Design Trends | Brutalism
As always, everything that was old is new. It's fascinating to me how design trends are cyclical. So many of our clients want something "timeless" or "classic" and while there are looks that can make you feel like you've accomplished that, the truth is, everything will come back around. You may have to wait 20 or 30 years, but it'll be back in style eventually!
One trend that is on the horizon now but was big about 30 years ago is a style called brutalism. It sounds terrible, i know. Telling someone their house is decorated in the brutalist style doesn't make it sound very inviting but it's actually a very interesting style so we're going to try to break it down a little today so you know what you're looking at when you see it!
Brutalism started after World War II which already tells you a lot about it. it is a style that was born in a time of very little money and a lot of pain. It comes from a re-building era where minimalism was pretty much all that existed people were just happy to be alive let alone surround themselves with lots of stuff. It was really a style born out of a lot of perspective.
The main theory behind the style is a focus on raw materials such as concrete and metal. Since that's a lot of what was seen during this time period, it makes since because that's what people had to work with. The material also had to be durable--people were thinking about function and durability not comfort. Brutalism is a little like the industrial style but one step further--edges of pieces were jagged and sharp almost left looking like there just wasn't time to finish them. Very raw and exposed in it's overall expression, it can make for one cold space.
The nice thing about brutalism is it is a style that can be mixed. And when done right, it can be almost like art--so visually unique and interesting that the moody feel it evokes in a space is more artistic than eerie. Take a look at some of these brutalism inspired furniture pieces and let us know what you think about this style in the comments below!
