Changing rooms: the most popular interiors trends of 2018 and the homewares facing extinction this year
Leopard print, reusable coffee cups and Instagram are in, trouser presses, door knockers and alarm clocks are out. At least, so says a new report into interiors trends based on buyers' habits at John Lewis in 2018.
According to the 2018 trend report by John Lewis & Partners, the BBC's hit documentary series Blue Planet II, narrated by David Attenborough, put sustainability at the forefront of everyone's minds.
In the four months after Blue Planet II was broadcast, sales of sustainable coffee cups at John Lewis increased by 71 per cent year-on-year.
Reusable water bottle sales rose by 37 per cent, while sustainable alternatives to clingfilm also proved popular, with storage category sales up by 15 per cent.
Other notable events throughout the year also impacted on our shopping habits. After the Royal Wedding in May, sales of occasion wear hats rose by 33 per cent, while after England beat Colombia in the World Cup in July, sales of TVs rose by 49 per cent.
Small, discreet screens these are not, however. The report found that televisions have almost doubled in size since 2010, when the average TV screen measured 36 inches — it's now 70 inches or more.
With the rise of ever more curated Instagram feeds, we’re increasingly obsessed with how we present our homes on social media.
A desire for the perfect Instagram-worthy home this year meant we were focused on finding stand-out pieces to show off on our feeds.
Eye-catching animal prints proved popular this year, with toucans, monkeys and cheetahs on everything from wallpaper to lampshades.
The department store said sales of its Ipanema toucan patterned wallpaper rose by 55 per cent in August.
Our search for unusual furniture also ramped up a gear this year. Occasional chair sales at John Lewis were up by 18 per cent with the orange velvet Audrey chair a bestseller.
“This year was all about shoppers expressing their identities and choosing pieces which say something about them as individuals," said Jonathan Marsh, buying director for home at John Lewis & Partners.
"Consumers became more daring with interior design, using flashes of colour and objet d’art to make their homes unique.”
There were some products that fell out of favour this year, perhaps unsurprisingly.
Sleep hygiene as a major part of wellness and healthy living may have seen premium bed linen and organic sleep products on the rise but, with more of us opting to use our smartphones for almost everything these days, sales of alarm clocks were down 16 per cent.
Though once cutting edge, sales of trouser presses were down by 36 per cent and, with the introduction of tech-advanced smart doorbells, traditional doorknob sales decreased by 9 per cent.
And the rise of streaming services such as Netflix or Amazon Prime have caused the demise of the DVD player – sales were down 40 per cent this year.