With so many social media channels and sources of interior design style inspiration, at times I feel clueless about what American homeowners favor at the moment. It seems at any given moment, marketers are pushing out messaging about something new. Often it’s just a new word for “farmhouse style decor” or “classic timeless elegance.”
What Interior Design Style is Resonating?
Today’s discussion is of course biased. It touches on interiors that get enthusiastic engagement on the channels I tend to visit. That bias is curious too. What my social media channels show me flows from algorithmic mysteries! I suppose I’m cautioning you to hold this exploration loosely since it mirrors what I am personally noticing. Also, check out these books that have reignited my passion for interiors.
Cozy European Country Cottage Warmth
Tour this adorable 400 square foot NYC apartment and be inspired by what thrifting and curating can yield!
Classic Traditional Bespoke Luxury
Not everything trending in interior design is quite so easy to execute. Have you seen “cozy opulence” or “European luxury or “old money” hashtags lately? Anything designed by Cathy Kincaid has my facebook audience engaged and designhappy!
Rich architectural details, built-ins, antiques, custom-made furnishings, bespoke everything, and a mix of patterns and colors and texture converge in the traditional mix.
I’m also seeing many kitchen designs fetch strong engagement. Gone are those bright white modern farmhouse designs now that warm whites and mushrooms made a splash.
Old World Mood (and Oodles of Moody Flavors!)
I think it’s so curious that so many AI designed interiors go viral even when they are dead-giveaway-artificial! In fact, I have noticed interior photographers even latching on to this look with moody lighting and presets to create what I might describe as “somewhat eerie and vacant.”
Since I have seen the trend in photography, I don’t think it’s just me noticing the increased interest in what seems to fall between “ghostly” and “lonely, warm, and good bones.” The spaces aren’t cluttered or decorated with much personal art.
Rather, the viewer is able to view voids and imagine their own belongings in the space. (And we know how many folks scroll interior images from rent/buy Zillow listings and imagine personalizing them.) It is as if the image’s incompleteness invites a certain segment of readers to project desires.
What is your take? Does my psychological analysis explain how more articial, unfinished, slightly vacant interiors seem to presently resonate with so many folks? Is it simply that their perfection is somehow aspirational?
Earthy Modern Vintage Luxe
Livable luxury is so Pinterest-worthy right now. Lots of wood beams and cabinetry, nods to the past, modern lighting, and splurges such as high end ranges handmade tile.
Sometimes the “modern” is an open floorplan or innovative and unusual architectural elements more than modern style furnishings and art.
Earthy palettes and a reverence for natural materials and handmade quality and craftsmanship also seem to appeal when I consider the draw of this interior design style. This recently sold Spanish style home is a perfect example of such a color palette. So timeless and warm.
Modern European Country Simplicity
Some of us continue to enjoy a mix of cool and warm whites with shades of greige.
What keeps interior design styles such as French country, modern French, modern Belgian, Scandinavian, and European Country timeless yet in and out as a trend?
There are a host of explanations, but since the underlying sensibilities include honoring old traditions with little concern for reinvention, it makes sense this design direction isn’t always going to appeal to American audiences who seem to love WHAT’S NEW AND IMPROVED.
For me, there is something utterly comforting about falling in love with a look and feeling at home with it.
Come what may, as seasons and cultural trends shift, as technology revamps systems everywhere, as politics becomes increasingly complex and chaotic…
well at least the look we’ve established at home can help us to feel more deeply rooted.
Plus there are endless ways to interpret a given decorating direction and break design rules.
Parisian Elegance & French Chic
Wait until you peek inside this new book by Mathilde Favier! We’re treated to the loveliest journey through Paris with the most charming guide, Dior Couture public relations director, Mathilde Favier.
Imagine making a friend in Paris who is passionate about beauty and holistic wellness and generous enough to share all of her favorite private spaces, shops, and fashionable addresses to see and be seen…
Then imagine your beautiful friend placed all of these beautiful Parisian people, places, and residences into one glorious scrapbook for you to reference as you wish!
You need not imagine any further. The scrapbook of your Francophile dreams exists in LIVING BEAUTIFULLY IN PARIS, where Mathilde Favier spoils us with lavish joie de vivre and beauty.
The photography by Pascal Chevallier is nothing short of breathtaking, and I read each and every word from Frédérique Dedet (which rarely happens where design books are involved!).
What an enchanting way to experience the wonders of Paris fashion, interiors, and the unexpected with Mathilde Favier!
Timeless Rose Tarlow Style
This book! I am reading every word and thoroughly enjoying this journey with Rose Tarlow!
The Private House has been called “an elegant manifesto for Tarlow’s approach of blending the personal with the aesthetic to create timeless, beautiful spaces,” and the elegance extends to how the designer articulates her process.
It’s a book unlike other design books within my library. Most interior designers I know are visual types and rarely wired for language. But Rose Tarlow? What a writer with an exceptional gift for storytelling!
Republished in its entirety from the 2001 edition, The Private House is surprisingly intimate yet overflows with design wisdom we can both trust and put into practice.
For example, in just two sentences, Tarlow beautifully articulates a meaningful approach to living well and (though it may ring dramatic) elevating your quality of life.
Tarlow writes: “Try using well-worn accessories, different in material and character; mixing important objects with simple, precious, primitive pieces can become part ofyour personal style. Serving a buffet in the winter at a table set with these special objects allows you to create a Dutch still life.”
In fact, I have found that such intention to create meaning for occasions is indeed sacred; it may open channels for connection, vivid memories, and opportunities to convey love and gratitude while we live life to the full.
I resonate with so many of Rose Tarlow’s sensibilities, impulses, and perspectives, and I know you will too. Since I am ever the hungry student of fine design and timeless style, I am devouring every morsel of the delicious feast served in The Private House.
Peace to you right where you are.
-michele
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