Natural Colored Wood Floors Are In; Cool White Kitchens Are Out
When it comes to wood floors, it seems that dark colors and rustic styles are on the way out, and light colored, natural-looking styles with clean lines are in. At least, that’s one of the design trends we have noticed with many of our customers. They are choosing wood floors with more grey undertones, rather than red or yellow, and floors with matte finishes, rather glossy, our designers say. Both trends serve a useful purpose — they show less dirt and flaws, and who doesn’t want that?
If the start of the new year has you thinking about design trends happening in home renovation, we have some details to share, style trends that our design team has been noticing lately.
Warm Up in the Kitchen
Painted cabinets in warm, neutral colors like grays, taupes and even various shades of blue are becoming more popular, replacing the cool stark white look that has dominated interiors for more than a decade. Those homeowners who do select white cabinets are choosing warmer tones, like creams. One thing that hasn’t changed is having the island be a different color than the rest of the cabinets. For countertops, quartz continues to be the most popular choice among our customers. It offers a calmer, softer look than stones like granite, which can be busy.
Make a Splash
Backsplashes in the kitchen or bathroom serve a functional purpose — to protect the wall and make it easier to clean. But today’s backsplash styles can do much more. They can make a statement, either in the design, pattern, color choice or size of the area being covered (some people are opting to cover an entire wall in the bathroom). We carry a new line of backsplash tiles from designer Laurie Smith, of “Trading Spaces” fame, that can create a variety of looks depending on the grout color you select. And just like the trend in wood floors, many of the tile choices have a matte finish, rather than glossy.
Create a Feature Wall
Just like some people are covering an entire wall in the bathroom with tile to create a feature wall, they also are creating feature walls in other rooms using wood flooring. “Putting wood on the walls is big right now,” one designer remarked, “but really you could use any kind of flooring on the wall to create the look you want.”
Go for the Bronze
Sherwin Williams’ Urbane Bronze has been popular among our customers.
We don’t have any official survey results or predictions for a 2021 Color of the Year, but we have noticed that the No. 1 paint color among our customers is Urbane Bronze by Sherwin Williams. It’s a dark grey color with a deep brown/bronze undertone, which in some applications or spaces can appear to be black, but it’s a warm tone overall, which goes along with the trend mentioned earlier. And people aren’t just painting it on their walls, our designers say. They are using it on cabinets and accent pieces too.
Where do you stand on these trends? Do you like these new directions or do the previous looks bring you more joy? Because that’s all that really matters — if the styles in your home make you feel comfortable and happy. If they don’t and you’re ready for a change, stop by our design studio to see what’s new.