The Exhibitionists

Our favourite furniture pieces of the year aren€™t the shy, retiring types. They're the stars of the show, setting the stage for this year's top furniture trends.

Modern Glamour

It’s hard to say what you notice first about this sofa: the hand-pulled diamond tufting? The lush velvet fabric? More than likely, it’s the dramatic colour: an aubergine shade that’s bound to turn a few heads. It’s show-stopping glamour with a modernist take: for this look, think lush, velvety fabrics in wow colours paired with clean modern lines and elegant detailing—a style that draws from both Hollywood glamour and midcentury design.

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Black & White & Red

The popularity of graphic black and white holds strong this year, with a flashy update: a hit of a red. The look can be simple (black-and-white chevron throw pillows on a white sofa) or more dramatic, like this handpainted chest of drawers with its Douglas Coupland-esque digital houndstooth print. 

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Wired In

Every since Harry Bertoia designed the Diamond chair in 1952, we’ve had an ongoing love affair with wire seating. It takes up less visual space than a traditional piece (making it perfect for small spaces) and evokes the still-going-strong mid-century modern design trend.

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Sculptural Approach

Truthfully, it’s not easy to play with the design of a chest of drawers: a drawer just needs to open and close. It’s the material it’s made from that’s the star. But a movement to more sculptural furniture turns the concept on its head. These Stack drawers from Established and Sons, for example, are designed to be pushed or pulled in both directions: close them all up for a perfectly standard rectangular set of drawers, or let your inner sculptor shine by moving drawers in many opposing directions.

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Pretty in Punk

Edgy style pops up in home design every few years or so—a paint-splattered fabric on a Louis XVI chair, a burnt frame on the Smoke chair from Moooi—and it’s back again for 2014. Look for ’90s-punk influence like metal studs, oversize plaids and in the case of his great grandfather clock from Moooi, pop-art style—check out the mouth and the safety pins on this playful design.