Welcome to Change of Space!: Fall into the Trends of 2014!

We’ve seen tons of new interior design trends in 2014 already, but with each season comes changes; so how do we make these trends work for us this fall season? You will find that the color palette changes from bold and bright to deep and muted while the textures go from light and airy to heavy and soft. Yes, some of these basic principles of design are guaranteed to change according to the time of year. However, trends such as big patterns can easily be tweaked to fit into each seasonal motif.

One of the hottest trends of the year was merging the outdoors and indoors together. Of course, nature has always been a huge component of interior design, however having light fixtures completely comprised of sticks or stones has been a new trend we can all get behind! Think about the things you see outdoors in the fall and winter and try to make your home consistent – as if your space is just an extension of your outdoor view. Right about now we’re not seeing lush trees and greenery, so it doesn’t really make sense to have floral centerpieces made of summer flowers. Try making your own twig centerpieces – they come in so many different sizes and colors. Better yet, go for a nature walk and pick up fallen twigs along the way – not only is it natural, it’s free!

Ethnic prints are another favorite trend of mine from this year – we found them in pillows, curtains, rugs and even upholstery. There is nothing quite like adding a bold pattern into an area to spice things up and add a bit of personality to the space. This past spring and summer you may have seen a lot of Moroccan or lattice like patterns; these worked great for those seasons since these styles tend to incorporate bright colors. While bright yellow or turquoise may have worked out great in the warmer months, this fall we’re ready to get down with the mustards and burnt oranges of color world; what better way to welcome this color scheme and keep with our ethnic print trend than a Navaho or tribal print? While checking out these patterns, be sure to notice all the great natural fibers like wool that they are usually associated with.

Another popular trend, and one that I expect to see a lot more of in the year of 2015 is brass – it’s coming back and in a BIG way; antiqued brass done in the right way can look extremely luxurious. I love to use the light feel of silver and brushed nickel tones in the spring and summer, but as fall and winter come back around I can’t help but to pull in the warm tones from copper and brass (winter is my favorite time to mix all of the metal tones). Adding in some warm toned decorative pieces, lamp bases or artwork is a great way to bring vintage warmth into your space.

2014 has been a good year for me; everything that I have been in love with for years has really started to gain popularity and this does include animal hides. Once again, we’ve found this trend in rugs, artwork and even furniture. In the warmer seasons, we saw a lot of zebra and snow leopard…why? Well, with the bright colors of the spring and summer, it’s easy to pair a black and white print with just about anything. In the cooler season of fall, we tone down our color scheme and therefore are able to use textiles like cow hide, or some other more natural looking faux furs. With this trend, it’s important to remember that a little bit goes a long way and mixing these fabrics with metal studs always seem to go together.

There were so many new trends this past year, this blog post could go on forever; I’ve decided to focus on my favorite top five and that brings me to my last trend – light woods. Dark woods were huge in the past five years or so and don’t get me wrong, I still love them, especially for floors. The newer trend is the honey toned woods and yes that means your oak and cherry are back in style! Something that has been gaining more and more popularity is having that unfinished look to your woods, really showing off that natural grain. Who knew that all you had to do was sand down your wood a little bit and you’d have a high end look that companies like Restoration Hardware charge a lot for! In the fall, a design feature that I notice a lot is wood and the many varieties that we see out in nature. So, if you have a lot of dark wood, try adding one of these unfinished lighter wood pieces to your space and vice versa; if you already have the light woods, add a darker piece for some variety and depth.