This season’s colour: cumquat

Design magazines will often suggest hot looks for the season ahead. This is great for a magazine as it gives them plenty to focus on in terms of photos and features and it always makes for a great cover shot.

But how should we interpret these forecasts, and how should they impact on our choices when shopping for new home furnishings, finishes and materials?

The main thing to consider is whether the colours that are currently considered cool will work in your home and for your lifestyle.

A white upholstered lounge suite might look stunning when it arrives from the showroom, but how will it look after three parties and after your Doberman has been sleeping on it for a few weeks?

Sure the high-tech industrial look is great in a brand new warehouse conversion, but will it work in your lovely art deco apartment? Unless you’re starting from scratch you’ll also need to think about how new colours will coordinate with your existing furnishings.

Possibly the most important issue is whether your new fit-out will endure over the years.

If you’re the type of person who likes to change the look of your home environment every year or so, then it’s probably not a problem to invest in items that may not be considered cool in five years.

However, if you’d like to save money by creating a more enduring look, then falling victim to fads might be a mistake.

As in fashion, it is always possible that a new interior design trend will become a mainstream classic, but you need to be pretty confident that a trend is a stayer before spending large amounts of money on it.

The safest way to make your home match current trends it to establish a neutral palette and each season invest in low-cost and easily reversible design features such as soft furnishings, ornaments and prints.

Painting or wallpapering a feature wall is also a great way to enliven a room and set a mood, and it’s easy enough to alter when it becomes tired.

That said, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the bold approach provided you are confident enough with your selections and do sufficient research to carry it off.

It’s almost inevitable that a look will eventually become tired. Even popular retro styles such as art deco and 50s chic have gone through stages of being considered horribly pass?efore they were re-embraced as cool, but careful selection can help you avoid costly redecoration.