Hottest Home Décor Trends

All across the country, it certainly seems that summer is here, despite the fact that the official start date is still days away…and I (for one) am glad about it! Although I love spending time outside as much as the next person, with record spring highs in many parts of the country, I’m also going to look forward to spending some time inside and enjoying a bit of air conditioning. If you’re looking to spruce up those interiors for those lazy days of summer around the corner, there are definitely some major home décor trends to keep an eye out for! With two kids, four dogs, three different television series for HGTV, and four collections to design for HSN, it is so important that my house is durable and reflective of what is happening in the world of design.

Looking at what is touted and offered in the home décor marketplace, it certainly appears as if there’s a consensus among the top tastemakers and mass retailers that what your home needs right now is a healthy dose of bold color and a touch of graphic pattern. In fact, ever since Pantone announced Tangerine Tango as the 2012 color of the year (think orange with a hint of red), there has been an explosion of both in home décor merchandise seeking to freshen your spaces and replace the humdrum with an infusion of vitality. With all of that in mind, here is my list of the five big design trends that will effortlessly ease you into a stylish summer:

Bold Color: No longer relegated to just paint, bold colors have been dominating home décor all year long and are now giving rugs, furniture, and bedding a serious face lift. Be cautious about incorporating bold color through major pieces of upholstery if you’re someone who loves to hang on to things for a while. I’m definitely not going to want an orange colored sectional two years from now but I am in love with the concept of orange bedding, throw pillows, throws, drapery, and accessories. In particular, I love a warm orange that has just a hint of a brown undertone. That brown undertone makes it so easy to work with warmer tones of wood furniture and has a timeless quality that manages to feel in the moment and reflective of current trends. Bedding also happens to be a wonderful way to give any room an instant face-lift…so consider a warm orange next time you want to spruce up your space and give it some vitality!

Leafy and Organic Greens: You know that you should be eating your leafy and organic greens. Now, you should be sleeping with them too. Detailing featuring palm fronds, fern fronds, and just about any other kind of frond you can think of is on the rise because it helps connect your outside environment seamlessly with your inside one. Green is really considered a neutral by many interior designers these days and it so easily goes with anything. Outfit your bed with some new clothes to give your bedroom that resort, vacation-like feel even if you aren’t going anywhere this spring or summer. I love machine washable bedding for its ease and ability to fit into my lifestyle. It allows me to relax when the kids climb into bed for the occasional Saturday morning cartoon-fest with bowls of cereal in hand.

Versatile Garden Stools: I love anyone and anything that works hard for their keep and garden stools are among the hardest workers of all. Items that multi-task are a must in my home and garden stools do exactly that by acting as extra seating, a place to rest your drink, or a place to prop your feet. Gang them together for a smaller coffee table in a tight space or haul them outside during the warmer months. Look for non-corroding metal or ceramic garden stool that has been designed to be useable either indoors or outdoors and you’ll eliminate the need for coasters. When choosing a garden stool color, go for either a bold choice or the crisp, cooling pop of white. I love the splash of color a garden stool can provide…but I usually default to the visual cleanliness a white garden stool brings to any part of my house.

Graphic Detailing: Bold is back, and back in a bold way. Whether you’re looking at a herringbone patterned throw, a strong criss-cross patterned throw pillow, or a zig-zag rug, graphic patterns add both a sense of modernity and timelessness to any room in the house, while simultaneously injecting needed levity. Rooms can oftentimes feel too serious. Most people, after all, don’t want to feel like they live in a museum and simple, bold patterns can add that inviting warmth to a space.

Natural Mango Wood: Warm with a slight gray undertone, mango wood suggests beautiful, foreign beach just by looking at it. Lighter in color and less intense than wenge, walnut, or cherry, mango wood can be found in furniture, mirror frames, lamps, and in all sorts of home accessories. Look for products made with solid mango wood rather than veneer so that you’ll have the additional heft, substance, and durability of a solid wood product. The beauty of the natural mango wood color is that it works so beautifully with almost every other wood tone.

Remember that rising summer temperatures are on the horizon and as beautiful as it’s going to be outside, there are going to be plenty of times that you’ll want to come inside, enjoy some conditioned air; and lounge on your graphic pillows while placing your tall, cool drink on your ceramic garden stool, before retreating to an afternoon nap on your frond covered bed! Embrace some of these fun home décor trends of summer to help make everyday feel like a well-deserved vacation at home.