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As the world heats up, a cool attitude pervades the home furnishings landscape, where conspicuous consumption is now replaced with smart and stylish, often eco-friendly, furnishings. Home design now has a conscience.

Trend-spotters at the 2008 home furnishing markets report that designers have hopped on the environmental trail, implementing multipurpose decor with a ‘green’ twist. 

“Managing space better is in the forefront,” says Lisa Mermis, owner of Twigs Interiors. “Instead of overscaled furniture, we have noticed a drift toward high-end furniture and accessories that make good use of space without overcrowding — a stylish idea for those who are cutting back on clutter.”

Nell Hill’s owner Mary Carol Garrity agrees. “People are editing a bit more than in the past,” she says. “That’s not to say that quality is being sacrificed. Actually, people are really thoughtful on how they spend and repurpose what they have. They are updating, but now it’s for the long haul. Quality is replacing trendy here-today-gone-tomorrow purchases.”

Hot trends for Fall 2008 include: Soy Candles Clean Lined Case Goods Animal Prints Natural Accessories

Space, designed to fit, makes perfect sense with the increase in loft, condo and apartment living blooming so readily.

“Bigger is not always better,” echoes KC Surroundings’ owner, Terri Mancuso. “Today, there are a lot of clean lines on furnishings but with that ever-present attention to detail in color and texture.”

In other words, make way for embellishment and contrast on furniture and accessories then add in textures found in the natural world, and you’ve got the mix to keep things interesting.

Think tastefully bedazzled: wood against steel, rough-textured horsehair next to chenille, bobbles of gemstones clustered on linen — everything is game.

Various trends were shown to advantage with tactile design enveloping the scene at Maison Objet, the cutting-edge 2008  biannual Paris-based tradeshow. Putting the vibe from this iconic market into motion, heads turned for:

Purple Reign: dove grey walls punctuated with icy purple accents for a moody but sophisticated look.
Chalet Chic: raw wood floors, heavy wool fabrics with a Bavarian theme on   soft goods; a believable faux fur throw tumbling over armrests. 
Anything Asian: streamlined Japanese design, intricate stitching, origami folds and stylized floral patterns.
Call of the Wild: animal prints, burnished copper and brass. Think safari meets the Spice Road.

However, what works in the European market might not translate for our provincial tastes. “Midwest sensibilities are always in play, which is far more traditional and conservative,” says Cindy Hamilton, designer/owner of Redmond’s Furniture. “Nevertheless, because we sell so many tablescape items, we are seeing many younger buyers attuned to the natural fabrics like bamboo, linen and twig.”

Julie Casey, a designer with Featherstone, says, “There’s a strong appeal toward multipurpose furnishings, for instance, artwork that’s nonseasonal, ottomans doubling as coffee tables and accent chairs that move from room to room. As for color, people want spicy, rich color as an accent, like chili pepper red, lime green and sunny yellow.” 

Home and garden accessory shop The Yellow Barn is filled with all things from the natural world. “We constantly hear people who want anything and everything to do with nature,” says owner Regina Tenbrink. “We like to blur the lines between inside and out. Throw in shine from mercury glass then mix together spheres, grasses, faux vegetables like cabbages and tomato plants, mushrooms, even fairies, in every size and color, and it’s totally enchanting.”

Regina acknowledges that vibrant color, particularly green, from chartreuse to grass green, is very desirable. “It makes people think of nature, and right now, that’s a very hot topic,” she says.

Other hot topics include these stores’ most popular products:

Soy Candles —  Wicks that burn  smokeless with no harmful petroleum-based products dignify the Redmond’s collection of soy candles. Locally made in Kearney, Mo., the Light of the World    candles are an eco-friendly choice. Scents include Fresh Linen, Créme Brulée and New Harlem.

Clean-Lined Case Goods — Sleek and minimalist case goods now offer shine. Hardware has always been a common accent for knobs and pulls, but now feet and corners have a glint. This case good table from J. Banks is available at Twigs Interiors and comes in six different gloss finishes with stainless steel ferrules as well as “antique” ferrules. 

Hint of the Wild — Conjure up shades of luxury to lounge by with this Peninsula Home Collection chaise, available at KC Surroundings.  It’s deep, wide and begs for your attention. The fabric is a textured chenille cotton/poly blend.

Bringing Nature In — Consumers are weighing in on vintage reproduction scales, available at The Yellow Barn. They can be used in many ways but most popularly as candle holders or flower pots, as demonstrated with this arrangement of bare soil, tulips and grass.