Last year, many of us spent more time at home than ever before. The transition of our homes to double duty living and working spaces spawned new design and decor trends that make it more comfortable and add much-needed functionality. Embracing this transition lends the freedom to carefully consider each room and piece of furniture. Does it add to your daily life, or subtract from it? With this fresh perspective, take a spin through the six hottest home decor trends for 2021.
Remember, trends may come and go, but your home is your safe space, so skip any trends that don’t speak to you. And if you’re thinking about selling your home down the line, talk with your For Sale On Georgian Bay agent about how certain home decor trends may add value to your home by appealing to current buyers.
1. A Peaceful Aesthetic
Taking its philosophy from a mix of Japanese rustic minimalism and Scandinavian functionality, this aesthetic speaks to the peaceful intentionality many of us began craving in our spaces over the tumult of the past year. A blend of neutrals and natural materials that are simple and harmonious in feel, this design aims to restore calm and function. One perfect example—bringing a bit of the outside in with plants and potted trees illustrates the marriage of form and function by allowing us to breathe better in our homes while also grounding us by providing a connection to the outdoors.
2. Arched Doorways
Perhaps in a nod that harkens back to simpler times, old-world design aesthetics have experienced a resurgence of late. One of the most popular aspects of that has been a return to arched doorways. A timeless look that has long been found in many homes that favour traditional design, the effect can be mimicked by painting an arched shape on a wall or in furniture items like headboards and storage closets with arched elements. Make this traditional look modern by mixing in contemporary line art, minimalist design and natural fibres.
3. Kitchen Storage And Shelving
With restaurant dining off the table for much of 2020, we cooked and ate more meals from home. All that time spent on food prep, roasting, baking and air frying led many of us to rethink our kitchens, whether that meant adding cheerfully-coloured cabinets (think Pantone 2021 Color of the Year Illuminating, which is a bright and cheerful yellow, or the ultra-trendy pastel pink), open shelving or aesthetically pleasing pantry storage. The latter especially became a necessity as the pandemic meant fewer trips to the grocery store and an increased need to store canned goods and dry pantry staples. Storage typically ranks among buyers’ biggest priorities, so if you’re considering selling, put enhancing kitchen storage at the top of your to-do list.
4. Cloffices And Home Offices
In 2020, we were forced to add more functionality to our homes than ever before. Little-used spaces no longer flew under the radar, and when many people began working from home, every room in the house became fair game as office space. “Cloffices” grew out of necessity as homeowners revamped closets into offices. Fold-down desks add versatility by being there when you need them and tucked away out of sight when you don’t. For those needing more workspace than a closet can offer, guest rooms soon may be permanently outmoded by home offices as multiple members of the family—kids included—require desks and workstations.
5. Elevated Home Libraries
Everyone’s favourite Zoom background shone a spotlight on an oft-ignored area of our homes and offices—bookshelves. No longer just a place to store books, home libraries can add major design oomph. Think comfortable seating, an injection of greenery from some well-placed plants and something that shows off a bit of your personality, whether that’s framed family photos, artwork or displaying a collection. Don’t forget the books themselves when it comes to styling your home library. Rainbow bookshelves remain beloved on social media, but try experimenting with organizing by size, genre or orientation to turn your home library into its own piece of art.
6. Eco-Friendly Design
Simple swaps can allow you to incorporate innovative eco-friendly design in ways that help offset your carbon footprint. Consider ditching your incandescent bulbs for smart lighting you can control from your phone or home automation device (like the Amazon Echo or Google Home) so your lights are only on when you truly need them. (Bonus: Home buyers love automation and smart features when shopping for houses.) Buying furniture secondhand or saving for “forever” pieces also benefits the environment by minimizing short-term consumption. And if you’re still reeling from the great toilet paper shortage of 2020, consider cutting down on purchasing all those disposables by installing a bidet.
Have you seen any Home Trends this year that you’ve implemented into your own home? Let us know!
