Home sweet home: trends of contemporary living
In recent decades the concept of "living" has undergone many transformations, in step with the changes that have taken place in society and people's lifestyles. Today the home is no longer just a place for relaxing and getting away from the world, indeed it is increasingly becoming an environment for a full range of activities that in the past were the prerogative of others spaces. The increasingly common trend of smart working, less and less subordinated to spatial and temporal constraints, means that the home can be transformed into a workspace. Similarly, sports and cinema can become indoor experiences thanks to the tools and applications offered by technology. Organising secret concerts or dinners with strangers (social eating) is becoming increasingly widespread in the home, making it a true gathering place.
An intimate space where you can also stay connected with the outside world: private and public lives become one in this modern concept of a home that reflects a true expression of the identity and behaviour of its occupants. An evolving, versatile residence that has the characteristics of the traditional domestic sphere and those of a space that is increasingly suited to the many needs of our time.
So what is today's ideal home and what are the major trends of contemporary living?
The ideal home in 2019? Comfortable, eco-friendly and technological
The findings of the Home Observatory presented last July in Milan are clear: what Italians want most from their home is for it to be comfortable, environmentally friendly and equipped with a technology that allows access to different forms of entertainment in the comfort of one's own living room.
Being the place where we carry out most of our activities, even for work, the ideal modern home should be comfortable and able to meet our needs throughout the day, offering modular, multi-functional environments that are also welcoming, able to make us rediscover the warmth of the home. How? Natural materials like wood and wool, combined with the delicate shades of white, beige and grey are the key to a simple, enveloping atmosphere in pure Scandinavian style.
Another essential aspect of the modern home is its eco-sustainability: well integrated with the surrounding landscape and properly equipped, the contemporary home is designed to save energy. Even the outdoor spaces participate in this trend, offering numerous solutions for outdoor lighting, whether LED or automatic.
While a house with an advanced home automation system that allows remote control of domestic systems is not yet reality for everyone, the modern ideal home should be equipped with a basic technology that allows improving and increasing the activities we do there: from appliances that can reduce wasted energy to applications that allow us to access the vast world of multimedia entertainment.
The kitchen remains a key gathering point in the ideal home, a social space that today merges with the living area in order to foster communication between the rooms. Finally, in harmony with this desire for open spaces, even the outdoors becomes an indispensable element of the modern home, to be furnished like a perfect open-air living room.
The outdoors: a living room en plein air
The keyword of the ideal modern home is "space", understood as communication between the rooms and realised with open spaces or using extremely light dividing elements. In this search for space and large rooms, the outdoors become a fundamental element of the home, an environment to be lived in and furnished as if it were an indoor living room. Protected by adequate outdoor coverings during the warmer months, the house's outdoor space becomes a bridge between the private home environment and the rest of the world. The ideal furnishings for this kind of open-air room are in tune with the surrounding landscape and in line with our needs. There are many ways that you can take advantage of outdoor spaces, whether you choose an open-air kitchen or a play area the important thing is to know how to organise spaces in a practical manner, perhaps opting for modular systems that allow you to transform your home based on the things you do or want to do.
In a contemporary home the intimate and social spheres merge, becoming a sort of hybrid between public and private spaces. Indeed the outdoors represent precisely this convergence: a movement towards the outside while remaining in an intimate environment.
To achieve this perfect union you can rely on materials, furnishing accessories and even closures, like The Glasses by Corradi, all-glass sliding doors that allow you to fully enjoy the surrounding nature.
Today's living trends will also inspire the architecture and furniture sector in the coming year. How about you? What's a must for your ideal home?