‘Future proof trends – isn’t that a contradiction in terms?’

‘How can a trend, which is surely allied to a fashion, be future-proof?’  asks Kate Watson-Smyth in her blog ‘Mad About The House’. A question answered convincingly by her guest blogger Rohini Wahi, a trend forecaster for the design industry, who based her premise ‘Five trends that will last forever’ purely on looking at what is working, what is still here and what is back again.

What surprised me was that in addition to the classic trend favourites of natural wood and navy blue, and the re-worked favourites of tropical motifs (think William Morris) and traditional silhouettes (think Regency), Rohini included patterned feature tiles. Now this trend may be ‘working’ – witness the amazing profusion of patterned tiles on the market right now, including Popham Design’s gorgeous Rings above  – but seen in the context of recent tile history, it perhaps does not seem a likely candidate for a lasting trend.

You have to go back many years, in fact as far as the Eighties, to find a time when patterned tiles were last popular. As a seasoned tile retailer, I remember the time when Fired Earth rang the death knell of the white 6” tile, marking a strong revival of interest in hand made patterned tiles from all over the world. At the same time a community of artisan tile makers grew up in the UK, many of whom were unfortunately lost during the recession years.  Since then  tiles have long been, if not reverting to the white 6”, a little bland. Much of this was due to rising house prices and house-flipping, where vendors worried that anything other than neutral colours would put off prospective purchasers.

So, whilst patterned tiles are definitely ‘working’ at the moment, with a trend gap of around 30 years, could we be forgiven some scepticism regarding their staying power from now on? Well, without asking Rohini her reasons (as a major influencer, her antennae are not be questioned!) I would say she has seen the signposts for a more robust patterned tile trend in the future.  The first is that many hand-made and individual patterned tiles can now be reproduced photographically and mechanically on a large scale, with warehouse and online sales bringing down prices, making them affordable and easily available.  But possibly the major signpost is that interior design magazines and shows, Instagram, Pinterest and various other social media are making designers of all of us  – in our heads if nothing else. They persuade us to embrace a bit of the ‘boldness and confidence’ advocated by Rohini.  Today we not only have a vast choice of beautiful tiles but we are alive to the wonderful design possibilities they offer to enhance our homes, inside and outside. Just one tile, or two tiles, or just one wall perhaps…..?

It’s possibly another contradiction in terms to say that large scale reproduction of the hand-made look has led to the renaissance of the true hand-made tile.  But it has indeed. It seems the bigger the trend, the greater the creativity and innovation of the artist to produce truly original work, and the more valued that work is.  Somehow I don’t see that trend dying this time. I will leave you with a witty range of new Delft tiles called Story Tiles which I found on Rohini’s website. Delft have been making tiles in The Netherlands since the 16th century – a returning trend possibly?