Latest Trends in Interior Design - Eco Chic

Today's homes are all about simplicity and functionality combined with sophistication and style. Folks want a casual lifestyle, but they are demanding some cushy comforts and upscale amenities to go along with it. Take a look at what designers are saying about the current trend in home decor.

Countertops

Laminate and tile countertops are out. Granite and Silestone are in. Concrete, the third choice, is gaining in popularity because it can be stained to match any decor, stamped with a three-dimensional design, and is as durable as stone. While granite and silestone are comparable in price, concrete is usually a less expensive alternative and provides a contemporary and luxurious ambience.

Outdoor Living Space

The interior family room has now expanded to the outside. Outdoor kitchens, covered patios, lanai's, fireplaces, and fire pits are the high-ticket design items in the current homebuilder’s market.

Flooring

Concrete floors is the choice for homes that have an outdoor living space, allowing the continuity of design, texture and color to flow seamlessly from indoors to outdoors.

Wood flooring continues to be popular for traditional homes that don’t have the outdoor space; however, in place of the common woods like oak and cherry, bamboo and cork are the choices. Environmentalists love bamboo and cork because of fast regeneration - about three years compared to thirty years for the oak and cherry.

Metal Surfaces

Stainless steel, the sleek sophisticate of the last few years, is on its way out. Bronze and copper are becoming the metals of choice. Shiny chrome is replacing brushed nickel as the accent metal on faucets and fixtures as well as showing up in places like wall plaques and accessories.

Kitchen appliances are being incorporated into furniture design and cabinetry, eliminating the look of the standard refrigerators, dishwashers and stoves. Laundry room appliances are expanding to new bold colors like teal and even red.

Walls

Wall coverings are back in style, but not the typical wallpapers of yesterday. Wall murals have become the hot home fashion, particularly custom-made or hand painted ones - especially trendy for children's rooms.

Mirrors have made a huge comeback. Long used by designers to create the illusion of space and light, beveled tiles and large framed mirrors are showing up as accents to compliment smooth contemporary styles.

Color Trends

The color palette continues to vary; however, the jewel tones are being used mostly to accent a color scheme. Browns, taupes, and grays continue to be the staple or background colors, but muted shades of the jewel tones are popular wall colors for dining and formal rooms.

Design Styles

Due to the current emphasis on global environment, Feng Shui, (pronounced fung shway), has become trendy in both design and functionality. Feng Shui's main concern is the relationship between man and nature and many people are hiring expert Feng Shui masters to design their living and work space.

Yesterday's buzzword in design was shabby-chic. That phrase has morphed into the newer, contemporary buzzword, eco-chic, commonly defined as ‘modern design with a conscience'.

Eco-chic is all about recycling, reusing, and reducing. The recent inclination toward environmental consciousness has led many designers and manufacturers to produce products that compliment and preserve the global environment.

Anticipating the major shift toward environmental concerns, architects and builders are designing more energy efficient homes and using chemical-free building supplies. In an effort to create a safer breathing environment, both cotton and cellulose, which consist of up to 80% recycled newsprint, are replacing fiberglass insulation. These eco-chic builders are marketing their designs as the home of the future and on a demographic level, are targeting the upper middle class population.

Today, it's all about individuality. Whatever your taste in decor, you have many eco-chic choices to keep you right on the cutting edge of trendsetting in home design.

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