Five themes dominated the major interior design fairs in 2019: slender lines in the shapes that define furniture and lighting, metal sheets in the material of the accessories, application of a spherical aesthetic in the inspiration of the environment, extreme use of colour in the content of the chosen pieces and total adherence to the classics reissue. That’s five tips that fit on the fingers of one hand, and that will be the bible of those who want to decorate a luxury house. Maximum attention to detail in furniture, lighting and accessories will do almost anything for a house. All you need to do is find the perfect house, which is easily done here, whether in Porto or in the Algarve.
Lighting and furniture are fundamental in the decoration of a space, but this year the tendency is to make them almost imperceptible.They are a kind of delicate jewel that makes a difference, but their presence is not ostentatious. They stand out for their elegance and not for their exuberance. In a sense, it is a return to minimalism. The legs of the tables and chairs are slender, the arms of the lamps are chrome-plated and almost sculpted in fine lines. The final appreciation lies in the design, whether more conventional or more unlikely. This console, worked in gold leaf with a forest-green marble cap, calls for glamour in any entrance hall. Imagine buying a luxury house in Porto, designed by a Pritzker architect such as Eduardo Souto de Moura, what other decoration can you choose if not the one that stands out for its simplicity?
The metal mesh gives furniture and lighting an extraordinary lightness that combines contemporary and, at the same time, timeless aesthetics.The pieces designed in metal sheet appear to be suspended and seem to be able to fly. But even within this illusory capacity provided by the material, there is a kind of miracle that only design can achieve. And when it comes to design miracles, it is inevitable to think of Alexander McQueen, the greatest of all art wizards. This chandelier inspired by the British designer is so powerful, so dramatically beautiful, as indeed everything he has designed, that an empty house that only had this incredible masterpiece of gold-plated hammered brass with Swarovski crystals would be a full house. Imagine now a 1-bedroom apartment right in the centre of Porto, with a remarkable architectural language, do you think you'd need anything else?
The moon inspires the decoration in 2019, not only because of its geometry, its spherical body, its curved lines, its symmetry, but also because of the different phases of light it provides. In this sense, this year's trend is to play with the materials that provide these lighting possibilities without giving up using the circular shapes that enhance them. This extraordinary table made of mahogany wood with a polished-brass surface is the most sublime example of the aesthetic perfection that the moon offers. Placed in properties of singular beauty and location, like this one, in Vale do Lobo, in the Algarve, it easily becomes the protagonist of the room.
Bright and fearless colours dictate fashion in the interior design in Portugal. The effusive palette is not so much used on walls or carpets as on decorative items, furniture and accessories. The idea is to be bold in choosing a purple velvet sofa with a curved and elegant silhouette, or in selecting modern and iconic chairs, in American-walnut wood, details in polished brass and emerald-velvet seat. Colour heats up, energizes and contrasts with contemporary, light-filled villas such as this one, in the heart of Foz do Douro, in Porto, elevating its architectural beauty.
The classics are timeless. Looking at an original design, it's easy to see why. Any one of us would be able to say by heart a table or a sofa of a film that we never forgot. James Bond's desk, not by chance dubbed "the most beautiful table in the world", is just an easy example. That's why the major interior decoration brands in Portugal are re-editing the icons that have always inhabited our imaginary. It's not a matter of recycling creativity, but of drinking inspiration where it's been most fortunate. This is the case with this impressive table made to measure by the Kassavello studio, which is quite capable of competing with secret agent 007’s furniture. Especially in a luxury house in the Algarve, full of rooms, including precisely a cinema room.
Interior design service Atelier Kassavello www.atelierkv.com
Bespoke service and branded pieces by Kassavello www.kassavello.com
