I love trying to duplicate other homeowners decorating successes in my own house. Unfortunately some don’t go over as well as others, but I haven’t let it deter me—yet. To feed my decorating appetite (and my obsession to “snoop” in other people’s homes) my friend and I recently bought tickets to our local builders association’s Parade of Homes Tour. (Click here to read what I considered was perhaps the most “exotic” home on the tour.) We’ve done this for a number of years and it rarely disappoints—this year was no exception.
The following are decorating trends–some are new, while others are tried-and-true favorites—which I saw during our tour of the fabulous, out-of-my-price range homes:
Granite Countertops. It’s still as popular as ever… and it’s everywhere. From the kitchen to the bathrooms–we even saw it installed in one of the model home’s basement wet bars. There’s no question, granite is still what people really want. Corian countertops are also highly sought after as well. The homes which featured tile countertops used larger ceramic sizes to minimize grout lines.
Decorative Backsplashes. I’m suddenly on a backsplash kick. After seeing what some homeowners are doing on tile backsplashes I am inspired to personalize my own. In fact, personalized decorative tile is very popular. You can add decorative accents, architectural shapes, raised surfaces—I didn’t see any I didn’t like.
Glass-Front Cabinets. I don’t have fancy china or exquisite antiques to show off, yet I was drawn to the versatility and beauty of these cabinets. If you invested in a good one I could see it easily becoming a family heirloom.
Stainless Steel Appliances. They’re very neutral and very clean looking. Stainless steel is also very versatile, which allows it to work with a lot of different design styles. I’m not sure if it would go over well in a country-style kitchen that featured a lot of wood, but clean lines and simplicity are always good. Also, I’m told stainless steel appliances age well.
Turquoise and Pink. This I had a hard time believing, but apparently, according to the building association spokesperson, this season, pink is one of the hottest shades in home decorating. Bubblegum, raspberry pink, cherry pink… all those pinks are big. The other popular shade is turquoise, especially in fabric and wallpaper design. (This is one idea I don’t think I will be applying to my own home.)
Round or Oval Tables. Practically every table we saw displayed in the eating areas of the models homes was either round or oval. We were told that they’re much more conducive for conversation and don’t take up as much space. We have always had a rectangle dining table, but I left the tour thinking, perhaps it was time to go round.
Hardwood Floors. I definitely saw more hardwood than tile. (I love hardwood, especially since we have allergies.) Hardwood has been popular for a number of years, but some of the new things they’re doing with hardwood is laying it in an octagon pattern and bordering it with deeper shade of wood to call attention to it, making it look like a wood area rug.
Coming up in future blogs: More decorating tips from our Parade of Homes Tour.