Over the past year, we have noticed some emerging trends in home design. These emerging design trends are in kitchen cabinetry, bathroom tiles, flooring, colours, lighting, and more.
Our goal at Intelligent Design is always to help our clients make the best design and renovation decisions. No matter your renovation needs, whether it’s a basement, kitchen, bathroom, or an entire home renovation- it’s a creative collaboration from the planning stage to completion. We are here to help.
Consider adding any or all of these emerging design trends into your next renovation project.
6 Emerging Design Trends:
#1. Replace or Repaint Kitchen Cabinetry Doors
MDF Cabinet doors offer a simple, modern look.
Kitchens are a trendy room to upgrade, and they can increase the value of your home. However, sometimes it’s not in the budget for a complete gut so another emerging trend is to consider refinishing or replacing the cabinet doors only either by repainting or refacing.
Refacing means replacing the doors and existing cabinet boxes but ensuring they are in good condition and don’t need to be replaced.
Repainting is just that. Both approaches are cost-effective, no layout changes are required, and it’s a relatively quick and straightforward process. MDF cabinet doors allow for a simple, modern look, and we often don’t use hardware. Painted MDF panels are easy to clean and come in a variety of colours.
Large kitchens allow for the option not to have top cabinets and have lower cabinets only. This creates an airy and uncluttered kitchen. However, for smaller kitchens, we always suggest an area of floor-to-ceiling cabinets – this utilizes the height of the space and provides maximum storage.
The use of colour is essential, and two colour kitchens are still trendy, with darker coloured bottoms and white or lighter coloured upper cabinets. Floating shelves are a great feature too for displaying spices, plates, or your favorite ceramic mugs.
#2. Bigger Bathroom Tiles are an Emerging Trend
Using big tiles throughout a bathroom is becoming popular
Bathrooms are another great room that, when renovated, can help increase the value of your home. Subway tiles are on the way out, and huge tiles are becoming very popular. I’m talking 24″ x 24″ tiles for walls and floors. Using large tiles can make a small bathroom appear much larger. Curbless showers with benches, wall niches, and extra shelving are all popular and practical features right now.
#3. Engineered Hardwood Flooring
Engineered hardwood is easy to maintain and durable.
I love using engineered hardwood. It’s flexible, easy to maintain, and durable enough to be used throughout the home, even in kitchens instead of tile. Engineered hardwood doesn’t flex or warp as easily as traditional hardwood, and because of its hardwood base is more stable and less prone to moisture absorption. Plus, it is still a wood product and has all the beautiful qualities of traditional hardwood. It’s available in different wood types, grades, and finishes and is more cost-effective than hardwood.
#4. White Walls and Accent Walls are Still on Trend
Accent walls are still a favourite whether you choose bold colours or wood trim detailing.
Colour can evoke emotions and create moods. However, white walls are still a trendy paint colour choice, especially in condos. Accent walls are also still favored, whether bold colors, like red, deep blue, sage, or pastel.
You can create a unique effect by using the same colour on the walls, baseboard, trim, and door, but use different finishes – for example, paint the walls in a matte finish but use semi-gloss on the trim baseboards and doors. It’s subtle and elegant.
#5. Functional Lighting Design
Always consider a combination of ambient, task, and accent lighting when designing any room in your home.
As always, lighting is essential for any functioning room and is an important design element. We recommend various lighting options for each room, from overhead, table, floor lamps to pot lights, pendant, track lighting, and more. Kelvins measure light, and it represents the temperature of light.
The lower the Kelvin, the more calming the light is. For example, 3000K is warm light and would be a good choice for an office or general kitchen area. Whereas 6000K, is a cooler light, would be ideal for desk light or task lighting in a kitchen or bathroom, and 2,500-3,000K is perfect for a bedroom.
#6. Incorporating Plants and Nature are an Emerging Trend
Incorporating plants and natural elements into an interior room is becoming popular.
Bringing plants and natural elements into interior rooms is becoming very popular, particularly in bathrooms and kitchens. Plants have a unique way of making a room feel more inviting and sophisticated. There are a wide variety of house plants that are ideal for interior spaces. Consider plants, like succulents or even air plants in showers and bathrooms. A live wall is another unique way to bring nature into your room. Plants bring in natural elements and help improve the indoor air quality of your home.
No matter your design dilemma, the Intelligent Design team can help make your renovation dream a reality. Consider these latest design trends in your next project and contact us today!
