If you’ve been reading me for any amount of time, you know I am not a believer in design trends. In fact I am the opposite of design trends. My philosophy is buy what you love, what speaks to you, and you will love it forever. Go for the “trends” and your home will look like Hobby Lobby and you will be replacing your decor in 2 years time. Who can afford to do that. Don’t get me wrong there is definitely a place for Hobby Lobby. It’s called “Design Trends” but, your home, your sanctuary. Do what feels right for you.

That being said it is kind of fun to see just how far “out” I am. So, I have been reading a lot about 2024 Design Trends. What I am finding is, I’m back! So many design trends every year, I say to myself well yeah, been there, done that. You know what goes around comes around. But here goes.

Brown is the new neutral. Well yeah, brown can always be a good neutral. It’s the color of dirt! It’s natural and truly does blend well with a lot of different colors.

Working on a client project in 2018 we had the Primary Suite bathroom that just needed tying together. We had freshened up the bedroom with new bedding, chairs, and window coverings. But, in the bathroom it was necessary to work with all the existing surfaces. Though nicely done it just wasn’t hanging together. The white painted walls weren’t doing a thing for the travertine or mosaic tiles. I painted the walls a dark brown and then had a faux finisher come in and do an over scale damask stencil over the top of it with polyurethane. So we had a very subtle pattern. I added a custom valance to tie in the bedroom and this bathroom turned out quite stunning without changing any of the old finishes.

Brown does well as an accent with blue and makes for a very sophisticated color combination. I just played around with this Pheasant Feather bouquet in an old bucket yesterday. I’m not done yet but, look how the brown tones are so pretty with this pillow on the couch. Brown background, blue floral.

Another trend that is coming back in style are cafe curtains. My mom was a firm believer in cafe curtains. She didn’t like blinds on her windows so the cafe curtains let in the light but, provided a bit of privacy. Millenials are discovering the merit of this simple window treatment, and it is the simplest of DIY’s, and a great first sewing project. Headers can be simple with just a hem and clips rings to attach them to a rod, a pocket, tabs or even pinch pleats are all popular. Fabrics are anything from grain sacks, ticking, linen, floral and toile. Position is key to an effective cafe curtain. Use the rule of thirds. 2/3rds the length of the window for maximum coverage and 1/3 the length of the window for minimal coverage. If you have mullions (window panes) hang the curtain at one of the horizontal lines.

Rooms are Back!!! Say it isn’t so. This trend has been coming around since the pandemic. Now I know all you people in a newer home, with open concept are going to rush to the phone, call your contractor and say “Put up some walls”!!! Just kidding. It can be too blank of a canvas for most home-owners to deal with, on their own. All that wide open space is intimidating. So if your in an open concept the best money spent is a good designer.

Pattern has been coming back around for a few years. Florals, toiles, block prints, and even plaids are making themselves known again. My first love was always fabric, so this makes me so happy. Document Prints by William Morris are very strong once again. I just acquired 5 yards of William Morris’ Brer Rabbit. I am in love with this fabric and not quite sure where it will end up. It will be interesting to see.

These highly figured prints were popular in the first quarter of the 20th Century, and used on everything from walls and ceilings to window coverings. You can still get these prints in both fabric and wallpaper.

A discussion about fabric wouldn’t be complete without introducing Toile. These fabrics are classic and timeless. The word Toile is French for cloth. Often called Toile de Jouy, which refers to the cloth made in the Jouy suburb 4 miles from Versaille. Originally this cloth was made with a block print and later in the late 1700’s copperplates were developed. This made it easier to produce very large quantities of cloth in a day. Traditional Toile was printed on a white ground with a single color. Designs were pastoral and bucolic, often pulling from popular plays and stories of the day.

Today Toile remains popular because of its ease. This fabric works so well for every room or surface in your home. It blends so nicely with other fabrics like checks, stripes and florals. Because the fabric tells a story it is easy to get caught up in the imagery of the scene. Sigh!!!

This toile started out life in our primary bedroom as curtains, valance and tailored dustruifle. I loved it in here for 20 years. Its khaki green ground with navy print spoke to me on such a level that when I gave the bathroom an overhaul these curtains got transferred to the bathroom. I still love this fabric and I am so happy to have it live on. Forcing me to give our Primary a completely different look.

Persian/Oriental rugs are showing their face again. This is a great time to invest in a vintage Persian rug because there are hundreds of them out there on Market Place, at estate sales, and consignment stores. Don’t know where to start in a room? Start with a rug and a beautiful room will follow. Look for quality wool rugs from brands like Karastan, LaLoi, and Couristan. Vintage wool rugs are designed to last a lifetime and a Persian can hide a multitude of sins! They clean beautifully and will become an old family favorite.

Though the size of this rug isn’t quite big enough for the room I’ve decided to leave it here for now. This is the rug I picked up last fall at an estate sale. A rug I have been wanting for 25 years. I know myself well enough to know that sometimes I just have to let things simmer. This 6×9 rug cost me 265.00 dollars. For a wool rug, that is not bad, retail would be over 1000.00 and this rug is pristine. Like it had been rolled up for the last 25 years. When buying any textile, upholstery, curtains, or rugs second hand be sure to do a sniff test. You don’t want to bring a smoke or mildew laden textile into your home.

Details matter. Fringe, tassels, braid, on curtains, pillows and upholstery is going to be important for 2024. These simple details can elevate a room. At Christmas when I pulled out the holiday bedding I realized that when I had hurriedly made my linen pillow shams, I hadn’t embellished them in any way. This year I didn’t want to get the sewing machine out so I did a simple fix. I picked up some frayed velvet ribbon at Hobby Lobby and some fabric tape and I created a border around the shams.

This small accent just elevated the entire room.

And because this post is endless I will leave you with Lamp Shades. Yup they are having a big moment. Stay tuned.

Thanks for stopping

Shelley