Design Dilemma: Timeless vs. Trendy
Timelessness, not trendiness, makes for sustainable design that need not change from year to year. But does timelessness mean tradition? Can you be timeless but cool and funky at the same time? And what is timelessness, anyway?
To our mind, timelessness is design that allows an owner’s personality to shine through unobscured by momentary trends. It does not mean that a home must be filled with antiques. It also does not mean that a home must be safely conventional.
So here are a few thoughts on making your home timeless but not boring:
1) Accept that you are a product of your age. You live in the real world. That means you will be influenced by the trends, colors, and design ideas that you see around you, and that’s okay. After all, timelessness is a moving target. What is considered timeless today might not in 10, 15 or 20 years time. So if you come upon a trend that you really like, embrace it. That’s part of the fun. Just figure out how to translate that trend into your own home in a new and original way. Below, the mid-century arc lamp and low-slung leather couch are of the moment. But an oriental rug, antique chest and framed photographs and art prints help give this interior a timeless appeal. Funky graphic pillows are more trendy and “now” but can be switched around at a moment’s notice.
2) Context is everything. The reason that some environments look kind of silly is that they are totally wrong for the context. For example, if you live in a low-ceilinged 50’s style apartment complex in West Los Angeles, decorating your space as if it were a 17th century French chateau is just not going to work. Instead pick up cues about your home’s design decor from the surroundings themselves. Don’t deny, be inspired! Incorporate a few elements reminscent of the French chateau, but don’t go whole hog, and respect the environment you’re working with. Would the daring dark walls in the interior below work as well in an interior without the high ceilings and architectural details? Probably not. At the same time, a low-slung modernist couch works perfectly well in this townhouse outside London.
3) Embrace constraints. Not having enough money or space isn’t a bad thing. It’s an opportunity! Constraints help us to think outside the box, so instead of buying everything at once in the same style we are forced to live with things and collect slowly over time. Over time, our tastes will change and styles will change. Our interiors will develop that layered look that makes them more interesting and… well, timeless. We also get a better handle on what we actually need and what we can live without.
4. Simple withstands the test of time. Shaker style furniture, for example, is clean and simple, thus effortlessly fitting into all types of decor. Think simplicity in line and concept, and you can’t go wrong.
5) Rely on what you like. One reason rooms feel trendy is because there’s no sign of individual personality. So individualize your home by choosing furniture and accessories chiefly by what you like and not “what goes together.” Trust that you can find a way to integrate what you like into a cohesive design. Below, homeowners were able to integrate their love of fun, happy colors to beautiful effect. Nothing seems particularly trendy, aside perhaps from the popular pendant lamp over the dining room table.
Images: via Aphrochic.com, via Designspongeonline.com, viaApartmentTherapy.com
Spec House in Maine Gets LEED – Teaches Zero Carbon Design
Richard Renner Architects designed this carbon neutral home as a spec home at the request of a local construction company, in Maine, because the state’s residents like to build sustainably. The state would qualify as the Sweden of the USA with 55% of its electricity coming from renewable sources – thanks to state legislation that requires it.
The construction company; Wright-Ryan Construction had been getting a lot of inquiries about sustainable building from local people in Maine, and wanted to teach its staff hands-on about sustainable building by building the spec home as a learning experience.
But the benefits spread to more people than anticipated:
Wright-Ryan’s subcontractors and suppliers also wound up being challenged by a first-hand look at sustainable home building in action – and changed the way their own businesses ran things.
Architecture That Mimics Nature to Create a Breezy Micro-Climate
Privacy, yet with a feeling of open space is at a premium in our dense urban environments. Wallflower Architecture has created a very private space in an urban milieu for a Singapore client by the extensive use of screens that hide in plain sight throughout this design. But that is not the most significant aspect of this design.
A very nature-based use of passive cooling is achieved by breezes driven across different surfaces that naturally create different temperatures in the same way that nature does… Read the rest of this entry »
Designer Kitchen Hoods by Pando Evolution Line
Kitchen appliances may look really jaw-dropping, just like these amazing Pando Evolution Line’s creations. The modern kitchen hood series not only provide powerful aspiration, but also serves as a decorative piece that instantly turns your regular kitchen into a designer kitchen. To suit your needs best, Pando offer customized exhaused hood designs with different sizes, finishes, motors and optional remote controls. You wouldn’t mind such a play of light, shade and shine in your kitchen, would you?
(Relatively) Small is Beautiful
Here’s a 30 X 60 foot house from Rockefeller Partners that makes good use of California’s gorgeous sea views and even manages to squeeze a garden into a typical tight lot size. Small houses are more sustainable, as they typically take less energy to heat and cool.
The entire front is open to the sea. Sea breezes forming cross breezes throughout the design mean the need for air conditioning is reduced. The use of wood throughout is more sustainable than carpet.
There is a tiny central Zen garden featuring grasses that soften the harsh lines of the courtyard, elegantly, with understated simplicity.
Huge timbers form stair treads inside. Generous chunks of natural materials give a sense of lavishness, which ensures that the tiny footprint doesn’t feel cramped.
The small deck is designed to maximize the sea breezes.
A very unique “stone” floor reminds us that stone is – just that: stones. Chopped-up rocks. More energy efficient than chopping up rocks to make a stone floor, so why not just use stones? It must feel good to walk on these gently rounded stones in bare feet, making that connection to the beach outside.
Only a small, simple house is needed to indulge in the simple pleasure of the huge and infinite-seeming sea.
Design Dilemma: Managing Family Photographs
Have you ever noticed that those fabulously chic and modern interiors in shelter magazines never seem to include the framed family photos that most of us collect as treasured personal mementos? How come?
Here’s one guess: while photos of family and friends may mean an awful lot to us, they’re also not exactly “design-friendly.” That is, dozens of colored snapshots have a tendency to make a space feel cluttered and busy. And as we all know by now, clutter is anathema to modern design. So how can you resolve this problem if you love modern design but don’t want your home to feel impersonally stripped of all personal meaning?
1) Create a wall installation of your photos by grouping them together.
Deliberately plan an arrangement of your photos rather than allowing them to collect haphazardly. In the photo below, simple polaroid snapshots are deliberately arranged together over a mantle to function something like an installation piece. The same concept applies to the second photo, where one wall has been given over to framed photographs.
2) When framing photos, seek to keep the frames of the same type. Above, the wall appears unified because each photo uses a black frame. Below, the same concept applies, but this time, red frames add graphic punch.
3) Consider going black and white. There’s something very classy about black and white. And black and white photos never fight with each other, contributing to that busy feeling that colored photographs can give. So go the artsy route and try converting your color photos into black and white for an instant modern feeling. In the photo above, black and white photos look chic with a punchy red frame.
4) Blow them up. Got a cool snapshot that is just a gorgeous photograph? Try blowing it up and pairing it with a couple of others to create a unique art installation. Below, although the black and white photos shown are actually of news events, there’s no reason why the same concept couldn’t work for personal photos.
5) Don’t be afraid to edit your photo collection. You can’t display every photo that enters your life. So pick and choose. Move stuff around. Replace stuff. Keep your photo collection feeling vibrant and alive — just like your home!
Images: 1,3, Verne via owi.bz, 5, De Baerdemaeker Kat, 2,4 via Design-Crisis.com
Swimming Pool Acts as Thermal Storage in 17th Century Eco-Retrofit
What a relief it would be, in Britain’s chilly winters, to immerse yourself in this cozy sunlit pool. But that’s not its only benefit. This warm pool is itself a part of an eco retrofit of a 400 year old dwelling.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tulip fireplace by Biofireplace: stylish and spacesaving
When the weather gets cold, there is nothing better to warm you up than a fireplace. We used to think about fireplaces as something big and not suitable for the needs of a small home. The Tulip fireplace by Biofireplace proves us wrong – it is as big as a regular heater. You may have noticed – there is no chimney; because it doesn’t need one – the contemporary fireplace uses bioethanol that burns clean, smoke and ash-free. Its sleek design, made by Matteo Ragni, makes it a centerpiece of any room and a great addition to any modern home.
“Glacier” Prefab House by Method Homes
Method Homes has a down-to-earth, contemporary design sensibility that informs their straightforward prefab homes.
Each uses locally grown and produced building materials such as certified Douglas fir framing material and reclaimed fir trim and cedar siding on the outside. Because the sample home here is built in a flood plain, it is set on an unusually tall foundation, with a through way for flood water between the two sections of the house… Read the rest of this entry »
Straw Building Blocks Make Warm Sustainable Homes
I’ve covered other straw bale construction techniques here before. This machine for tying straw into tubes on the field to build with, and these prefabbed walls of straw from a British company that stuffs straw into prefabbed wall-sized units near the farm…
…but these are the first straw bale building blocks I’ve seen. What a simple, but great idea. Straw bale construction is eco friendly. Straw is a waste product on farms. And sourcing your building materials from what would otherwise go to waste makes for very sustainable buildings.
Read the rest of this entry »
About
Home Design Find (HDF) is your daily guide to products, trends, and ideas for your home. Our team finds the best furniture, kitchens, bathrooms, interiors, and design online. Send us your tips
Subscribe via Email
-
Sponsors
Recommended
- YLighting is Modern Lighting. Shop Now.
Categories
- Appliances (12)
- Architecture (139)
- Art & Home Decor (28)
- Bed & Bath (71)
- Dining & Entertaining (6)
- DIY (16)
- Furniture (74)
- Gardening & Outdoor (17)
- Green (110)
- Home Improvement (15)
- How To, Tips, & Advice (153)
- Interiors (41)
- Kitchen (44)
- Lighting (57)
- News & Events (19)
- Storage & Organization (14)
- Tech & Gadgets (17)
- Tokyo Weekly (15)
Friends
