How to Future-Proof Your Favourite Decor Fads
The decorating trends you love don't have to look passe with these future-proofing tips
Pineapples, flamingoes and palm prints have stolen more than a few hearts in recent years, and there’s no need for that love to fizzle out. Many of your favourite trends can stay current well past their use-by dates, with a little reimagining or a more subtle approach. Likewise with colour-coded bookshelves, ombre, and subway tiles. If you’re not ready to say goodbye, it’s simply a matter of nudging them into the future with a contemporary tweak. Let’s take a look at some beloved interior fashions that have taken over our homes – and how to keep them in vogue.
Future-proof: Embracing an era with confidence will ensure your interiors stay current. More is more when it comes to macramé, especially when the rest of your interiors tie in with the retro theme. In rethinking this Melbourne apartment, Mr Mitchell interior designer Andrew Mitchell used colour, pattern and form to play out a retro theme throughout. This dining nook, for example, makes a fun reference to a bygone era with a macramé screen around the back of the seat.
See more of this apartment
See more of this apartment
The owners of this apartment in the Hollywood Hills have also gone a little mad with macramé… to brilliant effect. The woven wonders appearing throughout the home just add to the sophisticated ’70s vibe.
Take a look around
Take a look around
Pineapples
Historically a symbol of friendship and hospitality, pineapple motifs and themed accessories have become whimsical additions to many fun-loving homes.
Historically a symbol of friendship and hospitality, pineapple motifs and themed accessories have become whimsical additions to many fun-loving homes.
Future-proof: By all means keep right on displaying brightly bright and colourful pineapples on walls, tables and sofas if you want to, but approaching the trend in a more subtle way will keep it looking current. This bathroom will give you a pineapple fix, without looking kitsch or dated.
A pineapple-themed lamp in neutral shades delivers the same result.
Or why not just display the real deal? Three pineapples in a shallow bowl or on a cake stand make a centrepiece worthy of display on any kitchen island or dining table.
Colour-coded bookshelves
On a small scale or in an eclectic-style room, arranging your books by colour can bring some welcome order, and for style-conscious homeowners such an arrangement can bring unbridled joy.
On a small scale or in an eclectic-style room, arranging your books by colour can bring some welcome order, and for style-conscious homeowners such an arrangement can bring unbridled joy.
Likewise on a grand-scale, colour-coded books can turn bookshelves into a work of art.
Future-proof: There’s little risk of colour-coded shelves falling out of favour, but a simple trick to keep your arrangement looking current is to match accessories with books. The display will not only pack more punch, but it’s also the perfect excuse to shop around for knick-knacks and treasures in all the colours of the rainbow.
Tropical prints
The now-classic Martinique banana leaf wallpaper created for Hollywood’s iconic Beverly Hills Hotel is classy, sophisticated and a little bit lavish. If you love the tropical vibe of this well-recognised wallpaper but fear it’s becoming overplayed, reimagine it!
Palm Prints Make a Welcomed Appearance Indoors
The now-classic Martinique banana leaf wallpaper created for Hollywood’s iconic Beverly Hills Hotel is classy, sophisticated and a little bit lavish. If you love the tropical vibe of this well-recognised wallpaper but fear it’s becoming overplayed, reimagine it!
Palm Prints Make a Welcomed Appearance Indoors
Future-proof: Introducing tropical prints in a more subtle way can add a resort-style vibe to a light-filled living area … particularly when paired with the real deal – a frond or two in vases adds to the fresh and lively atmosphere.
Likewise when you want to bring a holiday feel to an outdoor nook.
If it’s that banana-leaf wallpaper you really love, why not bring it home in an unexpected way. In urban homes where the outlook is a little lacking, a fabric Martinique blind could be the solution your room needs.
Honeycomb tiles
Geometrics are impossible not to love, and when they come in the form of hexagonal tiles, they’re simply irresistible. Little wonder they’re appearing in bathrooms and kitchens across the nation.
Geometrics are impossible not to love, and when they come in the form of hexagonal tiles, they’re simply irresistible. Little wonder they’re appearing in bathrooms and kitchens across the nation.
Future-proof: Marble is the material of the moment, but it’s also a classic that will never go out of style. Opting for honeycomb tiles in marble, then, will guarantee longevity no matter what fashion dictates in relation to hexagonal forms.
The other way to future-proof a trend is to embrace it with gusto. Confidence is key when it comes to interiors that work, and the face of this kitchen island is a case in point.
Ombré
When your curtains look as good as these do, what’s not to love about ombré? They work just as well in an eclectic-style space as they do in sleek and contemporary interiors.
When your curtains look as good as these do, what’s not to love about ombré? They work just as well in an eclectic-style space as they do in sleek and contemporary interiors.
Future-proof: In a formal dining room, ombré can add a little pizzazz … especially if the deepest colour in the scheme is picked up elsewhere in the room. Ombré for the sake of ombré can otherwise risk giving a home a uni-student aesthetic – which is fine when you’re actually a uni student, but not so much when you’re aiming for a more sophisticated look.
Subway tiles
They may have originated on the subway station walls of New York in the early 20th century, but the subway tile is now a common element in stylish bathrooms and kitchens across the globe.
They may have originated on the subway station walls of New York in the early 20th century, but the subway tile is now a common element in stylish bathrooms and kitchens across the globe.
Future-proof: Subway tiles needn’t become ho-hum and overdone when you use them in novel ways. These 300 by 100 millimetre tiles have been laid in a herringbone pattern that gives a small bathroom an upmarket look.
Flamingoes
You’re not the only one to have fallen head over heels for flamingoes – they’ve been popping up inside homes and out of doors for a few years now, adding whimsy and colour in spades.
Get ready for the influx of flamingoes
You’re not the only one to have fallen head over heels for flamingoes – they’ve been popping up inside homes and out of doors for a few years now, adding whimsy and colour in spades.
Get ready for the influx of flamingoes
Future-proof: Flamingo-adorned cushions are the safest way of bringing a pink-feathered friend or two home to roost. In outdoor rooms needing an injection of colour and fun, flamingoes will always deliver.
As with all interior trends, be sure to determine whether flamingoes are what you really love or whether you like them just because they’re in fashion. If a trend truly makes you happy, keep it around, even when it goes out of style. A house that reflects its owner’s personality and preferences will always feel more like a home.
TELL US
Which interior trends will you keep around, even when they’re no longer in vogue? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
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TELL US
Which interior trends will you keep around, even when they’re no longer in vogue? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
MORE
Browse more decorating stories
The resurgence of ’70s style has brought with it macramé wall hangings and hanging pot plant holders, but is it time we wished them a fond adieu? I say no way – the handmade aesthetic is here to stay.