Staging Style Blog: trends

Showing posts with label trends. Show all posts

Friday, November 20, 2015

America's Top Model {Homes}

The new home arena has taken home design to a new level this year. Model homes used to be jam packed with heavy custom drapery, tons of knick-knacks and plenty of painted focal walls. Buyers today are taking design cues from social sites like Houzz and Pinterest and coming to the showing with big expectations. What are the trends for new construction? As professional merchandisers, we stay on high alert for new home trends in design. Based on buyer feedback, we take copious notes on short term vs. long term design trends. Regardless of budget, I like to look to America's most gorgeous model homes for the best examples of these trends. And with some creative due diligence, we can all take this major inspiration with us when creating our own fabulous home.

Here is one of my absolute favorite homes of 2015. In fact, it's in my top 10 favorite homes ever. From the amazing Utah Valley Parade of Homes, this home, built by McEwan Custom homes, was decorated by Alice Lane Home. This unbelievably gorgeous home shows off some of today's top trends in home design. Here's a look inside and out...

{via}

Black windows are a strong trend in new homes. Taking inspiration from steel windows, fiberglass and vinyl windows trimmed in black with untraditional mullions are a budget friendly alternative.

Custom stained wood floors are a popular request for today's buyer. There are plenty of alternatives to expensive custom flooring and the good news is, from dark stains to light, the trend is to make your own own style.

Mixed cabinet colors are a hot topic in kitchen design. Grey and white are a safe bet and if you're investing in a new kitchen, you should get on board with unlacquered brass finishes. If you're still not ready to commit to the brass vibe, make sure you design with the ability to switch your hardware later.

{shop this wallpaper}

Wallpaper has made a huge comeback and shows itself most in small bathrooms and unexpected places like the laundry or pantry. It's a great way to add personality to your space without creating a big removal project when it's time to make a change.

{shop hardware}

Unique hardware is coming on strong. This is great way to give big box cabinetry a custom look.

Free standing tubs are replacing the big jacuzzi tubs. Those big jacuzzis seemed like a great idea until you had to fill the tub. I love how the decorative screen in this bathroom creates a major wow factor.

Not ready to go all brass? Mix it up with a combination of gold, silver and black.

Don't forget the ceiling! As if this room wasn't fabulous enough, the wallpapered ceiling takes it to a new height!

Decorative framed mirrors are the way to go in every bathroom. From Homegoods to Horchow, the options are endless for a great mirror. I also love this example of simple staging in the bathroom,

I love how a simple striped towel can go a long way in styling a space.

{Shop this towel, and hook}

Built ins have never looked so good. I just love the white on white with book styling and pops of brass. Simply stunning.

All photos via Alice Lane Home Blog.

And last but not least, the most amazing backyard ever. That slide is the icing on the cake.

To see this home with details, visit the blog of Alice Lane Home. It is so impressive and chock-full of ideas for the home. They also have an amazing store where you can find the most stylish decor. Some truly talented people there.

Monday, October 20, 2014

Staging A Home With Current Trends

Selling your home can be a tricky process. When prepping your home through staging, the strategy is about updating your home to appeal to the widest audience.

But, how do you make your home look "on trend" without being so trendy that you only appeal to a small audience? How do you keep your home's decor "neutral" without being too dull?

Staying current in your home's decor without tipping the scale over to too trendy can be a tough balance. It's true that keeping it neutral is a good strategy for staging your home however, adding some memory points is the key to capturing a buyer. When we stage a home, we start with discovering who the likely buyer will be (we work with the Realtor), and answering some questions about the targeted buyer.

(Notice we don't ask about the Seller's preferences.)

What type of buyer is this? A first home, a trade up, an early nester, etc.
What type of lifestyle are they looking for?
Where do they shop? What shelter magazines do they read?

Why does this matter? This is the lifestyle we want to capture. Picture your home as a blank neutral canvas, and let's add in the elements of the BUYER's desired lifestyle.

We want to turn up the personal volume of the Buyer, turn down the volume of you, the Seller. The point of adding in some trends is for your buyer to recognize what they WANT.
They'll say things like:
"Oh! I just saw that in the new Pottery Barn catalog and I want it!
vs.
"Oh look, they have our old table."

So let's get to some ideas on how to keep it neutral while adding in a few subtle (new and hot) trends.

I get it, "You're still living in the house!" How do you live there and have kids and dogs and laundry and life, all the while worrying about keeping the house perfect for the new buyers?? I know. Keep in mind; selling your house is inconvenient. The goal in staging is to shorten the selling time, thus shortening the time you and your family are inconvenienced.

LESS TIME ON MARKET= LESS INCONVENIENCE FOR YOU

Utilize these staging tactics and stay positive!
Focus on your new house and don't take your staging personal.
You're onto the next chapter in your story. Enjoy it!

Shop the looks...

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Design Movement: Moroccan Elements

I love the energy and anticipation the end of the year brings. I realize we're just now welcoming the Fall however, as I look at my design boards and planning for 2014, I see a big movement happening. For the last 2 years, we've had a huge mid century modern influence, along with our life long love of all things chinoiserie. In the past few months, we have tried to move away from big box design and literally get out more. The inundation of seeing the same design on social media has me crazy. In doing this, I did a little social media "house cleaning" if you will. I call it, cleaning out the "stale mates". Otherwise known as, removing those no longer interesting "Liked" pages or follows, and really getting out of my bubble. Finding new influences and moving forward. This has been so inspiring!

This new movement has inspired a growing obsession with Moroccan elements in design. This global influence, colliding with our mid century vibe, is bringing such a new excitement to our hunger for something new. It's not that new really, and of course, the West Coast is way ahead of us on this one, but we're loving it and looking forward to more. The great thing about global influence is that so many of the products are sources from souks and markets, it's easy to find unique items that you won't see all over the internet. That's good stuff.

Here are the photos that are inspiring my design board lately: