Time for a bonus post because I’ve been thinking a lot about timeless vs trendy style.
Timeless is when you can’t tell when a feature of your interiors was installed/bought/etc.
So here’s how to keep your house from looking too trendy (and how to save money (and the earth) by avoiding having to replace trendy finishes every 10 years):
You need to keep the hard installs/finishes (expensive things) timeless, simple, classic.
Everywhere else, you’ll be cycling through anyways because it gets wear and tear and is not as expensive to replace. That’s where to play with trends you like.
Let’s think about a timeless wardrobe …
Think about your basics …
Not a white T because that’s PLAIN and not a universal great basic for everyone.
For example, based on my summer color palette, and knowing that I look best in the jewel tone summer colors – I don’t look great in white. So my “plain white Ts” that serves as a basic in my closet are hazy purple, steel blue, cranberry, and teal.
These are my basics that will last me, I can easily build outfits around, and I’ll look and feel amazing in.
To picture this even further, when you take inventory of your closet, and if you notice that you have a lot clothes from a specific trend or era – is it because of the colors of the clothes or more so the style? Of course, the answer can be BOTH because there are color trends in fashion (think earthy 70s boho vs bright 80s disco vs dark 90s grunge), but I would confidently say style has the bigger impact.
One tip to avoid fleeting trends in interiors:
Focus on style!!!
Yes colors go in and out of style and will trend, but ultimately, whatever colors you like, are the colors you like. If your favorite color has been blue since you were little, then most likely you’ll enjoy blue in your interiors.
Maybe it’s not the royal blue you used in all your arts and crafts as a kid, or the neon blue you painted your room as a teen, or all the baby blue back to school supplies you chose.
But it could be a more complex blue that evokes good feelings in your space, like:
- Beautiful steely blue kitchen cabinets as a beautiful backdrop when hosting your loved ones
- A deep navy couch in the living room that invites you and your guests to stay for hours
- Calm blue bedding to give you a hug at the end of the day
- An invigorating electric blue accent to welcome you home in the entry
Tangent aside, focus on style when thinking about trends (whether you want to lean into them for the short-term or you want to avoid them for the long-term).
If there’s a trendy color you really like and would like to introduce it to your space to test how it might look with your existing home, use flowers or pillows or something similarly small/inexpensive to test it out.