DESIGN : Move Over, Minimalism

Welcome to the New Decorative Age. Whatever the final verdict on postmodernism, with its plethora of columns and pediments, the overwhelming popularity of the whimsical style proves one thing: People are hungry for color and ornamentation after decades of minimalism. Fashion already reflects the trend--the explosion of Christian Lacroix’s bejeweled gowns, the burst of bright floral dresses by Ungaro, the rediscovery of dizzying Pucci prints. Now home furnishings follow suit as artists and designers apply patterns and saturated color to sofas, chairs, tables, lighting, even dinnerware, to produce sensuous, nature-inspired, almost otherworldly forms. Exit the antiseptic spirit of the white room.