I don’t know about the situation in other parts of the world, but here in Sweden the demand for tassels is huge. The good ‘ol curtain tiebacks. To be used and placed just anywhere in the home. The reason is a Swedish Hollywood-wife called Maria Montazami (from the TV show) – she is crazy for tassels (she’s got I think 86 of them, all blending into her interiors). And so it spread…. Slowly but surely. Blame her, or blame the Swedish soul for being so easily led ;) but the popularity is a fact. And mind you, this is an underground movement, a grassroot thing, hitherto unacknowledged by the established interior design circles.

| pic: tine k home |

Trendey correspondent (i.e. me) is now loaded and ready to visit the ongoing Home 2010 Fair in Stockholm. Home decor trends and inspiration will be brought right back at ya! Before this wknd is over. As a starter, let’s hear from our Swedish decor trend expert Lotta Ahlvar. She’s the CEO of Swedish Fashion Council. (And yes, of course we need a fashion council in Sweden, we’re serious on home & fashion trends.). Anyho, trend expert Ms Alhvar says there are three important trends for interior design going on:

• Humour. We love to enliven our homes with strong funny and happy accents. That’s sounds great to me since Swedish homes are, as you all know, overly whiteish. @Trendey, klick e.g. the tags accent colour, colours and happy for inspiration on this part. And the full eclectic style department of course.

• History. This can be antiques, patina, rust, collectibles or just children’s drawings. You’ll find pieces of this anywhere on Trendey, but press history for some specific posts.

• Tactile & clean wood. With natural materials and a low-key colour range. At Trendey mostly found within the Nature style section and tags about wood; clean wood, blonde wood, grey+wood, etc.

Now let’s indulge in this last-mentioned trend with some photos from the Fair:

Woodwork, driftwood and clogs are crucial in Homelywood. And so is the Old School Wood-line with kindling wood, a Lumberjack-look, chopping blocks and Woodstock. Added to that a reindeer skin, the occasional stump and some fur cushions. They have really taken the wood & nature-trend seriously! Will we see some of this in the near future? I bet we will. Here’s a last pic for today, with a distinct retro vibe:

The Swedish home textile chain Hemtex recently relaunched after a total makeover. Market share had decreased and target group analysis said costumers want trends, fashion and emotional values in home textile. So the company hired ad agency åkestam.holst to create their new trendy expression. Now when the aim is to be at the forefront of interior trends, which expression do you choose?

| photograper: Philip Karlberg |

Somewhat familiar…Fresh white Scandinavian, 50′s retro, graphic prints, frames, typography, letters as decor, industrial lamp, bookstacks, etcetera, etcetera…They nailed it! Great job. Though very predictable, very “right” in a Swedish interior trend point of view. It’s like medicine for decor anxiety! Buy this and you will get it all right. No Pippi Longstocking-thinking here huh! (She would follow no trends, she’d create them). Speaking of her, and Swedishness, and decor anxiety, I was happy to find this nice pic in the latest issue of Swedish decor mag Allt i hemmet.

Ever pondered why Swedish homes are featured at every turn? Why Swedish and Scandinavian style has a such a strong foothold in interior design? This new floor show, Light and Fresh, pinpoints the reasons. It’s a show with two of Sweden’s most popular comedians and entertainers, Fredrik Lindström and Henrik Schyffert. Topic is home decor hysteria. The Swedes are probably the world’s most trend anxious people. We Swedes spend ridiculous amounts of time to think about how our homes should look like and have a quest for the perfect place. We devote more time to choose a white hue for our walls than to reflect on the crisis in geriatric care.

- We are two men who dare to stand up and say we are interested in interior design, the performers say. And their theory is that Swedes decorate all the more because it’s easier to knock out a wall at home than to take hold of other things in life; it gives a sense of control. At the same time, due to the anxiety we dare soon not even buy a cushion without consulting a expert. The serious undertone is that our quest for the perfect home really stems from feelings of insecurity. The show premieres Jan 28, 2011, at Berns Salonger.

Words are really superfluous…..but: trendey not only care about styling and trends, we’re on a gender mission! Nah, not really. But home decor / interior design is gender-relevant. It’s not only women who like it. Not just women who have taste… Not only women live in homes (!) Not only women are parents. Not only girls helps to set the table. IKEA catalogue 2011 – you are hereby gender approved.

This is a IKEA catalogue 2011 roundup: some interior styling details, colours and overall trend themes. We’ll start off with a couple of styling features.

Examples of tricks we knew.. :p On the whole, I think the styling in the IKEA catalogues only gets better for each year. No doubt they are keeping pace with time. As for colours, IKEA fancies red and blue in particular the year 2011.

Good choices imho! Not too exciting and groundbreaking, but lagom (you know the Swedish word ‘lagom’? It’s like a National Word. Things must be moderate and pretty average, i.e.”just the right amount”.) With that said, however, the blue armchair might be a little too blue. Anyway, in terms of interior style trends the catalogue content comprises at least two more recent, apparent ones – a follow-up on the folklore style and a partially new industrial style.

| all images press photos |