Nine renowned designers and architects from Spain attended the Schattdecor Trend Forum in Thansau, Germany and they worked hand in hand with Claudia Küchen, head of design, and Dorothy Vreven, sales manager, to create mood boards and an adjusted trend guide.
The meeting followed a successful exhibition of Schattdecor’s decors at the Interzum International fair for the furniture and interior construction industries’ supplying sections, which was held in Cologne, Germany in May this year.
"There will be a gradual phasing in for casual black, our principal theme at this year’s Interzum," said Ms Vreven. "At the moment, light and medium colours are still predominant on the Spanish market; it will be a while before dark decors, and black, prevail."
Riviera Oak, which was presented in Smartfoil EVO as the prominent design element at the trade fair booth in Cologne, is a popular decor in Spain and Portugal, albeit in different colours.
"In the past, Spain had totally different preferences. Designers used to be very cautious and setting new accents was very difficult," said Ms Küchen.
Since the Spanish economy is now picking up momentum, the specific needs of the Spanish people are being recognised again and there is a clear longing for authenticity and individuality.
"Trends are slowly but surely synergistically converging with the current European tendencies," said the head of design, and she is convinced that this newfound self-perception is also going to have an impact on the way furniture is presented on the Iberian Peninsula. While, at the moment, complete solutions for living spaces are being presented, there is an increasing demand for solitary furniture and unique pieces which allow individual living solutions that include customers with a smaller budget, says Schattdecor.
According to Ms Vreven, this workshop is an important platform for an exchange of experience and information between all participants and serves as an interface.
"Together we identify the right trend themes and the matching decors to go with them. We receive detailed information on our current decors and have a chance to develop the right colour schemes for the Iberian market, working together with the designers."
Andreas Bruckbauer, sales manager for southeast Europe, emphasised the importance of this collaboration in terms of market policy: "The designers’ assessment is of great strategic value to us. The results often produce the first ideas for the development of new decors later on."
This was the third edition of the Trend Forum and once again, Schattdecor says that it put a strong emphasis on personal exchange. Late in the evening, after a hike in the mountains, the participants chatted over a typical Bavarian meal at lofty heights and shared experiences from their daily lives.