Unless you're a designer -- or just obsessed with all the product aesthetics -- you probably don't think much about hardware. On furniture, doors, appliances, it's functional. Its job as a pull, handle or hinge is to open and close things.

Hardware can, of course, be so much more. In design furniture history it is distinguished, and it's often been a focal point of pieces. The iconic Chinese wedding chest, for example, often finished in red lacquer, bears a recognizable central brass medallion held in place with a pin to keep its doors closed. That round shape sometimes is repeated in hinges that quite deliberately are visible on the door panels.

Hiding hinges and hardware became a thing in recent years in modern design, particularly in the kitchen, as well as bedroom and bath and entertainment pieces, where the touch latch became a clever disguise and allowed clean profiles. But those designing kitchen cabinetry with wood panels -- especially cladding large appliances like refrigerators -- needed substantial pulls to work. Curiously, that need evolved into larger scale, which translated into longer hardware.

Then it got interesting. Though sturdy, some designs got skinny, enormously appealing for modernists, not only in stainless steel but in a new favorite: matte black. Other warm burnished finishes also found popularity. And manufacturers of decorative hardware took the design challenges to heart. Game on.

So here's what we've noticed at furniture shows internationally and at the Kitchen and Bath show recently held in Las Vegas: Designers are paying more attention to hardware as punctuation.

In appliance design, some manufacturers are offering a "wardrobe" of choices in pulls, including copper. No longer an afterthought, the choices warrant careful consideration, especially when color is involved. True Refrigeration paired its bold emerald collection, which includes refrigerators and wine coolers, with brass pulls.

For cabinetry, matte black hardware has been wildly popular, unadorned or dressed up with burnished gold, which elevates it to elegant.

With some of the latest furniture introductions, it's obvious that designers are carefully considering their hardware options and integrating them into an overall plan, not just applying generic pulls.

With the advent of touch-latch (concealed hardware), some opt to celebrate a cabinet front without the interruption of hardware, especially when there's a strong pattern like wood graining or graphic markings in stone. Then there's the very minimal design when there's a barely there pull tucked into the top or sides of a door panel.

Luxury brands like Fendi often utilize their logos as part of fabric design or hardware. The fashion brand Etro riffed from their signature paisley pattern, pulling one comma-like shape and casting it into brass hardware.

Cast metal tassels, sometimes combined with enameling for a pop of color, may have taken inspiration from real textile tassels attached to keys on vintage cupboards.

Hardware also is being designed in a camouflage -- squares, circles or rectangles faced with the same veneer or surface material, so that aside from the defined shape, they disappear into the piece.

Clean, modern styles currently are most appealing today. The range in materials includes metals, wood, glass, crystal, concrete, resin, leather, mother of pearl, agate, even fabric.

Belwith-Keeler, a trendsetter in hardware design, provides custom pieces for many furniture manufacturers. More than 600 knob and pull designs are produced at its Grandville, Michigan, workshop, which dates to 1893.

"Design, inspiration and style are blurring the lines that used to define them," says the company's trend manager, Knikki Grantham. She looks to fashion runways for inspiration for interior design and home decor trends.

"As visual creatures there is a trigger that can be stimulated by the visual connection to a design," she says. "No longer do people want to be placed into style buckets; they want to define their own style."

The company actually refers to its designs as "cabinet jewelry."

"Hardware is much more than just an afterthought," says Grantham. "Just as jewelry completes an outfit or 'look,' hardware sets the tone and style for a piece or that of a room. That is why we work directly with furniture manufacturers and interior designers to create pieces that meet trends today as well as remain classic for years to come."

In fact, a number of high-end furniture manufacturers, such as Chaddock, have turned to boutique companies or artisans to create hardware that has a distinctive, hand-crafted look.

Anthropologie has been a popular go-to for hardware for the design-savvy, even before the latest attention. Color, pattern, materials choices and combinations excel -- ranging currently from metal with patterned fabric to agate rimmed in gold. Many resemble jewelry. The Corinne handle, a bar framed by circles in gold, is reminiscent of a brooch. Another bar style inlaid with mosaic stone looks like a hair clip. Others are like cufflinks or buttons. Some are playful, including the all-ears knobs -- small white glass spheres topped with gold bunny ears, which seems like a natural choice for furniture in a child's room.

Some spotlight craftsmanship, like the forager's handle, which features cast brass leaves. One of the most striking knobs is Isoke, a simple burnished brass slender crescent shape with a bar that cuts across a flat oxidized metal circle and extends to two ball finials.

Changing knobs or pulls is an excellent way to breathe life into outdated cabinets or salvage finds. Take a look at furniture with a little verve for cues -- also for clues as to what materials make good mates, and how size and proportion matter. At Anthropologie, for example, a low-slung tambour front rosewood buffet, strong in its natural hue and nearly 6-foot length, is appointed with white marble pulls with brass caps that match the dimension of the tambour. For a buffet patterned with diamonds, repeating the shape is the perfect choice, as is its striking mix of materials -- agate and brass.

With the hardware choices available today, you can strike whatever mood you wish -- from playful to bold and graphic, colorful to subdued, minimal to ebullient -- and give a piece of furniture or cabinets something to show off.

Sources

-- Anthropologie, 800-309-2500, www.anthropologie.com

-- Belwith-Keeler, 800-775-5589, www.belwith-keeler.com

-- Berenson, 800-333-0578, www.berensonhardware.com

-- Richelieu, 800-619-5446, www.richelieu.com

Warm weather and sunshine can do wonders for your body, mind and soul. And if you have an inviting outdoor living space where you can stretch out and chillax with your fave frosty beverage, all the better!

A few years ago, talk about patio, terrace or deck shifted to "rooms," as the idea of extending interiors became a goal. Now it's not so much about rooms, but style. Keeping it consistent, so there's a seamless flow from furnishings and palette in your home to what you choose to surround yourself with outside.

Even al fresco cooking styles have expanded, with debates about charcoal versus gas, Green Egg or Kamado and Argentinian grills. How about a pizza oven? Sometimes more than one style of cooking is now part of an outdoor kitchen, which, depending on your space, may include a sink, fridge, wine cooler or even beer dispensers.

Although outdoor furniture still is sold in "suites" -- groupings of sofas and chairs, dining tables with chairs in the same style -- some manufacturers are beginning to rethink the sameness and mix it up a bit.

That's especially true in Europe, where designers are masters of the mix -- pairing concrete or porcelain with wood or metal and rattan, for example, and combining unexpected palettes, not just summer brights.

"There are definitely international trends emerging in outdoor furnishings," says Richard Frinier, a lauded designer who creates collections for both American and European companies. "Modular pieces have become the centerpiece of most outdoor living spaces. Seating for lounge chairs and sectionals is slightly deeper. Left and right units can be added on to create different shapes for entertaining or used as chaises or grouped and clipped together as daybeds.

"The ability to mix materials, textiles, textures, constructions and patterns has never been as accessible. And color trends incorporate every combination imaginable, allowing people to really express themselves without feeling like they have to follow any particular trend."

Part of what's driving this enormous accessibility, of course, is social media.

"Social media continues to be the main influencer," says Frinier. "Brands from every corner of the world show their designs on their websites, blogs, videos and across social media platforms with a click of the mouse."

And reporting from international shows has fed Instagram with images of all the latest textiles, lighting, rugs and accessories. Seasonal Living (www.seasonalliving.com), a manufacturer whose products include modern outdoor furniture, lamps tables and sculptures made of colorful ceramics, recently launched a free magazine whose mission is "to inspire you to live a life of wellness and sustainability -- in harmony with the beauty of nature's season." There are articles on "off the beaten track travel destinations," food and drinks, recipes and entertaining.

Perhaps part of the seduction of European-designed outdoor furniture is fearless color combinations, form and surprising influences. A new table by Antonio Citterio from B and B Italia, for example, has a slender frame, shown in a rich terra cotta. But one surface choice is extraordinary: enameled lava stone with clay decoration that appears to be a lacey overlay, especially striking in charcoal over the burnt orange.

Gloster's new Dune seating by Sebastian Herkner, honored as designer of the year in January at Maison and Objet in Paris, takes cues from indoor upholstery features like quilting. The way Herkner puts dusty shades together, like cinnamon, a pink and lavender, is appealing.

Of course, there's nothing more inspirational than a fabulous image, to be drawn into a shot with a gorgeous landscape. It's the aspirational aspect that Frinier long has embraced. His newest Tangier collection for Century Furniture takes architectural and design elements from Morocco -- one of his favorite destinations.

"Among all of my travels to more than 40 countries across five continents, my time spent in Morocco was extremely inspiring. It's really the ultimate nomadic travel experience for its sense of allure, mystery, rich history and artistic heritage.

"While the colors of souk markets, with their inspired foods, aromatic spices, mint tea, roses, clothing, shoes and crafts, are incredibly memorable, it is the remarkable architectural style and design elements that captivated me. White stucco walls, arches, domes, blue doors and windows, geometric patterns, romantic courtyards with tiled moriscas and lavish gardens are remarkable."

Sometimes even the simplest addition of greenery can be huge.

At Maison and Objet, the Italian brand Gervasoni paired tall-backed strappy chairs and two totally mismatched chairs with a curvy concrete base table topped with marble -- all whites, grays and black. A montage of dripping greenery and lights was constructed above, like a chandelier hanging overhead -- and it was design genius.

Don't forget about accessories -- pillows, rugs, lanterns and small garden stools or tables -- that can add a pop of color and pattern. Elaine Smith (www.elainesmith.com) brings fashion to her stylish pillow designs -- with dressmaker details like cords and trims -- all with on-trend color combinations. One new rug design from the eponymous Spanish brand Nanimarquina juxtaposes florals with checks in a striking pattern that is modern but reminiscent of antique Bessarabia.

Frinier feels we spend so much time connected online that we need to think about wellness. "We need balance," he says.

"Beyond creating outdoor dining and entertaining spaces, find the unique space outside where you can place a lounge chair, ottoman and small occasional table near filtered sunlight, where you can actually read a book or sketch or simply relax or meditate with calming music or to the sound of wind chimes," he says. "A place for a chaise lounge, daybed or hammock where you can laze and nap.

"For those who live in apartments or condominiums, a chair or chaise by French doors to a small balcony or a window where sunlight may flood in create that feeling of a retreat and getaway.

"We really need to unplug, unwind and undo. Relaxing makes us more aware of ourselves, our surroundings and it ignites and fuels the creative spirit to be still with our own thoughts."

Sources

-- B and B Italia, 212-889-9606, www.bebitalia.com

-- Century Furniture, 800-852-5552, www.centuryfurniture.com

-- DEDON, 877-693-3366, www.dedon.de

-- EMU, (some items sold through Room and Board, 800-301-9720, www.roomandboard.com), www.emu.it

-- Gervasoni, in the U.S., contact imoderni, 305-865-8577, www.imoderni.com; www.gervasoni1882.it/en

-- Gloster, 434-205-0417, www.gloster.com

-- Kettal, 786-552-9002, www.kettal.com

-- Missoni, 866-966-0390, www.missoni.com/us

-- Nanimarquina, 646-701-7058, www.nanimarquina.com

-- RH, 800-762-1005, www.restorationhardware.com

-- Roche Bobois, 212-889-0700, www.roche-bobois.com

-- Seasonal Living, 512-554-5738, www.seasonalliving.com

Consider the plain white wall as a canvas. In a milieu obsessed with personalization, treating those walls with color, pattern and texture is happening in a dynamic way, with amazing options that are unprecedented.

The worlds of art and decor are merging, with hand-painting, textures, the look of stones and gems available in a variety of materials, along with mosaics, sequins, glass beads and shards, patchwork fabrics. All of these may be embraced on today's wall cladding, which may be a covering of wood, porcelain, glass or mosaic, as well as what we consider traditional wallcovering -- although these days, it may be paper, vinyl or a hybrid.

Some of what is available today is truly extraordinary. And it's reminiscent of what craftspeople and artisans delivered to aristocrats and royalty centuries ago. Inspirations still come largely from nature, and the interpretations by the artists are what can be so arresting.

The influence of maximalism in home decor cannot be denied. Some patterns are expressed through layering, which leads to new forms, the likes of which we haven't seen before. This is what makes the best of the new wallcoverings so fresh.

Case in point: A new design by artist Elena Carozzi depicts brilliant orange koi fish in a rhythmic pattern, made more intense because they're presented on a charcoal ground. The ground itself is a traditional damask, and the juxtaposition is almost startling.

And wallcovering itself has become a barometer for style trends -- or at least a reflection of what currently is resonating in home decor. Because of the range in scale and subject matter, geometry and stylization, there's an appeal even to modernists that wasn't there a few years back.

The maximalism movement has been nurturing an appetite for pattern. And "customizable" has been a key buzzword. There are companies where you can download your own art -- photos from travels, favorite dishes in restaurants, your children -- and turn them into wallpaper. Self-adhesive, peel-off papers have made installations a little less scary. And the patterns offered at companies like Tempaper (www.tempaper.com) are stylish and come in a range of colors suitable for many kinds of decor.

Murals continue to be popular, and digital printing has made large-scale designs more like works of art. Fidelity to imagery from nature, for example, has resulted in incredibly realistic subjects. As in fabric design, scale has ramped up. Besides bold looks, color also has become richer, with more depth, shadings and mixes.

"The biggest change is the explosion in scale," says Atlanta based interior designer Melissa Galt. "We're no longer thinking wallpaper. It's wall art or wall murals -- and not just scenic."

Texture continues to evolve. Last year, Elitis introduced an incredible mosaic handcrafted from mother of pearl, sea shells and recycled teak in a beautiful range of peach and lavender tones. In Paris, the Dutch Walltextile Co. attracted attention with a covering that teamed an olive velvet in a burnished metallic weave.

Metallic accents warm surfaces, while embroidery adds another decorative touch. Some of the embroidery feels more modern, like topstitching as opposed to a fancier stitch.

And applique is employed in a most dramatic form at Kinland Decor, with a leather covering that features leather floral appliques that pop, with embroidery to flesh out the flowers' leaves.

Charlotte designer Lisa Mende was especially blown away by this wallcovering, which she saw at Heimtextil, the massive international textile show held each year at Messe Frankfurt in Germany.

"The leather applique flowers, along with the embroidery, add such a soft, sophisticated accent to the leather wall," says Mende. "The tension of using a product that is typically so masculine and adding a feminine touch creates a yin and yang we all crave in design."

Pasadena, California, designer Jeanne Chung of Jeanne K. Chung Inc., says she likes her wallcovering designs "the bigger the better. Bold, bold bold."

"Nonrepeating murals and photorealistic collages are great," she adds. Chung does sketches and renderings for her clients, so they can see just how her large-scale designs occupy a space. She looks to art, wallcoverings and rugs for cues to pull together a palette for a room.

At Heimtextil and Paris Deco Off, both this past January, several trends were dominant:

-- Bird motifs. Avian imagery always has a following, but this year, there were more birds than usual. From songbirds to pelicans to cranes, with the latter part of a growing trend for Japanese themes.

-- Japanese artistry, like printmaking, also was celebrated in collections like Mizumi by Black Edition.

-- Art Deco. Coinciding with furniture and lighting directions, the distinctive stylized shapes that make up this look, most popular in the '30s, has settled in. At Ancien and Moderne, a charming pop-up during Maison and Objet in Paris in January, one wall showed off fabulous pattern that was inspired by the eggshell inlay work of Jean Dunand and Gaston Suisse -- on a rich ruby-red waxed ground.

-- Geometrics. Scaled up, with more open fields, these patterns are especially appealing to those seeking an appropriate backdrop for mid-century modern styles.

-- Foliage and nature. Palm prints have enjoyed popularity for some time. Now the prints are denser and include other types of foliage, even grasses, ferns and trees. In a collaboration with Moooi, the firm launched by Dutch designer Marcel Wanders, one captivatingly dense pattern shows 10 extinct animals, buried in the greenery. And the stylized painting of rows of trees in a Cole and Son paper is utterly enchanting.

-- Bold florals. The dark-ground Dutch masters look has retreated somewhat, but not the florals. Now they may be a bit brighter, but the big blooms endure.

-- Overscale textures like grass cloth and jute, including those from the Belgian brand O.

-- Rich velvet and metallic weaves made one collection called Caribou by the Dutch Walltextile Co. a standout.

"Grass cloths in luscious bright fresh colors like cobalt blue and emerald green are giving new life to spaces in texture and color," says Wichita, Kansas, interior designer Mitzi Beach.

"Wallpaper is not back," says Beach. "It never left."

Sources

-- Arte, 866-943-2783, www.arte-international.com

-- Anthology, 201-399-0500, www.stylelibrary.com

-- Black Edition, 800-338-2783, blackedition.com

-- Cole and Son, customer.service@cole-and-son.com, cole-and-son.com

-- Dutch Walltextile Co., info@dwc-amsterdam.com, www.dwc-amsterdam.com

-- Elitis, 917-472-7482, www.elitis.fr/en

-- Fromental, 347-625-1838, www.fromental.co.uk

-- Kit Kemp for Andrew Martin, info@kitkemp.com, www.kitkemp.com, also through www.kravet.com

-- Elena Carozzi for Lizzo, london@lizzo.net, www.lizzo.co.uk,

-- Omexco, info@omexco.com, www.omexco.com

-- ZR, Zimmer and Rohde Ltd., 212-758-7925, www.zimmer-rohde.com