Decking the home in red

As we know, the habits and tastes of the general public are cyclical, cultural manifestations closely linked to social events. Trends spring up in the fashion world first of all, the undisputed precursor of all change, and then quickly take off in the design world, the main characteristic of which is to honour the needs of man and his habitat.  

Red ruled the autumn/winter 2023/2024 catwalks to such an extent that even the notoriously moderate Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, Helmut Lang and Miuccia Prada made room for the new trend, which still holds fast for next spring/summer.   

While the architect Robert Charles Venturi Jr. (Philadelphia, 25th June 1925 – Philadelphia, 18th September 2018), one of the leading exponents of the Postmodern movement, argued that “Less is a Bore,” the rather more recent study into consumer trends carried out by Catawiki in collaboration with Ipsos, found that maximalism was one of the five leading trends, also in design: “Forget the rules to express individual style Eclectic bright colours, bold patterns and colours and contrasting styles.” 

The reasons are psycho-sociological, like everything else that concerns us. In fact, while times of crisis drive us towards minimalism, there is always a corresponding reactive period of maximalism. Which explains the current passion for red, a warm colour, vibrant, capable of activating the body and mind thanks to its wavelength, the longest in the spectrum visible to the human eye.  

A colour of great energy and vitality, it conveys enthusiasm, determination, courage and independence. Its warm tones have the ability to improve mood, positively raising blood pressure, heart rate and muscle activity, to the point of infusing the body with a feeling of warmth and comfort, helping to reduce stress and muscle tension.  

In her 2022 book Big Dress Energy, the psychologist Shakaila Forbes-Bell says that when we are exposed to colours such as red, it activates sympathetic neurons in our nervous system. This means that activity increases in the parts of our body regulated by the autonomic nervous system, such as the liver, the stomach, the heart and the lungs, influencing our behaviour and rendering us more ‘alert or reactive.’ 

Here’s a selection of furnishings that champion red from the Salone del Mobile.Milano.