There’s good news about the Fall 2011 Trends. They are easy to incorporate into your existing decor and don’t have to cost the moon. Warm grey tones help to cool down all the golden taupe colours while trendy brights add new life to colorless spaces. Here’s a rundown of this season’s most important decor trends to bring home.
New Neutrals
You may have already heard that grey is on the A-list with decorators and designers as a new neutral colour. We’ve seen the popularity of grey in the fashion world for some time, so its a natural that it would make its way into the home. Adding grey to your existing colour scheme will help cool down the overall look of a room, that is what’s key this season for the neutrals. All versions of the colour grey (and all tones from light to dark) are trendy — I stay away from the steel-blue grey tones as they remind me too much of the greys that were popular in the 1980’s. The new grey is warmer, think flannel grey suiting, putty or smoke as ways to describe this new neutral. Its a grey tone that easy to live with and welcome as a long term friend.
Mix & Match
The overall look this fall is one of collection by mixing and matching styles together while using colour as a common denominator. A square Sixties-inspired side table beside a traditional sofa with a modern painting hanging above. Its all about getting a mix of styles to give a room personality.
When I find an interesting lamp, chair or table I want to buy it must have one criteria: “Does this look like it has history or story to it?” Another trend to consider is mixing textures. The slub of linen on a sofa, the plush of velvet on an ottoman or the smoothness of silk woven into a rug or on a pillow are great ways to shake up a room and appeal to both your sight and touch. A designer friend once gave me a great rule for mixing alternate styles to your favorite decor and she calls its the 70/30 rule. Seventy per cent of your furnishings and accessories should be of your favourite style and the remaining 30 per cent should be alternative or different.
Found Treasures
Mixing found-looking objects into a space is often the best way to shake up and add personality to a room. If your favourite style is modern, then adding a traditional rug, pillow, piece of art or a corner chair to help break up the modern feel and create an unexpected surprise. My favorite pieces would be hand-blown glassware, upholstered furniture that is button-tufted, anything with letters or numbers motifs, old subway signs and French linen laundry bags turned into pillows. No need to scour the flea markets for used examples, all of these looks can be seen in the trendy home decor stores for fall.
Pop of colour
For the past 10 years, popular decor colours have taken from the muted shades like wedgewood blue, sage green and cranberry. The perfect complement to all the new grey neutral tones are a few shocking ‘wake me up’ colours. My favorite one is citron yellow. Where ever you may have used green or gallery white, you can use yellow. The other favorite is Mulberry, a purple tone with a touch of pink and a splash of blue in it. Looks great with espresso brown wood furniture and deep grey painted walls. There’s a little rule of thumb when decorating with colour — when the room is primarily neutral, then add a spark of colour here and there to wake up the room. A colour like Citron will wake up a contemporary room while Mulberry helps sooth a traditional space and take away from the masculinity of grey. I like to add colour through pillows, area rugs, artwork, bedding and throws.
Want A Deal On All These Trends?
I am thrilled to have curated today’s collection of trend-inspired home products with HomeSav, the members-only online shopping club. If you like shopping online for home decor and love getting your purchases at great prices then you are going to love HomeSav. Check out my collection today which highlights the most important decor trends this fall. Each item in the collection was chosen by me and will be available to buy at up to 80 per cent off the regular retail price. The sales starts today.
