Greece is the word

Justine Costigan
October 14, 2008 - 3:33PM

Go Greek: Traditional forms and modern fabrics

If you're tired of the look of streamlined 20th-century furniture and design, and minimalism leaves you cold, you're not alone. For every dominant trend there is a counter trend: if you long for a carefully layered look that brings together objects and influences from many eras and is highly personalised and individual, then you're clearly ready for the trend that's already influencing interior designers around the world.

Dubbed the "antiquities" look because of its embrace of the architecture and design of ancient Greece and Rome, trend forecasters and analysts say it will be the big theme in interiors from 2009.

Minneapolis-based trend analyst and author of the internationally distributed The Trend Curve magazine, Michelle Lamb has been in the business of forecasting trends for more than 20 years and says this look will appeal to people who are looking for a "historical anchor".

"The look alludes to the past while reaching for the future," says Lamb.

"It's the evolution of eclectic style. It's an example of extreme personalisation where each piece for your house is chosen as you fall in love with it.

"The first thing to know about this look," continues Lamb, "is it is about historical references that look comfortable in a modern setting. It uses modern scale to rejuvenate classic forms."

This doesn't mean that to get the look you have to install a set of Greek columns in your home, but you may use the shapes of Greek columns in other pieces of furniture or as a subtle reference in fabrics and art.

Christine Tsingelidis of Jado Decor is a Melbourne interior designer who loves to use classical Greek references. A recent project in Williamstown featured a black-and-white colour scheme, with silver, glass, metallics and highly polished wood as highlights. Drawing on a range of eras, Tsingelidis combined art deco, classical Greek and French influences with Versace pieces and a zebra-skin rug. The key to the look was traditional forms and modern fabrics and finishes.

"For example, I used two Louis-style chairs and covered them in a luxurious striped velvet," says Tsingelidis. She also used strong forms such as a sculpture of a big cat as a centrepiece on the coffee table and a large piece called Reach for the Centre on an impressive granite plinth in the hallway. The classical-Greek theme was also reinforced by framed prints of columns and Greek statues.

Voluptuous swathes of fabric; rich black velvet sofas; a glossy, streamlined black kitchen; and large mirrors combined to create a very strong, yet very elegant, masculine apartment, perfect for the successful businessman who owns it.

"I love classical design. It's never outdated," muses Tsingelidis. "Sometimes I drive into the city and go up to the top of Collins Street and admire the older architecture and their beautiful classic forms. They always inspire me."

Director of the National Design Centre Kathy Demos says this desire to embellish has been building for a few years now. "It's a definitive reaction against minimalism. There's a sense of an artist's palette, starting with grey and building on that. Grey is at its heart; silver is part of it; and it gradually becomes a canvas of so much more detail, texture and colour."

Demos says the look appeals to people who are looking for authenticity. "It's a forum for ideas. People marvel at how these (objects) were made at a time when everything was done by hand."

One of the places Demos identifies the emergence of the new look is in jewellery. "Jewellery is a very interesting area. You're seeing the rise of jewellery from a form of embellishment for the body - where it is about the preciousness of the materials - to a renewal of interest in the artist and the artist's ideas.

"It's the story behind the work that interests people now: who made it and what were they trying to say. Again, it's looking for authenticity."
If you're wondering whether the antiquities look may end up as Disneyland-meets-ancient-Athens, Lamb suggest it's unlikely to be taken to such an extreme.

"I don't envision entire homes in this one style," she says. "It's supposed to be personal and eclectic; each person creating the home that's right for them, with the objects they love that help create a sense of connection to history."

HOW TO GET THE LOOK
Metallics:Soft burnished metallics is a central aspect of the antiquities look. Antique silver, burnished copper, materials and colours that suggest armoury are beginning to appear on the market. National Design Centre director Kathy Demos suggests the armoury colours are about "creating a sense of protection".

Colours:Grey, black, white and silver are the starting points for the antiquities look as well as earthy colours such as you might see on ancient relics. This palette is then added to with points of colour. Colour is also used in unexpected places: an antique chair may be upholstered in a modern fabric; a Greek-inspired sculpture may be painted a bright colour.

Crumbling effect:"Old is good" in the antiquities look. In a reaction to the sharp, clean style of modernism and minimalism, furniture and artworks that show their age are appreciated and celebrated.

Allusions to mythology:References to the gods of ancient Greece and Rome appear in artworks, graphic design, fabrics and furniture. You might see mythological-inspired designs on cushions and lampshades, but they'll be mixed up with modern references.

Fabric:Luxurious fabrics and draping are a key to the antiquities look: think of draped togas. A sense of luxury and privacy is created by heavily draped curtains. Appropriate upholstery fabrics are richly textured and lustrous: think silks and velvets.

Formality:An ordered arrangement of rooms that is a response to the classic shapes in the furniture suits this style. You'll see a return to more formally arranged living areas that may be suitable for reading, formal entertaining and so on.