A Peek Into Heimtextil: Decorating Themes For 2012 and Beyond

Last month, several members of the RoomMates team went overseas with our parent company, York Wallcoverings, to attend the 2012 Heimtextil trade fair in Frankfurt, Germany. In this final post in our Heimtextil wall decor series, we’ll take a closer look at some of the popular trends we observed at this year's show, and present you with a gallery of some of my personal favorite photos from the show.

Over the course of the show, our staff saw a number of themes that kept coming up again each time they visited a new booth. In addition to the color trends we've already discussed in previous posts, there were specific symbols, subjects, or themes that became known on a wide variety of textiles and wallcoverings. These themes included butterflies, peacocks (both real and illustrated), woodland animals, celebrities or classic Hollywood references (like Marilyn Monroe and James Dean), trees, ornate frames, and cityscapes or locations. There was also expanded usage of photorealism, especially in wallpaper, and many wallcoverings emphasized a tactile or raised surface to encourage not only visual interest, but a “hands-on” experience.

Although butterflies and trees strike me as classic decorating trends—especially in nurseries—I do enjoy them, especially because manufacturers are now working to put new and unusual spins on them (like our 3D butterflies, for example!). The sudden popularity of peacocks, though, is interesting. Though I don't have room for them here, we captured quite a few pictures of peacock feather wallcoverings and wall decor of the full bird! And with regards to the cityscape trend, it looks like we are moving away from the popular idea of a skyline or popular landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, and more in the direction of graphic imagery that inspires thoughts of a particular area. There are also some very lovely and detailed “city life” scenes appearing on wallpaper, as you'll see below.

Here are some of my personal favorite photos from the show. You'll see some of the trends mentioned above represented here, as well as a few pictures I tossed in “just because.” Maybe it's just me, but I can't keep my eyes off of that wallpapered desk!

Butterflies were everywhere, both in photorealistic and stylized graphic forms. These pretty butterflies took on a 3D form.

Here is some more 3D decor. What do you think about wall decor that is literally "off the wall"?

Photorealism was very popular this year, with subjects ranging from movie stars to farm animals to pretty flowers and plants like these pink roses.

Peacocks were extremely popular as well. This photo from the York Wallcoverings booth shows a highly textured wallpaper of a gold peacock on a rich gold background.

Illustrations and photos of infamous celebrities are beginning to rise to popularity in home decor. What do you think about this Marilyn Monroe wall art?

Continuing with the theme of celebrities, this curtain displays several classic actors, actresses, and movie titles.

This one I'm throwing in just because I seriously love rooms with yellow in them!

This desk is probably only for display purposes... but wouldn't you LOVE to have a work space like this? I'm really considering looking into how to make this happen.

Cityscapes and city scenes or details were also very popular this year. These displays celebrate different regions differently.

What do you think of this picturesque city scene wallpaper? Isn't it charming?

This post is the last we'll be doing on the Heimtextil show! We hope you enjoyed getting an inside look at all the color trends and decorating themes that we saw this year. I hope you've been inspired, or at least enjoyed looking over our photos. Did you see anything in our Heimtextil review that inspired you to decorate a room a certain way, or pick a new color for a home makeover? Let us know in the comments—we want to hear what you think!

Special thanks to Jen Sweeney of York Wallcoverings for contributing all the photos used in our Heimtextil posts!