How to be Original When Following Design Trends

When decorating your home, it can be challenging to find a balance between the latest design trends, and adding a personal flair. The rise in popularity of Pinterest has made it so that many interior spaces look identical to that of another.

Interior design is meant to showcase creativity and cohesion but isn’t meant to be followed entirely. Here’s how to find balance between originality and fashionability when following design trends.

Customize Your Wall Pieces

Paint night events and popular DIY projects get repetitive. Rather than taking inspiration from what everyone else has, use your wall pieces as a way to completely disconnect from what’s trendy. While you can still follow layouts and arrangements that are popular in modern design– the gallery wall trend in the recent past is one example of this– choose prints or images that speak to you.

For an extra special touch, consider having your favorite images painted on canvas using Instapainting. This unique service allows you to have an image transformed into a painting, whether it’s a photo of your favorite vacation spot or your family. This is an excellent way to stay with design trends while showcasing something entirely unique.

Meet Your Space Limitations and Opportunities

When you see a design trend you like online, you may be hesitant to try it due to the space limitations in your home. For example, trying oversized furniture with an industrial flair may seem impossible in the small kitchen of your suburban house. Alternatively, if you have a large, spacious area, you may worry that the minimalist approach seems lacking.

Rather than following the design trend to a tee and limiting yourself, create an opportunity by picking the elements that work and scaling them to your needs. A galley kitchen may not have the space for a large iron pot rack suspended from the ceiling but small fixtures adhered to the wall could serve the same purpose. Take an idea as a form of inspiration, then adjust it.

Use Colors on Personal Things

Rather than purchasing the mass-produced accessories you see in this year’s color at the local department store, find things that have meaning to you and paint them. While the design trend you enjoy might use vases as their pop of color, there’s no reason why you can’t paint an old ceramic cat ornament in a monochromatic shade that fits the trend.

Updating tired accessories is not only a versatile way to keep meeting evolving design trends, but it will also save you clutter and money over time. Update the things you have– photo frames, lamp shades, etc.– to meet the trend rather than recreating your space.

Shop Thrift and Custom First

In addition to updating personal effects, visit the local thrift shop before you hit a department store that’s advertising products based on the latest trends. As many trends recycle and evolve based on previous occurrences, this is a great way to find unique accent pieces and items that can be refurbished.

When thrift shopping, think of how you can make the trend work with the pieces you look at. Whether it’s refinishing it or repurposing a part of the piece, you need to be able to think outside the box and approach it with the mindset of a designer. Get creative!

If thrift shops aren’t cutting it, buying custom pieces online will always generate better results then purchasing something mass produced that will end up in a thrift shop five years from now.

Final Thoughts

Never negate personality for style. Interior design is meant to make a statement about who lives in this dwelling and what they like. Find ways to add pieces of your personality throughout each room while incorporating bits and pieces from your favorite trends.