The home improvement trend hit an all-time high during 2020, and it’s still gaining momentum, with 59% of enthusiasts vowing to continue their efforts.
Are you one of these paintbrush-wielding crusaders intent on making your home the best it can be? The best part about home improvement is there’s always something else you can try.
How about sprucing up your decor in line with all your other improvements? Check out these interior design tips to bring your home up to speed with the latest trends.
- Design Tips For Choosing Colors
Color is a major component of design. It can affect your mood and make or break the ambiance of a room.
Popular living room paint colors vary from soft neutral tones to dramatic contrasts between black and white. If you choose the softer route, some shades of the moment include:
- Coastal gray
- Mushroom beige
- Off-white
- Chalky green
- Toffee brown
Floral tones have received a boost with terracotta-infused pinks and jewel-toned greens coming to the fore.
Wall colors might have taken the muted route, but there’s always room for pops of color in soft furnishings, artwork, and other decor items. Think richer varieties of these toned-down versions, i.e. rich deep reds, forest greens, and chocolate browns.
With so many colors and shades to choose from, here’s a simple tip to help you choose the ones you like:
- Take a favorite object like a cushion, painting, or scarf to the paint store with you
- Pick three colors from your object
- Choose three paint strips that match those colors
- Use colors from the paint strips to decorate every room in your house
When you use this hack, you’re assured of familiar comfort in every space and add consistency to your decor
- A Little Vintage Adds Flair to Your Home
Vintage decor is back with a bang after disappearing off the radar briefly during 2020. It seems nobody can resist a little old-world elegance after all.
The best way to get your hands on vintage decor is from an elderly family member. That way, each piece has a story behind it and can evoke fond memories of its previous owner.
If granny is unwilling to part with her favorite rocker right now, your next best bet is a trip to the second-hand store. These Aladdin’s caves overflow with quaint vintage items, and they’re as cheap as can be, too.
Auctions, antique stores, and antique shows are the realm of expert collectors and while you’ll come across some excellent pieces there, you’ll pay top dollar for the best ones.
- Embrace Nature in Interior Design
Everyone’s craving a little more of the great outdoors right now, and the best way to bring it inside is with lush houseplants. Other ways to include natural elements include:
- Textures like straw and wood
- Stone and travertine tile
- Wool and cotton
- Bamboo
Large windows help bring the outside in and allow natural light to filter through your rooms, creating a soft, inviting feel.
- Creating Multi-Functional Rooms
Recent events turned our lives upside down and forced us to rethink how we use our homes. Nowadays, the office and schoolroom spill over into our living areas, and even the kitchen counter has been re-imagined as a place for both work and play.
If you want to designate areas, a classic screen-style room divider works best. You can keep it against the wall and slide it out when needed.
A multifunctional room needs multifunctional furniture. Invest in some side tables that double as stools, a coffee table with hidden storage, and an expandable dining room table.
These simple additions help keep your open-plan spaces clutter-free and convert your space from one purpose to another quickly and easily.
- Living Room Design Tips
As a nod to multifunctionality, the living room bar is a top trend in home design. It’s convenient and opens up your living as another entertainment space, plus it’s a great asset when watching the big game.
You don’t need to build a designer bar to create this fun space. You can place a wall unit against one wall, add some mirrors to create an authentic feel, and place a narrow kitchen island in front of it to serve as a counter.
If you have a small living room, a small cabinet will do the trick.
Another major trend for living rooms is the minimalist zen concept. To achieve this, you’ll need to become an expert de-clutterer.
Zen-inspired decor centers on floating services, natural materials, and plenty of breathing room. Choose furniture with clean lines, then add contrast in the form of textured surfaces and floor rugs.
- Interior Design Tips for Your Floors
Most of the flooring focus remains on laminate-style floors and engineered flooring for 2022. These floors win hands down when it comes to easy cleaning and maintenance in high-traffic areas.
Bedrooms always do best with soft-under-foot options like carpet.
You can also consider plush living room carpet to create a cozy feel in cold climates, but don’t settle for any old rug. Rather, focus on finding something exceptional to add interest and a luxe feel to your living space.
You can look for specialty carpet at Floor360.com, specialtyfloors.net, or carpetweaversflooring.com.
Floors occupy a large visual area in any room and impact your overall design. For instance, laying your flooring planks parallel to your room’s longest wall makes your room look longer and more spacious.
Subdued colors look great and create a restful feel, but they can also make your rooms appear smaller. If you want to create a spacious impression, opt for off-white, ivory, or cream flooring.
If you have wooden furniture, choose flooring with a slightly darker or lighter color.
Flooring is an expensive alteration, so make sure you consider practical, high-quality, durable options to make the most of your budget.
- Eco-Friendly Choices
Finally, homeowners are latching onto considering the environment in all their choices. Recycled and recyclable materials are taking center stage in all areas of home design.
These include reclaimed wood, recycled metal, jute, and bio-glass from certified sustainable sources. When you decide to paint, opt for low-biocide, non-toxic, and ‘milk’ varieties.
Eco-design includes energy-efficient appliances, lighting, and heating controlled by smart thermostats and devices that minimize energy wastage.
- Keep It Curvy
Soft lines in furnishings are here to stay. Now, couches curve and sharp-edged tables are a thing of the past.
That doesn’t mean you need to send all your traditional furnishings to the landfill. Introduce a few pieces with flowing lines, and you’ll find they complement your existing pieces just fine.
Rounded edges are making their way into mirrors, artworks, floor coverings, shelves, and dining room chairs. These feminine shapes create a romantic, light-hearted ambiance in any room, and they’ll free up floor and wall space too.
- Bathroom Design Trends 2022
Bathrooms are fast-evolving into at-home spas filled with luxurious finishes and extras to ensure ultimate relaxation and respite.
There’s a new bath and shower design on the block that’s a far cry from the old showerhead over the tub concept. Now, showers and baths occupy tilled glass-walled rooms side by side, freeing the rest of the space for plush wood or laminate floors.
If you don’t like bathing, twin showerheads located side by side prevent arguments over who’s showering first and save time on rushed mornings.
Huge floor-to-ceiling windows flood this once-isolated space with natural light and make bath time a treat, allowing you to soak up the views while you soak in the tub.
Whimsical shades like cotton candy blue and bubblegum pink have infiltrated the bathroom, while classic white bathrooms are still cool. Other popular colors include every shade of blue from beachy turquoise to formal navy.
Tile remains a top choice for bathroom floors with motifs and wood-look tiles making an appearance.
- Colorful Kitchens
With everyone spending more time cooking at home, color has made its way back into the kitchen to stay. After all, nobody wants to spend too much time in clinical white spaces.
Contrast is everywhere in kitchen design nowadays, and high-gloss paints are no longer a no-go zone. Marble has made a comeback into the kitchen too, making its way onto slab backsplashes and counters alike.
Built-in storage that maximizes every available space is in style. You can even use the toe-kick space under your cabinets as a pull-out pet feeder.
Hinge doorways and huge windows let natural light shine in and create a spacious, open feel in the kitchen.
Make Your Spaces Your Own
Only you have to live with your interior design choices. So, avoid following the latest trends slavishly.
If you don’t like a particular design fad, simply amend it to make it your own. Trends come and go, but design choices that make you happy last forever.
Browse our website for more of the best interior design tips to increase your home’s style and comfort.
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