By Kim Cook
Home decor’s got a split personality this year: Call it “city glow” and “cottage flow.”
At the two international design fairs that I attended — Maison et Objet in France, Ambiente in Germany — acres of exhibition booths were full of Art Deco furnishings, island-vibe rattan seating and lighting, and lots of emphasis on sustainably produced materials.
But a couple of aesthetics drawing crowds were especially interesting.
Capturing the ‘city glow’
One was an exuberant urban vibe I’m nicknaming “city glow.” It’s full of highlighter-hued throw pillows, edgy surrealism, street art and hefty, Brutalist-style furniture — lots of sharp-cornered steel or concrete consoles and lamps that loomed over rooms — as well as rugs and wallcoverings covered in graffiti-style motifs or swaths of vibrant color.
Gretchen Rivera, an interior designer in Washington, D.C., sees it as a look that resonates especially with “younger generations who grew up with digital influences. There’s
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