Not gold but most likely brass, bronze or something similar. After attending all the big trade shows this year during London Design Festival its safe to say brass is boss when it comes to metal of choice for interiors. A few years ago chrome was king with its ability to add instant bling followed by the tones and textures of copper. These materials are still popular and its all down to suitability of each specific project but certainly brass whether antiqued or highly polished is found on most projects at the moment.
At Patio we keep a close eye on whats happening in all areas of fashion, furniture, art and architecture and whilst we don’t necessarily jump on the trend bandwagon we do offer a broad range of styles and metal finishes. This year we were asked to design and build the display stand for a glass arts organisation on their debut visit to Collect 2018 at the Saatchi Gallery London. The brief was to create stylish elegant plinths and display solutions which would showcase some very fine glass art. This allowed us to indulge in beautiful polished black granite and pristine white quartz tops with a combination of brushed stainless steel, polished copper, mirror polished stainless steel and powder coated frames and shelving. We felt it worked really well and the feedback was great with everyone making a sale.
Another material that seems to continue to enjoy the limelight mainly outdoors is the rusted metal finish, something we at Patio have specialised in over the years, supplying to award winning show gardens. This year we worked on two show gardens at Dublin’s Bloom In The Park festival. One of which contained curved metal seats on sandstone plinths and the other designed by Linda McKeown had huge four meter high sculptural arches, water features and wall cladding all in a rich rusty finish to offset and compliment the lush green planting. The rusted metal look, works well in the traditional or modern contemporary setting and when used as a water feature, large planter or sculptural piece can be just the required element to bring your finished space together.
Now we are in that beautiful transition between Autumn and Winter. As the darker nights draw nearer its a great excuse to curl up at the fire with hot drinks and candles for that Hygge feeling as they say in Scandanavia. “Hygge” is a Danish and Norwegian word for a mood of coziness and comfortable conviviality with feelings of wellness and contentment. I think every country has their own version of this and certainly here in Ireland we have a long history of getting cosy at the fire and spending time with loved ones. One of the most important elements to achieving this in my opinion is lighting, which brings us on to the next adventure as we experiment with various materials and shapes to emit just the right light for the space in which they are intended, so stay tuned and we will keep you posted. In the meantime please feel free to contact us with any ideas you wish to explore.
Is it too early for mulled wine and mince pies?
Autumn sunset at Slieve Gullion near the workshop.
