Asian styles finding way into spring home fashions

Spring may be the time when hearts beat aflutter with love, but it’s also the time when heads spin with plans of home decoration.

Along with spring comes the itch to liven up and air out our winter dens. And already spring trends are starting to blossom, according to a number of Boulder County’s upscale design and home decor stores.

One nearly unanimous prediction for spring designs is a strong Asian influence, and an equally firm shift toward crisp, clear lines and simplicity. Even more surprising is the ceaseless demand for candles. On the quirky side, one store also believes bugs will be big this spring; bug motifs, that is, not real ones!

At Trios Home Gallerie, on the corner of Broadway and Canyon Boulevard, managers Krista Gehring and Victoria Tracy believe springtime will be marked by a heightened interest in Asian styles. They say this is already apparent in the popularity of sushi trays, items made of bamboo, and especially in lighting made of wood and rice paper shades. This Asian influence is also being felt at Peppercorn Gourmet Goods store on the Pearl Street Mall.

“People are leaning toward the simple look´ said Merchandise Manager Ashley Buck. “Modern but very minimalist. Asian ware is very popular, and sushi is huge,´ said Buck, adding that Peppercorn is expanding its Asian section and the range of goods to cope with expected demand into springtime.

Maia Andreasen, general manager of Boulder’s Room To Room on Broadway, also predicts that shoppers will continue to seek simplicity and even spirituality in their purchases.

“People are looking for calm, restful shapes; the traditional rather than the trendy,´ said Andreasen. “They are also looking for good value — tending to buy things that are well made and will last. Simplicity is a big factor. We are seeing this and the Asian influence especially in the gardening and patio areas and through such things as bamboo accessories, paper lanterns and paper umbrellas.”

Back at Trios, other seasonal trends already are beginning to show themselves. Preference for large wall decorations is one which is expected to dominate particularly as the pace of house remodeling picks up in the spring. Gehring and Tracy believe many newer houses tend to have more wall space and perhaps vaulted ceilings, and this is encouraging customers to buy larger paintings, prints, sconces and mirrors.

“We don’t see a big demand for the Southwest look; the rust colors, log furniture and so on,” Tracy says. “Boulder people tend to come from all over the United States and seem to bring with them broader tastes.”

A taste for candles, however, is predicted to continue and even grow through spring. The bigger and more exotic, the better, say the experts. Candles are major sellers everywhere and at Peppercorn, where they stock some huge, fruit-filled monsters, Buck believes the trend is for larger and more decorative types.

At Pier 1 Imports in Longmont, Assistant Manager Carol Leers also is selling her stock of candles and agrees that demand will continue for some time.

“Little lanterns made of metal and glass with candles inside are also very popular,” she says.

The choice for spring colors was less unanimous among Boulder’s home decor shops; some predict bright colors, others pastels and some say more neutral, toned-down colors.

When it comes to a single color, the color purple stands out as a favorite.

At Room To Room, which celebrated its third anniversary in March, Andreasen expects a lot of carryover from last year when periwinkle and sage were among the most sought after colors. She also believes there will be a move toward more vibrant, primary colors this spring “as people who have been confined all winter get ready to break out!”

Andreasen also is predicting that when it comes to buying pictures and prints, shoppers will feel more adventurous with their purchases and more comfortable with brighter colors. One of the spring trends tipped by Leers at Pier 1, where they import goods from such colorful countries as Africa, Indonesia, Mexico and China, is for very bright, decorative acrylic glasses and dishware. At Peppercorn, Buck expects to see more pastel colors for kettles, coffee-makers and other kitchenware, while the team at Trios predicts neutral colors will remain popular with spring shoppers.

And what about those bugs? Well, Andreasen happily tells us we can expect to find ladybugs, butterflies, bees and dragonflies decorating everything from table linen to napkin rings and especially on items for enjoying the warm weather outdoors.

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