The Shape of Things to Come

Do interior designers know now what they’ll be specifying next year? The organizers of the Imm Cologne Furniture Fair (www.imm-cologne.de) think they do. Since 2004 the outfit has brought together a group of journalists and design professionals in a workshop to provide inspiration for the coming year. After discussing shapes, materials, and colors last June, Tom Dixon, Inga Sempé, Eero Koivisto, Stephen Burks, Sophie Lovell, and Chris Lefteri came up with four themes-Heirloom Culture, New Hybrids, Size Matters, and Design as Art-which have been published in Imm Cologne’s forecast book Interior Trends 2007. “The book and workshop are an integral part of the fair’s overall concept, combined with additional programs such as a trend forum, an interior-innovation award, a young-designers competition, and the Ideal House Cologne, where architect Zaha Hadid and designer Naoto Fukasawa will present their personal visions of interior style,” says Mette Petersen, president of Koelnmesse, which organizes the fair (happening January 15-21, 2007). Taking our cues from four scenes (images 1, 6, 10, and 12) in this year’s report, we’ve created our own snapshot of where interior design is headed, a mood board of provocative products.