As the old saying goes, everything old is new again! The phrase is used for many things, but it is definitely true when it comes to interior design and home decor. Trends that were once banished from homes coast to coast are once again appearing in home decor magazines and in showrooms. When we see these blasts from the past appear back in homes today, it is only natural to be concerned that if you try them out in your home, that the result may look and feel dated. However, these trends are showing up with a fresh face and modern twist, and can even breathe new life into a older home when they are used with other popular redecorating ideas. In fact, some of these retro trends are so exciting you might not even realize they are throwbacks rooted in another era. Here are some of the top trends that have returned from the home decor grave for another life in homes everywhere.
Houseplants
You probably assume that houseplants are always popular, and you’re right that they have always been incorporated into the design elements of many rooms. However, houseplants are more popular now than they have been at any point since the 1970s. So while indoor greenery may not have fallen out of favor completely, adding live plants to rooms is definitely having a moment. The difference is in the sheer number of plants, and where all they are located throughout your home. A room with two or three plants spaced throughout has always been normal, but now people are devoting entire rooms to the indoor plant aesthetic. This looks works great in sunrooms, sitting rooms and even in kitchens. This is one trend to be very excited about – houseplants are both pretty to look at and have great health benefits when you fill your home with them. Just do your research before you head to the nursery, especially if you have pets. Some common houseplants can be toxic to dogs and cats, so make sure you are choosing a safe variety for all of the occupants of your home.
Brass
Brass accents were hugely popular in the 1990s, and they are now being again embraced by interior designers and amateur DIY’ers alike. After a couple of decades of a dip in popularity, you’ll now find brass being used on everything from faucets to light fixtures, and it is being used in every room in the house. The trend has been given an updated look, which a few changes from the brass that was so popular 30 years ago. The brass of today is less bright and polished, and is instead being seen more typically with a matte or satin finish. Styles can very, with both ultra-modern and more vintage designs featuring the new look of bronze.
Textured Ceilings
If you read that and immediately thought of the popcorn and swirly ceiling designs so popular in the 1980s, we promise that is not what we are talking about now! These days what we mean by a textured ceiling is simply allowing the ceiling to become the “fifth wall” in a given room, allowing you to unleash your creativity. This means that you can consider many different design elements to add texture to your ceiling, such as wood paneling, wallpaper, or paint of an unexpected color. What matters most is that you preserve the character of the home and only do what makes sense with the rest of your design scheme. In an older home this might mean exposed wooden beams, or in a modern home it could mean sky lights or alternating squares of brightly colored panels. Somewhat more unexpected than the other options, tin ceilings are also enjoying a revival at this time. The style adds a vintage touch to any room, and yet somehow also manages to feels totally modern when installed correctly and in the right room.
Wallpaper
It’s OK to admit it if just the thought of putting wallpaper up in your home makes you a little squeamish. We understand. Just a few short years ago, wallpaper was mostly just an uncomfortable reminder of large patters and bright colors, often with garish designs and seen only in homes that had not been renovated or redecorated since their 1980s heydays. However, this is not at all the case with wallpaper of today. Modern interpretations of the classic wallpaper trend are much more tasteful, with less in your face patterns and in colors with more delicate embellishments. There is now a greater emphasis on clean geometric shapes, or tasteful floral prints. These prints are apt to be used to create a single unique accent wall in a room, rather than appearing on every wall to an almost overpowering extend. You can use wallpaper to achieve a look in your house that could be done with paint, but would have taken much longer and would need to be done by someone with artist like precision and skill. Look at wallpaper as your helpful friend with all the shortcuts to beautiful, stand-out walls!
The Colorful Kitchen
Of course the all-white kitchen will likely never go out of style, with so many people valuing this clean and sterile look. However, more and more these days kitchens are starting to see a reintroduction of color. This doesn’t mean that the bold oranges and greens of the 1970s are making a comeback, so don’t expect to see such bright choices the next time you are shopping for a new refrigerator or range. Instead, colorful kitchen appliances and accessories are showing up in more neutral, mild hues to give your kitchen just the right amount of personality, while still remaining welcoming and warm. Colors aren’t just showing up for appliances though. You will also see pops of color on cabinets or as an accent wall. There are likely several places in your kitchen that you could experiment with the reintroduction of color without committing to a major overall such as painting the entire room or purchasing a new appliance package.
Wood Paneling
Today’s wood paneling looks very different from the dark, chunky panels that decorated living rooms and basements (and sometimes entire houses!) in decades past. Today’s panels are most often seen as slim, high-style shiplap slats. Yes, the very popularity of shiplap means that you have had wood paneling in your home for a few years now without realizing its kinship to the wood paneling of long ago. Today’s natural tongue and groove boards are also much easier to install, or to replace if you decide you are no longer a fan of the look. You can also paint these modern panels more easily to change up the look, with white being the most common color when painting the panels.
Woven Furniture
While many styles of furniture could be considered woven, what we mean specifically are various types of wicker, many of which look very different from the wicker furniture found in the 1960s and 1970s. Modern wicker furniture takes its inspiration from bohemian design and can add texture and patterns to an otherwise neutral living space. And we don’t just mean outdoors on your patio or porch, though wicker does continue to be a fantastic choice for those areas. Instead, bring the look indoors to your sunroom, living room or any common space. However, there’s no need to go overboard with this trend and purchase an all new room of furniture in wicker or rattan. A simple wicker chair or set of chairs added to a living room or sitting room that features other materials is a great way to incorporate the trend, though you can also keep it even simpler and use an oversized woven baskets to store blankets and pillows near the seating area.
Individual Rooms
Design experts have been predicting for years that the open concept living space will continue decreasing in popularity, and so far this appears to be correct. Families long valued the open concept house where most of the common rooms were open to each other, creating a natural flow and a feeling of togetherness for the whole family. Now the this is changing as we collectively are now placing more value in the concepts of compartmentalization and privacy. Open floor plans are noisy and they leave few places to go in your home to find privacy, other than a bedroom. The pandemic was a huge factor in this change, ushering in the need for separate spaces. A dedicated home office and another closed room for homework and/or home schooling are now sought after must haves when a buyer begins looking for a new home. How do you create these spaces in a house that was already built with an open floor plan? Thankfully, there are many solutions on the market in the form or decorative room dividers or and even temporary walls that can be installed to separate space. If you want a more permanent solution, many contractors are now well versed in the art of converting the open areas of open floor plan houses into individual rooms.