Go for the gold ... at least that is what top designers are doing. After several decades of silvers, nickels, and brushed stainless metals, golds are definitely on the rise. And golds aren’t taking over silvers’ turf in the home furnishing industry alone. All the warm metals are gaining notice. Copper is the one to watch! It’s the freshest of all the metals, with warmth all about it. Watch for golds mixed with blacks at the highend.

With the warming of metals came an opportunity to introduce browns back to the rich neutral scene. Browns are seen edging out greys, which have led the way for so long with their clean neutrality as a perfect backdrop. And naturally, the cooler silver metals were paired with greys for a perfect harmony. Now take those greys and silvers that we are so comfortable with and warm those two colors up and Viola! Browns and golds. Warm, neutral, rich and classic. A natural.

Greens are everywhere. Does this have anything to do with Pantone naming emerald the color of the year for 2013? Probably not. But olive is being reinvented into cooler and milder versions.

Blues continue to grow – that’s the story! Pantone just named “dazzling blue,” a peppy shade of cobalt, the upcoming 2014 color of the year. The blues to look for are true blues. Teals and aquas are giving up a little of their ground for more red cast blues. Look for indigo. That’s the one to watch! Deep blues are making their way into numerous showings. Navy’s classicism is always a winner. But now it is being teamed with reds, building on a red/white/blue trend, which is much more than an Americana look. It has a rich and stately, but fresh feel. Dark blue mixed with white tells an Asian-inspired story. Asian-influenced designs are still growing stronger.

Copper is the new orange. Pair it with cooled down olives, mix in a little warm copper or brushed gold metal and you’ve got just about the most natural place on earth.

Bright yellows are giving way to more toasted yellows. But yellows still run strong. Look for the use of butterscotch, copper, and colors in that vein.

Black is back! It is building big, fast and strong in all materials and finishes. Look for a lot of black grounds with bright paisley, orals, stripes and plaids.

As far as patterns, think dreamy, drippy, faded, blotchy watercolors. Irregular everything goes. Ikat is still strong, but starting to weaken.

Florals are growing wild. Look for Jacobean and flame stitch. Traditional is on the rise. Botanicals are making a strong comeback. But they carry an updated simplification. Paisley is sneaking in as well. It is spotted in a combination of pinks, oranges and greens for a mod look. Toile is on the rise. Gigantic damask leads the way to a baroque influence, which will soon move into full play. It’s coming.

Animal skin still on the rise? Is that possible? It is when you do them in bright colors, and abstract interpretations. Watch for primal, tribal designs with a Native American influence.

A visible trend: quilting. Yes, quilting is amongst the freshest approach to fabrics. Not your grandmother’s quilting, either. It is updated with wavy stitches, smaller quilting or interesting patterns. A lot of woven-in pleating shrink yarns with a pattern over a texture is seen en as new and fresh. And if you want to amp it up a notch, apply all that to a host of patterns. Almost no limit.

While a natural look has been in the forefront of design driven spaces s for many years, the design industry seems to be stepping it up with more distressing,  more age, more wear and does that t with a mixture of prints, leathers and weaves.

The more abuse an object appears to have illustrates the history and character that cannot be bought. But actually, it can.