve, but economically. Stanghetta says they opted for stucco, a hearty, heavy material used throughout the restaurant.

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“I think Elio is kind of a study in doing a bit of that where we’re focusing on impact,” he explains. “You spend on luxury materials where they’re very noticeable, but we just had so much space and so many big windows to cover.”

The increased cost of materials has people thinking about the different applications of existing products and dialing back use of super-refined materials by choosing more natural, raw or rustic finishes on items like wood cabinetry.

“We’ve been using a micro-cement quite a bit. It’s essentially trowelled on or applied, like this really fine-grained cement. It just has this texture that feels organic. It’s very hard-wearing. We used that in a retail store for Monos (in Toronto),” says Stanghetta.

Gandhi thinks that people are now more open to natural finishes for exteriors and interiors, which appear to have a rawness or rustic appearance as opposed to highly manufactured ones. There’s a timelessness to using natural materials, even in a rustic way, he says.

The use of rustic-style materials, like raw concrete on floors or unfinished and less expensive wood like plywood with all its knots, have moved into interior residential and commercial spaces, creating a modern yet warm esthetic.
Even more conventional interior woods are flaunting a naked, natural finish.

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“I think there has been a shift to natural materials and the truth of natural materials,” notes Zafirah Bacchus, creative and project lead at the Vancouver interior design firm Studio Roslyn. “For example, we’re doing this house right now, and there’s a lot of wood in the project. Our client is really interested in just having the natural look of the wood and not staining it to make it different.”

This move toward a greater appreciation for the natural qualities of materials seems to coincide with a new appreciation for handcrafted or traditional artisanal skills. Bacchus cites a project where they’re incorporating marquetry.

“It’s kind of like a parquet. You’re cutting patterns into wood veneers to create inlays. That’s something that was done for years and years, and it’s so beautiful.”

Studio Roslyn has another residential project integrating artisan work using stained glass, rather than clear glazing, for transom pieces over some of the home’s room openings. “Stained glass is kind of re-emerging a little bit, maybe in a more modern way.”

Though the marketplace design trends aren’t central to their work, the one-directional design shift that both Gandhi and Stanghetta acknowledge is the return of lower, softer lighting. Task lighting has its place, but warmer, varying levels of light are mitigating expansive, glaring overhead illumination.

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“Something that has been kind of percolating over the last few years is low lighting, again,” Gandhi says. “Things like lamps, you know little table lamps or floor lamps or chandeliers.”

Stanghetta suggests that coloured lighting can be considered a material choice, like paint, to create or enhance a mood. Ste Marie, he says, has integrated coloured lighting into a number of health and wellness projects “where coloured lighting starts to be another layer that’s used in spaces.”

“There’s chromotherapy where certain colours are mood enhancers,” he explains, adding that there’s a whole movement based on the premise of red light therapy having regenerative benefits.

Though Stanghetta admits coloured lighting isn’t common in residential design presently, he believes we’ll see more of it as it becomes more technology-friendly and customizable. “It’s not like a wacky purple LED … it’s like [an] amber kind of glow or where it really can bring a little depth and warmth and an additional mood to a space. You have that control depending on time of day or application or room.”

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