To keep your space fresh and stylish, pay attention to the ebb and flow of design trends. Whether in the bathroom, kitchen or your main living space, it’s always a bummer to redecorate and then realize your decor is behind the times.
If you’re planning a home renovation or even a small update, consider incorporating these seven elements in 2017.
1. Get brassy
Brass is back, but don’t expect the super shiny brass of the past. Now, it gives rooms a hint of shine without seeming dated.
Trinity Mercantile & Design Co. in Decatur recently designed a home chock full of brassy warmth. The company hung brass chandeliers in the dining room and music room, installed a brass sink, faucet and vanity pulls in the powder room, accented the master bedroom with a brass table and even included brass hardware on the ladder in the family room.
“We’ve been so strong on silver for so long, and it just was bound to end,” said Trinity co-owner and interior designer Wallace Bryan.
Not that silver is completely out. Combining metals is a designer-approved technique.
“We’re big proponents of mixing metals,” said Lisa Turner, co-owner of Trinity Mercantile & Design Co. “And for us, a living metal, meaning like a brass that patinas over time and doesn’t necessarily maintain a high polish, is desirable.”
2. Paste up the art
Rather than glamming up a smaller space with wall art, which can create a cluttered feel, try a wallpaper. Jennifer Foster with Eanes Foster Design chose a large Schumacher print to provide panache without being too busy in the master bathroom of a recent Griffin home renovation.
“I have so many clients that are so scared of wallpaper, and I keep telling them, ‘Don’t be scared,’” said Foster. “To me, especially in a smaller space, it can make a huge impact.”
Plus, a print covering the walls of a big room may be too busy, she says. She recommends using more texture and less print, like grasscloth, in larger spaces.
3. Reinforce style with iron details
Take a tip from the Europeans and give your doors and windows a little iron pizzazz this year. Iron’s dark, bronzy touch creates clean lines while adding style to an otherwise clear space.
“It’s a very clean, sleek look that people are wanting, and it’s bringing in a nice architectural feature to the house,” said Randy Glazer, owner of Atlanta-based Glazer Design and Construction. “It doesn’t have to be in every window. People are using it as an accent.”
4. Bring wine out of the basement
Wine cellars and caves have been trending for a while, but as the economy improves and baby boomers age, wine storage has only increased in popularity, said Rick Goldstein, principal architect at MOSAIC Group in Atlanta. And with younger generations starting to collect vino, closets are becoming an alternative to larger wine cellars or caves in basements. Wine closets are not temperature or humidity controlled, and they tend to be designed for more casual wine connoisseurs, who want to collect and display their wine.
“It’s beginning to trend to bring [wine rooms] upstairs, to make them a little more accessible,” Goldstein said. “As they come upstairs, they become a little bit smaller too.”
5. Use a hot hue
After an analysis of color and fashion trends, Pantone named “Greenery” its color of the year for 2017. This yellow-green spring shade can work as an accent or, for more bold interiors, a statement piece. As a wall color, “Greenery” goes well with natural stone, but it can also be an accent stone color.
“This color has such versatility in the way it can be used, so it will be appealing to many different design styles,” said Emily Holle, director of trend and design at Austell-based MS International, an importer and distributor of natural stone and a member of the MIA+BSI: The Natural Stone Institute.
6. Stay sleek
Gone are the days of carved cabinets and ornate drawer pulls. Minimalist, sleek looks are the way to go with bathroom design in 2017, some designers say. Shaker and slab cabinet fronts are in, and minimalist hardware is the natural accompaniment, said designer Jessica Murphy of Her Cave Atlanta.
“People are still hesitant to do that, because it’s different, but that’s definitely all the rage,” said Murphy.
7. Reclaim your home’s history
Saving materials during a renovation and turning them into decor or furniture is a way to hold onto the home’s history or charm while modernizing a residence. When Red Level Renovations updated and expanded a century-old bungalow in Virginia-Highland, some of the original hardwood floors became a bench for the breakfast nook.
“Some people haven’t been in the homes that long when they do these renovations, so for a lot of folks, it’s a nod to the history of the house that just makes them feel good about it and feel connected to it,” said Dan Hanlon, a partner in the Atlanta-based company.
