So you want to get out of your design rut, but don’t want to leave your comfort zone: Look to this year’s HOMEARAMA® luxury home show, held in July at the Rivercrest community in Hamilton Township. These five trends, spotted in the five homes, may be just the nudge you need to do something slightly unexpected.
Navy
Get ready to join the navy. Design resources like Elle Decor predicted navy blue would rise this year, and for good reason.
This congenial color complements nearly any style.
In Wieland Builders’ Chatham Cottage, classic navy and white pair in bold geometric prints to infuse the great room, office, porch and master bedroom with a transitional “Hamptons” style.
Navy also finds a home in the inviting sectional on the cathedral-ceilinged porch of the Royal Birkdale by Justin Doyle Homes.
Tile in the master shower of Eagle Ridge, by Hensley Custom Building Group, also calls to mind a seaside feel while demonstrating how the depth of the color can emphasize other tones and materials. The iridescence plays with the light, revealing an ocean of colors, while also playing off the master suite’s mercury glass accents.
Lest we forget how navy can make any room feel royal, there’s the parlor-style den in the Ellianna by High Pointe Custom Homes. Semi-glossy paneled walls add a stately counternote to the opulent gold accents, crystal lighting and playful leopard-print pillows.
Lucite
As home design often follows in fashion’s well-heeled footsteps, Lucite accessories clearly are a trend that wears well in a variety of styles
Lucite drapery rods heighten the airiness of Chatham Cottage’s great room.
Lucite legs balance the traditional tufting and nailhead trim of a bedroom bench in Eagle Ridge.
Imposters
Tile masquerading as hardwood flooring is now a commonplace way to enjoy a whitewashed, weathered or wide-plank finish in any room, and appears in nearly all of this year’s homes.
Our favorite example? The two-toned shower walls in the master bath of the Royal Birkdale.
Ever the chameleon, tile also can take on the look of carpet squares, as in a lower-level shower at Eagle Ridge, or imitate bricks as it does in the Royal Birkdale.
But other materials are getting into the look-alike game as well. Bedrooms in the Camden show how wallpaper can mimic wood flooring that might’ve been plucked from an old farmhouse, with all the expected imperfections.
Today, even paint can venture outside its borders, as a faux-finish in the Royal Birkdale illustrates. Uniting the home’s modern and classic influences, the stairwell artistry resembles chevron-patterned flooring and picks up on another timely trend: black.
For example, have you met “greige?” More unexpected than beige and warmer than gray, it was on display in the kitchen cabinetry and fireplace tilework at Eagle Ridge. The tone is appealing because it can bring a transitional touch to traditional color schemes or serve as a grounding element for more contemporary fare.
When gray is tinged with blue, however, it can give off a modern-yet-rustic aura—as seen in the island cabinetry, countertop and upholstered seating at the Royal Birkdale.
And a soft gray quietly covers the walls of the Ellianna’s dining room.
For yet another way to go gray, we look to the Camden by Drees Homes. Here, the color provided a subtle smoky sheen for rich brown cabinetry—accentuating the delicious cookies-and-cream tones of the granite countertops.
From the bedding to the walls, shades of gray sweep through the elegant bedroom of the Ellianna by High Pointe.
Black
If you’ve binge-watched any HGTV lately, you know that it’s time to throw out all the preconceptions you have about black.
As the Royal Birkdale proves, it doesn’t have to make a room feel dark, masculine or decidedly contemporary.
In the study, black covers the walls and ceiling but reads as a bold but balanced statement, thanks to ample amounts of thick, bright white molding.
In a bedroom, the color goes romantic, serving as the dramatic background for a dreamy mural of pale pink flowers.
The home’s dining nook even demonstrates how to pair black with shades of blue. Here, a metallic cerulean faux-finish on the ceiling is overlaid with black beams.
Black walls contrast beautifully with light countertops in the guest bath of the Eagle Ridge by Hensley.
Just across the home, black on the ceiling of the covered porch draws the eye upward.
Resources:
Chatham Cottage: Weiland Builders, LLC and Designs on Madison
The Camden: Drees Homes and DJN Design Services, Inc.
Eagle Ridge: Hensley Custom Building Group and Interior Design Consulting, Inc.
Royal Birkdale: Justin Doyle Homes and Taylor Interior Designs
Ellianna: High Pointe Custom Homes and Designs on Madison