Designing Your Life

Buying a new home presents an exciting opportunity to explore new designs and patterns available in new and recently updated homes making their way into the market. Your new home presents an opportunity to incorporate the latest trends into a style that’s entirely your own, a blank slate to express your personality and shape your mood. In fact, this has been a recent trend in home design. We’re seeing a far more eclectic and bold array of styles instead of the copycat styles of the past.

Here’s a quick primer on this and other home design trends that will define 2018:

Maximize Your Life

The past decade was dominated by Scandinavian-influenced modernist designs that looked nice and clean, but were also a bit sterile and impersonal. In contrast, this year will see the return of maximalism. We’ll be seeing more bright-hued colors, along with retro geometric and floral patterns on curtains, furniture, and rugs. Speaking of retro, even wallpaper is ready to make a comeback, with designers like Aimée Wilder and Burke Decor producing wallpaper with stylish print designs and durable materials that are easy to install and remove.

All-Natural Ingredients 

Homeowners have also opted for artisan fixtures and natural materials to accent their home and make it truly unique. Some examples include lighting made from blown glass or other environmentally sustainable materials. In addition to handmade accents, natural materials like copper, wood, and concrete are used to provide a warm, homey feeling to living rooms, kitchens, and even bathrooms. Homeowners are increasingly embracing “imperfect” designs, which show evidence that the materials were cut by hand. This helps emphasize authenticity and natural design.

The Real Outdoor Experience

The authenticity trend extends to home exteriors, as homeowners are using more natural materials and accents to personalize the outside of their homes. While the past decade was dominated by the ubiquitous McMansion or townhouse look, now the forefront of exterior home design is all about individuality. Some of these unique elements include using natural finishes such as stone, brick, or stucco for exterior features. This gives the home a more organic feel than the aluminum or vinyl siding widely seen in previous eras.

Wood exterior accents have also seen a surge in popularity. Wood-based columns and brackets are more commonly utilized in homes, restaurants, and public spaces to emphasize the building’s structure, rather than conceal it. It’s more common than ever to see exposed wooden beams, bricks, ductwork, and other artifacts of the construction elements of a space. The effect doesn’t just denote authenticity, but also creates a sense of space.

Let Vantage West Help You Find a Home with Personality

Whether it’s finding that perfect, turnkey home or a charming fixer-upper to be your blank slate, we’ll help you secure it. With some of the lowest rates available and flexible options to suit your lifestyle, our loans are designed to make the home buying experience as rewarding as possible. And, as always, our locally based Member service will usher you through the process and be available for any questions along the way. Visit VantageWest.org for more information and to get pre-approved for a loan.

Loans subject to approval. Certain restrictions apply.