It’s an ugly truth of interior design: trends don’t last forever. If you’re decorating your house to follow the latest hot trend, odds are that in a few years, your space will probably be out of style. However, there are ways to protect your style from aging poorly. Following the few basic guidelines below will protect your interior design against the test of time and make your house welcoming and stylish for years to come.
With timeless design, less is more. To keep your style of your house timeless, get down to the bare bones of the room and expose its natural lines. This includes everything from the furniture to the light fixtures to the windows. While that s-shaped sectional and that funky light fixture look great now, will they look as good in 5 years? You don't need busy, flowing lines to add visual interest to a room. Instead, stick to strong, symmetrical lines that make space feel decluttered.
Nothing else in interior design can beat the pop you get from natural sunlight. Make the most of the sun’s natural beauty by incorporating large windows. Steel windows and doors are a great solution for bringing sunlight into your house. The ultra-slim sight-lines and expansive openings that are commonplace for steel units make it easy to bring natural beauty and light into your home.
Perhaps the best way to make sure your interior design stands the test of time is to keep things simple. The problem with most design trends that come and go quickly is that the patterns and colors they utilize can't stand the test of time (if you've ever walked into a bathroom with a pink toilet and pink tile, you know what this looks like). The key to timeless design is cool neutral colors, minimal layering, and plenty of open space. Bring visual interest or a pop of color into the space with art that can be easily changed out without upsetting the rest of the design.
Trends prioritize form over function; timeless design should put function over form. And one place where you should always choose function over form is your fireplace.
In the past several decades, metal fireplaces have become a popular alternative to traditional scratch-built fireplaces. The low cost of entry, as well as the ability for nearly boundless customization (including a variety of sizes and finishing options, like colored glass and lava rocks). However, as with most options that are chosen for either price or aesthetics rather than function, metal boxes just don’t stack up to masonry options like a pre-engineered masonry fireplace (PEMF) kit.
Metal boxes simply aren’t as efficient at heating a room – often they leak heat at the rear and sides of the box, wasting heat. And as compared to scratch-built or PEMF options, which are designed to last a lifetime, most metal boxes have a much shorter lifespan (it’s not uncommon to have to replace them after 5-10 years of use). Even if the rest of your house is beautiful and timeless, an old, worn-out fireplace can detract from the beauty of your interior design. Plus, nothing beats the crackle of a real fireplace!
Timeless design doesn’t have to be hard. Choosing simplicity and clean lines over trendy patterns, textures, and colors and incorporating pieces that are both beautiful and functional is the best way to make sure your house stays beautiful for decades, and not just a few years.
