Timeless Tips: Love Your Home for Years to Come
As we scroll through social media and flip through magazines, we are bombarded with images of “perfect” or “trendy” homes. Wide-plank, white oak floors are the latest craze, along with bouclé, white paint, and Calacatta Viola marble. While I love to scroll and save inspiring homes myself, I can’t help but draw a comparison between the unrealistic beauty standards we hold for ourselves and the design standards set for our homes. Similar to beauty ideals that gain and wane in popularity over time (think bushy but tame eyebrows and pouty lips), our homes are now subject to another all too familiar formula – one that also changes like the sands of time.
In the same way that not everyone has the same body, not everyone’s home will or should look the same. Time and time again, I hear homeowners expressing an interest in current trends, but their curiosity is dampened with reservation as they recognize that they don’t actually connect with the vision. Soon, they come to realize that it’s not really their vision at all.
An unwelcome truth for many is that, yes, we could turn your home upside down, rework the layout, and refresh your furnishings — but will you love it? At first glance, yes! It’ll fit the ideal norms that have been laid upon us all by social media. Any good designer can make a swoon-worthy, trend-stuffed home that’s sure to generate a buzz online. But the more important question is this: do you love it, and will you love it for years to come? Something equally important to consider is, will you feel at home in it?
Being in the design industry for over seven years, I’ve come to recognize that whenever we fall prey to trends, we tend to fall away from them shortly thereafter. What we once adored, we grow tired of all too quickly. My take on why that is? You probably didn’t truly love it to begin with.
So how can you be sure that when you renovate, you’ll love what you select forever or at least for a long while? I’ve found that when we trust our instincts and put a few simple practices into motion, we can all create spaces that truly resonate, and that we’ll be happy to call home for years to come.
Honour Your Authentic Style
You may not know exactly what your style is, but you don’t need to have it perfectly defined to begin cultivating an idea of what you love. Below, I’ve outlined a simple exercise designed to help you refine your style and ensure you’re consistently selecting items and finishes you love.
Hop onto Pinterest or Houzz and save images that you absolutely adore. Be ruthless in your pursuit of photos that you’re completely enamoured with — don’t save any that don’t truly align with what you love. Aim to “pin” or save about 30 or so. Then, head to your board and review your images. As you review your choices, you’ll likely notice that there are several commonalities between them. Here are the types of similarities you may find:
Palette: do most of the images lean toward warm, cool, or neutral tones?
Contrast: are there several high-contrast elements or are most of the images tonal and soft?
Styling: are the designs minimalist (sparsely decorated; a pared back look), maximalist (heavily-styled; visually stimulating spaces), or somewhere in between?
Aesthetic: broadly speaking, would you say that most of the designs are traditional or modern? If you believe your style is somewhere in between (where I find many clients land), we consider this a transitional aesthetic. Of course, there are a vast array of design styles — coastal, farmhouse, rustic, eclectic, to name just a few.
To gain an even better understanding of the different design styles, hop onto Houzz and filter the photos by style. You can toggle between dozens of design styles to see hundreds of images within each selected category. You may find you align with more than one aesthetic — that’s great and important to know!
Another good way to hone in on your personal style is to find and follow designers who consistently post spaces you love. If you do seek professional design guidance, it’s great to be able to point to a few designers whose work you admire.
The most important thing to remember is that your style doesn’t need to slot in perfectly with the current design trends, it just has to be authentic to you. As I say: if you desire a timeless end result, begin with authentic expression — that is to say: if you want to love your home for the long haul, then you have to stay true to what it is that you gravitate to. Forget what industry leaders tell you is “in”, or what your friends are obsessing over. What genuinely brings you serenity and joy? What are you drawn to time and time again? Focus on this and your own distinct style will flourish.
Favour Function over Form
I know, I know — the age old debate. Hear me out: it doesn’t matter how beautiful something is if it doesn’t work well in your space. Likewise, it’s irrelevant how gorgeous something looks if it trumps a piece with purpose. When creating a well-designed space, we first need to think about how our home functions. Ask yourself,
What is our family lifestyle like?
Where do we spend the most time?
How do I want to feel in my home?
What areas need to be reorganized in order to function properly? (More on this below!)
When considering these questions, it’s crucial that you continually bring things back to you and your family. For example, you may love the look of a sectional because you’ve seen it in every design magazine — but if you’re like me, you may find that you rarely use the corner. You’ll always find me nestled against an armrest, within arm’s reach of an end table to easily land my mug of tea. In that case, two sofas may make more sense than a sectional because I’ll get optimal use out of the multiple, cozy ends. On the other hand, you may find that your family likes to sprawl out and would take full advantage of the length of a sectional — in this case, perhaps it makes the most sense for your space.
The best design solutions are rooted in functionality, formulated especially to your lifestyle. Images in magazines may look beautiful, but they can prove impractical for you and your family. Designers deliver the best of both worlds by marrying form and function, to achieve effortless living in a home that suits you through and through.
Timber Lane: Art Studio
When designing the lower level of Timber Lane, we knew it was important to carve out a special space for our client to showcase and develop her artistic talents. Enclosed in glass, the back wall of the art studio serves as a beautiful gallery wall, while allowing the natural light to carry through to the rest of the interior space.
Organize & Declutter
We won’t spend too much time here, as I know everyone’s up to their eyeballs in home organization TV shows and TikTok videos — and for good reason. When your home is organized, you feel better. Simple as that! When there’s a spot for everything and a method for sorting, your brain isn’t constantly running into obstacles within your home. Instead of wasting good energy on wondering where things are (and wandering about trying to find them), you can instead be on autopilot and spend your time thinking about other more important things.
Start by investing in organizational items like closet organizers, shoe racks, storage bins, baskets, drawer dividers, etc. While you’re at it, pick up a label maker and assign those bins, baskets, and drawers dedicated purposes so that you have a system in place to stay organized.
Most importantly, say goodbye (or at least safely tuck away) any items that you’re holding onto because you feel you have to. We all struggle with this. We hold onto things because they have sentimental value, but having them out and on display often doesn’t bring us joy. If that’s the case, find a safe spot to store them, or if you have the space, invest in a display case in a less-trafficked area of your home where you wouldn’t mind seeing those pieces.
Be Intentional
You don’t need to be a designer to create a functional, beautiful space. Start with purpose and then select elements in-line with both the aesthetic and functional vision. Refer back to the images you’ve saved, and come up with a game plan for how you might achieve a similar look within your space. Keep in mind that the best design solutions take time to curate – enjoy the process of pulling your space together bit by bit.
If you get lost along the way, don’t be afraid to reach out to a design professional for help. After all, that’s what we’re here for! As designers, we harness both the technical skills and artistic talent to create seamless designs that fuse both the functional and aesthetic goals of your unique space. Most interior designers offer an array of services that cater to the level of expertise required for your project — you may find that a design consultation is enough to steer you in the right direction.
Whatever your design journey looks like, remember to be unapologetically, authentically you. After all, it’s your life, your space.
