Hmm… where to begin! Okay, design trends are fun! They're an exciting way to transition through different styles that provide exciting new options for your home. Similar to fashion trends, design trends typically derive from a combination of previous styles that form a new style. The difference between fashion trends and design trends is that a new pair of skinny jeans (to replace the bell-bottoms) might cost you $100, where as redesigning your house can cost thousands!
Break: I am really not that old, I have owned skinny jeans for a long time now! Well I mean they sit in my closet… I actually despise wearing jeans, I defiantly prefer to wear my Lulu tights!
Back on track…
So.. what are ways to keep up with the trends, without breaking the bank?!?
Most important! The design of your home should make YOU feel happy, one of the main goals while designing or decorating should be that when you sit in your home and look around it provides you wth a sense of comfort and ultimately puts a smile on your face. So, if a design trend arises but doesn’t personally suit what you like… then DON’T DO IT!
Don’t over commit to a certain colour or trend. For example, when grey was trending, a lot of people went REALLY GREY, kitchen cabinets, backsplashes, flooring, wall colour, etc, etc. Those are expensive, big ticket items that in a few years when you get sick of the grey, it will be very costly to change, so if you want to add something from a trending style, do it in moderation.
What are things you can do in moderation? Decor items: throw blankets, pillows, rugs, candles, accent pieces, wall art, curtains, table runners, flowers, bedding, towels, I think that’s pretty good to start. All these items are much more cost effective ways (and less of a commitment) to add an alternative style or trend to your home.
So, what to do if you're renovating or building? Do what you like! This is where a designer can be very helpful, although we acknowledge which styles are trending, we ultimately prioritize our clients style first. Having someone that knows how to combine the styles while creating unity in a space can also be very helpful because a lot of the time peoples tastes are not derived simply from one style. I always tell my clients to include a lot of neutrals (see point #5) this provides a blank canvas per say, that allows personal touches and changes to easily be made. For example, I highly discouraged a few clients to install grey kitchen cabinetry, instead I suggested white. White in a kitchen is timeless and with a “blank canvas” there are many options to change over time, you can change out the black hardware to gold, the dish towels from white to grey, your countertop decor from white flowers to pink.
Neutrals, I had this question asked the other day… what is a neutral? Essentially neutral means without colour. In Lauren’s dictionary of design phrases she makes up to explain what she is thinking… it mean’s a light, greige (grey/ beige) or white, it means a simple colour that doesn’t drastically take on hues of other colours, that can be paired with multiple colours. For example, I have Simply White on my walls at home and if you follow us on Instagram (@landjdesignandrenovation) you will see with the different season changes, I change my decor, I am able to do orange at thanksgiving, red at Christmas, green and floral in Spring. I have done silver decor, gold decor, grey decor and green decor over the years, I can literally change to whatever colour decor I want because I have a neutral palette to start with and this goes for all the main pieces in my house, white walls, beige couch, wood tables, white bed, etc.
Okay…. Gosh my hand is tired and now I have to re-read to make sure it all makes sense! This is a lot of information to take in and I could honestly expand on each point much further, but then we would all be here for way to long and you would get bored of reading and listening to be ramble on…. So, I will expand in future blog posts so just make sure to check back in!
L & J