Interior Trends for 2018 Guest Post

Welcome to today’s guest blogger Kimberly Duran of Swoonworthy, winner of the blogger’s choice award at last year’s Amara’s Interior Blog Awards event. She wrote a post on interiors trends for 2018 – what’s coming in and what’s dropping out – for next year and it chimed so well with what I also feel is the prevailing mood that I wanted to share her words with you here.

The thing to remember is that trends move slowly and it’s not so much what is in and what is now out and will never to be seen again, but more of a gentle curve with some items having peaked and moving down and others rising up the other side of the arc so it’s not a hard and fast rule but an observation. The key thing to remember is that trends are like colds except instead of days it can take years – so three years coming, three years here, three years going. That has definitely been true of grey and copper which are long term trends – less so for fads such as pineapples and flamingos which flash on suddenly and then disappear.

And, as with all trends, it’s not a rule. If you like a particular item and want to hang onto it then you must. But equally if you were starting to feel that you were over a particular look and weren’t sure where to go next then here are some clues to think about.

So, over to you Kimberly:

It’s controversial I know. The thing is trends are weird. In fashion, because we change our clothing seasonally, it makes sense for things to move quickly. But interiors? Well, we hope that what we buy has staying power. I mean, who has the time or the budget to be redoing their bedroom every few months – never mind their kitchen or bathroom – just to fall in line with 2018 trends?

The truth – and this is something I have always said – is that trends are not what you should really be paying attention to for the main decor pieces in your home. Buy what you love year in and year out and don’t take any notice of what people tell you is in and out. And by people, I do also mean me. Choosing the large items you absolutely adore is paramount to getting a more timeless style and mixing and matching are essential for that well-pulled-together classic look that just never dates.

But. And yes, it’s a big but (ahem)…. I admit that I do love a good trend. I can’t help myself really and when I want to give a little oomph to my rooms, then sure, I’ll try out something that catches my eye. Here’s the thing – if you do love the odd trend here and there then what you should probably be concentrating on is not that big sofa or your kitchen redesign. Look at your accessories – the little bits and bobs you decorate and zhush up your home with – like cushions or trays or candles or knick knacks. In this way, the smaller bits are cheaper to replace when we suddenly find something is ‘out’ of style or the trend is so far out of hand that you see your mum has the same thing you do and suddenly, you don’t mind dropping it off at the charity shop.

Look at your paint colours too – if you are loving the newest shade then why not try it out on your walls? Painting a room takes an afternoon at best and when you tire of it, then £50 and another afternoon and it’s like it never happened. So yes, if you want to give these trends a go then do consider doing it cheaply and easily rather than slavishly following every nuance of fashion as it happens.

So with all that said, here are my predictions for what’s coming in and will be going out for interior trends in 2018…

COMING: GOLD – GOING: COPPER

I’ve been saying this since copper came on the scene but I knew it would never really last (sorry sorry for all you copper lovers out there). I love the look of copper when it comes to things like copper-bottomed pans but once every single shop on the high street comes along with a copper range, it’s time to move on. The thing is, gold and brass do and have always had more staying power. Sure, it fell out of fashion for a while in the 90s and early 2000s after the influx of really cheap looking polished gold was everywhere. But gold finishes have been around for eons – it’s classic, it’s beautiful and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

COMING: MIXED MATERIAL KITCHENS  – GOING: ALL WHITE KITCHENS

Don’t get me wrong – I fell for the all-white kitchen look myself and it was at the top of my wishlist when I first moved into my home in 2010. But mixing your finishes provides a much more pulled together look and creates a more characterful, interesting aesthetic. Plus, white kitchens were just EVERYWHERE a few years ago and they are starting to all look the same. Who wants a kitchen that looks like everyone else’s? It’s time to get a bit more creative.

COMING: HERRINGBONE FLOORS – GOING: WHITE PAINTED FLOORBOARDS

Who doesn’t love a good herringbone parquet floor? I for one am desperate for herringbone flooring when we move into our next home. First, because it’s utterly gorgeous but second because the very dark wood flooring we’d initially chosen upon moving in shows up every single piece of fluff and it’s nearly impossible to keep looking clean. White painted floorboards will be similar in terms of their upkeep and that very pale Scandi look is on the wane as people realise how hard it is to keep it all looking so pristine. So it’s time to look at a warm natural wood finish that adds a bit of pattern to the floor. Again, this is a classic look that really never dates.

COMING: PEACH – GOING MILLENIAL PINK

I have no doubt this will be a controversial one but as much as I love the pale blush-y pink we’ve seen everywhere for the last 12 months, I’m ready for it to be over. There’s only so many pink sofas you can see before you start to think it’s not going to last. I had my eye  on a pink chair for a while but I never committed, fearing the trend will be over and everyone will look at my choice in years to come saying, ‘Wow, that is sooooo 2016.’ It’s far too popular to last and that oversaturation is what will kill it off quicker than you can say Instagram Influencer. The soft coral to salmon peach– similarly pretty but easy enough to pair with anything to not scare off your other half.

COMING: TERRAZZO  – GOING CARRARA MARBLE

Yep, as much as it pains me to say it, I have a feeling Carrara Marble may be losing its strength as the finish-of-the-moment. Not marble in general though – that’s still going strong – just not in the white with grey vein that everyone (including me) fell in love with. Terrazzo is going crazy at the moment and I admit, my head has been turned. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing plenty of it in 2018.

COMING: STATEMENT ART – GOING: GALLERY WALLS

The funny thing is, I’ve been saying gallery walls are on their way out for YEARS now. But I really do think 2018 will be the death knell. It’s really more about a curated look for your walls and not piling every single thing that sort of works together in one area. It’s just that bit too busy, too chaotic and everything is gearing towards a more subtle classic vibe. Go bigger, go more statement-making in 2018.

COMING: MOODY PHOTOGRAPHY – GOING: TYPOGRAPHY

Does everything need to have a catchy saying nowadays? Apparently so and I think we are all getting a little tired of the look. We’ve been scouring houses on Rightmove now for the last 3 or 4 months and I swear if I see one more house with a ‘Live Love Laugh’ wall sticker above a sofa, I’m gonna take a rusty bread knife to my eyeballs. What I am seeing more and more in more fashionable abodes is moody photography which I admit, I love so I’m probably biased. It’s classy, it’s elegant, it’s a touch mysterious. Leave the typography, letter boards and cutesy sayings behind next year.

COMING: 70S GLAM – GOING: MID-CENTURY MODERN

Another controversial one, I’m sure but I think when every single home shown on Apartment Therapy for the last 5 years has been awash in MCM, it’s time to move on. I still love the odd piece here and there (in fact, I have two MCM side boards in my home which aren’t going anywhere) but when every single piece in your home is from the same era, it really does start to look a bit dated. It’s time to mix things up and 70’s glam is definitely one to watch. Kelly Wearstler and Jonathan Adler have been inspired by this era for years but I have no doubt it’ll start to move to the bigger retailers soon.

So there you have it. I think Kimberly’s spot on with this although I do have a house full of white painted floorboards that aren’t going anywhere for the time being but I also have a lot of rugs. Do join in the conversation below and let us know what you think and you can read more of Kimberly’s wise words on her blog Swoonworthy.