(Hint: Bring the Tropics Home – That’s a Big One)

As the air has become hotter and the days longer, I love cooler breezier interiors. Linen sheets, vibrant colors, beachy accessories. Let’s look at some of the top summer decor trends of 2022.

These looks are stunning. But like summer, there’s an ease to each one. This season is about fluidity, and it’s time for a bit of a reprieve. (we’ve surely earned it.) So read on for the 2022 summer decor trends that double as a dose of positivity and wellness for a bright, sparkling season.

Trend #1: Fresh and Unexpected Paint Details

Fresh color will always be in vogue. But it’s how you use it that will win the summer decor trends of 2022. This summer incorporates fresh, vibrant paint in unexpected forms such as on trim and cabinetry. Color can be used in a myriad of ways, of course, and I think summer is shaping up to be huge for injecting it in new ways.

Why You’ll Love It: Just a reminder that fresh paint doesn’t have to be washed over every wall to make an impact. Use color for concentrated areas to pack a punch. Paint can be intimidating, but using highly curated paint palette decks like Farrow and Ball, can help expedite your color selection process.

Trend #2: Lots of Nature

Verdant leaves rule in 2022 – and they’ll continue to, well into the second half of the year. The trend of incorporating an abundance of nature into your home is a growing trend among designers, myself included. The look can be incorporated in two ways: including plants throughout a room or by capitalizing on views of outdoor greenery with open windows and sheer curtains. Both are easy and accessible.

Why You’ll Love It: Plants always lend an uplifting feel to any room. Truly, any room, including the kitchen, bath, or even an entryway. Just be sure to know your plants’ needs as the summer heat may require additional care.

Trend #3: The Tropics

For summer 2022, bring your favorite island to your home. Tropical decor packs an instant vacation-vibes punch to a room. This look is simple to obtain. You can start with incorporating bright “happy” colors, from sunny yellows to emerald greens, with throw pillows, vases, and rugs. But the bolder approach is to incorporate island greenery and motifs via wallpaper and prints. Think of tropical trees, pineapple motifs, and leaves of all kinds.

Why You’ll Love It: This trend is fun and refreshing, and is a great treatment for an accent wall, main bathroom, or powder room. It brings some happiness home.

Trend #4: Blurring the Line Between Outdoors and In

With Florida temperatures warming up, there’s a lot more dining al fresco and spending more time outdoors. People are weaving in ample opportunities to embrace both the outdoors and the look of the outdoors throughout their homes this year. Materials like jute for rugs, chunky cozy furniture with carved details, and more refined designs for outdoor furniture are trending now.

Why You’ll Love It: Even if you don’t have an outdoor living space, you can bring in the same outdoor vibe seamlessly into your home. A jute rug (a focal piece that complements many aesthetics) is ideal, but so are jute accessories and decor items that speak to patio spaces.

Trend #5: Fresh Greens

One of the biggest color trends of this year continues to pull from the outdoors. Green, particularly earthy and muted greens, are a huge inspiration for designers – and clients – in 2022. Green brings out that sense of being refreshed and being natural and colorful – so it hits all the right buttons. This sense of refreshment and reprieve is ideal for the summer months since this is the time to kick back and sink into the warmth, and hopefully, you can do just that.

Why You’ll Love It: Earthy green is decidedly neutral and can be used with almost every color on the palette. In this light, lean toward paints and decor accessories that are mossy, grassy, or olive green. There are some really incredible pale greens as well, that are taking people’s breath away, especially in kitchens.

If you would like to introduce any of these summer decor trends into your spaces, I’m always here to help you with that. Just choose a contact method right below this blog post, or click this “contact” link. You can also email me directly at: carmen@sohointeriordesign.com, and you can always call me at (407) 743-2399.

Curves, texture, and other interior trends found their way to the great outdoors in new products at the recent High Point Market trade show. Exciting outdoor furniture trends were definitely on-target as summer heats up

Summer’s here, and the hottest looks for your living room – including rounded silhouettes, natural touches, and mixed materials – are also headed outdoors. That was one of the big stories at the spring 2022 High Point Market in North Carolina, where furniture companies recently showcased their latest collections for thousands of buyers and designers. Here’s a look at the top outdoor furniture trends that are making their way from the design market to a patio or deck near you… maybe yours…

1. Rounded Corners

This season, outdoor furniture pieces had curves in all the right places, just like their indoor counterparts. Some had gently rounded corners; others took exaggerated, sculptural forms.

The new Sense outdoor sofa from Cane-line – paired here with other pieces from the Danish company – is a beautiful and relatively restrained example of the trend. It features retro Scandinavian lines, a weather-resistant weave, and quick-dry cushions. (An indoor version is available in natural rattan – and that’s another trend, bringing the outside in, and vice-versa)

2. Natural Nods in Outdoor Furniture Trends

Whether woven, wrapped, or strung, natural fibers go hand in hand with these rounded designs thanks to their flexibility and their organic look and feel. Rattan, wicker, cotton, jute, and their kin have been all over furniture and decor in recent seasons, both indoors and out, though manufacturers of outdoor furniture often use synthetic materials to get the same look with more durability.

For summer, many manufacturers showed fresh iterations on the natural-texture trend by playing with fiber size, color, and silhouette. Pictured here, the delicate-looking strings on Kenneth Cobonpue’s Papillon easy armchair, which are made of handwoven polyethylene, stretch on a frame that resembles fluttering butterfly wings. The natural motif, lightweight fibers, throne-like shape, and Filipino roots suggest a modern take on a classic rattan peacock chair — a design that’s also popular this season.

3. Indoor-Outdoor Vibes

Over the past couple of years, patios have transformed into extensions of our interior living spaces, and furnishings have followed suit. This spring, many manufacturers at High Point debuted outdoor furniture collections that mimic high-end living and dining room furniture, making them equally at home in either environment.

Kravet’s newly-launched KravetSoleil Indoor/Outdoor collection is a prime example. Its fully upholstered pieces, which include swivel chairs, couches, and ottomans, can be customized with nail designs in outdoor-suitable nickel or brass. The coordinating rugs are so soft, that it’s hard to believe they’re actually made from recycled water bottles.

4. Tropical Pops

Earthy tones will always have a place in outdoor furniture trends, but the market’s trend forecasters predict a resurgence of color this summer, especially tropical shades of blue and orange. While easily incorporated in accent pieces, such upbeat colors also turned up in furniture frames and upholstery at this spring’s market.

Chairs from Lloyd Flanders’ new Solstice and Southport collections are offered in more than a dozen colors of all-weather wicker, from beige to the bold peacock finish seen here. The color on the Southport’s frame is customizable too. Add a coral pillow and – pop! – you’re right on-trend.

5. Mixed Materials

Many market exhibitors embraced a “more is more” approach to mixing materials and textures in outdoor furniture pieces. Whether the contrasts were subtle or bold, the variety added interest and warmth to the designs.

The Secret Garden collection designed by Roberto Lazzeroni is a particularly attractive example of the trend. One of several new collections by Poltrona Frau on display in JANUS et Cie showrooms this spring, it features teak frames, upholstered cushions, two-tone woven cotton webbing, and enameled-stoneware tops in an array of colors, including the aqua shown here.

6. Eco-Friendly Elements are Prominent in Outdoor Furniture Trends

Many of the durable materials traditionally used in outdoor furniture are associated with environmental damage, such as forest and habitat loss resulting from improper teak harvesting and pollution from plastic production and disposal. Fortunately, with increased awareness comes greater demand for sustainable products, and at the market, manufacturers were proud to share where they’ve made progress.

Recyclable and recycled materials (especially post-consumer recycled plastics) were touted in many outdoor furniture and textile collections. Houe, for one, prominently displayed its ReCLIPS chairs, which feature lamellas made of Danish household plastic trash, and most rug manufacturers touted recycled PET outdoor rugs.

On the wood front, FSC-certified wood products, which come from responsibly managed forests, were available from nearly all major outdoor furniture companies. This Sunpan Potenza armchair incorporates both FSC-certified teak and recyclable materials. FSC is the Forest Stewardship Council. Click here to learn more about FSC.

7. Flexible Footprints

This Sorrento sectional from Jensen Outdoor, whose frame is also made from FSC-certified teak, exemplifies another trend that transcended the indoor-outdoor divide at this season’s market: modularity. Easily reconfigured sofas, nesting, laptop-friendly side tables, and ottomans that triple as coffee tables and sofa extensions all serve to increase the functionality of outdoor spaces, which we’re relying on now perhaps more than ever. Fortunately, in showroom after showroom at High Point, manufacturers proved ready to fill the need.

If you like these summer outdoor furniture trends, I can help you with sourcing them and pulling it all together for a great outdoor experience. Just message me here, right below this blog post, or click this “contact” link, or you can email me at: carmen@sohointeriordesign.com And you can call me anytime at (407) 743-2399.

With the proliferation of Instagrammable mural designs as well as Pinterest-worthy wallpaper, having a unique feature wall integrated into your space is going to be a big part of the interior design trends of 2022 and beyond. Explore the luxurious works of world-class artists and craftsmen creating one-of-a-kind feature walls, curated by Artelier, a collaborative art consultancy providing high-end custom feature walls and other artistic treatments for residences and luxury yachts. Here are a few feature wall designs from their Artist Walls collection.

1. The Woven Abstract – This mural features sweeping shapes that reflect light and float through the air like metallic veils, winding around and overlaying each other. The pop of color works well in an otherwise muted bedroom.

2. The Grey and Gold – This feature wall has been designed to be a subtle, calm, and luxurious experience reflecting the palette and atmosphere of the room. Working closely with our artists on each project Artelier carefully adapts the walls to reflect their environment.

3. Suede Silk & Leather – Renowned for her couture-standard work and exquisite detailing, which alludes to Saville Row tailoring. The artist describes her work as “tailoring for walls”, which effortlessly brings together fashion and interiors.

4. Nuno Silk – This feature wall was made using an ancient textile technique known as Nuno Silk. The artist blends natural wool, mohair, merino fibers, and silk by hand. Through a gentle washing process, the wool fibers open and become meshed with the silk, transforming the separate raw materials into one lightweight non-woven fabric.

5. The Gold Mural – Artelier is working in collaboration with artist Michelle Gagliano to produce these hand-painted feature walls which are made of natural pigment and gold leaf. These murals are eye-catching while still blending into the space they occupy.

6. Abstract Mural – Last but certainly not least we have this extra subtle feature wall that blends perfectly into the space it occupies. If you are after subdued luxury then this might just be the perfect design for your bedroom.

Adding a unique feature wall to your bedroom doesn’t have to be complicated, and can truly enhance your living space. Working in collaboration with artists in all genres and styles Artelier designs completely bespoke work that reflects the current design aesthetic a client seeks for their home. If you are interested in discovering more you can visit the Artelier website here.

These are fabulous creations and I hope you like them as much as I do! If you’d like to explore these treatments further, let me know and we can determine the best approach for your space.

I’m easy to reach – you can choose a contact method right below this blog post, or click this “contact” link. You can also email me at: carmen@sohointeriordesign.com, and, of course, you can always call me anytime at (407) 743-2399.

Are you interested in elevating the look of your accent walls? By creating intricate and thoughtful designs out of molding and trim, it’s a simple task to take your accent wall to the next level. Here are nine accent wall molding and trim design ideas to get those ideas flowing:

1. Use a Subtle Hand with Minimal Chair Rails

The designer for this beautiful room utilized a flat, angular molding to create a chair rail that perfectly accentuates the minimal aesthetic. This choice provides a break in the taupe-colored accent wall, adding a subtle touch of personality.

Notice how the molding enhances the look of the baseboards and trim along the windows. Each piece adds energy to the room without pulling focus or overwhelming the design. This is a perfect choice for any dining room, where family, friends, and guests can gather to eat, socialize, and celebrate.

2. Elevate the Look of Your Fireplace

This living room exemplifies the idea of an accent wall by focusing all the attention on the fireplace. This is a fixture meant to grab and hold your attention as soon as you walk into the room.

The built-in woodgrain shelves pop in contrast to the white shiplap covering the fireplace wall. The crown molding used at the top and bottom of the wall accentuates the fireplace, making it stand out even more. Instead of a typical wooden mantel, they’ve mounted a flat-screen television that perfectly matches the width and deep black of the fireplace. This living room belongs to a family that entertains in style.

3. Create Sharp Angles with Dark Molding

Let’s challenge the idea that molding and trim need to be white. This room utilizes molding with chocolate tones to cut a sharp angle along the edge of the ceiling, floors, and windows. This pairs well with the industrialized light fixtures and darker design elements throughout this kitchen.

It’s impossible not to notice how well the chocolate trim around the door perfectly complements the courtyard green of the accent wall. The choice to keep this color uniform allows the accent wall to pop. Everything about this room feels modern and luxurious.

4. Create Floor-to-Ceiling Panels

The choice to use molding to create panels from the floor to the ceiling allowed this designer to take a standard accent wall and transform it into a showstopper. The molding is also utilized on the non-accent walls, creating a striped texture to accentuate the décor.

The best decision here, by far, was the decision to keep everything the same color. This allows the molding to create contrast with shadows. Depending on the lighting and where you’re standing, the panels will have a different look and depth.

5. Transform Your Ceilings and Walls

Aside from the blue steel accent wall, this room is packed with intricate design techniques that create an awe-inspiring and cozy living space. The molding accents on the ceiling and along the top of the accent wall create a sense of dimension that is anything but typical.

This design creates a focal point that draws your attention to the accent wall and fireplace, which perfectly complements the design aesthetic of the built-ins on the adjacent wall.

6. Create the Look of Picture Frames

Dark accent walls are quickly becoming a hallmark of modern design aesthetics. They draw your attention immediately and offer a splash of personality without making the room feel too dark.

But why stop there? The designer of this living space transformed the green accent wall by creating the look of empty picture frames. They used actual picture frames to create this effect, but the same can be done with molding. In fact, if you want the edges more uniform and the sizes more customizable, molding is the ideal choice.

7. Embrace a Chic and Minimal Office Design

Less is more with a minimal office design. This accent wall is cut in half with an elevated chair rail. This is a smart choice because the room still feels warm, bright, and inviting, even with the darker shades of blue.

The designer of this room decided to take the chair rail concept a step further by adding molding to create panels along the wall. This makes it almost feel like the room is split into three sections. This is both intriguing and modern, but also timeless.

8. Utilize Thin Molding to Create Narrow Panels

While we’re into the idea of revolutionizing accent walls, let’s focus on a different type of paneling. You don’t have to use thick molding to create this effect. In fact, you can use thinner strips of molding to create narrow panels that look both expensive and sophisticated.

This navy accent wall is the definition of luxury. The thin panels give a touch of personality to the wall without drawing too much attention. The white baseboards highlight the accent wall, drawing warmth and brightness from the rest of the room.

9. Get Creative with Intricate Molding Designs

No rule says you can’t have fun with your molding and trim designs. This room is a prime example of that. By creating an unconventional striped pattern along this juniper-colored wall, you immediately feel like this room is ripped straight from a modern interior design catalog.

Adding a touch of nature to this design aesthetic, the rich dark color of the accent wall perfectly complements the plants, woodgrain, and wicker basket. Pairing it all with the industrial black light fixture and grey metal headboard makes this bedroom absolutely stunning.

What’s Your Design Style?

After seeing all these inspiring design ideas, you’re probably itching to do something with your own accent walls. If you don’t know which molding or trim to choose or you’re unsure of how to get started, I’m here to help you determine the molding and trim styles that are perfect for your design aesthetic. I can show you all kinds of design treatments that would work best for your space, so just let me know if what you’ve seen here has inspired you. I’m easy to reach – you can choose a contact method right below this blog post, or click this “contact” link. You can also email me at: carmen@sohointeriordesign.com, and, of course, you can always call me anytime at (407) 743-2399.

When homeowners think about elevating their interior designs, crown molding often comes to mind. It’s an ideal highlight feature that can be used in almost any part of the home to add a touch of luxury and stylish appeal. However, people don’t often associate crown molding with bathrooms. Crown molding can add luxury and style to a bathroom.

After all, bathrooms are known for slick walls and waterproof tile floors, so most people think that crown molding doesn’t fit that aesthetic. Surprisingly, they are wrong.

What is Crown Molding?

Crown molding is a decorative molding used to highlight and create a seamless transition between the top of a wall and its ceiling. It can also be installed along the edges of windows, doors, cabinets, staircases, and more. It’s the ideal addition to any room’s design because it adds a touch of sophistication and flair without pulling away focus.

Why is Crown Molding a Perfect Addition to Your Bathroom?

It’s a misconception that crown molding is just for luxurious mansions, regal rooms, and high cathedral ceilings. Crown molding can be used to elevate any room’s interior design, and that quality extends to bathrooms, as well.

In the latest popular design trends, I’ve seen crown molding used in bathrooms much more often, which makes a lot of sense. Bathrooms are meant to be tranquil and relaxing, and there’s no better way to help create a beautiful and calming space than with elegant crown molding.

7 Awe-Inspiring Crown Molding Bathroom Designs

If that’s not enough to make the case that crown molding is an excellent addition to your bathroom, here are some attractive design inspirations. Expert designers throughout the world use crown molding to amp up their aesthetics and bring their designs to life.

Here are seven gorgeous bathrooms that perfectly utilize crown molding to create a luxurious and awe-inspiring design:

1. A Luxurious Master Bath with Crowned Vanities

This bathroom is tailored specifically for a trendsetter. Guests don’t often see master bathrooms, but that doesn’t mean they should be drab. In fact, quite the opposite is true.

Here, crown molding was used to highlight the vanities, to create a perfect contrast for the opulent lighting fixtures, stunning furnishings, and neutral color palette.

2. A Gorgeous Vanity with His and Her Sinks

Here is another example of how crown molding can elevate the look of bathroom vanities. In this bathroom, you can see the molding carried through the overall design and into the walls behind the vanity.

However, don’t take your eyes off the prize. This elegant bathroom vanity is an ideal centerpiece that features matching his and her sinks, soft lighting, and minimal floral accents.

3. A Neutral Frame for Beautiful Wallpaper

Nothing spells luxury quite like an ornate wallpaper, and no wallpaper is complete without crown molding to appropriately frame it. This opulent master bathroom has all of the eye-catching elements kept in perspective.

Neutral-colored crown molding was used, so it didn’t detract from the luxurious design, which allows the wallpaper and other intricate design elements to shine.

4. A Simple and Sophisticated Use of White-on-White Molding

Sometimes, less is more, and that’s certainly the case with this beautifully minimal bathroom. The white-on-white crown molding adds a touch of intrigue and dimension without grabbing focus.

It allowed the designer to add a little pop of color that really brings this bathroom to life. Paired with brass fixtures, modern art, and a cute rug, this bathroom feels like an ideal place to relax and unwind.

5. A Modern Twist on a Classic Bathroom Design

Shiny stone floors, a huge soaking tub, and white furniture accents create a beautiful space. The blueish-grey walls also add a subtle touch of intrigue, but the true highlight here is the white crown molding around the ceiling. Paired with a gorgeous walk-in shower and windows for lots of sunlight, this bathroom is lovely, don’t you think?

6. A Hauntingly Beautiful Bathroom Inspired by Dark Colors

Black, red, and white are beautifully combined here. Notice how the dark crown molding perfectly matches the tiled floor, vanity, and door frames.

This bathroom is at once sensual and incredibly luxurious. It’s the ideal master bath for an adventurous homeowner who values style and elegance.

7. A New Take on the Classic Black and White Aesthetic

This bathroom is simultaneously inspiring, gorgeous, and unexpected. While the black and white aesthetic is a classic, this bathroom turns that idea on its head. The black wallpaper, checkered floors, and white crown molding make for a unique bathroom design.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg showcasing how crown molding can inject luxury and style into your bathroom. And why stop there? It’s perfect for almost any space in your home. Be sure to check out my other blog post about molding and trim throughout your home – click here to read it. I’d love to show you all the crown molding treatments that would work best for your bathroom, or any other space, so just let me know if what you’ve seen here inspires you. I’m easy to reach – you can choose a contact method right below this blog post, or click this “contact” link. You can also email me at: carmen@sohointeriordesign.com, and, of course, you can always call me anytime at (407) 743-2399.

Looking for ways to add character and interest to your interior? Use trim and molding! Check out the various ways you can add wall trim to amp up your home’s design.

The Details Make the Difference

Molding and trim can turn a plain square room into a true showpiece. When you’re considering how best to add trim to any room, don’t just think about ceilings and floors. Trim works well along the middle of a wall, three-quarters down from the ceiling, around windows and doors, or along the edges of architectural features such as built-in bookcases or recessed panels in walls or ceilings.

When it comes to trim styles, you are really limited only by your imagination: You can go with chunky, wide, or layered trim for a bold look, or opt for delicate, narrow trim to keep things elegant. Plus, you can buy molding in a variety of materials, from paintable, stainable woods to lightweight, plastic molding that doesn’t need finishing. Keep reading for inspiring ideas to use trim and molding in your interior.

Sweet and Simple Molding and Trim

Sometimes simplest really is best. If you have a room that already has a striking detail, like exposed brick, you won’t want your trim to compete with it. Opt instead for plain molding to quietly frame other parts of the room, like the arched doorway and windows, while letting its star feature shine.

Trim Trio

Using multiple styles of trim in a single room can add character and charm to a formerly drab space. Here, the white beadboard and chair rail brighten up the bathroom, and in combination with the ceiling, trim creates the effect of taller ceilings and a brighter bathroom.

Too Much Can Be Just Enough

Plain trim can yield striking results when it is used generously. Here, molding not only frames the doorways and the base and top of the walls, but it also continues beyond, framing out beams and turning an ordinary ceiling into a real eye-catcher.

Lighten Up

Wood trim can create a stately, old-world look in any home, but it can wind up looking heavy. Stick to thin wood trim, like in this room, to add warmth without overwhelming the space. The trim also frames the tray ceiling—a quick and easy way to turn a dull expanse into a true highlight.

Trim It Thin

To create a clean, modern look, use thin trim along the baseboard and ceiling. Understated trim doesn’t steal space from the room, establishing instead an airy feel. Contrast the white trim by painting the ceiling off-white; this helps the walls feel taller.

Outside-In with Window Trim

Trim doesn’t always have to be placed around windows—sometimes it can be put in them as well. If you have deep-set windows, consider trimming the insides of the frames with a material like this light wood to create a fresh, farmhouse-style feel.

Divide and Cozy Up

In large, vaulted interiors, running trim around the room at about the level of a typical ceiling can create the sense of a virtual ceiling. This circle of molding adds a cozy factor to a room that might otherwise feel too large and soaring.

Crowned Cabinets

Molding doesn’t have to be attached only to doors, walls, and ceilings. It can also be used to add a sense of elegance—and height—to kitchen cabinets. Don’t be afraid to go bold—paint the mold the same color as your cabinets to make a real splash.

Picture Perfect Molding and Trim

Not only does the trim used here frame the archways, it also creates sophisticated panels on the walls. Using trim to construct a “picture frame” on the walls is a cheap and affordable way to jazz up any room.

Go for the Mold

Elevate your home’s interior design by adding molding and trim. There are so many ways of accenting your spaces, and so many options. I’d love to show you the variety of approaches that would work best for your space, so just let me know if what you’ve seen here has inspired you. I’m easy to reach – you can choose a contact method right below this blog post, or click this “contact” link. You can also email me at: carmen@sohointeriordesign.com, and, of course, you can always call me anytime at (407) 743-2399.