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Should You update your home to the current design trends?

I recently came across this question on Facebook BUT what really stood out to me how this one reader found the term “dated” offensive to her when people were commenting on a picture of her home. As I’ve spent the last two months engrossed in learning and writing about the newest and greatest design trends for this year, I was surprised that some people found the term “dated” offensive. After all, I make my living advising people how to update their space and add value to their home. I also, mentally went through my mind, searching how often I throw the term “dated” around and wondered how many people I have offended.

But her comment really brings up a really good point. What’s wrong with a dated house? Nothing, really, if it doesn’t bother you. My parents had a “dated” house and they were quite happy with it. Until we were getting it ready to sell….. Then we went into superpower mode to get it updated and it sold within a week obtaining the highest price ever that a house on the street received at that time. The reason we did that? We wanted to make sure that my dad could enjoy his retirement without worrying if he had enough money to live on.

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Do you need to follow them at all? For alot of us, we love watching HGTV and following the trends. We LOVE makeover transformations and we love seeing what others are doing in their home. BUT trends are just trends. They come and they go. Some trends barely last a year, whereas other trends, last for a decade like the all gray house design trend that we just came out of.

I love following the clothes trends. At the beginning of each season, I go to my favorite clothing stores to ponder and touch the latest styles, drool over the latest colors, and to see what I want to incorporate in my wardrobe for the upcoming season. I may buy a few pieces, okay, maybe more than a few. But when I bring these items home and hang them in my closet, I discard a few styles that I haven’t worn in a year or so. I have a rule that I try to follow to keep my house organized and not full of clutter, so every time I bring an item in my home, I need to get rid of an item or donate it.

Updating our house to the current trends is like updating our clothes every year. At the end of the day, its up to us to decide what we like, what we don’t like, what fits into our budget or not, and what trend or trends we want to incorporate into our existing house’s style and design. It’s also up to us to decide, how many design trends we follow, and what style or items that we may want to dispose of in our current state. Just because a house trend is currently in style, doesn’t mean we need to rush out and grab that trend or rip out a renovation that we just completed a couple of years ago. We need to look at a trend to see if its right for our space, what we currently have in our home, our lifestyle and that it will complement the style of our home.

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When incorporating a new trend into your home, there are a number of factors that you need to consider first. You need to decide if the style fits your lifestyle, your budget, the style of your home AND any current existing fixed elements of your home if you’re not planning on replacing them in the near future.

There are a number of considerations you need to make to analyze to see if a style is right for your home. Just because a style is trending, doesn’t mean its the best choice for your home!

In one home that I styled, the homeowner would purchase the latest trends without considering what she already currently had at home. The result was that her house looked like a hodge podge with many different styles, colors and trends throughout each room based on what she liked. We went through her house, room by room, and came up with a design plan to help her make her home feel stylish and cohesive.

You should only follow a trend because you love it and it suits your family’s lifestyle and home’s interior.

At the end of the day, our home is our haven. Its where we come home to from a hard day at work. Or for those of us working from home, we want to be able to work & relax in a calming peaceful environment and not be stressed out by any malfunctions of our home. Creating a home to work, live in and love, should be something we should strive to achieve. You should only follow a trend because you love it and it suits your family’s lifestyle and home interior.

Read: Why you need to create a mood board for your room design

Selling Your House?

If you’re thinking of selling your house within the next few years, you may want to consider updating your house to what is trending in your neighborhood to appeal to what potential buyers want in your area and are willing to pay for.  A GREAT indication of what the current trends is to check out what is going on in YOUR neighborhood with regards to house renovations and new house builds. Go to Open Houses and check out listings online.  Looking at what the builders and homeowners are putting into new houses, AND also just as important, what they are NOT putting into houses.  Make sure your research is varied and not just one or two houses. Be careful to include houses in similar price ranges in similar neighborhoods in order to compare apples to apples.

Need some design help?

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Want a professional to help you choose colors or give you some design advise for your home? Guide your design decisions that you’re bouncing around in your head? You have some ideas but you’re not sure what direction to take? Check out my online e-design, staging & color consult packages here.

Hi! I’m Debi Collinson. Designer. Color Consultant. Real Estate Investor.

My design advise to the world is … styling your home is the BIG secret in having an Instagram worthy home as opposed to a ho hum look.

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My superpower is about styling to make your home stunning all while adding value to your home at the same time!

It all started back in 2006, at the request of a realtor, where I nervously staged my very first home. The sellers liked their newly styled home so much that they turned down an offer for full asking price and stayed. I went back to design school and the rest is history. I’ve been working my “magic” with hundreds of clients to create a stunning retreat whether they’re styling to stay or staging to sell! In my spare time, LOL, I buy “fixer uppers” to fix up & either sell for a healthy profit or to rent. I’m currently living in my 9th “fixer upper.” Sign up to receive my e-mails on how to make your home your stunning retreat, how to sell your house for top dollar AND how to become financially independent one fixer upper at a time!

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