It’s January so of course every design magazine, website, and furnishings retailer are touting the new design trends for 2018. I wrote about this last year, how to NOT get caught up in trends and stick with what you love. But let’s face it, it’s fun to see what is going on in the world of design whether you implement any of these or not.
The design trends for 2018 depend on who you ask or where you get your info but a couple of them wind up on multiple lists: Bold colors replacing whites, grays, and taupe on walls, quartz countertops replacing granite as a countertop choice, and natural, sustainable materials are just a few.
A couple of my favorites are:
- A move away from subway tile to larger format tiles
- Black fixtures
- Mixing metals
- Lighter textured wood floors
The four above came from a list on Realtor.com; and, to be honest, I got a little excited when I read them.
First off, I am tired of subway tile. There, I said it and boy, do I feel good! For me it has always been a boring choice and a little too safe. Why waste the chance to infuse some character into a kitchen by installing little rectangular white tiles?
And then there are black fixtures. I usually steer clear of what could be considered a “fad” but the idea of using black to compliment chrome or, better yet, brass fixtures is pretty cool. I’ll admit it is hard for me to mix metals in a room, it just doesn’t sit well with me to have a chrome faucet with a brushed nickel light fixture. It just doesn’t look pulled together, but using black with any metal brings contrast and intent to a mixed metal scheme.
Lastly, lighter floors have been a long time coming! For far too long dark wood floors have dominated interiors. We finally let the light come up from the floor, just in time for the bold colors on the walls……see how that worked.
Here are a few pictures of these trends because, hey, everyone loves pictures!
Large format tiles as well as a couple fun colors for backsplash:
Black fixtures, albeit with subway tile in one pic:
Light floor and color-saturated wall:
Quartz countertop:
And my favorite, saturated walls with light-toned wood floor and mixed metals, just beautiful!
As I stated last year, it’s great to see and read about the new year’s trends but there is no need to adopt every one of them. Follow your heart, if you see one you love, make the change; but, ultimately, trends are just a few people getting together and deciding where the design world is moving. You don’t have to follow them down that path.
