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Contemporary design places the focus on material quality. While traditional styles of decorating have tended to emphasize applied finishes, today’s interiors allow the unique characteristics of wood, stone, glass and metal to speak for themselves. From smooth matt plywood to translucent Perspex, from cool, classic limestone to burnished concrete, the scope has never been greater. Materials once considered suitable only for industrial or commercial use have found a new, expressive role in the modern home. Designing with materials creates effects that are more than skin deep. Unlike superficial transformations with paper or paint, the robust use of materials as cladding, surfaces or integral elements offers a basic integrity that outlasts trends in interior fashion. Evocative combinations of glass and metal, wood and stone create sympathetic backgrounds with inbuilt liveliness and variety and the potential to improve with wear and time. From floors and walls, to screens, work surfaces, doors and details, the sheer range of applications provides a host of opportunities to add an enduring sense of character to the interior.
