Last week I had the pleasure of visiting Salone Del Mobile during Milan Design Week as a guest of DFS.

It was incredibly useful for interior design inspiration, not only to view so many future trends but also to spend some time with DFS product designers Rob and Ashley who had already sought out some of the looks that will soon be in our living rooms here in the UK.

But actually, DFS already offer some pieces such as the Hoxton Sofa above that already capture many of the aspects so there’s no need for us to wait.

Through this post I will show you how we can easily add elements of these upcoming trends to our home with some images of the current DFS designs.

We were really interested to see that there were many more muted colour tones coming through this year. For instance more calming pastels rather than bold brights with some gentler blues and sage greens but also grey greens and blue greys that the Sophia sofa and swivel chairs offers in ‘ Sky ‘ Combination ‘ at DFS.

Neutral tones like mink, stone and off whites worked aside these light colours beautifully.  I saw lighter shades of turquoise too although I was really pleased to see some deep teals still playing a strong game being my favourite colour.

The stronger pops of colour seemed to be mainly on the warmer end of the colour chart generally, deep and brick reds,  burnt oranges and various yellows. Very much like the Viera Sofa in ‘ Bordeaux ‘ here and the Play Hexagon Footstool in ‘ Mustard ‘. On the whole – I felt it was a nod to the cool and relaxed era of the 70s.

In terms of textiles – layering is big with different types of textures working alongside each other all within one design – you will find buttery leathers, velvets, suedes, open piles wools and wood. I really enjoyed the legs featuring metal – some with with industrial type wheels. I love the DFS Hackney Chair as it has very slick ski style legs with a very vintage vibe – it’s a great example of what’s to come.

This all took centre stage more than prints this year and I also loved the soft organic linens –  I had a field day looking at these combinations together !

It seems that intricate detail is prevailing too with outside seams, pleats and large weaves. I noticed some top stitching ( once a dressmaker always a dressmaker ) and strong emphasis on craftsmanship which is fantastic news.

Shapes and forms are organic with curves and L Shapes like the ‘ Cream Combination ‘ Melody Corner Sofa or the Etienne Sofa in the ‘ Duck Egg ‘ colourway below. There still also seems to be quite a boxy theme running throughout.

So, that’s what we discovered and it looks like it’s going to be quite an exciting time for furniture design. It’ll be interesting to see what DFS come up with in the near future although I am already enjoying their current ranges here.

Did you know that DFS handmade every order own their UK factories ? I honestly didn’t know that. Or that they have been established for over 50 years and now have 110 stores across Europe … I found out quite a lot about them while we all had a delicious meal together in Milan. It was pretty reassuring to hear that they offer a 15 year guarantee on all sofas.

You learn something new every day don’t you ?

Are there any looks that you currently like or trends that you’re looking forward to ? Do leave me a comment  – always love to hear from you.

Lucy x

This post is written in collaboration with DFS but as ever all opinions are completely my own.

All images copyright of DFS 2018.