Our 2019 Interior Design Report is Here! Read It Here Now…

As an interior designer here in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, it is my job to follow interior design and home staging trends not only in Canada, but globally. Here I have researched and bring you all you need to know to keep on top of how to keep your home looking and feeling great!

Today we are going to be talking about what is going to be hot and trending for 2019 in interiors. I’ll be sharing with you colours, wallpaper, paint, kitchen and bathroom trends that will be hot for the year ahead. I will also be discussing trends for 2019 according to Pinterest’s annual list. So sit back, enjoy and let’s get started!

2018 was an exciting year in interiors, as we saw a shift from all the white walls, white furniture and Scandinavian looks of recent years, to an explosion of florals, matte black and jewel tones. To say I was excited is an understatement! Here in Calgary, homes have usually been painted in recent years in neutral shades only, reflecting our prairie roots. I have wanted to see change for some time, as I am also quite used to the magnificent colours, fabrics and styles from London, England where I lived for many years, and did my interior design training. Interiors are getting bold, dramatic and vibrant, and are shaking off the ‘safe’ neutral love affair that was so influenced by styling from Restoration Hardwear ‘beiges and greiges’ as well as all the snowy whiteness and safe styling that came to us from Scandinavian countries. It’s time to shake up our interiors, get moodier, showier and bolder!

SO WHAT IS TRENDING?

COLOURS AND PAINT COLOURS FOR 2019

The Pantone Color Institute, the company that announces it’s annual colour of the year, has picked 72 colors in eight color palettes that they have announced as being the hot shades for the year ahead. But their main colour this year is Living Coral, a colour they describe as ‘An animating and life-affirming coral hue with a golden undertone that energizes and enlivens with a softer edge’

Two of the colour palettes for 2019 are called ‘Crave’ and ‘Classico’.  Crave is inspired by spicy reds, sweet flamingo orange and rich purples, as well as pepper shades, chocolatey tones and coffee hues. You will also see grassy green tones in abundance as we have all throughout 2018.

“Classico” has a fancier feel and is more traditional. Shades of chalky white and caramel tones pair with muted jewel tones like teals, soft tweedy grays, shades of red wine, and inky blacks.

1-As for paint, Benjamin Moore have recently announced ‘Metropolitan’ as their colour for 2019. Their website describes it as ‘Calm, composed and effortlessly sophisticated, Benjamin Moore’s Color of the Year 2019, Metropolitan AF-690, exudes glamour, beauty and balance.’

To me, it is a very safe, elegant and great choice if you want to add warmth and beauty to your room, and move away quietly from chalky white walls. It is unobtrusive, pretty, and like putting lovely understated makeup on when you want to look refined but not too showy. A great all round selection in my opinion.

2-Sherwin Williams have announced their 2019 paint colour as ‘Cavern Clay’. On their website they describe this colour as ‘A warm terracotta color with ancient, elemental roots, Cavern Clay is a nod to mid-century modern style, but with the soul of the American Southwest, which together creates a desert modern aesthetic. Complementary materials include leather, simple woodgrains and indigenous cacti in contemporary, sleek gardening planters.

Now I think that sounds like a fantastic description, quite vivid, but the hue itself is actually very understated and reminiscent of a 1970’s vibe to me. So if you are still shopping in the mid-century modern camp, you would probably find this shade is right up your alley.

WALLPAPER

Now on to wallpaper. Wallpaper is back and it will be huge this year! Which I find super exciting, as I am a huge wallpaper loving fan. For years you would only see it in showhomes here is our part of the prairies, and us prairie dwellers have tended to play it too neutral, too safe, too bland when decorating homes here in our little corner of the world. Now is the time to be bold, shake it up and make a statement in your home. Yes, make a statement! Your home is yours to do what you want with, and if you want to step out of your comfort zone and try wallpaper, now is the time!

I just can’t get enough of the bold, geometric wallpaper that I am seeing everywhere coming to the forefront of 2019 and the other types of wallpaper I am seeing is paper with birds, botanical papers with florals and foliage and oversized patterns. Maximalism is here everybody! If you are going to do wallpaper, make it the statement in the room, and keep your furnishings and accessories in complimentary or contrast colours. If you are putting up wallpaper with a lot of black, to create a moody tone that we are seeing being promoted so strongly right now, pair that with more understated tones of silver, champagne, charcoal or cream.

BATHROOMS

The kinds of bathroom trends we are seeing are clutter-free bathrooms, raised bathtubs on legs with a mid-century look and feel, pedestal sinks without storage and of course the green plants that dominate so much of our décor nowadays. Soon we will be seeing mirrors in bathrooms with built in technology and A.I. functions. I don’t think bathrooms have ever looked so exciting! They are clean and white, sleek, and all of the pieces are meant to look interesting, not just functional. Bathrooms are vying for attention and want to be as decorated and lovely as other spaces in our homes. Don’t be afraid to incorporate plants, art, shelving and spa products in glass jars. Keep magnesium salts or other bath salts in pretty glass jars and instead of a fabric mat, try a raised wooden slatted bath mat over your fabric bath mat for that spa look and feel. Add candles, either real or battery operated ones. And take a good look at your lighting. Is it very plain or builder grade? Then why not add some sparkly lighting to your bathroom for a bit of glamour. Add a chandelier for a luxurious touch so that when you step into your bathroom you feel you are in a private but sacred space just for you. And while you are at it, invest in some plump towels to spoil yourself with, or some interesting looking Turkish hammam towels with fringe and a pattern. Bathrooms are not just about function anymore; bathrooms are one area you can style up to add glamour and interest to, to enjoy while you are getting ready for the day each morning, or to relax within each night with a spa bath.

KITCHENS

Believe me when I say that black kitchens are going to be a very real thing. People have been tired of espresso cabinetry for awhile now, and although there was a backlash against dark wood in kitchens for a few years with the all-white kitchen trend, black kitchens are now the little black dress of the home. Some homes are pairing black cabinetry with marble counter tops, and the look is quite stunning and noticeable. With white kitchens, dirt and grime were always going to be more noticeable, as were blemishes and scuffs. With black, these occurrences just aren’t as obvious. And A.I., artificial intelligence is on show in refrigerators such as Samsung, who have made a refrigerator that plays music, shows you the weather, has a whiteboard and you can even order your groceries through!

OVERALL HOME INTERIORS

Overall, homes are now going more clutter-free. Make 2019 your year to go through your home, top to bottom, and get rid of old junk, old clothes, old accessories and donate these to a charity of your choice. My business, Homes Beautifully here in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, donates to charities that support women, like Women In Need, Making Changes, Homefront and Habitat For Humanity. Donate your clothes, never throw these onto a landfill. There will always be someone who has less stuff and more need than ourselves, so donate, donate, donate. If you are replacing appliances or lighting, consider donating these to Habitat For Humanity. On the other hand, if you have items that you can re-purpose, give this a try. Instead of getting rid of your old sofa, perhaps try recovering it with a fresh new fabric, and get some cushion covers made to compliment the new fabric. If you are open to painting, repaint your wooden furniture to give it a new lease of life. As a home stager, I know the importance of styling your property for a quicker sale, but not everyone has it in their budget to replace fixed materials or furniture in their home. I have had clients paint out their old honey-oak cabinets and stair railings, and the homes then sold more quickly.

REPURPOSE OR DONATE; BE ECO-FRIENDLY WITHIN THE HOME

I had one bachelor client who did not have a huge budget for new furniture, and only had old hand me down pine furniture that he had been given over the years. I suggested that he paint all his mismatched pine furniture in Benjamin Moore Cloud White paint in his bedroom, which he did, and then I added a new lovely bedding set to freshen up the look of the room and it looked a million times better, and it then all matched! I have had clients with old dated white tiles with pink flowers on them that I convinced to undercoat with Styx then repaint over top with tile paint and it helped enormously with updating an old bathroom in a home the client was selling.

If accessory trends go from oil rubbed bronze to chrome, from chrome to champagne or brass, you can always spray paint these. I have had a lot of success with respraying metal shelving units, small accessories and even lighting.

We have become such a throw-away society in the West, always wanting or needing the newest clothing, furnishings, electronics etc but now that we are more eco friendly than we used to be, it is time to start thinking about how our consumerism impacts us both globally and at home, and it can be a better choice to recover, repurpose and repaint with eco-friendly paint in many cases.

GETTING HEALTHIER

There has also been a huge upsurge in people wanting to be healthier in other ways within their homes. They are meal planning, eating more nutritiously, and many people are giving up alcohol to improve sleep, their waistlines and their gut health. Less meat, meat-free days or even complete veganism are on the rise too. People seem to want to be healthier all around in their lives and things like creating a special or sacred spot in their homes, either to work out or meditate are increasingly popular. If you want to create a sacred spot in your home for quiet time, to read, to use aromatherapy oils, to listen to gentle binaural beat music or to meditate, then find a quiet and distraction free area (seriously, even if it is a quiet corner in your closet) then do so and indulge yourself each day or each week, just for you. Get a beanbag, a warm blanket, a book, some headphones and warm socks and just close your eyes and chill.

PINTEREST TRENDS FOR 2019

Pinterest have released their trend report for 2019 and I was so excited to read this! If you get a chance, download their report for the year. It is a beautifully presented compilation of all you need to know about what is trending for the year ahead!

Keeping with the eco-friendly theme, plastic wrap is out and beeswax wraps are in! Reduce petroleum, plastics and BPA in your kitchen and home and start using more items like glass for your containers for your leftovers and drinking glasses, not plastic.

And watch out for ginger to be a big thing next year! Ceramic is again too, as in making your own ceramic bowls and plates, and if you are into making your own creations, then drip and pour acrylic art is another craft that is making waves for the diy’ers out there.

Lastly, for all those indoor gardeners out there, growing your own indoor avocado tree is IN! Making your own jam as well as bread round out the ‘make your own at home’ theme. Lastly, look out for ‘grazing’ tables to be a popular new way to feast, like a buffet, but more rustic looking, decorated with flowers or foliage instead of big sit down meals.

Back to décor, painting old tile floors, with a painted mosaic overlay is trending for the upcoming year. Again, repurposing is in, throwaway décor is not.

To summarise the rest of Pinterest inspired home trends, here are the searches that have had a huge upswing these last several months: wallpaper, tin backsplashes, indoor and outdoor fireplaces, vertical gardens on the wall with succulents or cacti, and natural pools or ponds.

So there you have it, our 2019 interiors and home trends. We hope you have enjoyed learning about what is popular for the year ahead, and have fun trying some of the ideas and projects I have described here. 2019 certainly seems to be the year for health, for self-care, at-home created objects and projects and generally, being happier. We wish you an excellent and happy 2019 and thank you for joining us today!

Monique Shaw
Lead Designer, Home Staging Mentor and Influencer
HomesSoldBeautifully.com
hello@homessoldbeautifully.com
403-926-4603