THE PAST IS NOW

It seems that everything that was once old in the design world is new again.

Past memories come to my mind of the family house that I grew up in.

It was designed and built in the 1970's and the style was that of a traditional double storey house with its exterior constructed of brickwork.

The interior represented that particular decade, with exposed brick walls, timber clad ceilings, custom made joinery, bespoke furniture and the timeless 'butterfly' chair.

As a child, I was too young to appreciate its finer details. By the time I was in my teens, the finishes and furniture seemed dated and old. However, now as an adult I reflect on the design choices that where made and realise that they had stood the test of time.

Fast forward to 2017 and I am reminded of the 1970's. Surrounding me on my everyday travels are traces of the past with a contemporary design twist.

Residential interiors with motif wallpaper, soft furnishing in pastels, peach and terracotta, fabrics in velvet and linen, flooring of shag pile, parquetry timber, coir and seagrass.

Commercial interiors with high back chairs, hanging chairs and wicker furniture, plants aplenty with indoor hanging pots and stands, ferns, staghorns and big leaf monstera.

Retail and cafes interiors with their exposed structures of flooring, beams, brickwork, and raw internal timber cladding of walls and ceiling.

A recent visit in June to Denfair 2017, at The Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre, confirmed that designers both local and overseas are embracing this cyclical phenomenon that everything that is old is new again.