Top Ten Timeless Touches for Your Home
Published: December 11th, 2017
At this time of year, we are inundated with tips on the latest trends in interior design. Just about every major design magazine is telling us “what’s hot and what’s not,” creating that sinking feeling that, without a major interior design overhaul in 2018, we are doomed. Most of us, of course, live in our homes for years and long for a place that is both fresh and familiar, stylish yet personal. How do we achieve this balance quickly and with ease? Here are my top ten touches to make a room feel timeless and transcendant without requiring a major re-do!
1. Fresh flowers are never out of fashion. Who doesn’t love the effects of a seasonal arrangement, infusing a home with scent and color, form and focus? Flowers renew the spirit and elevate mood.
2. Candles put a home and its inhabitants in a flattering light. I adore the range of choices available now in scale, form, color, and scent. Candles add warmth, sparkle, and a touch of romance to any space. Cluster larger ones on a fireplace mantle or scatter small votives throughout the home. Regardless of the arrangement, everything looks and feels slightly more eternal.
3. Dimmers make light manageable and malleable by allowing us to adjust intensity and brightness to reflect our mood. Brighten it up on a gray, rainy day; dial it down for a romantic evening. Light, like music, should strike just the right chord for the occasion.
4. Throw pillows, patterned or richly-colored, can dial up the contrast, making a room pop with personality. Change them with the seasons, but let them tell your story.
5. A gallery of family photos takes “telling your story” to the next level. Create a wall of memories stretching back generations, turn a long hallway into a walk down memory lane or finish a bookshelf with photos of loved ones. Regardless of how you define family, family photos are never out of style.
6. “Travel art” is a beautiful means for telling your story. Most of my clients love to travel, so artwork gathered along the way evokes the memory of finding that perfect piece in a foreign setting and discovering a deeper part of yourself. When they’re thoughtfully displayed, you’ll encounter that memory and reexperience the joy. And if you love to indulge your own photographic eye, go ahead and display the images you captured abroad of exotic wildlife, gorgeous vistas, colorful streetscapes, or ideal moments in a town square. These become timeless reminders of excitement and wonder.
The design magazines, blogs and websites are always promoting the hot new color, but some colors truly are timeless. Here are three we need to have somewhere in our home.
7. Red, especially as an accent, evokes love, warmth, energy and romance. In small doses, (a Chinese vase, an accent color, roses), red can be vivid, rich and vibrant.
8. Black, the absence of color, adds depth to a space. As a foundational accent, black grounds the room and makes everything else come alive.
9. Silver adds a wondrous reflectivity to a room. Whether it’s a picture frame or a pair of candlesticks, a sleek, modern mirror or the base of a table, silver adds gleam and sparkle.
10. Texture adds the tactile dimension necessary for all great design. Think contrast: stainless steel and rough-hewn wood, chenille sofa and silk pillows. The look tantalizes; the feel becomes a feast.
All of these will add a timeless lift to your home that transcends the tastes of the moment. Fashion may be passing; great design endures.