10 Design Decisions I Don’t Regret

Do not skip these 10 style alternatives that final further than the tendencies, moreover 4 rules to embrace when earning your own style and design conclusions!

Today’s publish is a small distinct (sometimes, diverse is superior, right?!). Instead of a tutorial or a task or a expose or even decorating ideas, I preferred to share a little bit about layout longevity. So often the force to go with the traits is powerful… And when I enjoy updating factors alongside the way, style and design choices that last are absolutely my preference.

Additional than that, structure and decorating must be for you and your relatives, not to please others. So right now, I believed it would be enjoyment to share 10 layout conclusions (that might not have been popular with anyone who saw them on the net 😉) that I really do not regret… even yrs and years later on.

Favorite Design and style Choices (decades later!)

1 – Marble Counter tops

We opted for genuine Carrara marble counter tops in our kitchen area and numerous bogs. Do the etch? Yes. Have they scratched and chipped some? Indeed. Have they stained? Not at all. Would I do it once more? In a heartbeat. They have been cheaper than most quartz solutions and have a motion and attractiveness that person-designed supplies simply just can not match.

Browse more about our marble countertop selection listed here.

2 – Painted Kitchen Cupboards

Talking of our kitchen… Developments (like painted vs stained cabinets) come and go, and though I appreciate stained wood cupboards, too, I’m so happy we painted these cabinets 6 a long time back and have in no way at the time regretted the final decision. If your cabinetry is a wood species or stain color you do not like, portray the cabinets is a wonderful facelift alternative.

Read a lot more about refacing kitchen cabinets right here.

3 – Painted Brick Exterior

About 10 several years in the past, we painted the outside the house of our 75 12 months previous dwelling a medium-toned grey. The brick was stained and not my favored colour, and the fresh paint breathed new everyday living into the property. We in fact really don’t reside there any more, but I was not too long ago driving via our aged community and observed the household, and it is however wonderful!

4 – Mild, Neutral Paint Colors

This is a best example of trends that appear and go, and I recognize that proper now daring, saturated shades are popular… but I have observed that mild colours provide me a lot more mental house and creativeness. And choosing light-weight, neutral colours (specially for huge spaces like two-story entryways) can be a charge-effective choice that lets flexibility in type.

We set Agreeable Gray in our house 7 years back, and I even now enjoy it currently! It is a gorgeous mix of warm/great tones, also, which is an added bonus.

Go through much more about Agreeable Gray listed here.

5 – Not White Grout

I have under no circumstances regretted not making use of white grout. Even nevertheless white grout can be wonderful, I simply just are unable to hold it hunting clear and refreshing. Mild gray grout is my not-so top secret solution to trying to keep tile hunting gorgeous for several years.

Examine all about my most loved heat and cool choices for grout colors here.

6 – (Engineered) Wooden Flooring

My spouse and I grew up in outdated houses. They weren’t especially fancy, but they did all have real hardwood floors. When we moved into our 1990’s residence seven decades back, I understood I needed to substitute the tile and carpet combo that it experienced, but reliable floating hardwoods would have been hugely high-priced and intricate to set up above the slab foundation.

We opted for engineered hardwoods (which are fundamentally a true wooden layer in excess of a plywood base and can be laid on a slab), and we loved them so substantially that we used the similar ones (in a unique colour) at our ranch house (as observed over) a several years later on.

Browse all about our beloved engineered hardwood flooring here.

7 – (Some) Painted Furniture

Despite my like of authentic wood flooring, I love a mix of wood and painted home furnishings. Don’t misunderstand me: there are certainly some pieces (like this a person) I would rather not address up with paint!

But for pieces that are badly destroyed or a wood color I don’t appreciate, paint is a gorgeous solution to bringing new life to a perfectly-produced old piece of furnishings. I have been portray furnishings because I was in significant faculty, and I’m continue to carrying out it nowadays!

See my techniques for portray wooden household furniture listed here.

8 – A Mattress in front of a Window

Furnishings placement may perhaps feel out of position on this record of big design selections, but I wanted to open up the discussion to extra than renovation products. The truth is, we attempted to match our previous home furniture (which includes a tall 4-poster bed) from our final last dwelling into our grasp when we moved 7 years ago… and it just was not ideal for that place.

The format of our learn in this residence felt SO Considerably much better with the mattress on the wall with the home windows, which meant switching out our massive four poster for a little something that permitted mild by way of the headboard. We created the adjust practically 5 many years back, and I’m so happy we did!

9 – Wooden Wall Therapies

I really like molding and trim function and entire wall treatment plans they incorporate magnificence to a room and enhance property value without including “stuff” to your lifetime. This molding we did on our fire renovation is my preferred, but I love all the wall therapies we’ve carried out more than the several years.

See some of my favorite (Do it yourself-equipped) wooden wall treatment selections listed here.

10 – Marble Lavatory Tile

The problems about marble countertops were echoed by lots of when I chose marble floor and wall tiles in our bogs. But a lot more than 10 yrs soon after initial applying marble in a lavatory, I continue to opt for it once again and all over again.

See more about marble in bogs right here.

Generating Style Choices that Last

While I’m a agency believer that structure is a private alternative (households really should be as unique as the men and women who live in them!), I observed a couple of common takeaways in reflection:

1 – Go for timeless, purely natural materials

Lesson learned from: marble countertops, wood floors, marble loos

I know price range is constantly a consideration, but pure components like marble and wooden that have been utilized for hundreds of years (howdy, Rome!) are commonly a good choice.

2 – Find your satisfied neutral

Lesson realized from: gentle, neutral paint colors and not-white grout

Amazing colours were being all the rage 8 several years back, even though warm ones are creeping in now… But I know my favored neutral is right in the middle. I like heat grey walls and heat gray grout. Both equally are effortless to cleanse and go with anything at all. Your satisfied neutral could possibly be distinct than mine, but once you obtain it, don’t second guess you dependent on developments.

3 – Protect excellent bones, but never be fearful to reface them

Lesson figured out from: painted brick exterior, painted cupboards, painted home furnishings

As each individual grandpa just about everywhere loves to say, “The just never make them like they applied to.” Plus, restoring a thing is usually much more eco and economically pleasant. 😉 If you would like something better with a new seem (whether or not it’s a brick exterior or an antique dresser), do it! If can repaint, refinish, or restore anything relatively than beginning from scratch, really do not be scared to go for it.

4 – Embrace the house you have

Lesson acquired from: wooden wall treatment options and beds in front of home windows

It can be easy to see attractive interiors and want to replicate that in your property. While that is definitely not a terrible thing, I think it’s useful to keep in mind that each and every house is exceptional. I adore official, tasteful molding, but it would in no way go well in our ranch residence. I cherished our aged bed room home furnishings, but it built our present grasp bed room come to feel tiny and cramped. Finding out to see and embrace your place – and then make it attractive – can make all the variance.

I’d appreciate to know: what are some design options you are grateful you manufactured?