One of the greatest benefits I get from blogging is the discovery of trends happening that have an impact on my work as a print and pattern designer. At the very core of my designs is the influence and inspiration gathered from nature and how that gets expressed in new ways. But it is also important for me to stay on top of design trends happening that shape current demand for products. That brings me to the subject of this article. There are some motifs and design staples that never really go away. Florals, stripes, checks, and certain animal prints such as leopard are motifs that fall into that category. Texture and color play an important role too. Evergreen print design trends for 2023 incorporate all of those motifs in fresh new ways. Furthermore, we can see how the growing for demand for products that breathe nature into our homes can be interpreted in many ways. There is surely one that fits your style. Read on.
Florals
Floral designs are always popular in fabric, wallpaper, and print design. There are so many styles that there is a never ending way in which these motifs can be redesigned and made new and fresh.
This is one of my new designs from my Vincent Modern Floral Collection now available on Spoonflower. It is an example of how new designs build upon the work of the past. The color palette was inspired by the paintings of Vincent Van Gogh and the floral elements are oversized and based upon graphic hand drawn images from some of my own garden sketches. Hand drawn motifs are popular right now. In an age where technology can create nearly flawless products there is something about hand drawn images that feeds our desire for those things that make us human and celebrates our imperfections.
We discussed the influence of Josef Frank and William Morris in the recent post about nature inspired upholstery fabric and furnishings. Botanical and heritage prints are some of my favorites and they continue to show up in new collections. Many retailers continue to sell these designer prints for home decor products, both traditional and contemporary, proving that their work is still popular and relevant today . Here are a few examples.
I love how versatile these designs are. They can be used in soft colors as the perfect background to a monochromatic color palette or as a pop of print color for a more dramatic effect.
Layering of print designs for full and bold expression will be trending for 2023. If “more is more” is your mantra this is for you! The work of these following designers have paved the way for some new and fun designs that take it to another level.
Pastoral Toile and damask traditional prints are transformed into the most exciting new designs trending wallpaper and fabric designs today. I have long been a fan of the work of two Scottish designers, Alistair McAuley and Paul Simmons and their company Timorous Beasties. Their work is a great example of the way in which evergreen themes of botanical and natural elements combined with contemporary social themes can result in exciting new designs that speak to our modern world. I love the soft colors paired with this beautiful design of entwined branches and perched birds.
Color is also used in new ways to elevate the designs. Going bold with color takes damask into non traditional territory. The photo below is one of their wallpaper designs from a pop up installation at Bergdorf Goodman for jewelry designer Marla Aaron entitled TB Totem Damask.
Stripes
The above photo shows how prints can morph traditional design motifs with modern flair and mix them with stripes. Mind the Gap is another company that is doing really exciting things by mixing traditional evergreen stripe elements in unexpected ways. This one takes a pretty traditional striped pattern and turns it on it’s head with the addition of antlers, wreaths, and mountain dogs!
Here is another one from Mind The Gap. It is a great example of how stripes are being layered with prints on other soft furnishings and wallpaper too. This is the year for really bold personal expression.
The blue striped rug below grounds the entire room in this home in the heart of London with interiors by Studio Atkinson featured in House and Garden UK. Although in the middle of the city it is surrounded by beautiful gardens and there is a definite theme of bringing that calm into the space for an entirely different example of how the use of stripes can be paired with other fabrics and art to evoke a style quite different than the one above.
Checks & Plaid
Most fabric designers who create collections include either mini prints and/or checks and stripes as a compliment to their floral collections. Stripes and checks are an easy way to add variation to your design scheme while staying with a cohesive color palette.
Hand drawn or watercolor check and plaid designs are a great way to incorporate a “not too perfect” charming look that many of us crave in this age of technology.
The pillows below in a neutral check fabric are just the right accent for this minimalist Mediterranean style bedroom designed by Jaime Zimmerman and photographed by Lauren Miller.
A little bolder but still exhibiting a feeling of serenity is this checkerboard headboard and platform in room designed by Matthew and Rick Bettencourt.
Animals
If animal prints are your thing this will be your year in design. Never has there been more layering of animals, plants. and floral elements in such a way that it just creates a whole new category of print and pattern unlike anything we have ever see. This pattern by Timorous Beasties is a great example of complex patterns weaving tropical tendrils of floral vines in and out of the forefront among leopards perched upon towering branches.
Iris Apfel’s designs for ruggable are another example of innovative ways that animal prints are being layered in unexpected ways. This design, On Safari Sapphire takes traditional Persian rug elements in the background topped with a faux hide zebra in print.
Here is another view of this rug and a link to the Fast Company article in case you would like to learn more about the collection and her inspiration for designing it.
Final Thoughts “Don’t Be Like The Mob
There are so many options today to choose and make your home your own. I hope that this post has given you just a glimpse of the many ways that you can use print and pattern to create and express your own style. To quote Iris from her Fast Company interview…
A new collaboration with Ruggable includes 18 rug designs that Apfel promises are ‘a wonderful way to express yourself and not be like the mob.’
I think that says it all.