Patricia Urquiola: Decorating with "Emotional Austerity"

Jay Johnson - It's fun to look through video interviews with designers from exactly one year ago and see if their predictions came true during the past year. I found this interview of design great Patricia Urquiola and she was talking about a curated show she did in January 2011 with the theme "Emotional Austerity."

Patricia's take on classic design for our times has held up well over the past year - and I think will carry us well into 2012 and beyond - primarily because she focused on the trend of using traditional building materials like wood and concrete and wool to enhance brand-new products; the fun and design twist and emotional energy behind rethinking our furniture, rugs and flooring, wall covering, lighting, and accessories is made "austere" or "pure" or "restrained" - well, think "new classics" - when comfortable, traditional materials like leather are used in the final execution. A shining example is her Klara Chair for Moroso (see top photo), a combination of classic wood and leather in a startling new form. So follow this iconic designer's visionary cue, still going strong, and go with traditional finishes and materials on sometimes startlingly new and exciting product designs to keep your interior design scheme fresh and creative.