What If The Flooring I Choose Is Too Trendy?
Are you renovating your home to add more space? Instead of a wide open family room, are you trying to find office and school space for every member of the family? Is your open concept no longer working for you?
Welcome to 2020.
Who would have thought last year that our entire vision of home design could change as fast as it has?
Yet as you are focusing on design, as you are coming up with ideas, you might also worry about your final choices. Is the flooring too trendy? Is the color going to fade right out of style? Because flooring is expensive, and once you have it installed, you hope it’ll last for a while.
We get that. That’s one of the biggest reasons homeowners procrastinate on making their final decisions.
Flooring costs a lot of money. The last thing you want is regret just a few short months or years after your flooring is installed.
That’s why we’re sharing this post. We help homeowners every day, just like you, finalize their decisions AND feel more confident in their selections. We know you’ll love your final choice, and keep on loving it for the long haul.
Let’s talk about timeless design
If something is timeless, it holds true for the long haul. The passage of time makes no difference on the results.
It’s no wonder that when a designer talks about timeless design, she’ll incorporate decor items that looked just as good in a home one-hundred years ago as it does today.
That’s why hardwood flooring works well. That’s why neutral colors are ever-popular. Because they’ll look as good today as they do decades from now.
Yet if you go back in time twenty, thirty, or even fifty years ago, certain styles were “in” or “popular” and those choices aren’t necessarily what’s “in” today. Shag carpet might have been all the rage, tile was perfect in certain rooms, even hardwood was used in certain houses, but it was different than it is today.
That’s because even if the concept is equal, our knowledge expands. We have new ways of creating fibers, we’re more adapted to creating “harder” wood. And that gives us a new perspective on what decor we select.
Defining your own classic design
If you want to avoid a flooring that is too trendy, there’s only one way to do it. It’s time to define what a classic, timeless design means to you.
Ultimately, this is all about the way you live, your lifestyle, and what you desire in a design. If you love open, airy, bright spaces, to tell you to install a dark hardwood floor wouldn’t work for you.
How can you tell that? Open up your favorite design magazine. Pull up Pinterest and start searching for decor. Or watch your favorite television show on the home and garden channels. What spaces do you naturally move towards?
Do you prefer light or dark spaces? Whitewash oak or dark cherry? Do you like neutral spaces with only a hint of color? Or are you born with “bright color” as your middle name?
If you aren’t sure what your design style is, it’s time to take note. We love Pinterest for that.
Head over to Pinterest and open an account. Then create a few pinboards to fill with ideas. If you’re remodeling a bathroom, start there. Fill one with kitchen ideas if you’re planning for a gourmet kitchen. And start pinning away. Even with just a few pins, you’ll start to see trends. You’ll see where your eyes gravitate, what your tastes explore. And you’ll quickly start defining your own timeless desires.
Is trendy all that bad?
Let’s head back in time to your parent’s home, filled with shag carpet. Maybe it was gold, brown, or green.
You can still find shag carpet today, and can even find shades of gold, brown, or green.
Yet today’s carpet is different for a variety of reasons. The fibers are treated differently. The padding is improved. While we once had no idea what volatile organic compounds (VOCs) even were, today we’ve put focus on reducing them.
Carpet is only designed to last up to ten years. That means if you purchase and install it today, change your entire decor to fit the space, you’ll have several years of loving the design space you’ve created.
If hardwood is more your thing, even hardwood can be changed. If you went with a more traditional oak a decade ago, you can refinish it today and add an upgrade. Lighten it up. Make it brighter. Add a whitewash. Or make it darker. If you choose a high quality hardwood, you can resand and refinish it up to ten times.
Think long term. Select quality over cost. Because no matter what your final selection, the most regret you’ll ever have is with an inferior product.
If the fibers wear down, if the hardwood cracks, if the vinyl fades and yellows, that’s when you’ll have your most regret.
But a good looking floor will add into your design, even if you paint the walls and bring in a new couch.
A flooring can’t be trendy if you love the look. A flooring offers timeless beauty if it fits your decor. No matter how you change up your space, add a new area rug, or bring in new wall paint, it will continue to create the space you ultimately desire.
Still worried about your flooring being too trendy?
Then we have a few final questions for you.
Is the flooring you are considering adaptable to many design elements? Your flooring should be the base for your overall design. If you can mix and match with ease, you’ve found your flooring choice.
Is it simple? Intriciate patterns and textures can move out of style more quickly. If you keep the design simple, flawless, it will stay in your heart for a long time.
Is this my taste? No matter where you are in life, you have personality and design. Something that makes you sit up and take notice. Something that makes you say YES all the time.
Take the time to define your style. Because once you do, it will shine through in everything you own.
The only way to be disappointed with your purchase is not to trust your gut.
What flooring choices are you leaning towards?