5 minute read
Staying on Trend
BY DANAE BLANCK ANDERSON
Find out how you can keep up with today’s design trends at your home or cabin, right here in the heart of Minnesota.
2021 has given rise to a much-needed breath of fresh air in many ways.
Our homes became a sanctuary during the pandemic.
Seeing the inside of them 24/7 did shed some new light on what to tackle on the home front for projects.
Now looking ahead to brighter days there are so many fun trends on the horizon to incorporate.
Whether you’re trying to make your space reflect your personality, be safer and more eco-friendly or just have that vibe you’ve always imagined, these trends can take you there.
Color
This year more than ever, color is your friend. Embrace it. From a mix of pastels to jewel tones and savvy neutrals, whatever palette you lean toward, don’t be afraid to use a pop of color.
Agean Teal 2136-40
2021 Trend Colors to consider are Aegean Teal from Benjamin Moore, Sherwin Williams’ Urbane Bronze or even Pantone’s pair of Illuminating Yellow and Ultimate Gray.
Color can be seen in colorful cabinetry from a mix of stained woods of all varieties to painted black, gray, white, cream, pinks and especially deep greens and blues.
Hale Navy HC-154
Hirshfield’s color experts, Felicia Moddess and Amanda Schneider, agreed that slate grays, dark greens and navy blues are the most popular. “We’ve noticed a lot of Benjamin Moore Hale Navy being used for cabinetry or accents,” noted Moddess.
“Really anything goes though,” noted Schneider. “It depends on what you like.”
These colorful cabinets are found in kitchen and bath design.
PHOTO COURTESY OF BENJAMIN MOORE
Try perimeter cabinetry in one color and a contrasting colorful island. Or incorporate one color for base cabinets and another color on upper cabinetry.
Otherwise, introduce color with accessories like pillows, home décor or art.
Finally bringing the outdoors in with greenery in faux or real foliage is always a natural way to add color.
PHOTO COURTESY OF BENJAMIN MOORE
Architectural Details and Accent Walls
Adding new or old architectural details to a home brings in character.
Aged corbels, shiplap or nickel gap are still being applied to walls. So are upcycled pallets and reclaimed barnwood. Board and batten walls can be found in contemporary, transitional or cottage style homes.
Creating unique patterns with wood strips on a wall and then painting it out has totally taken off as well. Easy prefabricated wall planks can be purchased for DIY installation.
Hudrlik Design Studio interior designer Laurie Wilt shared that she’s noticed the use of luxury vinyl planking on walls to achieve this look in a commercial application.
Another way to accent walls is with metal. “People are doing metal accents in their bathrooms or bar areas as backsplashes or focal point walls,” said Wilt.
Add character using travel photos by printing them on canvas as a one of a kind gallery wall. Choose a wall to tile with a variety of shapes, sizes and color. Select a wallpaper in a large print or geometric pattern to add detail on one wall.
Finally, good ole’ paint still offers the perfect backdrop for whatever the story of your home is about.
Paneled Shower Walls, Wall Cladding and Backsplashes
More people are opting to cut out the grout lines by choosing low maintenance sheets of artificial products such as cultured marble, solid surface material or quartz as their shower walls or backsplashes.
Typically these panels are less money than a custom tiled shower since there is not as much labor involved. Patterns can be subtle, blending into the space in a calming way or impactful.
Cambria, a Minnesota-based quartz company, is calling this wall cladding.
Cambria’s wall cladding is antimicrobial, non-staining and cleans up with simple soap and water.
Julie Spry, market representative for Cambria, agreed that wall cladding is currently one of the largest trends. “Cambria’s wall cladding is antimicrobial, non-staining and cleans up with simple soap and water. Nothing permeates quartz,” said Spry.
She mentioned wall cladding can be used in a variety of other applications, creating stellar focal points such as behind cooktops, mirrors and lights in a bathroom or a sophisticated fireplace surround.
Wall cladding may be the perfect bullet statement in a room creating continuity with subtle movement or a bold splash of color adding beauty and pattern.
- Julie Spry Market representative, Cambria
Personalized Lighting
Adding life to a dark corner or illuminating an entry, lighting has so many uses in a home. There are many ways a homeowner can benefit from selecting a new fixture or lamp for your space. Even just swapping out to the correct bulbs can make an area feel brighter and better. Get on board with a fun light that is totally you. Etsy has great handmade fixtures helping small businesses. Locally, The Light Depot in Baxter has a variety of lighting to choose from and owner Rick Mileski has recently arrived back with new styles from market in Dallas, Texas.
Eco-Friendly
Using furniture and fabrics that are more sustainably sourced is becoming more important. Making conscious decisions about selections in furniture, how it is made, where it is from and buying it locally are important today more than ever.
Serenity Now Alpaca Farm in Pine River uses alpaca fleece for home area rugs among other items. “On our farm we try to use every part of the alpaca wool for making all types of items like slippers, hats, mittens, rugs and more,” said owner Esther Endicott.
Their green approach to their farm starts with the use of solar panels providing energy and is a circular effect even down to fertilizing their garden.
An easy way to start small and begin thinking about sustainability is to try using an alpaca wool ball instead of dryer sheets; they are less toxic since there are no chemicals and cut down drying time therefore saving energy.
Our impact left on this earth and whether a product is made with a minimal carbon footprint is something we all can be better at considering.
Taking action to either purchase sustainably or repurposed and upcycled goods ourselves is a great way to help our planet.
2021 is the year to learn, grow and adapt what we’ve endured in 2020 and put that into action so we can completely understand how where we live and work affect us. Being on trend can mean whatever you want it to.
PHOTO COURTESY OF BENJAMIN MOORE
