Four million people placed a bid on interior pieces on Catawiki last year
Italian design, Art Deco, as well as iconic and emerging names in design are driving the growth on the platform
Uniqueness, sustainability, and value retention among the reasons for growth of online interior design sales according to Catawiki
AMSTERDAM, 15 April 2024 - Catawiki, the leading online marketplace for special objects, today unveils a first-ever in-depth analysis of its increasingly popular Interiors category, shedding light on key trends and insights.
Catawiki launched the Interiors category with the sale of three Lalique vases in June 2013. Numbers have grown staggeringly since then, reflecting a growing societal appetite in all things interiors. User interest has surged fifteen-fold in just a decade, going from a few hundreds to nearly four million people placing a bid to buy interior pieces on Catawiki last year alone. Millions of interior objects spanning centuries of décor history - from antique treasures to sleek mid-century finds and contemporary pieces - have found new homes through Catawiki to date, with a record of over half a million in the last year alone. Italy emerged as the market leading the demand, followed by the Netherlands and France.
Italian design, Art Deco and contemporary design
In 2023, Catawiki’s Interiors category saw major trends fueling its growth. 20th century Italian design, with a focus on the 1970s, is the most popular on the platform; 1920s and 1930s Art Deco is back in vogue; and emerging contemporary designers are increasingly sought after, next to iconic names that keep generating solid interest among design enthusiasts.
Italian design. Cassina, Guzzini and Artemide are in the top five best-selling interior brands, while Alessi (+124% items sold yoy), Kartell (+75%), Flos (+44%), and Murano (+30%) are among the fastest growing in 2023 Looking at designers, Piero Fornasetti is the one who saw the highest demand growth (+273%), followed by Carlo Nason (+261%), Ettore Sottsass (+197%) and Vico Magistretti (+124%).
Art Deco. Val Saint Lambert is the fastest growing interior brand on Catawiki (+204% items sold yoy), followed by Baccarat in the top five (+124%), as well as Lalique (48%) and Daum (+28%), making French glass and crystal manufacturers, one of the style iconic materials, increasingly in demand. French silverware brand Christofle also boomed (+163%) with its Art Deco inspired 1980s Talisman collection, just relaunched in a new colour palette, being one of their most successful designs on Catawiki.
Iconic and emerging contemporary designers. Icons from the past such as Le Corbusier and Charles and Ray Eames, or more recent ones such as Philippe Starck, Arne Jacobsen and Marcel Wanders, who increased in popularity over the last year (+246%, +106% and +93% respectively), continue to attract design passionates, with timeless classics with proven quality. At the same time, the contemporary design category grew 35% in volume last year, and names such as the Naples based design duo Bhulls, the Memphis inspired designer Gio Schiano, and the Dutch designer Stefan Scholten have proved particularly popular. Some of these names will showcase reinterpretations of iconic design classics at Milan Design Week, where Catawiki will be present with the Homage exhibition in collaboration with Masterly at Palazzo Giureconsulti on 16 April, and the corresponding online auction.
Uniqueness, sustainability and value retention
When asked about the reasons behind such growth, Morten Valther Graae Joergensen, Vice President Interiors at Catawiki pointed out that, with people spending so much time at home in recent years, especially in the wake of the pandemic, the importance of furnishing a space that reflects one's style and truly feels like one's own has increased significantly. As a result, second-hand Interiors have become increasingly popular, similar to what happened with fashion. Buyers are now looking for unique pieces with character and history, often of superior quality and destined to last a lifetime, enabling them to create a distinctive space that has personality. ‘’People have a desire for authenticity and personalization, so they increasingly seek objects that reflect their individual style preferences. They want to tell a story with their interior design.’’ commented Joergensen. ‘’With over 20,000 interior pieces in auction per week spanning centuries of design history, Catawiki can help people assemble their own unique style.’’
Joergensen also mentioned the increasing focus on sustainability playing a key role behind the growing popularity of buying interiors online, with the total furniture waste in Europe amounting to over 10 million tonnes per year. ‘’People are more and more conscious about how they can contribute to a more sustainable way of living, and especially the younger generation,'' he added. Second-hand interior design can also increase in value over time. The average hammer price of Eames objects on Catawiki for example has increased by over 30% since 2019, and iconic pieces can almost double in value, as seen in the case of the Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman (from €4,700 in 2020 to €7,500 in 2023) or Marcel Breuer's Wassily chair (from €650 in 2020 to €1,200 in 2023).
Social media has also significantly transformed the industry over the last decade, playing a key role in this process. This is evident with Home Decor emerging as the most popular category on Pinterest in 2024, boasting over 23 billion pins and 682 million dedicated boards, and TikTok most popular interior design hashtags, such as #interiordesign #homedecor #design #interior, totaling 43.3 billion views.
‘’We’ve never had so many people looking for interiors as last year on Catawiki. It's evident that there's an ever growing appetite for special interior objects that are sustainable, valuable and tell a story. It’s a real interiors revolution and it’s so exciting to be at the centre of it!’’ concluded Joergensen.
