Lately I’ve had a few clients say to me, “I’m not a trend follower” or “Is that trendy, I want timeless”! So it started to make me wonder if trend is a dirty word.
Trends usually last about 10 years. The brown trend in the design world started in 2002 (in my industry anyway, you might say something different) before that, everyone wanted a gray/moss green sofa. Then it went from moss green to chocolate brown. Now (2010) everyone wants a gray or white sofa (okay not everyone, just many of the clients I’m seeing these days).
‘Wait’, you say, ‘we technically have 2 more years before the brown trend is over’, and you’re right. It takes time for mom’s in the suburbs or smaller towns who are so busy raising their small children (like my two sisters in Abbotsford) to notice if they even have their make-up on!! Really. I don’t have children but when I’m around my 2 sisters and my 3 nephews starting in age from 5 months to 4 1/2 years old, I have great respect for mom’s, it’s the hardest job there is!
My point is, the further I go out from the core of the city for consultations, the more questions I get that have been accumulated by moms (and dad’s too) who care about how their house looks but really haven’t had the time to analyze exactly what they should do (let alone which colours are in, unless they notice while shopping at Costco), they are so thrilled when I arrive (and don’t judge--of course—remember my colour and condoms post) and give them a plan for decorating and painting their home :)
So here’s the thing about trends. It doesn’t matter what style your house is or what era it’s in. After you’ve been looking at anything for 10 years you want something new! It’s just the way human beings are wired. People with large amounts of disposable income re-decorate every 5 years, so of course by year 10, we are ready for something new.
The best advice I can give on choosing colours is this; if you loved brown before it arrived in a parsons chair in every restaurant in town, then go for it! If you only decided you liked it because you’ve seen it everywhere, that’s when you might think twice about installing an espresso brown kitchen, for example.
Personally I think the most timeless rooms are the ones that you decorate in your favourite colours. Tobi Fairley, a designer (who has one of her projects on House Beautiful’s cover this month) in an interview with the lovely bloggers at The Skirted Roundtable noted that the clients who decorated with beige got tired of their space quicker than the ones who trust her advice and installed a red sofa instead (for example, like I did for one of my clients in this interior).
Perhaps surrounding ourselves with colours we love creates atmosphere faster than beige (maybe). Regardless, if you love beige than you should have it in your house. But since the colour trend is going towards happy, you may want some of that somewhere in the months to come!
When you re-decorate this year or in the future? What colour sofa will you buy?
If you would like your home to fill you with happiness every time you walk in, contact me for on-line or in-person decorating and colour.
Related posts:
Atmosphere; The one Thing you Cannot Buy
5 Steps to a Kitchen you will Love! (painted or wood stained cabinet?)
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