Home Staging and Decor Trends

A big part of staging your home is making it look current.  In the final steps of prepping your home for the real estate market you want to make it pretty, buyer ready and photo ready.  One way to do that is knowing what decor trends are out there and bring them into your home.  Since 95% of buyers are online first trying to find the home of the dreams…you need to make your photos stand out and attract those buyers!

1.  Outdoor spaces.  Assuming the weather is working in your favour - stage your outside.  Staging is about creating the vision of what life in the home would look like and including the outdoor living areas is critical! This staging trend is probably one of the most essential and we see so many sellers not have their outdoor areas staged. Remember a photo is worth a thousand words.  Clean up the outside - rake, cut the grass, plant some colourful flowers, set up the patio and prepare it as though you have guests arriving any minute!







 2.White Kitchens – Huge trend now for home owners is light, white, bright kitchens! In a recent Houzz survey an overwhelming amount of respondents desired a white kitchen in their home. When the kitchen comprises almost 30% of the buyer’s decision (according to NAR - National Association of Realtors) a little more expense in this main area makes a world of difference in price!Can't replace the entire kitchen or paint the cabinets? Look at updating the back splash (or adding one) in a light tone, update the kitchen lighting to make the kitchen light and bright, paint the walls in a lighter tone and/or update the hardware.



3. Birds On Display – The bird in the pillow is just a taste of what we will see more of in the future. Whereas last year’s trend was the white porcelain deer head on the wall and horses, this year’s trend is sweet, little birds.Right now, birds are hot for spring and every spring we tend to see animals and florals pop into all decor.  If you home is going on the market in the spring - think about adding some 'nods' to spring like floral, birds or any botanical elements. Currently, the hot trend is peacock but any bird in spring is up to date





 4. Metallic accents. Framed mirrors, art or brass bar carts add warmth and sophistication in any room. Metal accents add an element of shine to any room and they add some sophistication too.  Right now warm metals are hot like gold, brass and copper.  so think about adding a few touches of those in decor pieces, frames of mirrors, lamp bases even occasional tables.



5. Pops of colour. Colour can help you stand out from the crowd.  Even a neutral space could benefit from a floral arrangement in bright yellow or orange.  If your home decor style can handle it, try adding some colourful pillows to the sofa or bed and a throw blanket.  Colours like yellow, orange and bright green are perfect for spring but coral, aqua and purple can also make a big impact when used in small doses.





6.Dual Coffee Tables – placing two coffee tables next to each other to scale a larger space is a much better staging solution than just one. This is also a great way to add surface space to a small room.  Look for side tables, benches even stools (as long as they are the right height, 16" to 21") to be used as a coffee table





7.  Clear Tables, Chairs, Lamps and More – Glass has always been an excellent staging tool because of it’s reflective nature and ability to create more light in what would probably be a dark space. Glass is great becasue it gives the surface space without the bulk.  If you are selling a condo or a smaller space - try a glass dining table and pair any style of chair you like.  It makes the room look nice and big and you still are showing off how to live in the space. Glass furniture comes in a variety of styles too, and price points!  You can use the 'buddy system' too so if you have a glass dining table add some glass elsewhere maybe a side table or in a lamp....





8. The Navy Comeback – Navy blue is making a come back in a huge way!  Navy just stole our hearts originally via patterns like chevron, ikat (see below) and floral  but now it’s really making it’s presence known as a “new neutral” that pairs well with yellow, turquoise, coral, chartreuse, wheat …almost all of the spring 2015 hues   that add pop to a space. Navy is one of those versatile colors that can work with bright or earth tone accents (just open your latest Pottery Barn catalog to see it with earth tones). If your space has a lot of neutral beige, cream or sand tones add navy for a rich contrast and timeless combination.

Spring 2015 Home Decor: What's Trending Right Now

1. Navy. For years, white has been unchallenged as the top color in the kitchen, from paint to cabinetry to tile. But a Zillow Digs forecast -- based on the most popular photos of the one million on the site, as well as designer input -- revealed that 2015 is the year navy inches toward the top spot. The site's design expert, Kerrie Kelly, considers navy's popularity an indicator of the next big thing in years to come: the black kitchen.




 We have also been seeing a lot of Navy Blue outside of the kitchen too.  In various textiles and it has been a popular wall paint colour as well. 

2. Diamond/Gem Shape. "Gem-shaped accents make for an easily upgradable, accessible moment in any room," says designer Nate Berkus. The motif had a showing in his last collection at Target, with those pieces among the first few to sell out. As a result, they're making an even stronger appearance in his Spring 2015 collection. Several seasons ago everyone was wearing a statement necklace to dress up their gray T-shirt -- these accessories offer that same idea, but for a room."





 We also also seeing Gem print in textiles for bedding and accent pillows - diamonds are a girls' best friend, after all!

3. Peacocks. Each month, 20 million people visit Polyvore.com to create shoppable image collages and discover -- and set -- trends. Their data shows that the most-searched décor trend from the past six months is animal accents, led by peacocks and elephants.





We have seen a lot of animal influence in home decorating in recent years.  And if you go to any home decor store you will continue to see this but, yes, peacocks are sprouting up everywhere - accent pillows, art and even crockery.  We saw some beautiful Peacock dishes at a local HomeSense just last week - stunning !

4. Minted.com's artwork and stationery have made their way into over 40 million homes across the world since its 2007 launch. And as this design and art marketplace looks to what's ahead, it's seeing that the states that tend to lead the trends -- California, New York, Texas, Illinois and Massachusetts -- are five times more likely to purchase photography over drawings or paintings.

 

 Photography is a great choice for anyone and any decor style - it is so versatile plus it adds some real sophistication to any space.

5. East Coast vs. West Coast. Orlando Soria, West Coast creative director of Homepolish, an interior design company that's completed over 2,000 projects across the country, has seen two trends established this year on opposite coasts: "West Coast interiors feature a lot more live-edge and rough-hewn wood pieces than the East Coast, where preppy traditionalism and crisp lacquered pieces are more popular."

 

 But don't feel confined by your geographic boundaries when it comes to style.  The West coast 'look' has always been more relaxed and casual - if that's suits your lifestyle, embrace it!

6. Cable- Knit. The highest search volume in Polyvore's bedding category went to cable knit, with faux fur just behind it.



Cable-knit has a hand crafted feel and look about it.  It is cozy and familiar too which is likely why so many of us gravitate to it.  It works with most styles and comes in various colours, it adds great cozy texture to a bedroom or living room.

7. DIY. A Google Trends analysis of the trillions of searches from 2014 found that people are increasingly interested in DIY pallet furniture, with the rapidly rising search term up 50 percent from previous years.







Easy and very affordable projects with a customized spin - who wouldn't want that ?!