Well it’s a new year, and the design trends for 2015 have been announced. Now is when we find out that everything we did to our homes in 2014 is officially dated and tired looking. There is a treadmill of design ideas out there that we are supposed to follow, and if we don’t, we’re considered toast.
In a nutshell, apparently neutral is out and color and pattern are in. Traditional is out, and mid-century modern is in.
I am reminded of a speaker I heard back in my corporate days, Tom Peters. He was a fabulous speaker and motivator, and probably still is. You know how there is a list of things you should do to give a great speech? Well he went through that list, and one by one, went over how he didn’t do any of those things, and yet he was one of the most sought after speakers of the day. That taught me a lesson. You don’t have to follow the rules to be good at something. You don’t have to follow the rules to be successful. I admit, I bristle a bit, when an expert tells me what I should be wearing or how my house should look. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Let’s start with what the design trends are for now. I was going to write a list of trends, but saw that Joni already did. So you can click on her blog to see what the trends are for 2015.
Okay, so neutral is out and bold color and pattern are in. Below are photos highlighting some of the new design trends. I shot these photos for Southland Homes.
This room has a bold blue on the walls which gives it a lively feel. Bold colors are very trendy right now.
The room below used a very bold Oriental wallpaper, also very hot.
This study uses a lovely gray, glossy paint on the walls. Darker walls are definitely in.
The kitchen, shown below, is fitted with brass hardware to match the brass on stunning French stove. Brass is back.
So I have just admitted I don’t like to follow a trend just because it is the trend, and yet I suggest that we should all know what the trends are. So what is up with that?
Well, being a blogger, I need to know what is going on in the design world. And if you decorate your home, I think it is wise for you too to know the trends. None of us want a dated home. HOWEVER, I don’t believe we need to follow every trend to stay up to date.
So the first thing I think you need to know is what the trends are. Information is POWER.
Then look at the trends, and decide which ones work for you. I admit, I like a lot of the trends, but many won’t work in my home.
I also look at which trends will be going out of fashion the fastest.
I love wallpaper, I really do, but I know something that older people know. Wallpaper gets dated looking super fast. What looks super hot today will look like yesterday’s news in just a few years. Still if money is not an issue, go for it! If you have a limited decorating budget, avoid wallpaper.
As soon as you select things for your home, they will become ‘out of fashion’ the next day.
I just selected a lot of pewter pulls for my home, and now I hear brass is back. Do I panic? No, I do not. People are spending a lot of money on their homes these days. Everyone is not going to throw it all out every other year, just because we are told it is dated. I suspect that pewter, chrome, and nickel are all here to stay, but now brass is back joining the pack.
Well actually, I used some gold accents, pewter, bronze, nickel and chrome.
Yes, i even mixed them… in the same room. Call me a rebel!
If you want to be known for staying on top of the design trends, then go for it, and incorporate as many as you like. I truly think that is fine, so long as you can afford it.
Keep in mind that the design industry changes the trend every year. Why? So you will need to go buy new stuff. It’s the same with the fashion industry. We replace clothing not because it is worn, but because it is no longer in style.
I prefer to buy quality pieces that will last and stay in style for the long term. Now I’m not knocking anyone who stays on top of the trends, and changes things every year. I know a lot of designers that do it, and do it well. Their homes are fantastic. I’m just saying that won’t work for everyone, and you don’t have to follow along if you don’t want to. Be a rebel, don’t follow the trends, set them yourself.
Now speaking of new things, I’m getting new curtains for my bedroom. I’m so excited!!! You can see how I selected the curtains, and which ones I chose. I’m at Bali Blinds talking about them. (Curtains were provided by Bali.) SELECTING NEW CURTAINS AT BALI BLINDS BLOG
I’m with you girl! Forget the trends… don’t like dark walls, don’t like brass, and those wild walls would make me crazy! Sticking to my neutrals at Homeroad!
Susan 🙂
Great Post! Love hearing of the new trends…but also love knowing I am not the only one that won’t follow them completely! I love my neutrals…and my house is wayyyy to small for dark colors : )
Deb
@Seeking Lavender Lane
Nice to know what is going on, and not feel like you have to follow them all, I agree.
I think the dark walls look great IF you have a home that’s flooded with natural light. Not gonna happen here. Natural brass (the kind that gets a nice patina)……maybe. A little. Polished, bright, fake brass? Not again in this lifetime. Trends, schmends. If you adorn your home with things that you love, it will never go out of style. The hubby would smile at that last comment since he says I belong to the rug of the month club and constantly asks me, “Can’t we just ever leave the furniture in one place??”. You’re definitely right, information IS power.
Barb
Glad to know the trends for 2015. I don’t follow trends though. I can’t do dark walls. Love wallpaper,but a nightmare to remove. I’m with you,mix metals. Love pewter,brushed nickel,stainless steel & brass. Just use what you love!!
We’ve been around long enough to know that even when something is “back,” it’s never the same as it was the first time. Brass may be back, but that shiny builder grade stuff still looks dated. I agree with you about wallpaper: As soon as you hang it on the walls, the look is over.
Oddly enough, the mid-century modern look reminds me of my great-grandmothers! They bought furniture for the last time in the mid 60s, and it stuck around until they passed away in the 90s when the mod look was long, long gone and shiny brass was king.
Oh that cheap shiny brass plate stuff, yeah I hope to never see that stuff again. But a brass with a nice patina is perfect.
Color and pattern always work for me so I’m glad to know I will be in style at least for this year. As for trends, why bother. They’re only going to change in the near-term.
Anita, I couldn’t agree more!! After 25 years in the fashion industry, this is something I feel very strongly about. Designers never wear “trendy” clothing. They’re either in the best of the classics money can buy (or that they can afford), albeit with their own personal spin, or in something completely unique and perhaps repurposed. That’s what truly creative people do. Trends are for followers. And I feel very much the same about home design. Sure, if the trend happens to work with your already honed voice, all the better. But at least when the next trend replaces it, it will still be workable for you.
I completely agree! Trends are for followers. They come and go quickly. I don’t mind buying a few trendy things if they aren’t expensive (like accessories). I think one trend that is here to stay more people following their heart and personal style when decorating and incorporating French, vintage and antique into their homes.
Go with what you love and you will never tire of it. That’s my motto. I can appreciate many different styles. That does not mean I want to come home to it every day. I love neutrals. Traditional with a little modern mixed in, gives it a fresh look. I’m afraid new trends tend to be overdone. But, I like to know what they are in house design and clothing. Great post today, Anita.
Anita,
I agree, that following “the trends” can sometimes lead to costly mistakes for one’s personal style.
I, also, agree, that I need to freshen things up each year, each Season!
So~o~o. .. while I prefer to know the trends, I may or may not follow them.
Be true to one’s self is the Best advice to follow!!!
I love your design savvy, dear friend!!!
Fondly,
Pat
I’ve often cringed at the word ‘trend’. It somehow seems like a flash in the pan that I may regret. Don’t get me wrong – there are many things labeled as a trend that I like and adapt into my home. Maybe it was because they were actually resurgence of something that was popular before. I’m a romantic – so I want quality, something that I can stay with for the duration and fall in love with even more.
Like everyone I have taken the trends for a drive into my wardrobe or home, but they are generally the first things that I end up giving away.
Ick to trends! Trends are trendy for a reason- they fade ,but timeless is forever! Some boldness is Okay, but think of it 3-5 years later… Great post!!!! Happy 2015!
Paige.Rose
i am with you, go with what you love!
Well, I am happy to know that color is back since we have lived here for 2 years now and the white walls are making me CA RAZY! I am a color person, but not wild colors. I love earth tones and will be doing some rust colored walls, a darkish tan and maybe a pale green. Still can’t get used to the brass, I got rid of it all. I never follow “trends”, I say you should decorate your home to make YOU happy. After all, you have to live there. Great post, Anita.
I mix it up too! and live with what I Love…Guess I’m a Rebel..Cool…Cindy
What a great post. I have to say that having been a home owner for 38 years I have seen many trends come and go. When I was young I always wanted the latest ‘trend’ but then after spending 15 years and a whole lot of money ‘following the fashions’ I got so fed up with it all that I totally lost interest in my home for a long time. Then, when I became disabled a few years ago and had time to start surfing the net I came across a home maker’s blog and was really impressed because the blogger told her followers to go with what THEY LOVE!! I’m obviously totally out of kilter with the trends now, as while the followers of decorating fashion are going to be busy this year wallpapering and painting their homes with colour, I’m going to be making my home as neutral and white as I can! I simply adore the calming effect of using neutrals throughout my home, and yet still having the opportunity to add a bit of colour here and there with the use of accessories if I feel the need, whereas changing the colour of my walls, sofas etc, every time the design world comes up with something new is not only a lot more effort, but also a lot more costly. Thanks for sharing your thoughts in this post, I for one will be sticking with the old adage of only having things in your home that YOU need and YOU believe to be beautiful.
Judi in the UK
Yay Judi! Follow your design passions!!
I also totally agree and am glad to hear you say so. I have always loved neutrals-since the 60’s ! Tried to do darker, but just can’t live with them. Also use mixed metals-shame, shame! It’s gratifying that we all like different things. Life is much more interesting.
I am a professional decorator, but not a trendy decorator. My customers want something that last. There are lots of styles & colors out there that will last. Several pieces of trendy color can be mixed in with the other and it works. When the trend is over, spray paint it the next trendy color.
Great idea Connie!
where did you get bed spread
If it is the one in my bedroom, I made it.
Even though I am interested in the trends, I so agree with you to go with what you love! Love your blog and your fun writing style. You are a breath of fresh air! By the way, I envy you your glass doorknob!
Awww, thank you Martha!!
Thanks for the update on the new trends. I’m actually happy to hear that colour is coming back because the colours that I chose for my kitchen are, well, colourful. lol I’m sure that by the time I get at it, my colours will be ‘the most trendy colours!’. I bought a bed-frame a number of years ago that I love and am pleased to see something similar in the trends and the wall colour is very close to what I want for my bedroom. I painted my office brown a year ago, with a golden wallpaper accent wall and took some flack for it, so now it’s totally in and that’s cool! The heavy patterned wall will never be in my house, as I have enough patterns to remove with old papers. In a nutshell, I’m pleased that the trends are now blending with what I like, but even if they were the opposite, I’d go with what delights me. roflol Thanks again and have a great day! 🙂
I personally, with my home, surround myself with things that make me happy and things that hold wonderful memories. Trends cannot to do this. Rooms and homes have to be individualized to each individual and the purpose of the room. My grandmothers things are part of the past, but they are also part of my present and future. Things like this give your home personality and warmth. This is a way of preserving our heritage, especially if we document things in a journal for our future generations. I can walk into a house and it speaks to me (not literally) and I can tell if it is warm and holds memories or cold.
Preach it Connie!!
It would just tire me out having to change my decor all the time. I did update some things in my house recently which was long overdo. Couldn’t part with my brass lamps which were quite expensive. I did change my dining room chanty to a pewter and glass one and the two different metals are fine together, probably because they are far enough apart from each other.
Like other comments I will stick with what I like, but it is nice to the latest trends. Thanks for the update Anita!
Anita, You helped me last spring when I had just bought a new home. One of the greatest things you did was give me permission to have what I recognize in myself – it was a tendency to love old things with history and to to want to fill my home with things with meaning … IT is the same reason my first house was nearly non-functioning, but was absolutely filled with beautiful victorian gingerbread trim and antique touches. It is in my tendency to want to rescue beautiful old furniture and revive it rather than buy new furniture. That is what drew me to your style in the first place — your love of antiques and particularly European antiques, which I do personally thing (given they are styles that have already stood quite the test of time) will survive a few years longer. I am not an old woman, and according to my age, I should be filling my home with mid century modern furniture, and it is what my Aunt’s and mom’s loved and rebelled against their own parents with. But it has never done anything for me. Then, when I see Z galleria in the mall, I really just cringe. It reminds me so much of the 80s/early 90s in fashion — when I was growing up — we cycled so quickly through the preppy colors, to the jewel tones, then patterns that were so loud and so embarrassing to look back on. I lived in Miami for a period as a child in the 80s, and I remember the whole Miami Vice look. Then the brass in the Midwest (my Aunts were crazy about Brass). I still love brass, but don’t necessarily feel any need to have any in my house! What is going on now with the loudness of the colors and the intentional glam of the furniture — the over the top glam — is just not for me, even if I am out of fashion. I much prefer the softness of your approach. I really do like the way you have made even dated pieces look updated with your neutral palette, and all your tricks for updating and making consistent and matching your older pieces. I love your blog, and consider you (and Joni) to be my huge inspirations. I am with you — even if we are sitting off this trend train — I am not sure how long it is going to moving ! Thanks so much for your blog, Anna
I like my neutral colors in my home but i can accessorize with some of these fades,like change out your tie backs or throw pillows,you don’t have to change everything. You could even pick a cabinet and change out the pulls on it to be brass,right?
Not crazy about the new trends! Like what I have and it is a lot of neutrals.
I love your home, Anita! Typically, I don’t try to follow the trends. I’ve always tried doing color, but I have finally found neutrals from bloggers like you that embrace them, and I’m loving the look! Where I still struggle is balancing the metals. My late ’90’s home had lots of brass and glass. I actually love the warmth of brass, but I have replaced some of it with oil rubbed bronze. Not working for me though. Now I have some interior brass door knobs needing replacement. Brass again? Brushed nickel? And if I change the knob metal, should I change the brass hinges? Big problems, I know, but I need guidance! Also, I love your pewter and crystal doorknob. Do you know the brand? You’re awesome!
You may not need to change out the hinges. Just depends.
..I enjoyed reading your piece …and I am not a ” trend follower, ‘ although I do agree with the fact that being ‘ in the know’ is valuable. I love the use of color, I have done neutrals as well, and now incorporate BOTH into the same space…it provides balance , which I feel is important. My master bedroom is whites / creams and Paris Grey ..with a very dark purple as the accent, and a light apple green. I get a lot of positive comments on it. The same palette appears in smaller doses in the bathroom I feel that if you surround yourself with colours you enjoy, and objects that mean something to you, that you enjoy , and bring you smiles…( as Connie so astutely said in an earlier comment) then your home will reflect who you are and bring out the best in you.
Thank you for a great article! If I learned nothing else about decorating my home, it’s that you decorate with “what you love”. For me that’s contrasting neutrals, wood and chrome. If I painted my hardware and etc. with the newest color/metal trend every time it changed they’d be an inch thick with paint! You are spot on with the wallpaper too! It’s so personal that once you put it up, mark the price of your house down. Rarely will you find a buyer who appreciates your pick & will only see all the work needed to remove it. Though a good idea I’ve seen is framing the wallpaper, which then is easily removable. As simple as removing the picture frame. No matter what you decide, decorating should be fun, creative and say “this is me”! Enjoy!