Home Trend Watch: WestEdge Design Fair 2015

These days luxury is less about reflecting status and more about choiceful self expression

From the LifeMinute Team

October 28, 2015

The word from economists is that Americans are ready to spend, and spend big, on their homes again. But when it comes to luxury purchases, ideas have changed since the big meltdown, according to organizer of the WestEdge Design Fair, held this week in Santa Monica, California.

"We're here at the Barker Hangar for the opening day of WestEdge 2015," says Megan Reilly, and according to the organizer of the WestEdge design fair, it has "everything from kitchen appliances to the latest fabrics to furnishings to lighting to outdoor furniture as well."

The big buzz at this year's show is 'the connected lifestyle'. Some of the show's hottest finds illustrate just that, starting with the most "lived in" living room in the house... the kitchen.

"The new Jenn-Air Connected Wall Oven is designed to not only look beautiful and perform powerfully but also as a connected appliance, which means the cook can interact with the oven via their connected mobile device and that frees them up to interact with their friends and their family and always remain in control," says Steve Brown, General Manager, Jenn-Air

Jenn-Air also showcases an exciting new prototype, which is an induction downdraft cooktop. But it's not just about technology, but also how the products and design choices actually bring people together in a space. Take the ultra chic fireplaces from Modfire for example.

"Modfire was kind of born out of an idea that my wife had to make an outdoor fireplace for a 1950's ranch," says Brandon Williams, "It inspires people to make memories, to sit around the fire, to gather and I think that's kind of being lost in todays society, so to bring a simple element like that back into peoples lives is really huge."

On the softer side of connectivity, artist Pamela Sunday's sculptures make a statement in any room and are always a great conversation piece.

"The sculptures are ceramic, they're hand-made, they're inspired by microscopic forms...algae, plankton, spores," says the artist, "Some people think it has a mid-century vibe, some people think it looks like internal organs, some people like the obsessive quality of it."

And also, people more than ever like to be in the know about what's in their homes.

"The word connoisseurship is something we use a lot because people want to know...they want to be educated, they want to be part of the process, they want to feel like they have a real connection to the products that they're purchasing and the investments that they're making," says Reilly.

So whether you're making a big investment or a small one, the message in home design is staying connected and expressing yourself. It's all about you.

Sponsored