(ARA) – Are you over orange as an autumn decorating accent? Bored with relying on balsam and fir touches to evoke a holiday spirit in your home? If cooler weather and the coming holidays have you looking for new decorating ideas, here are some trends that will be heating up interior design this year:
Economize and simplify
“People are starting to simplify their spaces by paring down their decor to items that show off their interests and personality,” says Nancy Hadley, a former design producer for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Trading Spaces and Kitchen Nightmares. “Entertaining spaces will begin to represent comfortable elegance and less pretense.”
Multifunctional rooms, such as kitchens with office, homework and reading areas, will speak to this trend, Hadley predicts.
‘Mad Men’-style nostalgia
“Mid-century modern has always been popular, but it’s going to get even bigger this season,” says interior designer Jonathan Fong, author of “Walls that WOW” and host of the web TV show “Style with a Smile.” The hit TV show “Mad Men” will provide the design inspiration for the trend, but the desire for comfort through continuing economic challenges will be what draws homeowners and designers to the look, he predicts.
“As financial markets plummet and natural disasters proliferate, people are going to look for the (relative) innocence of the ’60s,” he says. “Look for furniture with clean lines and sleek legs, a muted color palette of grays and creams, and rich wood surfaces on tabletops and even walls.”
Eco-influences
Natural influences, like plant and aviary-inspired tribal patterns, landscapes and natural scenes or textures like bamboo will attract homeowners looking for both beauty and conservation. Products like re-usable SmartStick wall graphics will appeal for both their beauty and practicality. Available with an array of natural scenes and textures, their modern wallpaper material allows homeowners and designers to mount a wall mural on virtually any flat surface. The space-age material is easily removable and can be moved and re-used over and over anywhere in the house. Log on to www.muralsyourway.com to learn more.
Homeowners and designers will also embrace energy efficiency in their interior design, Hadley says. “LED lighting will be big this year, and eco-efficient appliances will continue to dominate the market.”
Anti-season decor and colors
If you’re tired of rustic textures and golden hues for fall, and you’ve had your fill of pumpkins and holly, the anti-season decor trend may be for you. “People are putting their own spin on the holidays that is more modern and sophisticated,” Fong says. “Harvest-themed decor is out, and simpler accessories in cooler, muted shades are in.”
Fong predicts favored colors this season will evoke a “New Year’s state of mind” with black, white and silver accents to create a clean look. “Colors will be contrasts of bold and vivid beside neutral grays, browns and warm whites,” Hadley agrees. “Accent walls or brightly colored furniture pieces will play off soothing neutral areas of a room.”
Furniture hacking
“Furniture hacking” – transforming or repurposing old furniture pieces – will grow in popularity, Fong says. “Crafters and DIY enthusiasts are taking the design world by storm.”
Painting or decoupage gives a new life and a new look to used furniture, or you may totally repurpose an item, like a chair, and turn it into something completely new and useful, such as shelves.
“Right now, my obsession is adding graphic images to plain cabinet fronts and table tops,” Fong says. “In the past, I’ve done this with decoupage, but now I’m trying the SmartStick repositionable wallpaper. I cut it into panels and just stick them on the furniture.”
