Photo Credit: @btammearudesign

Joyful, healthy, natural, mindful, unique—those are just a few words to inspire you as you look forward to improving your home this year. Home trends and design innovations are taking off in some exciting directions, with something for everyone—from minimalist to maximalist aesthetics, from bold colors to warm neutrals.

Acting on home resolutions to make our spaces more beautiful and functional always pays off. The quality of our lives improves right away, and the resale value is higher when it's time to move on. So look around your home and consider what changes will bring you more inspiration, more convenience, more pleasure, and more peace. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Start with Curb Appeal

One trend is to make the most of the entrance to your home. Whether you paint your front door a bold color, invest in a porch swing, fill colorful pots with plants or winter greens, or landscape your whole front yard, that first sight of your house should make you glad to be home!

Don't Be Afraid to Play with Color

Several paint companies have made muted shades of red their color of the year, signaling a swing to bold hues. Wallpapers also reflect this trend, with everything from geometric patterns in primary colors to gorgeous botanical prints that take you right into the garden (or the jungle, or the meadow...).

Another trend is the gradual blending of color, present in gradients that transition from one color to another, or from dark to light tints of the same color, referred to as ombre. Gradients show up in wallpaper, digital art, and yarns, just to name a few examples.

For those more comfortable with neutrals, there's a trend in minimalism toward warmer, softer neutrals, colors and shapes imitating natural elements with more texture and subtle patterns than the spare minimalism of the past.

Invest in Self-Care Spaces

2023 bathroom designs reflect our increased focus on self-care, with thoughtful attention to beautiful fixtures in traditional chrome, brushed brass, or oiled bronze. Those conserving space and water are opting for walk-in showers instead of baths (with or without doors), while others are celebrating the luxury of free-standing soaking tubs, or home saunas and hot tubs.

Small bathroom renovations focus on careful attention to creative storage, such as niches in stone or tiled showers for soap and shampoo, or elegant open shelving that is both useful and decorative.

Challenge Yourself to a DIY Project

Aside from the obvious benefit of saving money, the occasional DIY project gives you a chance to make very personal touches to your home. A look back to the Arts and Crafts era of the early 20th century provides so much inspiration for home projects. Its emphasis on quality, uniqueness, and practical beauty can motivate anyone to paint wood furniture, build beautiful shelving, or frame up a collection of family photos for a feature wall. The beautiful domestic watercolors painted by Swedish artist Carl Larsson, featuring his work and the furniture and textile designs of his wife, Karin, present a charming mix of beauty and practical comfort.

These days, DIY projects are a lot easier, with some excellent products designed for minimal experience and few tools. MirrorMate frames are designed for wall-mounted glass, adding instant personality to plain mirrors in bathrooms or other areas. With a wide range of colors and styles to choose from, there are frames to complement any fixture and all color schemes.

In a small modern bathroom with matte black fixtures, a Highline Midnight Black Slim Frame would be ideal. In a glamorous white bathroom with marble surfaces and chrome fixtures, the Solana Modern Silver Frame would carry the elegance up to eye level.

Photo Credit: @nissalynninteriors

A Mindful Approach to Design

List what functions you want each room to have, and ask yourself how good a job they're doing. Also, pay attention to how you feel when you walk into each room. Is your bedroom inviting and restful? Is your living space comfortable and pleasing to the eye? Is your entry inviting? Is your kitchen orderly and easy to work in?

Often, a room will work better with less stuff in it. Many of us accumulated things during the pandemic when we couldn't go out as much, and now it's time to declutter the nest. Go through rooms and question if items are needed, used, and enjoyed. Practical items should be in working condition and actually used. Decorative items should give you a good feeling when you look at them.

If an item isn't earning its keep, move it somewhere else, repurpose it, sell it, give it away, recycle it, or if you have to, throw it away. Mindful decorating also means working a mindset for sustainability into our choices.

Organizing New Year's resolutions are often lofty, but only so much can be done in a year. We might not be able to clean out every drawer, file, shelf, and closet, but maybe we can go through all our books and let go of the ones we'll never read again. The extra space they leave will make your room feel bigger.

Maybe we can make sure everyone in the family has one place to hang their towel, and we reinforce putting it there until the habit sticks! Every little change helps.

Vintage and Modern Mixes Are On-Trend

Whether you love vintage décor or have objects of historical and family interest that you want to display, featuring old objects in modern settings is increasingly popular. You might not want the doilies your grandmother crocheted perched on the arms of your leather couch, but what about displaying them on the wall under glass in a sleek frame?

Home décor trends are always changing, but we're unlikely to grow tired of the pictures and objects that remind us of loved ones. Even if your aesthetic is spare and modern, a few antique or historic elements will add interest and depth.

Get Your Place Entertainment-Ready

Welcoming family and friends into our homes is one of life's joys, but often we put it off until we have a better setup. One great resolution is to find one place in or outside your home where you can make visitors comfortable.

This might involve rethinking your spaces. For example, if you have a small kitchen and dining area as well as a formal dining room, you might be better served by enlarging your kitchen into the informal dining area, opening the formal area up for easy access, and adapting it for frequent use. A deck or patio that you rarely use might become your favorite place with the addition of two Adirondack chairs, a pretty table in between, and some plants surrounding them.

Letting Nature Indoors - A Timeless Improvement

The beauty of nature will never go out of style, and any efforts to bring natural elements indoors will be rewarding. Consider where plants could add beauty and improve air quality. Where can products made of wood and stone enrich your spaces? From furniture featuring tree rings to wallpapers of flowers and trees to bathroom surfaces of travertine, nature's magic is working its way in.

Interior Design Trends 2023 - Make Your Home Uniquely Yours

Home trends and design fads come and go, but planning your spaces to meet your needs, and decorating them in ways that reflect who you really are, will reward you all year long and beyond. Whether it's a simple bathroom upgrade with a MirrorMate mirror frame or a whole floor renovation, this is a year for bringing new energy into your home.

Photo Credit: @fromdirt2details