Interior Trend | Cork

December 2015, By Nicole Langelier

Let me start by saying that I am not behind the 8 ball on this one, I have just taken my sweet time in announcing to the world my love of cork. At first I thought it was just a passing phase so I held off on the big announcement, but with every new product out there on the market I fall deeper and deeper in love.

Cork is cool. It’s not the cork of yesteryear either – often used as flooring in houses built in the 70’s, cork flooring was heavily lacquered rendering it a pretty gross bright orange – a colour you want in small not large doses. But now – NOW cork is having a new moment and can be found anywhere from furniture to accessories and even wallpaper. Cork has had a modern makeover and I’m digging it. 

I dove head first into my foray of the world of cork back in May this year when I styled my (peoples choice winning) mock cover for the Inside Out Magazine’s ‘Search for a Stylist’ competition. I chose a cork backdrop that I schlepped in a giant roll all the way to Sydney from Melbourne on the flight. I chose cork for a couple of reasons – I loved the patterns and texture and I was able to tack things onto it, which suited my ‘layer it on me’ theme. Everyone was impressed that I was so ‘on-trend’.

Since then I have spotted cork products everywhere and they are still popping up. I guess it’s like when you buy a new car and suddenly you start noticing it all over town. However cork really is all over town! That being said, unlike some other trends (like copper and marble everything), the market is not so saturated that I have started to dislike it.

Since the shoot for Inside Out, I have used (real) cork wallpaper in a client’s wine cellar, I bought out IKEA’s new cork lamp range and I put up a cork wall in our office. My cork lust continues and if you want to know what to buy me for Christmas/ Hanukkah, consult the list below for my top 3 designer numbers.

  1. Cork Smed bar stools from Great Dane.
  2. Jasper Morrison ‘Cork Family’ Stools / side tables for Vitra available at Space Furniture.
  3. ‘Moooi Corks’ – side tables produced by Moooi, also by Jasper Morrison and maybe my favourite of the lot.

Designer brands and names are not the only ones successfully ‘popping corks’ – my good friends at IKEA are really on top of this one producing some cork items that really rival the big-ticket brands.

Do yourself a favour and check out the completely corky Sinnerlig range at IKEA, but make sure to leave some for me because I will be coming back to stock up whilst supplies last.