Boost Your Home’s Style With These 10 Decor and Design Tips
Trends in home styles are always shifting, sometimes gradually and sometimes abruptly. Ask any 10 home designers to list what’s currently “in” and you’ll get 10 different answers. But listen carefully and you can pick out distinct shifts that seem to be trending across the board. Boost your home’s style with these 10 decor and designer tips that are a consensus among professional style-watchers.
1. Spilling to the Outdoors
Americans are expanding beyond the walls of their houses and onto revamped patios and lanais where style is as important as functionality. Technology now allows us to take the comforts of home, from music and digital television to adjustable lighting, out the back door. Fire pits are the rage and the old grill is being replaced by full outdoor kitchens and bars complete with sinks, refrigerators, and all the other modern conveniences.
2. Spilling to the Indoors
Just as the indoors are moving out, the outdoors are moving in. House plants have been part of home style forever, but the trend is toward having more of them and making them tropical. From trees to potted plants, living greenery is “in”. The venerable fern has been part of decor since Victorian times and still is, although its numbers are decreasing to make way for other exotics.
Bringing the outdoors also means bringing in more light. The days of heavy curtains are giving way to light, sheer window coverings.
3. Colors Go Crazy
Bold reds, blues, purples, and oranges are the trend for furnishings and accents. Greens of all shades are hot, perhaps as part of the indoor-outdoor blurring of boundaries. Black has roared into fashion for everything from front doors to kitchen and bathroom cabinets.
4. Get Personal
Matched furnishings that make your home look like a furniture store showroom are going out of style. We’re now seeing nonmatching pieces that reflect the homeowner’s personality and taste. Family heirlooms are in vogue, as are handmade pieces.
5. Hygge is happening
If you’ve never heard of Hygge (pronounced hoo-guh), it’s a state of mind as much as a style. It means cozy, warm, and contented. For decorating, it means informal and comfy — a room with a throw on the sofa, a fire in the hearth, and a cup of hot chocolate on the coffee table. Think plush, toe-comforting rugs, natural wood accents, warm colors, and a casual clutter of favorite possessions. Hygge is the antithesis of modern, sleek, high-tech style.
6. Cozy up the Space
Open floor plans show no signs of going away soon, but the trend is toward creating intimate areas within the space. Nooks and delineated zones offer privacy from the hustle and bustle of the household.
7. Throw a Curve
The movement is away from straight, linear designs and toward soft curves, especially in furnishings such as sofas and chairs. Arched doors and windows are part of the move.
8. Wall Coverings Go Wild
Bold wall coverings, especially big, vivid florals, are fashionable as accent areas surrounded by more subtle wall colors.
9. Sound Choice
Home design should be more than just visually appealing. White noise machines and built-in speakers are gaining in popularity as people look to escape from the loud outdoors.
10. Style Meets Economy
Homeowners are becoming more attuned to shopping online and less interested in paying top dollar for name brands. Sites such as Wayfair and Ikea are increasingly becoming acceptable shopping stops for home decor.
Today’s overriding message is that people are less interested in conforming to what’s fashionable at the moment and more intent on creating a home that reflects their own personal style and taste.
Written by Jeannie Lovett. Jeannie is a home decorator who enjoys adding rustic touches to everything she designs. She specializes in creating energy-efficient homes.