13 Home Design and Decor Trends to Watch in 2013

Just once you’ve gotten used to celebrating this year’s trends, notions new and old for 2013 have shown up on the horizon. Designer Abigail Ahern claims a good way to remain sane amid the fashion forecasts is to think about how — or if — each forecasted fashion somehow resonates with your own life. “If it doesn’t reflect you, do not follow the masses,” she says. “It’s nice to know that more and more folks are becoming braver within their spaces and really using their home decor and design as an extension of the individuality.”

The need for a more private, individualized house is a design ethos that interior designer Estee Stanley additionally sees as gaining popularity. “People want to live a more relaxed lifestyle, or so the trend is going to be to produce each and every room in the house a space which you may actually live in,” she says.

Here are pros’ predictions concerning how the change toward a more personal and meaningful space will interpret into designs and house decorating in 2013.

Melanie Turner Interiors

1. Verre églomisé (“gilded glass”). Interior designer Melanie Turner is searching for a design trend that offers something different from what is in showrooms. “I’m looking for what is hard to discover. I believe verre églomisé is merely that particular treatment annually,” she says. In this procedure, glass is gilded with gold or metal leaf on the back side.

Though Turner acknowledges that individuals are craving simplicity in their own lives, she says that many of her customers still want to surround themselves with meaningful and beautiful things ” Verre églomisé is jewelry for the space — particularly for rooms which are becoming smaller, where customers want more of a stone box end,” says Turner.

WORKSTEAD

2. Antique brass. The coming year will see more brass being integrated into the house, forecasts Stanley. “I believe antique brass is making a comeback in structural components, hardware and other antiques,” she says.

Bruce Palmer Interior Design

3. Bleached floors. Stanley also thinks people will start using lighter woods for floors and cabinetry again. “I see an increase in methods like waxing, lyming and painting woods to attain a lighter tone in flooring and cabinetry,” she says.

Crane & Canopy

4. More luxe design for the masses. Companies like Crane & Canopy and Thrive Furniture have cut out the middlemen and are promoting their house decor and furnishings directly to customers, thereby doubling costs appreciably. Luxurious bedding with a thread count of 300-plus, as an example, can now be had for under $100.

While interior designer Jennifer Jones doesn’t believe the entire future of home decor is located at the slashed supply-chain model, she acknowledges that companies selling luxe home goods directly to customers have a rightful place at the house design market, especially in 2013.

“I enjoy the concept of companies like Crane & Canopy,” she says. “They have more flexibility to change designs based on customer feedback and need — and that’s a fantastic thing.”

Carla Aston | Interior Designer

5. Authentic blues. Interior designer Kyle Schuneman is visiting lots of punchy blues onto the sets of advertisements and home decor catalog shoots. From ceramic fittings to upholstery to throw pillows, Schuneman says blue will be a massive color in 2013.

“The punchiest, on-trend blue I’ve seen is a combination between a navy blue and royal blue. It’s a true blue without any green traces,” he says.

Interior designer Greg Natale claims that though blue is going to be a huge color in 2013, emerald green (recently named Shade of the Year by Pantone, which makes naming color trends an annual event), Dior gray and salmon pink will also be throughout the fashion runways and style showrooms.

Read more photos of blue spaces

Jessica Helgerson Interior Design

6. Downsizing. Designer Jessica Helgerson looks at downsizing as a long-term trend. “New-development homes are becoming smaller again,” she says. “People are interested in residing in smaller spaces which are nearer to downtowns rather than bigger houses where they’re dependent on their automobiles.” The designer has already gotten a few requests for the design for her 540-square-foot residence, among the most popular on in 2012, which she says is a testament to a change in the way people are looking at and designing their own homes.

Take a look within Jessica Helgerson’s house

Lamps Plus

Taupe Faux Shagreen Leather Accent Table – $499.91

7. Faux shagreen. Faux shagreen (that is, not from seals, snakes or other animals) is the brand new on-trend hide. It’s a uniform, textured and organic appearance that ups the glamour and sophistication level of any interior. “Nearly every showroom at High Point Market this season had faux shagreen,” says interior designer Kaitlyn Andrews-Rice of Christopher Patrick Interiors. She cautions that faux shagreen functions just in natural colours and tiny doses. “Regrettably, we watched a few showrooms with very odd shagreen colours. Shagreen desks, cocktail tables and chests seem best when the color is nearer to grays, taupes, creams and neutrals,” she says.

Spoonflower

8. On-demand printing. “I predict a rise in DIY on-demand printing for cloth, paper and backgrounds,” says manufacturer and crafter Bonnie Forkner of the blog Going Home to Roost. She says companies like Spoonflower and Fabric on Demand are enabling a growing number of individuals to produce their own custom upholstery fabrics, detachable backgrounds and custom stickers, which makes it easy to design, print and sell or buy custom made designs with a click of their mouse.

9. Fanciful, artful furniture design. A huge trend that designer-stylist Cassidy Hughes is seeing in design shows is a more fun approach to furniture and product design. She says, “I visit the melding of art in furniture and decor really progressing and becoming more available for individuals to literally take home into their living rooms next year.”

Greg Natale

10. Stripes and geometrics. If 2012 was about blossoms about the runway and in design showrooms, next season will see a return to stripes, angles and diagonals. Greg Natale says, “We’re seeing more angled shapes like triangles and trapezoids, as well as diagonals and zigzags. They’re not merely on walls on ceilings, too.”

International Views and Studio A Home

Wrapped furniture. “Whether it’s linen, leather, raffia or grass cloth, the textured impact of wrapped furniture instantly grabs your attention,” says interior designer Kim Hendrickson-Radovich.

Shannon Malone

Weathered kitchen countertops. Increasingly more of kitchen and bathroom designer Lance Stratton’s customers want countertops which may take the daily wear and tear of family life; there is a movement away from show kitchens with precious countertops that customers are afraid to prep on for fear of scratches and dings. “They request countertops which already come a bit weathered,” he says, “ones who have that banged-up appearance.”

Lauren Liess Interiors

Hello, neutrals. Goodbye, neon. Forkner claims that although natural fibers like jute and raffia will always have a timeless quality, she thinks that there will be a noticeable celebration of natural, organic-looking spaces along with a conscious move away from splashy neons because the go-to pop of color in the house. “I see a change to the use of more solids and neutrals with warm brassy tones and whites,” she says.

See related