4 steps to designing a room you’ll never get sick of

First and foremost, I should mention that, yes, I’m aware I created a post title that ends with a preposition. And yes, I realize this drives many grammarians batty. But I couldn’t think of anything catchier, so I’ll have to ask you to resist the urge to give me the grammar smack down. 😉

Often, I find that the reason people resist decorating, redecorating or even renovating a room is because they can’t commit to a design. Perhaps they fear they’ll invest the money then quickly tire of their choices, yet be forced to live with them for years or even decades.

What if I told you it was possible to design a room that is virtually timeless? There are some tried-and-true tricks I use when planning out and decorating the spaces in my home that make it next to impossible for them to become outdated.

Here are a few of my secrets for how to design a timeless room:

1. Start with neutral paint colors.

Painting the walls in shades of brown, gray or white creates a “blank canvas” effect that offers a lot of flexibility with regard to artwork and accessories. You can check out my paint choices here.

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Master bathroom redo

Office/guest room

Kitchen

Laundry room

2. Choose neutral flooring.

Wood floors or neutral-colored carpets or tile continue the “blank canvas” effect in a room. The idea is that you don’t want to pigeonhole yourself into one or two color schemes – a recipe for boredom and decorating limitations. Remember those trendy forest green carpets and pink tiled bathrooms? It can be tough and costly to update these choices if they no longer fit your style.

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3. Add in neutral furniture pieces and window treatments.

I realize at this point there is probably a lot of eye-rolling going on. (Yep. There you go … another sentence ending with a preposition.) But stick with me. We’re going to get to the fun part soon.

When choosing furniture, think solid fabrics in browns, grays and whites. This is a good opportunity to introduce wood and metal, too. Consider keeping your window treatments neutral as well. You will soon be grateful because you won’t have fabric colors that clash with your fall, Christmas and other seasonal decor.

Living room furniture

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 4. Bring in the personality!

Now is the time to introduce patterns and colors in a room. I do this with pillows, throws, artwork and accessories. For example, my living room is currently decorated in neutral shades with a few pops of green and red.

But I’m ready to add in some new colors and get a bit more bold and fresh with the space. Within the next few months, I’m planning to create a look similar to this Ballard Designs room:

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Fortunately, I won’t have to change out my wall color, furniture, draperies or flooring to create a similar style in my room. I’ll simply be adding throw blankets, pillows, new artwork and accessories and essentially creating a whole new look for under $100! Stay tuned for details on that project.

Styles and trends come and go over the years. We can’t avoid that fact or guarantee that what we choose today will be in fashion five years down the road. But we can avoid the hassle, grief and money involved with changing out flooring, large furniture pieces and expensive window coverings.

Simply start with a foundation of neutrals. Then easily update your room when necessary with artwork and accessories. It’s what keeps my rooms fresh, yet thrifty.

How do you feel about starting with a neutral palette?