House & Bounty

I have a small problem that I’m trying to solve. I simultaneously want two things that are polar opposites of each other. Has this ever happened to you?

I love calming, neutral rooms like the work of Studio McGee or Amber Interiors. Their rooms are not cluttered, anchored in neutral colors, sleek and calming. The rooms tend to have light walls, minimalist styling and patterns on accessories (pillows, throws, rugs). Color is incorporated into the spaces, sometimes a bright color, but usually more muted colors that have a good amount of gray. I love this aesthetic- it’s sophisticated, grown up and calming. These rooms feel like they will stand the test of time and could easily be update by switching out some accessories.

However, the other part of me wants all the color and patterns layered on top of each other. These rooms tend to feel vibrant and give a glimpse into the personality of the residents. I think these rooms can equally feel sophisticated but in a very different way. It’s about the combination of patterns and colors that end up making a visually pleasing room. I also believe these rooms feel harder to pull off because it does bring in so much personality and is so personal to the resident. In addition, a patterned piece of furniture, all over wall paper or bright carpet can start to feel outdated and are not always easy or cost effective to change out. But despite the risk of it all, it feels magical when all the elements come together in these rooms.

The simple compromise, and what I am leaning towards is keeping the main parts of my house neutral and then having bold rooms in the laundry room, closets and bedrooms. I think part of the internal conflict is that I am afraid of doing the bold room wrong. Spending money on things that could not end up adding up to what I want or in 5 years no longer liking expensive elements (furniture, wall paper etc) is just plain scary to me. But I’m trying to rally the courage to do it.

I’ve started to put together a mood board for my master closet and I’m learning toward doing a bold patterned floor, although the rest of the room is pretty neutral. It’s a baby step.

Over the last five years or so I’ve narrowed down the aesthetics that I like and have a clear vision of my “design style.” However, I’ve recently been gravitating towards a few fun, new things which I think we’ll be seeing more of in the design world in 2020. If nothing else, I’ll definitely be embracing these 4 trends.

Skirted Furniture: For more than a decade, I’ve found myself drawn to “leggy furniture” and more mid-century modern design styles. The lack of a skirt around my chairs or couches felt modern, updated and stylish. Although I still love this look, I find myself searching for skirted furniture. Perhaps this is partly due to the up rise of the “granny chic” style that has been gaining steam over the last few years or because I’m embracing more traditional styles. Either way, I think the tides are turning and skirted furniture will make it’s come back in a big way. The skirt adds a feminine and softer touch to a room. I also think that it adds visual interest and some movement, depending on the skirt (pleated, ruffled etc).

I am particularly drawn toward simpler skirts as I think they transition well among many different styles and would fit well with my existing home. I’m not a pleat expert but there are several different styles to choose from.

For example, I tend to be drawn toward the simple kick or flat pleats while the shirred/ruffle pleats may be fun for a little girl’s room. I have found this website helpful when identifying the different types of pleats. Below are some of my favorite skirted furniture– with a variety of different pleat styles!

Bold Patterns: Okay–I know bold patterns have been around forever and have been used in interior design throughout history (including the last 10 years), but I think the trend (can we call it a trend?) is that we are using bold patterns in bigger ways and are combining/mixing bold patterns. With the resurgence of wallpaper, people are introducing pattern at a bigger scale and now required to mix the wallpaper pattern with the other elements of the room. In addition, I think bold patterns are also coming back on upholstery–so the combination of a patterned wallpaper, patterned upholstery and even more patterns in accessories (rugs, throw pillows, decor items) can create a really elegant and upscale room. However, this is a hard trend to execute well as mixing pattern is a skill that is acquired with practice (well, at least I need practice). A room can easily go from well designed to crazy circus room if the I’m not careful. This can be a scary trend to embrace because of the financial investment involved in purchasing a patterned chair or bold wallpaper.

But, I mean come on -just look at these inspiration rooms. They make me want to combine more patterns and live in those types of houses for some time. Not only am I drawn toward the mixing of patterns but I also find myself more open to crazier patterns than in the past. For example, I can’t stop thinking about the lion printed ottoman linked below.

Fringe Details: I’m not sure when this happened but I started to get excited to see fringe on things. Fringe on curtains, furniture, pillows, clothes–really anything. It’s a little detail that can surprise you and make a room feel fun. I find it particularly fun on chairs and ottomans.

I’m definitely worried about trying this trend out on an expensive piece of furniture but bringing in the right accessories with fringe would be a great way to start. I’m also thinking it could be DIYed and doesn’t seem that difficult. Those could be famous last words. 🙂 I am truly obsessed with the pink fringe lamp linked below from Home Depot. I also used that lamp in my mood board with the crazy flamingo wallpaper. It just feels like it would make a little girl’s room feel special and the right amount of girly.

Natural Wood Tones: I love all wood tones and don’t mind painted, stained or glazed wood and I don’t think the other wood treatments are going anywhere — but I am drawn to the more “natural” looking tones right now. I think woods with a simple poly-coat will be be big and continue to grow in 2020. I can’t stop looking at the Amber Interiors kitchen linked above. It feels like the most perfect color wood that can go with any style: modern, traditional or transitional styles.

I think what I love about the natural tone is that it feels neutral. I find that it’s hard to find the lighter, natural tones on websites like Overstock or Wayfair (although I definitely found some). I hope that over the next year I start seeing more on their websites.

Well that completes the 4 trends that I think will continue to grow in 2020. I’m curious to see what other design trends this new decade will bring.

My son and I were “writing” books together one night. My story was about an interior designer who had a demanding client, a 6-year-old girl, with an attitude but fun style. The premise of the story isn’t really important, but while I was illustrating the pictures I doodled some crazy wallpapers that inspired me to try to create some on the computer, you know just for fun. 

I created 4 wallpapers that have the same theme: animals in hats. They all have colors with a similar saturation, so it kind of feels like a collection. I didn’t take designing them too seriously, although I did want to make sure that they actually worked as patterns (you can easily use a pattern function in any program and it would look like a seamless image). I’m not sure if I could see myself using all of the “wallpapers” in real life but it was a fun exercise.

Of course, just designing the patterns were not enough. I then played around with how I would design a room around each of them and made mood boards. For each of the mood boards,I pulled out three colors from the wallpapers and used that as inspiration for bedding, pillows and accessories. Each room has it’s own feeling and style. The rooms are wacky but I think that’s why I enjoy dreaming up kids rooms so much – there is so much room for whimsy and fun.

The flamingo room I imagined is designed for a little girl who loves pink and girly things. I always dreamed of having a canopy bed as a young girl and this one fits perfectly into the crowned flamingo room. The nightstand and dresser are light in color which allows the pinks and accent yellows in the design to shine.The pink ruched bedding, colorful sheets and whimsical pillows make this room feel like it’s for a princess.

The chameleon room is one of my favorites. I love the color green, especially the greens with more gray (like the rug or sheets used in this design). The room has a southwestern vibe. Both the bed and dresser have a rich wood tone that goes well with the greens and orange in the wallpaper. The night stand has a rustic appearance which goes well with the rustic metal table lamp. The orange quilt and green sheets continue with the color scheme and the throw pillows add new texture and interest to the room.

I struggled to design a room around the hedgehog wallpaper. I love the furniture and the bedding and I think the wallpaper print would have to be small scale to look good. Green and purple is a hard combination to put together. In this room, I found that letting one color take the lead, purple, and using the other, green, as an accent worked best. I think the beige/mushroom color of the hedgehog helps to really ground the space. Ultimately, I think that I brought it all together but there’s always room for improvement.

The last room is the camel room. This wallpaper is polarizing. My husband immediately stated he hated it and suggested I delete it. It’s quirky and I think that for the right kid it would be a lot of fun. The black Jenny Lind-like bed feels classic and goes well with the gray wood tones of the dresser and night stand. The room has multiple black accents (the lamp and furniture pulls) and the fun camel stuffed animal completes the look.

I had so much fun playing around with these crazy designs.