Learn how to stay on trend without constant renovations.
Incorporating the latest design trends in your home is very exciting—at least until the trend passes you by. Then, what once appeared to be the cutting edge of fashion quickly begins the long downward slide into ridiculous. Of course, if you wait long enough your outdated design could develop “vintage” appeal.
However, if you want to put your home on the market without taking a big price cut or invite guests over without being embarrassed, you can’t afford to wait for trendy to transition to vintage. Instead, you’ll have to renovate your home to remove the awkward, dated items and replace them with an updated design.
Start with a Strong Foundation
Needless to say, the cycle of renovation and demolition can be expensive—not only in terms of money but in terms of the inconvenience of having portions of your home under construction for days or weeks. Therefore, our number one tip for using trends successfully in your home is to start with a strong foundation with timeless design appeal, and incorporate the latest trends only in areas that can be quickly and easily updated. This will save you from frequent costly and time-consuming renovations, but still allow you to enjoy an up-to-date look in your kitchen or bath.
Here are some examples of the kinds of easy projects we’re talking about:
Paint a Wall: Repainting a wall is one of the easiest ways to incorporate the latest designer colors into your kitchen or bath. For example, you might choose to paint the wall space between your kitchen counter and cabinets this year’s Pantone color of the year, Marsala. This is a rich, warm, wine-like hue that pairs well with white cabinetry or light-colored wood cabinetry. When tastes change in a few years, you can easily cover up the Marsala paint with a couple of layers of primer and choose a fresh new shade. This is much easier than redoing a tiled surface or replacing a colored appliance or plumbing fixture.
Get Cabinet Hardware: Rather than installing new cabinets every time tastes change from rococo to utilitarian and back again, consider choosing a plain fronted cabinet and updating your cabinet hardware to stay on-trend. You can easily change the look of your entire kitchen just by switching out the hardware.
Get New Lighting: Having a bright and airy bathroom is increasingly important according to top designers. One way this is being achieved is with a greater abundance of mirrors, including mirrored vanities. Rather than going to this extreme of the trend (which by the way was tried in the 30s and 80s) consider simply updating your light fixtures in order to bring more light into the space. Be sure to choose your lightbulbs carefully to deliver the right quality of light.
Get New Faucets: Jacuzzi tubs and sunken tubs were all the rage a decade or so ago, but they’ve reached their peak. Now, people are leaning towards more old-world style soaker tubs, including clawfoot tubs and slipper tubs. Considering the hassle and expense of tearing out an entire tub and surround every time tub trends change, we recommend choosing a classic tub and then only updating your faucet set when you feel the need for a change. Given the neutral backdrop of a high-quality, classic white tub, the choice of faucet set can make a dramatic statement.
Whether you need to complete a big renovation to recover from overzealous application of a trend in the past, or are just looking for a few new on-trend accent pieces, Mission West Kitchen and Bath has what you need.
Recent Comments