Popular trends to revamp your home post-lockdown

Twenty-twenty goes down in history as a year that needed a renovation. After 12 months homebound, staring at the walls and furniture, it might be time for a post-lockdown mini home makeover. We asked a few Las Vegas designers what small changes can make a big impact.

Marteen Moore

Marteen Moore Interior Planning,

33 years as a designer

Forget gray or beige. Go grayeige. “Right now, the leaning is toward a combination of gray and beige that I call ‘grayeige.’ Two of my favorites, if you want to paint, are Sherwin-Williams Agreeable Gray (SW 7029) and Sherwin-Williams Accessible Beige (SW 7036).”

Go, granite. We mean it. Go. “No more pebbly granite. The trend now is quartz with very light veining. Also, if you want a natural stone, quartzite is tougher than granite, and some have a beautiful translucent feel. You can combine one of the more translucent counters with a white, translucent mother-of-pearl little brick pattern backsplash. It makes for a light, airy room.”

Not going back to work at an office? Personalize your home office. “Float a desk in front and hide the printer and other office supplies on bookshelves in the back. Also, personalize. If you love cars, cats, vinyl albums or golf or anything, this is where you put your collection of what you love that doesn’t belong anywhere else in the house.”

Be strategic with color: “A pop of color works well with the neutrals. Even if you buy fresh red flowers and put them on your bar for just that pop. Or find a painting. One client has a painting in the main sitting area that has green in it. She paired it with a green vase that’s not far for two small pops of color.”

Next thing she will revamp at her home: “I changed the flooring and paint already. Next is cabinets, counters and backsplash.”

marteenmoore.com

Jamie Stringham

Interior Dynamics Interior Designs, 36 years as a designer

Stains that are welcome. “Stain your kitchen and/or bathroom cabinets to change the look of a room. Go light or dark, but also consider colors if you want to paint. You can go gray or white, but consider that green, blue and black are big right now for painting cabinets. It used to be that it was cheaper to buy new cabinets than stain or paint existing ones. That’s not true anymore, plus the colors look fantastic.”

Retire it. “Look around each room and ask, ‘Is there something in here — a lamp, a statue, a vase, a chair — that I can retire?’ Retire doesn’t have the same negative connotation as throwing away. Retire it by giving it away, or sell it on OfferUp and allow someone else to love it.”

Florals are blooming. “Floral prints are making a comeback. I wouldn’t do a whole sofa, but a solid-colored, textured sofa looks great with a floral pillow on it or next to a chair with a floral print. Also, fresh flowers or high-quality manufactured ones in vases are back. Mix in flowers with your succulents to give them a little makeover.”

Antique it. “Furniture orders due to COVID are running about 14 weeks behind, and there are actual furniture shortages because of a scarcity of wood right now. This means that people are starting to repurpose their antique pieces of furniture. Stain them. Fix broken parts. Get rid of scratches. And then you can mix your antique furniture in with your contemporary furniture. Lighter-colored blond wood is the trend. It’s very woodsy and back to nature.”

Paint it. “Gray walls are not the trend anymore. One of my favorite wall colors is Sherwin-Williams Alabaster (SW 7008). It takes on a white look on the walls, but it’s a softer, warmer white.”

Flooring it. “High-end manufactured wood or laminates, where it’s hard to tell it’s not real wood, are still the trend for the entire downstairs. One popular color is a light, almost white floor. Use carpets only in the bedrooms.”

It’s back. “Wallpaper is back, but not everywhere. I like to limit it to the bathrooms, entryways and as an accent wall.”

Next thing she will revamp at her home: I’m tackling my bathroom — new tile, countertops and new bathtub. I’m excited about using beautiful porcelain tiles on the counters. They’re thin and perfect for bathrooms. I’m also going to paint my cabinets.”

InteriorDynamicsLV.com

Michele Aloe

Walker Zanger Showroom manager in Las Vegas and San Francisco,

25 years as a designer

Get out of Italy. “Think lighter, fresher kitchens. We’re helping to get the Tuscan era out of Las Vegas by de-Tuscanizing houses every day. The trend is cleaner and not fussy. Pebble marble is gone for countertops, which remain an easy makeover. Quartz is hot in warmer white that looks like a creamy white with a goldish tone to it.

Splash down. “For the backsplash, no painted Tuscan village scenes. It’s not just subway tiles, but you can use many kinds of decorative tiles.”

Invest in cooking outdoors. “People are still at home and want to cook outside. A complete outdoor kitchen can be built in two weeks to a month.”

Built-ins are out. “We’re busy getting rid of living room or great room built-ins. The trend now is to get away from clutter and knick-knacks that sit on those shelves. Purge. We take out the built-ins, smooth it out and clean it up with a few floating shelves and a big screen TV.

Get real with your floors. “We’re getting more and more requests for real wood floors for a warmer look. Porcelein tile that looks like wood with minimalistic grout joint is still popular.”

Next thing she will revamp at her home: “I’ll be putting new tile in my pool, which is not a fun one. I’ll probably wait until fall.

walkerzanger.com