Current trends are a designer’s bread and butter as well as their biggest nemesis. Good design strives to be cutting edge but also classic, relevant without dating itself, and timeless while remaining fresh.
Home design is closely tied to fashion, with trends that flex, flow, and change across the seasons and the years. These days, with everyone spending more time at home, the trends for both fashion and home design are leaning towards comfort and function. Although home design trends are not as straightforward as “professional loungewear,” our clients do have similar priorities for their homes – to live better and more comfortably in their spaces.
The beauty of people spending more time in their homes with less visitors, is that they are becoming more focused on what speaks to them personally and works for their lifestyle rather than how it looks to the rest of the world, so there is less pressure now than ever to fit in with what’s trending.
We have always been driven to help you create spaces that fit your life, your preferences, and needs. This year, we’re taking it a step further by declaring 2021 the year of the anti-trend. Making your home your own is now more personal than ever. It is time to declare your freedom from the boundaries of the hottest finishes and fixtures, paint colors, or home technology. Instead, this year is all about designing and building a home that you love that helps you live well.
LIFESTYLE TRENDS IN PLACE OF STYLE TRENDS
2020 rapidly took the emerging ability of living and working at home to a new level and showed employers and workers alike that it is possible to be accountable and productive without the commute. Building multiple purposes into a single space became exponentially more important with more of us spending nearly all our waking hours at home and requiring space for work, play, and privacy.
In 2021, that need continues and so we move further away from open concept and toward open flow so that you can close doors when you need to but still maintain spaces for entertainment and gathering when we are able to open our homes again.
Helping homeowners redesign their houses to live better looks a little different for each client. Some are outfitting specialty rooms with one important purpose like home gyms, crafting rooms and gardening rooms as they make space for their hobbies inside the home. Others are asking for more dual purpose spaces with custom built-ins and cabinetry so that each space can serve many needs.
Finally, the push to use lower maintenance materials that are durable but still look high-end reflects people’s desire for a home they love that also stands up to increased 24/7 traffic and reduces ongoing maintenance. When things open up again, these homeowners will be glad not to be stuck at home on the weekends doing home maintenance chores!
BALANCING YOUR WANTS WITH GOOD DESIGN
We see clients wrestle to balance their personal style with current trends as well as principles of good design. That can be a tricky equilibrium to achieve, but an experienced design team can help you find a solution that bridges the three so you have a beautiful space that fits your needs without compromising relevance or essential design principles.
The good news is that in the year of the anti-trend, almost anything goes! Do you love shiny brass faucets? Perfect! How about matte black instead? Also perfect! But wait, can you have both? Mix away! The important thing to remember is that while you don’t need to follow a cookie cutter trend and match everything in the house, you do want to make sure the elements throughout your home are in concert with one another other. Rather than walking from your Colonial living room through your English Country dining room and into your Modern Farmhouse kitchen like you live in a Dream Home theme park, a good designer will help you avoid a cacophony of discordant styles by creating spaces that draw from each of those influences and still complement each other in order to maintain flow throughout your entire home.
A TRUSTED DESIGN PARTNERSHIP
Although we are designing and building a dream home for you, you still want your house to have some level of universal appeal so that your friends (and the market, should you ever decide to sell) will appreciate your beautiful home. We love working with you to ensure that the home you want and the home you need long term are one and the same, while keeping it globally appealing so the rest of the world loves it as much as you do!
The reality is that nearly every “trend” will date itself after 15-20 years and so we are very excited that the home design trend of 2021 is to simply create a home that you love to live in right now. A trusted design partnership is crucial for staying true to yourself and setting your home up for success. Empowering you to find something you love that will also protect your investment for years to come is our design calling, and we would love to do that for you, so just give us a call!
Alair Homes Hunt Country is Northern Virginia’s premier custom home builder. From vision to concept to plan to construction, we take custom home building to a new level. Thoughtful planning. Intelligent design. Personal touch. That’s the Alair Homes Hunt Country difference. Contact us to begin making your dream home a reality.