One of the hardest parts about building a custom home is the infinite amount of options available. From light fixtures to cabinet style to flooring to doorknobs, there are so many decisions that need to be made that it can feel overwhelming. And thanks to the Internet (and Pinterest), you have access to see all of the most popular trends finding their way into homes around the world.
Trends are fun and exciting in the moment, but it’s always hard to know which ones you want to put in your home. Yes, changes can be made down the road, but if you end up with something you don’t like in a few years, those changes can end up being extensive and expensive.
If you’re thinking about including trendy aspects in your new home, here are a few guidelines to consider to make sure you love your home forever.
Go with trends you can change in the future
When you think of trends, it’s easy to think of things like accent walls, light fixtures, hardware, paint color, and decor. And the good news is that these things are super easy to change and switch out in the future! Get a colorful couch, paint a wall navy blue, install crystal doorknobs, get a gold light fixture in one room and a silver one in the other – the options are limitless! And if in a few years your style shifts, you can easily make changes and updates.
When you’re building your custom home, a good rule of thumb is to stick with classic styles when it comes to the bones of the house. Things like flooring, handrails, wall and ceiling texture, and cabinet style are difficult and expensive to update, but everything else can be changed and updated in the future!
Think about maintenance
When you’re trying to decide which trends to include in your home, you’ll want to think about the maintenance associated with the trends. For example, cementitious tile is absolutely beautiful and in style right now, but it’s extremely hard to clean. If something spills on it and you don’t take care of it immediately with the proper cleaning supplies, it will leave a permanent stain. Another example of high maintenance trends are big, crystal light fixtures. They’re absolutely stunning, but they’re very difficult to clean and often require you to take the light fixture apart to clean each individual crystal. Same with painting the outside of your house – it’s gorgeous and fun, but it can be difficult to maintain.
If you love the trend enough to maintain it in the future, you should definitely go for it! Plus, if you love it that much now, you’re sure to love it years down the road too. And maintenance isn’t always a bad thing – maintaining your home is important to matter what trends you decide to include, but the trends can definitely impact how often and in-depth you’ll be maintaining your home.
Hire a designer
Hiring a designer is one of the best things you can do from the time you start working on your floor plans. They’ll be able to help you envision your new space, help you decide where to put certain things for maximum functionality, and they’ll work with your builder to suggest things you would never even think of. Working with a designer will open your eyes to a whole new way of thinking about your new home, and they can help you decide which trends you should include and which trends you should leave out.
Finding a designer should be like finding a builder. You’ll want to make sure you get along well, you’ve seen their work, and they have a similar style to yours. Your designer will be there with you every step of the way, so if you’re unsure of a decision, you can always run it by them. They’ve had a lot of training and have likely had years of experience, so you can trust them with these big decisions.
Don’t be afraid of trends
Since you’re building a custom home, you’ve probably heard words of warning advising you to avoid all trends because “you’ll regret it in a year” or “it’ll go out of style soon.” It can also be overwhelming to scour Pinterest and read all of the trend “Do’s and Dont’s” while looking through dozens of different shades of white to find the perfect one. With so many contradicting thoughts and opinions, it can be hard to decide what to do. Here’s the thing – you know yourself better than anyone else knows you. You know your style, you know what you like, and you know what you don’t like. The beauty of building a custom home is that it’s yours, and you get to design it exactly how you want it! And if your style changes, you’ll have peace in knowing that you can always switch things up to make your home perfect for you.
