#monday mood: The best design comes from NORTH
“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.”
―Carl Gustav Jung
If I look online for 'true north' - this is what comes up : .'..there is a common energy that connects us all and that we attract people and things to us with similar intention, heart and focus. Therefore, in order to evolve and attract good people and opportunities into our life, we have to rise to their level. Our unlimited potential as human beings makes this possible. The more we concentrate our energy in this way, the closer we come to realising our life’s purpose, or true north. We are all works in progress, and the more we work to improve ourselves, the more our entire life evolves.'
As an interior designer, I get asked quite ofter what are the trends at the moment, how should people decorate their home, what colours should they use, what style should they adopt, etc. I have seen so many people sending me or posting on interior design groups, a photo of a certain furniture or a corner of their home, with the questions:
'what wallpaper/colour would fit the best this corner ?'
' I have this couch here, what rug would be perfect next to it ?'
' I want it just to look good. What are the trends? ' - this is the one that I hear most frequently.
...and to be honest, I think it's the worst...
If you are either moving into a new place that you have to furnish, redecorating your home, or just simply decided to spice things up in your house and want a small makeover, first step that you make is to decide what is it exactly that you are going to design or how are you going to change what you currently have.
As you probably have realised already, I really believe that your home design plays quite an important role in your entire wellbeing. So it is important to find the 'best' colour, the 'best' wallpaper, texture, design, combinations, etc. - that will fit perfectly in your home and make you feel good every time you step through your door.
I can easily ask the question and tell you what the current trends are, but... regarding your own home, and the style that you should adopt... HONESTLY.. HOW WOULD I KNOW ?
In your own house, in your own home.. it shouldn't be about the trends! You shouldn't follow any..
It's a designer's job to make everything work. To put everything in the best light and to tell a story coherently. But the story has to be yours. We can not create the best design for you without knowing who you are, what are your habits and your needs and desires.
Your home represents your own habitat. - for example, animals in the wild can only live in places they are adapted to. They must have the right kind of habitat where they can find the food and space they need.
Every organism has a unique ecosystem within which it lives. This ecosystem is its natural habitat. This is where the basic needs of the organism to survive are met: food, water, shelter from the weather and place to breed its young. All organisms need to adapt to their habitat to be able to survive. 'Changes in the “habitat” may interfere with the normal functioning of all biological systems. The existence of relationships between environmental changes and health in humans and animal species is well known and it has become generally accepted that poor health affects the animal’s natural behaviours and animal welfare and, consequently, food safety and animal production quality.'
While this is a very primal example and of course we can adapt more easily, we have a different resistance to certain environments and if we have the bare essentials, we can live basically anywhere... we won't be the same everywhere. We won't be the same in every environment. We won't perform at our best and have the best quality that we can have.
Same principle applies to interior design. The best 'trend' you can adopt is your own. The colours that will be suited in your home are the ones that work for you. You may feel comfortable in a 'clean' and 'minimalism' based interior design and the embellishments that, let's say a classic design implies may make you feel heavy. On the other hand, other people may be so inspired by the classical decor and be completely bored by the minimalist aesthetic. Both styles are in trend. But not both are suited for you.
Nonetheless, trends are good. Trends are good for inspiration. Not for copying. Get inspired, see what you like and what sparks that joy and that ' good feeling ' and adapt it to your own needs.
INTERIOR DESIGN TREND 2019
INTERIOR DESIGN TRENDS 2020
Trends change every year... YOU probably are not going to change your decor every year.
If you have designed your house based on the current trend.. then, very soon you will be 'out of style'...
Regarding the TRUE NORTH , taking that analogy to our subject here, it is important to find out what do you prefer, what you like, what are you benefiting from and what works for you.
Observing people and their homes through my clients and the many 'home tours' presented online by their owners, I have put up a few visuals that create a coherent story of their owners and their home.
The stories, these designs are nameless for now in here. No labels. No trends. Just stories of people illustrated in home styles.
You most probably observed a pattern, you will see how it all connects and it just makes sense. These houses are made for certain people and.. their own desires and preferences are the main criteria for their style.
Your 'story' it's the best one and it will never go out of style. Find what you like, what makes you feel good and trust that it will be the style that will make you feel the most like home !
