Interior design trend: The 'squircle' softens lines for summer 2021

Neither completely round, nor completely square, the "squircle" trend has taken over our daily lives, from floor, to ceiling, to smartphone. Photo: AFP

Neither entirely round, nor entirely square, the "squircle" is on-trend for summer 2021, combining straight lines and curves to create sleek and elegant designs. This hybrid shape is found in home decoration and interior design and, more surprisingly, in our smartphones.

We've all seen round furniture and square furniture, but what about "squircle"-shaped creations? This trend softens straight, harsh edges and rounds off angular edges.

As you've probably already guessed, "squircle" is a contraction of "square" and "circle". And the idea is simply to bring a softer touch to our interiors.

In design, this shape fits wonderfully well with furniture, its curvature seen in chair backrests, headboards and bookcases, often softened further with luxurious textiles.

In interior design, the trend suits all manner of surprising materials, like solid stone surfaces and tabletops, matched with Gubi's "Beetle" chairs in a nude colour. This shape is also found in bathrooms, sometimes in mosaic (talk about a technical challenge).

Even more ambitious, the walls themselves can sometimes be rounded in "squircle" shape, accommodating curved shelves or hanging spaces, as tested by Australia's Doherty Design Studio, for example.

From smartphones to architecture

While there's much talk of the "squircle" trend in interiors, this shape is also found at the very heart of our mobiles in the design of the apps that we use every day.

Initially, a circular shape was used for app icons on the iPhone. But the difference between the circle and the now standard rounded rectangle is subtle, but significant. Designers soon realised that this shape could be used for other things, branching out to other icons and beyond. – AFP Relaxnews