Below is guest post discussing how rustic and modern design elements can work beautifully together. S Interior Design sometimes refers to this blending of styles as ORGANIC CONTEMPORARY. This mixture can deliver a warm, inviting design outcome. There are a lot of opportunities to create spaces with unique design elements included when you work in this design spectrum.
Kitchen Remodel-Big Investment, Big Pay Off
Below is an article published by Pulte Homes on the subject of 5 Kitchen Design Trends that home buyers are interested in. The article shares some great ideas to think about if you are planning a kitchen remodel. S Interior Design likes that their design is not only focused on the look, but also the functionality aspects. Your kitchen is the most functional area in your home and if it doesn’t work well, it doesn’t matter how beautiful it looks.
Kitchen Design Trends that Improves a Kitchen’s Beauty and Functionality

A kitchen is the heartbeat of a home so it’s no wonder that the kitchen is the number one consideration in choosing their next home.
Pulte Group’s Interior Designs Team will merchandise about 425 homes in 2016 and the models they decorate reflect the hottest design trends and interior innovations.
“Today’s home buyers are willing to spend more in the kitchen – from energy-efficient appliances to quartz countertops,” says Janice Jones, PulteGroup’s national vice president of interior design, which effectively acts as one of the largest design shops in the nation with 33 design professionals. “We continuously conduct consumer focus groups to best understand what they want in their kitchens and are constantly refining our kitchen designs and its elements to ensure it delivers on functionality, creative design and easy maintenance across all our buyer groups.”
Jones says that in 2016, five kitchen trends are emerging as must-haves when consumers are planning a kitchen renovation project or if they are looking for some easy kitchen updates. These design trends can already be seen today in new Pulte homes being built throughout the country.
The “Wow” Factor: Bold and oversized lighting choices add drama to the completed space. Decorative lighting is key in the kitchen and adds dramatic flair as well as functionality to the kitchen, especially over the kitchen island.
Transparency: Consumers love to personalize a space. By switching out some cabinet doors with glass doors, you extend visual boundaries while displaying “a few of my favorite things.”
Bridging the Gap: Consumers say you can never have enough storage, especially in the kitchen. Double stacked cabinets extend to the ceiling, which maximize storage space for those special occasion items.

Mixed marbles and metals highlight gray wood tones. Materials are being mixed, colors contrasted, and styles interchanged to create a unique and personalized point of view.
To see more kitchen designs, visit www.pulte.com.
Color Trends 2017
Every year new color trends are introduced in the world of design. Pantone, leads the pack as a color spotting expert, and all of the major paint color manufacturers follow suite with their won interpretations and insights. Below is Pantones predictions on color trends in 2017. Changing the colors of your walls, flooring, art work and accessories can make a big change in the way your home looks and feels. S Interior Design customizes color recommendations for their clients based on their specific likes and dislikes, trends are the least considered variable
Pantone unveils 2017 color trends for interiors
March 10, 2016
— Home Accents Today,
Pantone Executive Director Leatrice Eiseman shared the color institute’s latest forecast for home interiors during her annual seminar at the International Home + Housewares Show this week.
After sharing some general color trends and influences, Eiseman unveiled the nine color palettes for 2017 from Pantone View Home + Interiors.
“We are all familiar with consumers’ constant desire to see something new, yet they still want, in many cases, to have somewhat of a familiar comfort level,” Eiseman said. “We have to assess our customers’ aspirations by using credible forecasts as a guide to invigorated color design palettes that will inform and encourage new color directions. The question is: What can we do to tweak our color palettes to make consumers stop and take notice?”
The 2017 Pantone View Home + Interiors palettes are:
Day Dreaming – This palette is a continuation of the Color of the Year pastel theme, with colors that evoke thoughts that are light and weightless….in contrast to the heaviness of day-to-day stresses. A key here is that other colors, such as Yellow Iris and a Nile green, are used to expand on the blue and pink.
At Ease – A step from Day Dreaming, At Ease is grayed down for more of a sophisticated feel. A variety of ever popular neutrals, both cool and warm, are blended with muted tones in a way that seems effortless.
Native Instincts – Style-wise, current and future forecasts point to a homogenous mix of design and color where a piece of Native American pottery is compatible with a Turkish kilim carpet and/or a pre-Columbian artifact. Likewise, this palette offers bold colors like a smoky orchid and a Carmine red along with softer Earth tones.
Florabundant – Just like its name implies, Florabundant is filled with the sumptuous beauty of rich floral hues. This palette offers a lot of drama from Pink Yarrow, Chrysanthemum, Red Dahlia and Baton Rouge and includes varying shades of green.
Acquired Taste – In both food and surroundings, an acquired taste means an appreciation for the distinctively different. Such is the case with this palette which offers a mix of colors and/or textures not commonly seen together, yet they combine for a palette that is subtly luxurious. Colors include Orange Chiffon, Pale Gold, Mulberry, Brandied Melon, a dove gray and a muted pink.
Forest Bathing – This stress-reducing palette is inspired by the Japanese practice of “Shinrin-yoku” or forest bathing. Studies have shown that a contemplative walk in the woods reconnects the individual with nature and elevates their mood. Several shades of green and blue-green are enlisted, which are contrasted by Grape Kiss and a refreshing Acid Lime.
Reminiscence – A different kind of walk – a walk down memory lane – is the mood conveyed here. Traditional shades like Maritime Blue, Sepia Tint and Rattan convey a sense of nostalgia and stability, but the mix of new colors like murky Martini Olive and Bird’s Egg Green keep the palette feeling fresh.
Raw Materials – Both the re-use and re-purposing of materials from nature and the health and wellness movement are represented in this palette. Zephyr Pink offers an unexpected pop of color against the many, more natural tones.
Graphic Imprints – Described by Eiseman as “great fun,” this palette starts with a base of black and white but then pulls in a series of strong, vibrant colors with names that tell a story themselves: Blazing Yellow, Dazzling Blue, Prism Pink, Fandango Pink, Opaline Green and Orange Popsicle.
Read more about Eiseman’s presentation at the International Home + Housewares
Green Remodeling Trends for 2016
Below is a guest post on the subject of how to incorporate environmentally friendly features and materials into your home. One they left out that S Interior Design recommends is to switch all light bulbs to LED type.
Green Remodeling Trends for 2016
By Mary Sauer
Each year, the green building industry makes major advances, increasing the availability of green home products while decreasing the associated cost. And that’s why there’s no better time than now to switch to more environmentally responsible products for your home. This is especially true if you’re already planning to make small updates or do a major home remodel. Here are this year’s most popular green remodeling trends to help you plan for a home that’s as stylish as it is green.
Home Automation
Smart home products have been around for some time, but only recently have they become an accessible and affordable option for homeowners of all budgets and lifestyles. With the help of a smart thermostat, you can easily regulate your heating and cooling system from any internet enabled device, including your smartphone. Not only is it incredibly convenient to be able to control the temperature of your house from anywhere, it allows you to make changes that will reduce your use of your HVAC unit. Even the smallest changes, like bumping your temperature by a few degrees while you are away, can greatly reduce your overall consumption of electricity and cut your monthly utility costs.
Additionally, through the use of automated lighting you can control when your lights are on or off with the click of the button. Simply by scheduling the lights in your home, you can avoid the energy waste that so often occurs when we leave home in a rush and forget to power off the lighting throughout our homes.
Solar Appliances
For many, making the switch to solar power feels unattainable due to the overall cost of making the switch. Because of this, more homeowner are making smaller switches to solar, choosing solar appliances as a more realistic option for their budgets. One of the most popular solar appliances is the solar water heater, which has an average cost between $1,500 and $4,500. Some heaters can be purchased for as little as $500, especially if you plan to install one yourself. Homeowners who make this investment not only reduce the carbon footprint of their home, but also see an estimated 50 percent drop in their water heating costs. Other popular solar appliances include solar powered refrigerators and solar powered chargers for electronics like smartphones and laptop computers.
Environmentally Friendly Flooring
Reducing the energy consumption in your home is great first step, but it isn’t the only factor to consider when remodeling. Another element to consider is how the manufacturing of your home and building products impacts the wellbeing of the earth—something that we at Modernize are passionate about. Conventional carpet has been found to release volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, into the air, which reduces overall air quality and negatively impacts our health. And traditionally harvested hardwood flooring can have a devastating effect on our world’s forests. That’s why we encourage you to look into more environmentally friendly flooring options such as reclaimed wood, bamboo, or cork flooring, and low VOC carpeting as a healthier and greener option for your home.
If you are new to the world of environmentally responsible living, it’s easy to become overwhelmed with the amount of change that’s needed to improve the future of our planet. But every improvement you make matters, and you can begin reducing your carbon footprint by making even the smallest of environmentally-friendly home improvements for a greener future.
Interior design trends 2016: Use of natural materials and tones
Below is a well written article on what is trending for interior design in 2016 (at least so far). S Interior Design is thrilled to know that natural, organic design materials are popular since we have always incorporated those design elements in our design work whenever it made design sense for the individual client we were working with. Interestingly the push to gold and brass metal finishes is still being high lighted. We have found that most of our clientele are not open to incorporating these finishes in their homes.
Every year sees a new set of trends; the colors and materials of last year are now history and it is time to make way for the interior design trends of 2016:
Materials
Copper was the metal of 2015 but the enthusiasm for this is now waning. Interior design will now favor a more opulent approach, gold, brass and precious stones; particularly those with a blue hue will be in demand. The main reason behind this is the warming effect that gold and brass can have on any space; as well as adding a touch of affluence. These materials can be introduced as accessories, gold trays, edged mirrors and even a brass light fitting. To some extent the gold and precious metals themes can be seen as a throwback to the seventies, opulence, decadence and over-indulgence were key and will be displayed in houses again over the coming year.
In addition it will be essential to have more natural materials, such as hand crafted pieces, these will generally be items which are made locally and show that you support both the environment and your local community. They will also be excellent conversation starters. Other materials to be brought into your home are plants. The theme of bringing the outdoors inside was present in 2015 and will continue to be in 2016.
Color
The general consensus for 2016 is to utilize dusty pinks with natural colors. Every room should be limited to beige, tan and other natural colors. Wood finish could even make a comeback with a variety of wooden floors and ornamental pieces being hand crafted from wood. This would be a great way of combining both materials and color to create an artistic flare.
Marble and other natural finishes should also add to the color palette of any room; it provides a simple, understated and elegant look. The emphasis will be on bringing natural elements into your home. An alternative to this is to embrace the Bohemian look, bold floral cushions and rugs can mix with tribal images and painted furniture to create a vibrant, colorful and cheerful atmosphere.
Textures and Patterns
Geometric designs, including 3D, stripes and even blocks will be a very strong influence in the coming year. The emphasis will be on a textured design which is symmetrical and inviting. It should be possible to lose yourself in a back-splash or rug as you become immersed in the design and style. There will even be room for floral displays and themed rooms, such as a jungle collection where everything feels like it is coming to life. Splashes of color will offer balance against neutral and simplistic furniture pieces.
All eyes on handmade furniture
Individuality is fundamental this season when it comes to home furniture. Exquisite personal customization and handmade pieces have gotten a lot of attention lately. Custom furniture looks exclusive; it is made of top-quality materials and it is crafted after the personal preferences of the buyer. Glass coffee tables with hidden compartments, bespoke nightstands with different purposes and foldable beds to make space are just some pieces you should look after this season. In terms of material, hardwood still rules the market. The pieces are long-lasting; they’re attentively crafted and timeless which means they fit in every type of décor.
Design of the room
The advancement of social media has thrust perfectly presented rooms into the hands of millions of people around the world. This has meant an increase in people wanting the showroom feel. This will be achieved by simple lines and minimal clutter. Features and ornaments are likely to be clustered together to create a focal point and a talking point. There will also be an increase in natural products which reflects the increasing concern regarding the environment. There will also be an increased focus on designing rooms which feel warm and inviting. A simply designed room with a homely space for gathering can be finished to perfection with a mild pastel wall and a touch of the luxury in simple gold, brass or precious metal ornaments.
There is also likely to be an increase in the themed room, whether this is a black and white feel, an exotic beach paradise or a gamekeeper’s cottage. These rooms will be complemented by the use of recycled materials and create a small taste of paradise for the owner.
By Alfred Stallion and TomFaulkner.co.uk!
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