Creative director Ayan Yuruk is familiar with interior trends. He talks to BRIGITTE about the living trends for 2024 and tells us his personal tips to combat clutter at home.
“When I go shopping, I take the crooked cucumber,” the interior designer tells us Ayan Yuruk in the interview. Why? Later more. The Swabian native now lives in Berlin and founded his creative company “SHOWZ” in 2018. As a member of the “Fab 5” of the German Netflix spin-off of the successful series “Queer Eye”, he is committed to the visibility of the queer community and fulfilled the candidates’ dreams of living – with lots of empathy and charisma. In 2023 he and the rest of the show’s ensemble received the Grimme Prize for their outstanding performance.
Ayan also campaigns for a fairer world on social media and loves making fashion statements – he explains to us in an interview what “gender-neutral design” means to him and gives us his living trend forecast for 2024.
Ayan Yuruk: “Different is sexy!”
BRIGITTE: What inspires you as a designer?
Ayan Yuruk: Extraordinary things. So really things that stand out in their own environment. These can be the simplest things. Let’s say: In a pile of boxes, one is painted pink – then I draw inspiration from it. Or, when I’m in the supermarket and shopping, I choose the cucumbers because all the others look the same. That somehow attracts me – being different makes things exciting and different is sexy!
What is your personal favorite trend for 2024 in the area of living?
There’s a lot there. What I personally am most attracted to are color gradients. Many people don’t dare do something like that, but you just need someone who can paint like that. Color gradients simply create a very cool effect when you come into the room – especially when you go from the dark at the bottom to the light at the top. I like this very much! Geometric patterns are of course also very cool. Floral patterns, for example, are at the top of the trend report for which I recently worked with “Taskrabbit”. Personally, they are not my favorite patterns.
Living trends 2024: Glass, glass, glass and the color red
Many trends keep coming back. In recent years there has been a lot of hype around vintage fashion and Y2K style. We also see styles in interior design that are reminiscent of the 1970s, for example. Which decade will come again in 2024?
The midcentury style, for example, has now really arrived in the establishment. You can almost no longer call it a trend. So the 50s, 60s, 70s, they are here and will stay. In the trend barometer, however, they are currently declining sharply and the Y2Ks, i.e. the 2000s, are catching up loudly and euphorically. I think it’s a mix that’s becoming quite clear right now – a mix of Y2K and very futuristic, maybe even retro-futuristic stuff.
Do you have any concrete examples of this?
At the design fairs I see a lot of aluminum, glazed surfaces and marble – that’s what I always call “the jewel of the apartment”. Marble gives a very high-quality flair. In general, I see a mix of glass, silver surfaces such as chrome or aluminum – whether polished or shiny – and glass, glass, glass. Also tinted glass surfaces – especially in the red direction, such as coral tones.
Which trends from 2023 will continue to develop in 2024?
The popularity of small spaces is increasing. People are coming back to the cities and want to make the most of the small spaces. Home office setups are slowly becoming fewer, you can go to the office again and meet with colleagues. This makes it more comfortable at home again, you don’t want to be constantly confronted with work and create a separation again.
What are your tips for making the most of small spaces?
You can get a lot out of it through the clever use of mirrors. It is important to position them so that they capture the sunlight from outside and direct it into the room. This makes a significant difference in small spaces. In general, large mirrors are always more advisable than many small ones – they quickly appear unsettling. Otherwise, you can try to use the room in its entire volume and not just the surface area – that means looking up! There is so much free space that can be used for storage or for decorative purposes – a plant doesn’t have to be on the floor, it can also be from the ceiling hang.
Set highlights with plants and pillowcases – and save money
Which interior tip do you recommend for a lot of change on a small budget?
Of course everyone wants to know that (laughs). For example, you can do a lot with plants – they bring in freshness and have an encouraging effect. I always think it’s great to group plants together and not place them too isolated.
I would highly recommend cacti: they are easy to care for and look hot – just like me!
How else can we set highlights?
You can also do a lot of magic with pillowcases – especially if you use colored ones. These are always nice highlights that you can use if the furniture is in natural tones. What else is there? Carpets! They are also very underestimated and most people don’t dare to try them. However, you can completely transform a room with carpets. This often looks very harmonious if you also change the curtains.
And another little tip from me: kitchen cabinets. You often can’t replace the kitchen; it can easily stay there for 10-15 years. However, you can simply cover the cabinet doors with foil instead of painting them. To do this you would have to remove the doors and stick stickers around them. If you then buy trendy handles, the kitchen will be almost like new!
Do you have any spontaneous decoration tips?for a cool New Year’s Eve party?
I think New Year’s Eve can be cheesy sometimes. So really over the top: kitsch, glitter, tinsel. Personally, I wouldn’t go too colorful, but rather stick with the metallic colors. More is more!
Ayan’s tips for dealing with clutter at home
What is your absolute interior no-go?
My biggest no-no is definitely clutter. This is a big issue for many people: Most people don’t want to have clutter at home, but they can’t really get it under control in their everyday lives.
I’ll give you a few simple tips. First of all: Everything needs a place – regardless of whether it’s a new hat or decoration. This may sound simple, but many people simply have a large drawer for everything that doesn’t have room – wrong!
If everything has its place and you still have clutter – things like dishes or laundry often pile up and the pile feels like it’s getting bigger and bigger – then here’s the next tip: The trick is not to set aside a specific time for tidying up . That takes away a bit of the pressure and you don’t get into this mindset: “Now I have to clean up and I don’t really feel like it.” Every time you walk past this pile, you only take one thing with you. So the pile gets smaller with each piece and will eventually be gone. The great thing is, when you want to throw something new on the pile, the bell rings and you think: “Take one thing with you!” – so you actually don’t have any clutter anymore.
“No style is a style!”
How do you find your personal interior style?
Experiment, try things out, look at catalogs, look at photos on social media! Pinterest is also a nice source to do a little research into what’s out there and to imagine whether you would feel comfortable using it at home. If you feel it, go for it – if you don’t feel it, let go! It’s also completely okay not to have your own style. You can’t force yourself into it like that. Not having a style is also a style!
What does “gender-neutral design” mean? ffor you?
It is very important to me that you understand what is meant by this – misunderstandings quickly arise. It’s not always just about fashion topics. I’m thinking more of toy stores for Children, for example. When girls come in, they are automatically at home in the pink world and the boys in the blue world – that’s a big no-go for me.
I am a boy and my favorite color is pink. Why can’t I feel comfortable there?
I think you should first and foremost break down these color attributions. And of course what is on offer there: for the girls there are kitchenettes or dolls and make-up items and for the boys there are astronauts, craftsmen and cars. Why are the girls told that they aren’t allowed to play Formula 1 and that they shouldn’t even try? This also implies that only boys can become Formula 1 driversrfen.
From the start, toys should be for everyone. The advertising and the website, including the shop window, should also be aligned accordingly. Why do mannequins always have to be male or female and not just neutral? Then I could just choose whether I wanted to wear it or not. If we want to educate the generations after us and our society to be freer and more open, then we have to start there.