If you look at history, you'll find that styles and trends often repeat themselves. For example, clothing styles recycle, usually every 20 to 30 years, with minor modifications to update the look. Even cars have started to evolve into a circle, with new designs coming out all the time that mimic old styles with a modern twist (think Mustang and Thunderbird, both of which have returned to the old template and simply modernized the old designs). In other applications, society has done everything possible to avoid a return to the past. The same can be said for much of the furniture trends we've seen. By this sort of continuous cyclic trend blended with a need to leave the past behind, it becomes a little easier to gauge what can be expected in the future of furniture design.

If you go to a museum and look at the different furniture pieces over the decades, you'll find that there are similarities in styles from one to another but that they all seem to progress down a particular path. If you go back far enough, you'll find that furniture was functional and minimalistic, with a trend toward more intricate design as time past. During the high Renaissance, these furnishings seemed to reach the peak decadence and ornate design, with huge pieces of furniture being almost intimidating and intricately carved with delicate designs. As time continued to pass, furniture began to downsize again, though much of the décor and design remained the same.

Eventually, as the modern period took over, much of the carving and delicate designs began to be more subdued, with the same sort of decoration on the furniture but not as large and notable, with a more muted tone. In the contemporary style, the roundness and décor of these pieces disappeared entirely, and a recycled idea of "functional" came about. Much like the furnishings that were available more than 2,000 years ago, right angles and sleek lines have taken over the popular design of furniture. However, now there is still more "style" to the design, with bright colors leading the way down the high end sales path.

However, the influence for such pieces also comes from other cultures, especially Asian design. For centuries, the wave of the future has begun with the designs of the present in the Orient. Bright reds and stark blacks are engaging, bold colors that are in direct contrast with the typical earth tones and pastels that have long been preferred, and it seems that the innovative designs for furniture coming out of China, Japan, Hong Kong, and other Asian countries, including nontraditional furniture shapes, will influence the design preferences around the world yet again.

By tracing past trends and seeing the development of the current ones in contrast and comparison to the influence of other countries, it becomes easier to predict the future. In home furnishings and décor, the minimalist approach will probably be the direction into which the design world heads, with influence from Asian cultures in their decorations and bold color choices leading the way.