Hey!

In case you missed it, I’m an interior designer. Designing spaces with different styles and colors comes pretty naturally to me. I love risk taking because I can visualize it in my head–so the outcome isn’t scary; I already know how it will look. It occurs to me though, that other people aren’t able to do this as easily. That’s why they update their space once a decade, and then *WHEW* they are done and don’t have to worry about it.

For most, it’s a really intimidating thing full of stress! That’s why when you go through Pinterest, you see a lot of the same stuff. An example would be the white shag rug with minimal black Moroccan print. You know the one.

And if you don’t, here she is!

source

This image is actually from one of my favorite sites, Apartment Therapy. It appeared in an article entitled “Designer Secrets: Transform Your Space with Texture”. This is the PERFECT rug for that, right? And yeah, that is a designer secret: add many different layers of texture if you don’t want to do color. I even have a blog post in progress about adding texture to neutral spaces. So it makes sense.

People with more traditional and conservative styles can get on board with it! It’s white, it has a pattern but it’s not intimidating, and the texture adds a design detail without actually committing to something drastic. And that my friends is how everyone’s home ends up with the same stuff. It’s not a bad thing; trends catch on and become popular because they are great and appeal to a broad audience. But today, we are going to learn how to be inspired by a trend without following it directly. We are going to tweak it.

Today, I’m going to teach you THREE WAYS to update anything in your space. First though, we need to adjust our attitude towards design. Let’s stop being scared and start having fun. Your space can be like no one else’s if you make this simple decision at the beginning of your design journey:

Choose to think about possibility instead of familiarity.

What would happen if you needed to make a design choice, and instead of choosing from what you already knew, you did some exploring? You instead dove into the Google search world to find options that are truly unique, yet also more in tune with your personal style than the options you are already familiar with. What would happen if your home was curated so thoughtfully that it was as unique as your fingerprint? And all because you did some exploring instead of going with what you already knew. That would be pretty cool. Let’s do that.

Ok, are you ready? Here are the three ways you can update any item in your space:

You take a traditional color, material, or style, and change at least one of those three things.

Even if you are afraid or unsure, you can still change one thing. Your eye will recognize the finished product as something you’ve seen before, so you will be comfortable with it, but the minor change will be your successful update adding interest and uniqueness. So now, I’ll give you some examples where I changed either the color, material, or style. Here are our categories we are going to update today:

1. Sofa
2. Throw pillows
3. Dining chairs
4. Tile

I have selected these four items because they are a good mix of fashion and function, all with many different styles and materials to mix and match. This will be fun! So, let’s begin.

Deep breath…

1. Sofa

We changed the…STYLE.

Raymour & Flanigan     /     Anthropologie

Everyone and their mom has some version of this clunky beige sofa, right? Hey, there’s no shame! Somehow, beige and brown became the ubiquitous color in traditional home decor. My theory is that you want something light or dark, but not white because that would get dirty, and not black because that would be too dramatic. Hence, beige and brown.

If that is your style, that is ok! We are actually living in the time period when beige is IN. These dreamy Scandinavian interiors have everyone craving a light airy home. Traditionally, these Scandinavian interiors are white, black, and gray, but you’ve just made yours warmer with beige and brown. And have you seen any of Nate Berkus’ homes? All white and beige with natural tones. If this is your preferred palette, you’re golden (pun intended).

What I’m saying here is that you can take that sofa that you’re comfortable with and tweak one thing. In this case, we tweaked the style, opting for a more streamline and less clunky sofa from Anthropologie. You still have your beige, but this time, you also have given your sofa a ton of style. Those metal accents? The modern shape? The negative space? SWOON.

2.  Throw pillows

We changed the…COLOR + STYLE

Pottery Barn     /     Pottery Barn

Another style of pillow that everyone seems to have is the Damask style (pictured left). This style became popular a few years ago, but, a lot has changed in a few years, right? So even though this style is for sale, doesn’t really mean that is the best option for you in the current climate.

What’s popular now are actually stripes! Stripes aren’t scary, right? So, simply swap one pattern for another. Easy and not scary:-) In my opinion, pillows are THE BEST way to update your space. They are cheap, you can even make them yourself, they are small, and you can have a lot of them. You can update an entire room by simply swapping out your pillows. That’s no exaggeration. Changing 4 pillows on your sofa gives it a totally different look. Bonus points if you add a throw.

3. Dining chairs

We changed the…MATERIAL + STYLE

Joss & Main     /     Joss & Main     /      Joss & Main

Another thing that seems to be running rampant are upholstered chairs. Ugh. I sound like such a hater in this post, but I can assure you, I AM NOT. If you have one of these “before” items, do not fret. You’re totally fine. I’m just showing you how you can update your space and give you options you are comfortable with.

Now, back to chairs. So a lot of chairs have a good shape, but fabric that is out of style or not ideal in the first place. This first chair is one that seems to be popular–because it is a “safe zone” shape, color, and pattern. Nothing wrong with that! But, if you look at the second option, you can see that we have chosen a more streamline shape with a more modern (and even more tonal!) fabric that is VELVET! Oh la la. This way, your chairs aren’t competing with the largeness and heaviness of your dining table. They are minimal and streamline. I have also included a wood option with an upholstered seat in the same gray tone. The wood is even gray toned. So either of these options you can insert right into your room without having to replace anything else. See how easy it is to swap if you just change one thing about the item?

Are you catching on? We are updating the color, material, and/or style. In this case, we are keeping the same color but changing the style and material.

4. Tile

We changed the…STYLE

Fireclay Tile     /     Fireclay Tile     /     Fireclay Tile

Ok, so we are currently living in a time where tile is EVERYTHING. Patterned tile is amazing but so are hand painting and glazed tile. You don’t have to go with a super modern look. You can update your tile easily with even more options that might even be better suited for a conservative style! You’re just winning all around today.

In this category, we are taking traditional white subway tile (which I still love, for the record), but we are exploring different shapes and patterns. First option is white subway tile, second is white subway tile in a herringbone pattern, third is white tile in a star and cross pattern. These are all from Fireclay Tile–all of their tiles are hand painted/glazed and amazing. Check out their instagram and you can see people painting them! Exciting stuff.

That’s all, folks! Just take your Pinterest board and change the color, material, or style and you’re on your way to having the home of your dreams.

-K