This year’s Interior Design Show in Toronto highlighted what’s hot this year in design, such as curvy lines and warm happy colours, such as those on display by Objects & Ideas, and handmade rugs and interesting, tactile finishes. Nods to nature were seen throughout the show, with Montauk Sofa applying a tropical print to its entire booth.ARASH MOALLEMI PHOTOGRAPHY
Tommy Smythe, a principal at TOM Interior Design Studio, has been attending Toronto’s Interior Design Show (IDS) for 25 years – as long as he has been a professional designer. What separates IDS from other design shows across the globe, he says, is the fact that it includes the public.
The renowned Salone del Mobile Milano and Maison & Objet in Paris, for instance, are trade-only shows. But the IDS, held every year in January, bridges the gap between a profession and a public that has become far more sophisticated when it comes to interior design. Smythe and other luxury designers in Toronto say homeowners now are more educated about design and more involved in the interior process of their homes, so the fact that the IDS is publicly accessible makes for every year’s show having a unique creative energy.
“I would say the opening night gala is really the only party that the interior design industry in Canada throws for itself, by itself, with itself. We all attend it so enthusiastically because it’s the one time of the year that we get to share the air with each other, exchange ideas and talk about what’s new,” Smythe says. “When you attend that kind of event, you overhear people asking each other, ‘What have you seen in the show that you like?’ "
Over the years, Smythe has been front and centre at IDS – speaking on panels, occasionally as a keynote speaker. This year, on the show’s 25th anniversary, the conversation and exhibits were focused more on such things as prefabricated structures.
There is a boom of prefab, being used in a variety of ways across Canada, which has been expedited by changing legislation, including Toronto’s laneway housing law changes. The increased cost of building materials is another reason for the boom, driving people to look for systems rather than expensive bespoke builds.
This year, IDS created a feature called The Modern Prefab, which showcased prefab builders arcana, The Backcountry Hut Company and CABN.
In the luxury home sphere, which is the focus of Smythe’s design company, some of these prefab units serve as another living space, a work office, an exercise area or a man cave. They can have such “crazy amenities” as skylights, solar panels, their own independent power-generation systems and triple-glazed windows.
“As professionals, we work back from how the family wants to live,” he says. “What do you need to do? What are the things that will make your home serve the kind of life that you want to live there? And then often those conversations lead to places like this.”
There were a lot of Canadian products and designs on display at IDS this year, from companies such as: Ontario-based Acre Made’s custom furniture; Coolican & Company, which makes a range of furniture; Atriani, a luxury furniture maker; Objects & Ideas, which crafts a range of residential products and is currently making an international splash; and Vancouver-based design studio TAV Ceramics, which makes handmade ceramics and lighting.
Other exhibitors at IDS were experimenting with cutting-edge production techniques, adopting colours or forms reminiscent of 1960s futurists such as Verner Panton, and a large group of designers were using IDS to ground visitors in natural environments that focus on rest, wellness and nature. For example, the rich greens that were found in collections and installations in April 2023′s Salone del Mobile firmly made their way over the Atlantic at this year’s IDS. Volvo and Hush Acoustics presented calm, minimalist spaces designed to let visitors unwind. Stylegarage planted its furniture collection in a forest, Montauk Sofa applied a tropical print to its booth, Century Industries Inc. used green and terracotta pallets and Box Design created an outdoor space on the show floor.
Smythe says this focus on natural environments didn’t surprise him at all. “The discussion of trends isn’t necessarily about what’s new,” he says. “It’s more about what’s come around again. This business is very cyclical in terms of what people are interested in. Sometimes it’s all about curves and lines. Sometimes it’s all about hard edges. Sometimes it’s about warm colours, and sometimes it’s about cool colours.
“What I think is unique about the IDS, one of the reasons that I get jazzed about going every year, is because they have Studio North, which is an area of the interior design show that is specifically dedicated to emerging entrepreneurial businesses, and at that little area of the show, if you walk through it, you always see a through line.
“For instance, this past iteration of IDS, I noticed that everything had very soft, curved lines. This is a very friendly approach to home furnishings. There were a lot of warm colours. We saw orange and rich pinks and really hot colours. And usually that sort of thing is a reaction to what has come about previously. So, in the years leading up to that, whenever there’s something that’s negative, like a downturn in the economy, a stock market crash, high interest rates, a recession or lockdowns from the pandemic, usually optimistic things like curvy lines, friendly shapes and warmer colours, happier colours, are a reaction to that sort of thing. So you can almost predict those sorts of trends.”
Interior designer Brian Gluckstein, of Gluckstein Design Planning Inc., was a keynote speaker at the show this year and says there is a lean toward understated luxury in 2024.
“In interior design, it’s going to be about beautiful materials and subtle textures, a mix of modern elements and traditional architectural details. It’s timelessness, quality and an understated mix,” he says. “Another related trend in 2024 is a lot of artisanal details: handmade rugs, wall coverings in linen, silk and grass cloth, interesting decorative finishes on walls like a subtle plaster finish – beautiful layers that create depth in a space.”
Gluckstein and Smythe say their clients want to go back to traditional layouts in the home that aren’t as open as in years past. An example would be having a kitchen with a sitting area, which can be closed off during cooking, or having the range and dishwasher tucked out of sight.
“My clients are also looking for wellness-focused spaces,” Gluckstein says. “We’ll take a typically underutilized space like the lower level and do a sauna, steam room, cold plunge or massage area. Cold plunge is really big right now.”
Another keynote speaker at the show – Aly Velji, principal and senior designer at Alykhan Velji Designs – says he has been noticing a lot of unique natural stones being used for countertops, backsplashes and vertical cladding. The more texture and variation the better, he adds, saying he’s been seeing unique colours in deep greens, purples and oranges.
“I also love how you’re seeing a lot of plaster finishes being used in interiors,” Velji says. “From walls, hood fans and even tub surrounds in bathrooms. It’s super textural. Our clients are always looking for something different. … I’m a huge fan of colour, pattern and texture, so I use this with introduction of fabrics, wallpapers and unique furniture finds.”
Paul Johnston, who heads up sales for North Drive Investment’s new One Roxborough West luxury condo project in Toronto’s Summerhill neighbourhood, echoes what interior designers are saying. He says buyers increasingly understand the quality of space or layout, access to natural light, proportions and sightlines.
“The calibre of design truly matters,” he says. “The focus is falling away from sheer size, because buyers know that 2,000 square feet of exceptionally well-designed space in the perfect location will provide a much better living experience than a palatial 4,000- or 5,000-square-foot condominium with a compromised layout, awkward room sizes, an odd flow and inefficient hallways.”
All the homes at One Roxborough include walk-in pantries adjacent to the kitchen to tuck away appliances and store extra dishes and special glassware.
“This hidden space is what makes simplified living so much easier. It’s a place to put the stuff we live with,” Johnston says. “We have storage everywhere in our residences, from large laundry rooms to huge walk-in closets for the most serious of wardrobes.”
Advertising feature produced by Globe Content Studio. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.