How to Cope with Trends...

Lately, I've (Kari) been having a lot of discussions about trends with friends and clients. We live in a word of accessibility now, and anyone can jump online and read a blog or a website that deals with design. This is a good thing---the design world is no longer an exclusive club that only the elite can access. Rather, the design world is now a free-flowing forum of ideas and anyone can participate. This makes design trends easy to spot and, because of all the great info out there on DIY and resources and such, it's easier than ever to follow trends. That leads us to our topic today...I keep being asked the same question, "I like this now, but I think it's a trend. What happens when I get sick of it?" If this is how you look at design, you're gonna be in a constant state of conundrum. A better way to approach design is by asking "What do I love apart from what all the design info out there tells me to love?" Here are some steps to create lasting spaces:

via Canadian House & Home

1. Unless your decorating budget is limitless, choose neutrals for your large pieces of furniture. Things like paint and pillows are easy to change, but big pieces of furniture are usually investments and even a new upholstery job is pricey. If you have furniture in neutral tones (whether it be white, gray, taupe...whatever...), you can easily change your mind about your accent colors, patterns, etc. Having custom pillow covers sewn to cover old throw pillows costs a lot less than having to reupholster your zebra-print sofa once you figure out you are tired of animal print. :)

Via Feng Shui Style

2. For high-dollar items, make sure you love, love, love it. If you started liking something just because everyone else likes it, too, are you still going to love it when those other folks move on? Let's take the Chinese Chippendale Chair trend, for example. I personally have always loved these chairs and have been searching for originals for quite some time. To me, they are classics, period. However, they are popular in blogland and in the design world right now, so lots of people have jumped on the Chinese Chippendale Chair bandwagon, just because it's the "now" thing to do. I spoke to someone the other day who dropped $500 on one of these chairs and now, she thinks she's "over" the whole Chinese Chippendale thing. This is a person who followed a trend with the rest of the crowd instead of buying something she personally loves. If you can afford this, great. If you can't, try thinking for yourself. Really ask, "Do I love it or am I following the pack?" Don't spend $1,000 on an ikat rug if you aren't going to love it in six months (instead, consider the ikat FLOR tiles...). I love ikat, too, but I promise that it will be so "over" in DesignLand in another couple years. It's just how things go. If you love it for you, invest. If you love the trend, bargain hunt.

Via Abbey Goes Design Scouting

3. Aiming for a "perfect" room is snore-worthy. When I go into a house void of any personal effects, it's boring, boring, boring. You live there so you should have things that you love and that reflect you, you, you. That means mementos, personal photos, or pieces of furniture that have a history or a personal tale behind them. Ask "how does this room reflect me?" Your goal should not be to create a room that looks like it belongs in a design showroom; your goal should be to create a room that reflects you.

4. Learn who you are design-wise. A few months ago, I took a friend along with me to the Pacific Design Center. I had a few things to look at there, and she really wanted to come along. On the way to PDC, I asked her how she would describe her personal design style. She said she was contemporary when it came to interiors. As we walked through the design center, though, I noticed that every time she got excited about something (a mirror, a bed, bedding, a lamp, a sofa) it was anything but contemporary. As a matter of fact, it became evident that my friend is Marie Antionette reincarnated when it comes to design preferences! She loves the frilly, the romantic, the ornate---nothing that would be labeled "contemporary style." This is why most decorators/designers will ask clients to collect photos from magazines and such that show spaces that they like. Oftentimes, the label that a person gives to their personal style is a bit misleading. Before you start a personal decorating project, spend some time looking at pictures of spaces and understand the overall look that fits you. This will make life much easier in selecting pieces for your space---that way, you won't be duped into purchasing a lamp that just doesn't fit your aesthetic.

5. Don't be afraid of "trends," but understand that they are fleeting. I'll admit, I kinda hate the word "trend." It seems to denote a flighty way of doing design. I would like to claim that every aesthetic I like is timeless, but I have to be honest: some things are "in" and some things are "out." That's okay, because it's those so-called "trends" that keep interiors fresh and interesting at times, but most of us need to be able to make budget-friendly changes as what's "en vogue" invariably changes over time. Did any of you grow up with an avocado-hued appliance in your home? Yep, thought so. Our moms were all over their "designer" avocado-colored washers, dryers, and fridges, weren't they? That was a trend, folks. Nothing wrong with that, but no one is gonna call an avocado-colored fridge "timeless." It's okay to fall for a trend and to know in your heart that you will be "so over it" in a year, but make sure that your budget and your fickle design sense match up. Don't blow the budget on stuff you know you like because it's popular---give those "in today, out tomorrow" items a little less of your pocketbook and then, when you want to get rid of that Chinese Chippendale Chair, you'll shed a few less tears. :) (By the way, if you are getting rid of a Chinese Chippendale Chair, I will totally take it off your hands :)

These are a few tips I use when helping a friend or client divvy up their decorating budget---what do each of you do when trying to reconcile a decorating budget with "trends" vs. classic pieces? Are you smitten with trends? Do you know yourself well enough to only buy things you'll love forever? How do you spend your decorating budget on these things?