Top trends for 2018
I have a love-hate relationship with trends. While I love to incorporate new looks both in my home, this business — and it is a business — of keeping up with the times gets exhausting, and expensive.
Fixtures in brass or nickel? Pillows fringed or knifeedged? Drapes puddled or tailored? Accessories rustic or modern? I’ve adopted every one of these trends, I’m embarrassed to tell you. Over the years, I have been foiled by the fashion fairy — that arbitrary arbiter of what’s hot and what’s not — more times than I’d care to admit. I now approach new trends with caution.
That’s because my cynical side resents feeling manipulated to buy new things, and views the changing world of design as a marketing ploy to make me want — and then buy — new looks. However, my more agreeable side concedes that the flow of fresh looks is simply the market’s answer to our insatiable appetite for novelty.
So here’s how I reconcile this conundrum. While I don’t adopt new trends very often, preferring to stick with classic, timeless decor, I like to look at what’s new. To stay in the know, I asked some leading interior design experts what will be popular in 2018, and came up with these eight top trends. Maybe a few of these will show up in my home or yours: of bluish green as the defining color. Behr chose In the Moment; Dunn-Edwards picked a similar shade called The Green Hour; and Sherwin-Williams chose Oceanside, a deep, opulent shade that the company’s director of color marketing called “the color of wanderlust.”
A VELVET EXPLOSION >>
“Design now is about celebrating everyday luxuries, and no fabric does that better than velvet,” says New York designer Elaine Griffin. It’s poised to take over the design stratosphere, she adds. It’s the “it” fiber for the new year, especially in jewel tones like sapphire, citrine, emerald, amethyst and pink garnet. Concerned that it’s too fragile? While pure cotton velvet can stain easily unless stain-guarded, new poly-blend velvets have a lush, luxe feel that is as childproof as it is elegant.
ANYTHING BUT STAINLESS >>
Consumers are experiencing “stainless fatigue,” says Beverly Hills designer Christopher Grubb. Sarah Fishburne, director of trend and design for The Home Depot, says, “We are paneling kitchen appliances, so they disappear and make the space look larger.” For kitchens, the biggest shift is away from stainless steel to black slate and black stainless appliances.
BLACKENED FLOORS >>
Black also has been growing in popularity in plumbing fixtures and furniture, adds Grubb. So it’s only natural for it to become on-trend in flooring. Though gray wood continues to be popular, Fishburne says, we can expect black and charcoals to emerge in floor tiles, as well.
ACCESSORIES COME ALIVE >>
Expect to see more houseplants, indoor herb gardens and even shower plants — that’s right, plants that live in your shower — this year, says Fishburne.
This movement will continue strong during 2018, predicts Fishburne. “We still have a desire for this simple,
COZY LIVING >>
quiet, disconnected lifestyle, where our home is our haven.”
On cabinets and floors, we’re moving away from white and gray into wood tones and finishes. Grubb says, “An overwhelming amount of our residential projects are using hardwood flooring right through the bedrooms, as wall-towall carpeting is being left behind.” Wider plank sizes remain the preferred choice. In finishes, medium-brown stains remain popular, but stains are going away. And we can expect to see more of an unfinished-oak look.
MORE WOOD >>
Furnishings made by humans, not machines, are getting attention. Consumers will “celebrate homegrown artisans and artistry from all over the world,” predicts interior designer Karen Wolf of South Orange, New Jersey. Think artisan light fixtures, hand-carved folk art and handwoven blankets.
MADE BY HAND >> Contact Jameson via www.marnijameson.com.