Summer is a great time to enjoy the outdoors, and it’s also an opportune moment to assess how you feel about the interior of your home – is it really “doing it” for you? Is it time to step it up a notch?
Interior design fashions come and go, and so it’s easy to think a home might start to look a little dowdy if it hasn’t kept pace with all the changes we see in glossy magazines.
This isn’t to suggest you should redecorate but instead consider where your home could benefit from a little lift.
If you’re thinking of selling your home soon, updating some furnishings will help make the home more attractive to potential buyers.
Interestingly, America is going through a period where vintage furnishings are increasing in popularity. Using a period piece, such as an art deco lamp from the 1920s as a centerpiece for your home, is the height of fashion right now.
Here are a few observations from homes that I’ve visited in the last few months:
Ultra-trendy – Resist the urge to be a dedicated follower of interior design fashion because the fads for furniture and furnishings come and go quickly. Buy pieces that you enjoy having in the home, together with practical furnishings and a super-interesting centerpiece.
Keep it classic – High-quality furniture made with exceptional craftsmanship will never date. Intricate carvings, ornate finishes and solid materials all speak to beautifully made furniture.
Color crazy – Repainting your home is a big commitment. Nothing can date your renovation more than the use of fashionable colors. For example, an ocher feature wall is so 2022. Realtors recommend neutrals because they make rooms feel larger. Big colors tend to suck light from a room.
Make it flow – Using a consistent color throughout your home will make it “flow”. When you use too many colors, a home can feel “bitty” and insubstantial.
Oak, not okay – Oak furnishings for anything from seating to bookcases now scream of an era long gone. If you have oak furniture, it’s probably dating your home.
Themed bathrooms – Who knows how these ever became “a thing”. But if you have Captain Nemo or sea horses floating around on the bathroom walls, expunge them. Now!
Suite and sour – The three-piece suite, once so popular, is now consigned to history by interior designers. The idea that everything should match has become very “yesterday”.
Too textured – When it comes to furnishings, texture and artisanal artifacts are “in”. The same cannot be said of the following: popcorn ceilings, heavily textured walls, dark wood paneling and tiled countertops.