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It ended, of course, in financial calamity. But 2008 began in relative ignorance of the catastrophes ahead. Yes, house prices were sluggish (they'd been slowing since the autumn of 2007) but the words 'deep recession' were not yet on anyone's lips. Through the course of the year, however, it became clear that the homeowner was to take a major beating in this credit crunch. Stagnation in the housing market, the construction industry at a virtual standstill and utility bills soaring: it was hardly a surprise that the two retailers to fall at the end of the year were MFI and Woolworths - both once big players in the British home.
What is interesting, however, is how the year saw taste and design follow the national sense of foreboding with remarkable speed. Monochrome and drab became the keynotes. Crockery went taupe. No-frills Muji might be the retailer that best expressed consumer aspirations by the close of 2008.
Back in February, pundits were still cheerfully predicting upbeat decorative trends: the return of patterned carpet (Sarah Beeny), flamboyant, Florida-themed schemes (Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen) and patterned ceilings (Neisha Crosland). But in the middle of the month came the first major hit to the taxpayer following the mortgage crisis: the nationalisation of Northern Rock. That same month, Marks & Spencer announced it was to charge 5p for all its carrier bags, chiming in with the other key preoccupation of 2008: the environment. The feeling became pervasive - we had all shopped too much, borrowed too much, binged too much - and it had to stop. Retailers leapt on to this bandwagon, labelling anything and everything 'sustainably sourced' or 'environmentally friendly'. And in the summer, the prime minister called for everyone to insulate, insulate, insulate, with government subsidies for loft lagging supplied through the big energy companies
The summer saw us briefly distracted from gloom by national success in the Olympics, turning our attentions to all things Chinese, and this was mirrored by the V&A's big spring/summer show: China Design Now. Indeed, summer's respite even showed up in retail sales figures - August saw a strange 0.8% rise in spending, according to government figures, though retailers greeted these with scepticism. Most reported a slump.
Suddenly bright colours and pastels looked out of place - the mood had changed. In May it became official: the naive cheerfulness of magnolia had been supplanted by rather more knowing grey as the paint colour du jour. By September, Vera Wang had launched a new range of crockery for Wedgwood all of it in varying shades of sludge, which expressed the new interior landscape perfectly: pared back and understated. (Wedgwood, too, is now facing problems thanks to the crunch.)
The V&A's more serious September retrospective, Cold War Modern, hit the spot more accurately than the flamboyance of the China show: political anxiety in a postwar world.
November was the month of desperate measures, with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation attempts on the economy. The chancellor cut VAT to 15%, hoping to launch a spending boom. Retailers held their sales two months early. Everyone wants us shopping now, but it's too late.
What does 2009 hold for the home? Thrift. Hand-me-downs. Recycling. Antiques. Make-do and mend will be the order of the day. It may also be the year of toned-down decor after the exuberance of the boom years. As Sir Terence Conran predicts, 'Pink walls and chandeliers don't feel right. I think we've had enough of frivolity for a while.'
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