Good ol’ New Year’s forecasts are about as regular as crocuses in spring.
But the content of those forecasts — especially when it comes to home design — is far more subjective than knowing when to pluck a summer peach or rake the autumn leaves. That’s doubly true for Coloradans and our outdoors-loving, dog-hugging, Western outlook.
Here are some of the top local home trends as outlined by a handful of Denver design professionals. If there is a common theme: We are updating our homes with efficiency, sustainability and longevity in mind.
Color: Go bold, or go classic
The layered neutrals dressed up with subtle metallics popular in recent years have given way to classic palettes punctuated by pops of radical color.
“We’re mixing drab colors with really bright colors,” says architectural designer Heather Mourer of Denver’s Studiotrope Design Collective. “It’s almost like anything goes.”
That means it’s kosher to paint a honeysuckle pink wall in your sleek, contemporary kitchen, or slip a big, burnt-orange chair into your beige family room. And by all means, add a bold, updated floral print to your mod pod.
One hot way to give those rooms a shot of fresh style, color or even texture: wallpaper.
“It’s made a great comeback (in) awesome colors and patterns,” says Gwen Smith-Ehrlich of Denver’s G. Marie Interiors. In a large room, she says, paper an accent wall to prevent any pattern from overwhelming the senses. But in a smaller space like a powder room, have at it with bright, graphic, statement-making wallpaper.
“The results are just beautiful,” Ehrlich says. “It really adds that extra dimension to a room.”
Home is where you are
Styles have fused. No one listens to just one type of music anymore. Street fashion now spotlights 1960s hem lengths with 1980s heels.
At home, that means to go ahead and mix brands, styles and eras. Consider this your decorating declaration of independence.
“People really are thinking for themselves now and not thinking as much about resale,” says Mourer with Studiotrope Design Collective.
Linda Watson of Denver’s Watson Limited Planning and Design recently experienced this when a vibrant, 70-year-old professional woman enlisted her to give her master bathroom subtle, stylish aging-in-place upgrades — like contemporary task lighting and an expandable faucet over a basin built into a customized, painted Asian cabinet.
Fabrics expert Dick Gentry dubs this the sophisticated evolution of thrift-store chic.
“I am seeing a mix of hard and soft, matte and shiny,” says Gentry, who owns Wesco Fabrics, which has two local showrooms including one at the Denver Design District. “You may have a traditional chair covered in a paisley with polished petrified-wood tables. The signature is one-of-kind, handmade or artisan. Imperfections are OK, even desired.”
Careful planning, smart choices
No one relishes the fallout of unchecked consumerism and resource depletion. Lin Lee, past president of Colorado’s chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers, says that means renovation dollars now go toward savvy space planning, both indoors and out.
Inside, homeowners want to weigh their eco-smart options and want upgrades that work. Gone is the cluttered desk tucked into the kitchen. Instead, an unused home gym or guest room becomes a practical home office.
Outside, people want to know what plants are in their landscapes and increasingly want those landscapes to be as functional as they are fetching.
For many, that means growing our own food, or buying locally produced food as much as possible. “Green” now goes beyond reducing, reusing and recycling. It touches on a mind-set that’s about regenerating our lives and our homes in a fresh, healthful manner.
“We are thinking more about our food,” Lee says of this trend, “and cooking more in our houses.”
Elana Ashanti Jefferson: 303-954-1957 or ejefferson@denverpost.com
