Whether you’re staying put, or looking to leave, current home design trends are all about utilizing rich color, maximizing texture, and creating comfortable and inviting interiors. Just keep in mind, if you are planning to sell in the next few years, you may want to avoid doing anything too dramatic and instead incorporate small updates that will appeal to buyers.
WARM AND DEEP COLORS
Whether you want to play with a bold color or stick with neutrals, one thing is clear… Paint is the foundation of a great design. Painting your interiors has a return on investment.
If you’re thinking of refreshing your home’s interiors with a coat of paint, popular colors include warm taupe, fresh green (Greenery is the Pantone 2017 “Color of the Year”), and dark jewel-tone hues. These colors are popular choices because they evoke feeling of warmth and coziness when you walk into a room.
Wondering how to pair these colors? Taupe is the perfect alternative to traditional neutrals, such as gray and white, plus it goes well with cool blues, earthy greens, and deep shades of wine. Green goes well with other earthy shades, such as copper and moss, as well as deep plum and bright pink. If you’re hesitant to paint your walls green, incorporate it into your home through accent pillows, rugs, lamps, vases, and other accessories or add a few house plants.
If you’re interested in adding more drama to a room, include bold, dark colors. Dark shades add color, depth, and sophistication to any space. Plum and dark gray pair well with pale blues, warm whites, and light grays.
RICH MATERIALS
Luxe materials create a space in which you can’t wait to kick off your shoes and relax at the end of a day’s work. Natural materials and textures allow you to maximize the comfort of the bedroom, living room, or family room.
Wood accents give rooms an earthy feel. Incorporate rustic wood sculptures, trays, and furniture into your space. While marbles, granites, and quartzes create a sophisticated and clean impression.
Choose furniture made with sustainably harvested wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), or use reclaimed wood, for an environmentally friendly alternative. If natural elements aren’t your style, but you want to add more visual interest to your room, try mixing patterns, prints, and textures like leather, velvet, brocade, furs, and silks.
Although it may have been avoided in the past, mixing stripes, florals and geometric prints actually help ground a space as long as the patterns feature complimentary colors or different shades of one color. If you’re worried about going overboard and making your room look “busy,” focus your mix in one area of the room. For example, add throw pillows in a variety of patterns to your sofa.
GOING GREEN
Save money on your energy bills by sealing the “envelope” of your home which includes the windows and doors, walls, floors, and the roof. The better-insulated your home is, the less heat will escape (or come in in the summer) and the lower your energy bill, and stress level, will be.
In the winter, the most heat loss occurs through the walls of the home. Ceramic insulating paint is a space-inspired coating of paint mixed with ceramic compounds and applied to interior or exterior surfaces. It seals your walls and prevents heat from escaping which means reduced energy bills all year long.
THE FUNCTIONAL HOME OFFICE
Since more people than ever are working remotely, home offices are quite popular. Even if you don’t plan on working from home, a home office gives you a place to pay bills, work on personal projects, and plan your family’s schedule.
Home offices tend to be multifunctional serving as a guest room when family and friends visit. The priority should be to enjoy the environment around you and for each room to be a sanctuary to sink into at any given moment. Your home office is no exception!
Maximize your productivity, efficiency, and focus by painting the walls shades of green or blue. If space is an issue, create a nook by installing docking and tech cabinets that are big enough to store a printer, small office supplies, and files without taking over the room.
If you don’t have room in your home for an office, look no further than your backyard. “Shed-quarters,” small structures built in the backyard for use as an office or home-based business, are an attractive option for homeowners who don’t have a room to dedicate to an office and don’t wish to add on their homes. While the jury is out on how much value these structures add to a home, they can convert easily into a storage shed or workshop if you plan to sell your home in the future.
SPLURGING ON KITCHEN RENOVATIONS
The kitchen is often the busiest, most hectic room in the house and one of the top renovation projects with a highest return. We do more than cook meals here. It’s where homework is done, bills are paid, weeks are planned, family discussions take place, decisions are made, and more.
You don’t need to overhaul your entire kitchen. Smaller additions can transform it into a relaxing and functional space where you enjoy spending time with friends and family.
What does a “minor kitchen renovation” entail? In addition to replacing the fronts of your cabinets and drawers, it also includes replacing out-of- date appliances and fixtures. You may also consider replacing countertops. Quartz and quartzite are becoming more common as are other green laminate options, including ones that mimic stone, wood, and concrete.
Laminates install in less time, often over the existing countertop, make it an ideal choice for busy homeowners as well. Other hot kitchen trends include incorporating sustainable materials like bamboo into your countertops, floors, walls, and water filtration systems.
So, update your interior design by cleansing your home of stale colors, decor, and themes. Grab hold of these new trends and connect to your rooms.