From black stainless steel appliances to outdoor fabrics used indoors! The modern home is always evolving. And to get an idea of what it’s evolving to, look no further than what’s happening within its walls today. Find materials, strategies and concepts for your home.
1. Two-tone kitchen cabinets. Keep upper cabinets white or neutral for a clean, timeless feel, then go crazy with the lower cabinets by playing with various wood tones and deeper colors to take your kitchen in two different style directions.
2. Outdoor fabric used indoors. Outdoor fabrics are becoming increasingly hard to distinguish from traditional indoor fabrics, and many are bringing them inside, where their durability makes them perfect for high-traffic dining room and living room furniture, as shown here.
7. Formal dining rooms. Not everyone takes the leap to turn the dining room into an office or media room. For homeowners who entertain frequently, a designated space for gathering for special meals isn’t negotiable, and they’re pouring attention into these rooms.
10. Workhorse islands. Kitchen islands provide additional workspace, but they’ve taken on so much more than that. With deep storage, prep sinks, room for seating and more, workhorse islands are becoming the central feature in modern kitchens.
12. Barely there kitchens. As kitchen layouts become more open, spatial identifiers like walls of cabinetry and full-size appliances fade away, leaving behind airy, fluid spaces that serve multiple functions while looking barely there.
13. Living rooms that ditch the tech for family. With so much screen time throughout the day and night, homeowners are looking for a calm respite where they can read a book, chat with friends and family or just sit quietly. Thus, the rise of living rooms devoid of digital distraction.
14. Kitchens that embrace openness and raw materials. The inherent simplicity in open shelves and raw materials plays a big part in the barely there kitchen we mentioned earlier. Embrace these, and the rest will follow.
15. Surprising backsplash and countertop pairings. You could play it safe with white subway tile and granite countertops, but sometimes safe is so boring. Instead, consider a different combination, such as a brick backsplash with concrete countertops (as shown here) or yellow ceramic tile with butcher block.
16. Fully decorated living rooms that don’t go overboard. How do you know when you haven’t decorated enough, or decorated too much? Designers pay attention to scale, light, function and more to strike the right balance.
17. Special kitchen features. Sometimes a kitchen needs that one special element that takes it from a useful space to a vital one. Here, a dining table on casters allows various seating arrangements for casual family meals and large parties with friends.
18. Sunrooms. A sunroom is a top dream space for many homeowners. Even those who don’t have the luxury of having — or adding — one are finding ways to carve out a special sun-drenched corner in their homes.
19. Punched-up white kitchens. White kitchen walls and cabinets — and even countertops in many cases — is a trend that will continue for years to come. To avoid a too-sterile look, however, many designers and homeowners are learning to punch up an all-white space with smart, colorful details through tile, floor-to-ceiling bookcases, raw materials and more.
20. Bold powder room wall coverings. Dramatic wall coverings in powder rooms are nothing new, but the options for dazzling prints, textures and custom graphics are ever increasing. Here, Black Quilted Lacquer wallpaper by Phillip Jeffries steals the show.
22. Attention-seeking bedrooms. A can of paint will certainly transform the look and feel of a bedroom, but to take the sanctuary to the next level, you’re going to need bolder ideas. Here, a rustic wood wall and ceiling feature warms up the otherwise contemporary room.
23. Bathrooms that feel more like living spaces. Graphic wallpaper, ornate chandeliers and furniture-like pieces turn sterile spaces into ones that feel a lot more like home.
24. Fireplaces and fire features. New advances mean you can have all the ambience without the smell, pollution or hassle of traditional wood-burning fireplaces. Plus, fireplaces are making a comeback as living room focal points in lieu of the dark void of a TV screen.
