Decorating & Design
April 20, 2023
Update! Country & Trad Get A New Look
If you’re tired of hearing about Modern Farmhouse, here are some of our favorite decorating styles defining interiors right now. Scroll down!
Trad to the Max
The new take on classic English, French and American traditional decorating is a mishmash of familiar elements. It’s all the things your granny may have loved, but used in a different way. Think tartan, seagrass matting, vintage carpets, chintz, leather, pleated shades and overstuffed sofas. The palette is muted with graphic hits of black, lots of pattern on walls and drapes, and modern art. This confident mix says “decorating is back” — loud and clear.
Multiple patterns live harmoniously in this San Francisco living room, made fresh by the unexpected pop of pale pink that brings the Arts and Crafts fireplace into this century.
Designer Alice Grace’s lushly layered bedroom riffs on a tonal color palette, with patterned wallpaper and an upholstered headboard in shades of brown.
Antique furniture and patterned wallpaper give this 1914 home in San Francisco a playful vibe.
Quiet Country
Tired of Modern Farmhouse? Then you’ll like this refreshing, pared-down take on country style. The furniture is clean-lined and simple. Fabrics are neutral and mostly without pattern. Floors are often bare and accessories are handmade and artisanal, such as pottery, forged iron or mouth-blown glass. The backdrop is quiet so the craftsmanship of new Shaker-inspired cabinets can shine.
A Quebec blogger’s home designed by Blanc Marine Intérieurs layers a mix of medium wood tones with tonal upholstery and drapes for a polished country look that’s relaxed and tactile.
A kitchen in an Orinda, Calif., home combines traditional country elements such as ladder-back rush chairs, a farmhouse table, limewashed plaster walls and a zellige tile backsplash.
Decorated Modernism
Form follows function was the mantra of the modernist movement, which favored minimalism over ornamentation. Almost a century later, the clean lines and white-box aesthetic is still preferred by many, but with the addition of bold colour, lavish pattern and a playful use of materials. If homes are an extension of our personal style, this trend leaves lots of room for self-expression.
The island in this Australian kitchen has clean, modernist lines, but the Rosa Nuvola marble creates a riot of pattern to memorable effect.
A timber ceiling and herringbone floor instil a sense of warmth and definition in this open-concept house designed by Australian duo Arent&Pyke.
A white plaster bas-relief fireplace and punchy patterns add softness to the modern lines of this living room.
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