Home Decor- What's In?
Just when we get our houses all done and you think you can sit back and relax and enjoy your new color scheme, they change it on you! And who is this “they” anyways, making up the rules of design? I have to admit though I love design and am always up for something new. Just my nature I guess. Whereas my parents are perfectly happy with their brass and oak cabinets and tell me that if they wait long enough that will be back in style and we’ll all be jealous. Well, they are still waiting.
Now I realize that not everyone cares about design so if you don’t, you can just disregard this article. But if you do like decorating or plan to move soon, this is for you! We’ve put together some of the do’s and don’ts, what’s in and what’s out by room for your convenience.
OVERALL DÉCOR
Color schemes change like the leaves each year. Several years ago we saw a lot of yellowish hues, red dining rooms and accents. Burnt red was in for a while, then dark brown. Tans with some yellow are making way to cooler colors now like taupe and gray. Gray is the new black. We’ve seen the white trim, then dark trim, then off white trim and now we are moving back to white or just slightly off white. Dove white is a Sherwin Williams color our stager is using for trim. Some people think they need to paint the whole house light tan or builder beige to sell. Please don’t do that! It’s nice to have some color differentiation especially in key rooms like Dining Rooms or Living Rooms, sometimes the Kitchen as well depending on layout and if there is enough of a break to the walls. Some light blue or green hues are still in right now. This looks great in a bedroom or bathroom, sometimes in other rooms in the house as well. There are variations of grays that can be used if you think gray is too drab, warmer versions. Very light or white walls are very much in. We're seeing more white walls with modern furniture and art, as well as white and wood combinations.
Many people tend to be going more modern in décor and furnishings than in the past. There are still many that love the traditional furniture and paintings, heavy drapery and chandeliers, but there is a large segment of the population that has gotten much more modern, not California modern necessarily, with metal and very straight lines, but a take on it that mixes comfort with modern flair- yes even out here in the burbs. Midtown has always had more of the modern condo look. I love that people are blending a lot of natural materials like stone, burlap, and reclaimed wood into their design. Pictures are more abstract again and there are many different styles. Furniture can range from tweeds, to leather to microfiber. Big down filled pillows with fun patterns are in. Patterns can be mixed. Softer farmhouse style looks like Pottery Barn are in as well as the more metropolitan West Elm or Restoration Hardware. Modani has a store in Atlanta for the modern shopper. Nadeau touts reclaimed furniture which means they restore it but definitely not to what it once was. They’ll take an old buffet table and paint it blue and it actually looks pretty cool. They do stain some furniture too. There are so many great stores in Atlanta, some to fit any style. Speaking of style, let’s move on to updating the most important rooms.
KITCHEN
The Kitchen is the heart of the home and always one that is most important with buyers. Buyers look for functional layouts, most love islands. Materials are changing again. Solid surface was big over a decade ago. Then everyone had granite and now we are seeing newer materials like Quartz, real marble and even stained concrete entering the market. I think Quartz is my favorite. It is the most durable, doesn’t need to be sealed ever and comes in many beautiful colors. It generally has a little less “glittery effect” than granite and so looks a bit more modern. Cabinets have changed too. I remember when you could hardly sell a white kitchen. Guess what’s back? White! There is a difference though. It isn’t laminate covered, it is wood that is painted white, but you can even make your older white cabinets look refreshed with new hardware and counters or you can reface the doors if they are laminate. Lights have changed a lot too. The builder brass, brushed nickel and even some bronze is making way for newer lighting with combinations of materials like metal, wood and fabric covers. Bubble glass is back in the form of “farmhouse style” lighting. You’ll see a lot of this look at pottery barn and other lighting stores. Check out one of my favorite apps for all the latest kitchen designs, HOUZZ. Love it! There are still stained cabinet designs and more traditional looks as well and even ways to take stained cabinets and make them look more modern. Shake cabinets are still in. Lighting and hardware can really help that too! Backsplashes have come a long way from simple tile too. We have seen stone, quartz and glass tiles recently as backsplash materials. Limestone can be interesting and can be combined with other materials like glass block. Be creative but not too creative! I’ve seen some walls of glass block that give our photographers fits. It looks really busy in pictures especially when combined with a colorful granite. If you want to do something bold on the backsplash, keep the counter simple. Appliances have changed to a more modern look too. Have you noticed? Stainless is still the most popular in major appliances. You can have some fun with small appliances in red or black or buy a stand mixer in a fun color as an accent. Orange or yellow are popular accent colors right now. They work well together with gray also.
BATHROOMS
Bathrooms are following suit with Kitchens. Some white is back in, some are stained, similar countertop and lighting options. HOUZZ and HGTV have some great ideas as well. Stone, Porcelain and Travertine tile floors are still in. Ceramic is ok too. Larger tiles, like 16 x 16 or rectangular tiles are in versus the standard 12 x 12. Have you seen the tile that looks like wood? I think this looks great in bathrooms. They have light to dark colors depending on your décor. You want the tile and cabinets to have some contrast. Hardware can go from farmhouse style with faucets that look like a water well to very contemporary, more squared off styles. Lighting should match the theme of the décor. Frameless shower doors are in or what we call cave showers, which are walk in showers with no door! These can be very large and have multiple shower heads, rain showers, sprayers, etc.
CARPET
Do you remember the term textured pile? It’s back. We’re seeing less of the Frieze style carpet which was a modified shag and more of the textured carpets that have a little design to them. They are durable and show less dirt and footprints. There are lots of fun colors out there but I would stay pretty neutral if you are going to sell anytime soon. Carpet isn’t cheap and buyers will be seeing dollar signs if they don’t like yours, and those dollar signs equate to dollars off your sales price. The style of carpet really depends on the style of your home too. Plush carpet is more traditional but can fit in some homes. Price point of the home makes a huge difference on the expected quality of the carpet as well.
HARDWOODS AND OTHER FLOORING
Hardwoods used to primarily be a yellowish hue of oak but then they went darker. Now they are going wider, especially in the case of this farmhouse look and some more modern looks. 5 inch distressed hardwoods are in or you can just refinish your hardwoods in a darker color. Provencial is a mid tone. There are several darker tones like walnut that are great as well and we are mixing some to get the right hue. There are grayish tones that complement modern decor and I just used a mix of dark walnut and white. This gives a grayish tone and lightens the walnut color without looking completely gray. This all needs to work with the décor of the home. Generally buyers prefer hardwoods to tile. We do of course use tile in bathrooms. The tile that looks like wood mentioned above is option or for a more modern look, use large rectangular tile in marble look or grays. If you are going with a beach theme in your master bath you could use the porcelain tile that looks like distressed beechwood. Very cool.
I could write for days on new trends but hopefully this summary was helpful. Check out the HOUZZ app I mentioned and let us know if you need advice. If you are getting ready to sell, our stager can help you pick out colors. She is a Sherwin Williams certified colorist. Don’t hesitate to call on us. It could avoid a costly mistake. There are always upgrades that don’t add value too, so better safe than sorry! In the end, your home is your sanctuary and it should make you feel comfortable. That’s what really counts. Happy decorating!
- Sherry Ajluni, Team Leader, SHERRY & CO.
Just when we get our houses all done and you think you can sit back and relax and enjoy your new color scheme, they change it on you! And who is this “they” anyways, making up the rules of design? I have to admit though I love design and am always up for something new. Just my nature I guess. Whereas my parents are perfectly happy with their brass and oak cabinets and tell me that if they wait long enough that will be back in style and we’ll all be jealous. Well, they are still waiting.
Now I realize that not everyone cares about design so if you don’t, you can just disregard this article. But if you do like decorating or plan to move soon, this is for you! We’ve put together some of the do’s and don’ts, what’s in and what’s out by room for your convenience.
OVERALL DÉCOR
Color schemes change like the leaves each year. Several years ago we saw a lot of yellowish hues, red dining rooms and accents. Burnt red was in for a while, then dark brown. Tans with some yellow are making way to cooler colors now like taupe and gray. Gray is the new black. We’ve seen the white trim, then dark trim, then off white trim and now we are moving back to white or just slightly off white. Dove white is a Sherwin Williams color our stager is using for trim. Some people think they need to paint the whole house light tan or builder beige to sell. Please don’t do that! It’s nice to have some color differentiation especially in key rooms like Dining Rooms or Living Rooms, sometimes the Kitchen as well depending on layout and if there is enough of a break to the walls. Some light blue or green hues are still in right now. This looks great in a bedroom or bathroom, sometimes in other rooms in the house as well. There are variations of grays that can be used if you think gray is too drab, warmer versions. Very light or white walls are very much in. We're seeing more white walls with modern furniture and art, as well as white and wood combinations.
Many people tend to be going more modern in décor and furnishings than in the past. There are still many that love the traditional furniture and paintings, heavy drapery and chandeliers, but there is a large segment of the population that has gotten much more modern, not California modern necessarily, with metal and very straight lines, but a take on it that mixes comfort with modern flair- yes even out here in the burbs. Midtown has always had more of the modern condo look. I love that people are blending a lot of natural materials like stone, burlap, and reclaimed wood into their design. Pictures are more abstract again and there are many different styles. Furniture can range from tweeds, to leather to microfiber. Big down filled pillows with fun patterns are in. Patterns can be mixed. Softer farmhouse style looks like Pottery Barn are in as well as the more metropolitan West Elm or Restoration Hardware. Modani has a store in Atlanta for the modern shopper. Nadeau touts reclaimed furniture which means they restore it but definitely not to what it once was. They’ll take an old buffet table and paint it blue and it actually looks pretty cool. They do stain some furniture too. There are so many great stores in Atlanta, some to fit any style. Speaking of style, let’s move on to updating the most important rooms.
KITCHEN
The Kitchen is the heart of the home and always one that is most important with buyers. Buyers look for functional layouts, most love islands. Materials are changing again. Solid surface was big over a decade ago. Then everyone had granite and now we are seeing newer materials like Quartz, real marble and even stained concrete entering the market. I think Quartz is my favorite. It is the most durable, doesn’t need to be sealed ever and comes in many beautiful colors. It generally has a little less “glittery effect” than granite and so looks a bit more modern. Cabinets have changed too. I remember when you could hardly sell a white kitchen. Guess what’s back? White! There is a difference though. It isn’t laminate covered, it is wood that is painted white, but you can even make your older white cabinets look refreshed with new hardware and counters or you can reface the doors if they are laminate. Lights have changed a lot too. The builder brass, brushed nickel and even some bronze is making way for newer lighting with combinations of materials like metal, wood and fabric covers. Bubble glass is back in the form of “farmhouse style” lighting. You’ll see a lot of this look at pottery barn and other lighting stores. Check out one of my favorite apps for all the latest kitchen designs, HOUZZ. Love it! There are still stained cabinet designs and more traditional looks as well and even ways to take stained cabinets and make them look more modern. Shake cabinets are still in. Lighting and hardware can really help that too! Backsplashes have come a long way from simple tile too. We have seen stone, quartz and glass tiles recently as backsplash materials. Limestone can be interesting and can be combined with other materials like glass block. Be creative but not too creative! I’ve seen some walls of glass block that give our photographers fits. It looks really busy in pictures especially when combined with a colorful granite. If you want to do something bold on the backsplash, keep the counter simple. Appliances have changed to a more modern look too. Have you noticed? Stainless is still the most popular in major appliances. You can have some fun with small appliances in red or black or buy a stand mixer in a fun color as an accent. Orange or yellow are popular accent colors right now. They work well together with gray also.
BATHROOMS
Bathrooms are following suit with Kitchens. Some white is back in, some are stained, similar countertop and lighting options. HOUZZ and HGTV have some great ideas as well. Stone, Porcelain and Travertine tile floors are still in. Ceramic is ok too. Larger tiles, like 16 x 16 or rectangular tiles are in versus the standard 12 x 12. Have you seen the tile that looks like wood? I think this looks great in bathrooms. They have light to dark colors depending on your décor. You want the tile and cabinets to have some contrast. Hardware can go from farmhouse style with faucets that look like a water well to very contemporary, more squared off styles. Lighting should match the theme of the décor. Frameless shower doors are in or what we call cave showers, which are walk in showers with no door! These can be very large and have multiple shower heads, rain showers, sprayers, etc.
CARPET
Do you remember the term textured pile? It’s back. We’re seeing less of the Frieze style carpet which was a modified shag and more of the textured carpets that have a little design to them. They are durable and show less dirt and footprints. There are lots of fun colors out there but I would stay pretty neutral if you are going to sell anytime soon. Carpet isn’t cheap and buyers will be seeing dollar signs if they don’t like yours, and those dollar signs equate to dollars off your sales price. The style of carpet really depends on the style of your home too. Plush carpet is more traditional but can fit in some homes. Price point of the home makes a huge difference on the expected quality of the carpet as well.
HARDWOODS AND OTHER FLOORING
Hardwoods used to primarily be a yellowish hue of oak but then they went darker. Now they are going wider, especially in the case of this farmhouse look and some more modern looks. 5 inch distressed hardwoods are in or you can just refinish your hardwoods in a darker color. Provencial is a mid tone. There are several darker tones like walnut that are great as well and we are mixing some to get the right hue. There are grayish tones that complement modern decor and I just used a mix of dark walnut and white. This gives a grayish tone and lightens the walnut color without looking completely gray. This all needs to work with the décor of the home. Generally buyers prefer hardwoods to tile. We do of course use tile in bathrooms. The tile that looks like wood mentioned above is option or for a more modern look, use large rectangular tile in marble look or grays. If you are going with a beach theme in your master bath you could use the porcelain tile that looks like distressed beechwood. Very cool.
I could write for days on new trends but hopefully this summary was helpful. Check out the HOUZZ app I mentioned and let us know if you need advice. If you are getting ready to sell, our stager can help you pick out colors. She is a Sherwin Williams certified colorist. Don’t hesitate to call on us. It could avoid a costly mistake. There are always upgrades that don’t add value too, so better safe than sorry! In the end, your home is your sanctuary and it should make you feel comfortable. That’s what really counts. Happy decorating!
- Sherry Ajluni, Team Leader, SHERRY & CO.