by Mike Siewert
With many fashion and Interior design styles, the southeast tends to follow western and northern trends. Typically, it takes a couple of years for new styles to catch on with the designers and the retail store buyers who attend the markets that showcase these new ideas to the public.
However, with the ever-growing design options on the internet, such as Houzz, Pinterest and other social media outlets, some homeowners jump on the train before the ideas are introduced into a community by a professional.
Opinion
The leading style categories are Traditional, Contemporary and of course, Transitional.
We used to use the word eclectic to describe a “hodge-podge” of home furnishings and decor. As most people would mix new pieces into their home that already included pieces handed down from family or from a previous marriage, transitional became the word that describes how most people decorate.
The transitional style is non-committal and allows people to add pieces easily down the road without a care, without having to stay in the lane of traditional or contemporary.
When most people think of interior design, they think of fine furniture. This usually consists of hardwoods such as oak, cherry and mahogany. And, this was the design aesthetic for hundreds of years.
Inlaid woods, sometimes with exotic wood mixes, became popular. As the 1920s and 30s came around, Art Deco became in-vogue for high-end interiors. They used the same woods, with a mix of metal in the years of Gatsby.
After the Great Depression and World War II, people began to live….and spend money again. Very clean and mid-century furnishings came to be, and the word contemporary became popular. All of these styles began to get mixed in most homes, and we began the eclectic, or transitional, lifestyle decorating.
Designers use the word modern, but modern does not mean contemporary. It simply means up-to-date. In recent years, modern designs revolve around electronics, and with great thanks from us professionals, we now have many wireless features that allow for easier electronic installations.
There are many great resources and decor pieces, be it furniture, rugs, art, lamps, rugs, etc., that offer transitional pieces. These items make it much easier for designers to use as we stock our stores and warehouses. These transitional pieces appeal to most everyone.
However, especially in the South, many people will always decorate in a traditional style. Southerners tend to like cherry and mahogany woods, and they like layers in their fabric treatments (swags of fabric at the windows and multiple pillows on the bed and sofa).
In recent years, we have seen many “Northerners” and “Westerners” move into our area, enjoying the low cost of living, low crime and great school systems. I find many of these people are looking for more contemporary furnishings.
I am selling more lacquer furniture, abstract art and using more bold primary colors on the walls. But that is what sets us all apart. It is nice to visit homes and see how people like to decorate and to help them create balance no matter their design style.
My favorite is to have a good mix. Nothing pops more than a quality antique that makes a huge statement in a room of more clean, contemporary furnishings.
Don’t be afraid to mix it up!
If you tend to be more contemporary or even transitional, I find nothing more fun than to go antiquing on the hunt for a truly terrific piece that will make a statement. The same goes if you are more traditional and you want to add something more contemporary into your setting.
Start with something small, like a pillow or piece of art, and watch your friends comment on how unique the piece is as it pops and draws attention.
