Buyers willing to pay top dollar for “the latest thing” may consider rooms featuring last year’s – or older – design details less valuable, even ready for a “total gut job.”
Technology has sped everything up, so it’s not surprising that interior design is also on fast-forward. Styles and finishes of kitchen hardware, bathroom fixtures, lighting details, and other decorative elements no longer stay in fashion for decades. Up-dating is edging toward an annual ritual. Make-overs for resale are valued obligations.
Celebrating change-makers, innovators, and disruptors of interior design, 4-day IDS17 recently kicked-off its 19th consecutive year with its annual Opening Night Party. Along with 300 media, more than 5,500 attendees, including influencers like international design stars Spanish artist-designer Jaime Hayon and “punk elegance” Nika Zupanc demonstrated that interior design is popular entertainment. HGTV, countless magazines, photo sites like Pinterest, and a host of You Tube videos have proven how much millennials and other home buyers value cool decor. Check out a few condominium or subdivision presentation suites and model homes if you want to see what engages buyers in your location.
Home buyers, inspired by the search for their dream home, represent a major force in this pursuit of interior design inspiration. When they discover it while viewing a seller’s house or condominium unit, an offer often results.
That’s why smart sellers take advantage of public design events to keep at least one step ahead of buyers. What would you have noticed if you attended IDS17? Or, what will you observe at an up-coming design event in your area?
Designers who manufacture furnishings, finishes, and decorative art in small to medium numbers offer unique, customized products at affordable pricing. Add a few stand-out features which enhance less expensive items to create overall design wow.
Living spaces no longer stop at door thresholds and window sills. Living extends out into gardens and patios to include outdoor kitchens, garden art, luxurious seating zones, exercise areas, and year-round views. The result? Beauty and multi-functional settings for all seasons.
Bathrooms are now established as spas and retreats and must look the part: glass shower zones have replaced shower stalls and strip drains are the new practical shape for zero-clearance showers.
Lighting goes beyond illumination to add functional art into living spaces. In main rooms, Big-Box fixtures are a turn off to many buyers. Unique or antique fixtures make the statement that inspires buyers. Here’s what set new design standards at IDS:
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- Award-winning Architect Jacob Antoni’s Transforma is a cleverly-expandable modern chandelier that easily shifts into a variety of shapes “creating an innovative play of light and shadow.”
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- Another show-stopper was Gweilo, the new custom architectural lights by Partisans ] that were manufactured on site. An artisan explained, “Each light is hand-sculpted using thermoforming, a technique that allows us to shape individual optical grade acrylic LED sheets while they are still hot plastic. The result is an infinite set of silhouettes and sizes that emulate the vital movement of light as a physical sculpture.”
Functionality is a vital aspect of excellence in interior design.Your appliances may be only a few years old, but they may not be up to current buyer standards. Smart technology is integrated into many kitchen appliances and home systems; eventually it will be everywhere. The internet of everything – that’s everything connecting to the net – is well underway and introducing this revolutionary integration is a main function of interior design events. Expect increasing numbers of furniture, appliances, lighting, systems, and fixtures to use wireless operations and wireless charging. For instance, appliances, including cooktops and refrigerators, use WIFI connectivity to allow control, stream music, document usage, and much more, remote or otherwise, from your phone.
Check out Instagram IDS] for more visual inspiration.
Even if renovation or redecorating is the furthest thing from your mind, keep in touch with interior design trends. They will determine how buyers value your home thanks to its decor. Small ongoing design up-dates are much less expensive and time consuming than leaving everything until you’re faced with an expensive mind-blowing renovation.
Ready for some winter-busting inspiration? Check out local upcoming design events or take a mini-break and explore events like these:
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- The 2nd annual Design on a Dime Miami on February 4 & 5 features +25 top interior designers who will each create one-of-a-kind room vignettes from donated merchandise. That donated furniture, art, and home decor is then sold during the two-day sale at 50-80% off to benefit Housing Works’ efforts to end AIDS in the US by 2025.
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- Architectural Digest Design Show runs from March 16th to March 19th at Pier 92 in New York City. This event showcases an amazing array of interior design products, trends, and much more.
