February & March 2019 Newsletter

2019’s Hottest Home Decor

By David Hakimi

Comfort is trending for 2019, a consensus of home decorators agree, with more people seeking warm colors, intimate spaces and a casual but sophisticated lifestyle.

Designers looking to pair physical coziness with emotional comfort forecast seven decor trends:

  • Scaled down furnishings – After years of favoring large furniture and open spaces, consumers are aiming for a ‘nesting’ environment and choosing smaller pieces arranged in more intimate settings.

  • Wall coverings – The return to traditionalism brings with it a return to wallpaper, fabric wall coverings and murals. Expect to see plenty of rich shades of green in fabric and wallpaper patterns.

  • Color changes – While blues and indigos have been huge in recent years, green is the new blue for 2019 and is likely to be used in everything from upholstery patterns to kitchen furnishings.

  • Color ‘pops’ – People are ditching beige minimalism in favor of fun colors, especially in family-friendly spaces. Yellow is the hottest color for small accent pieces–from ceramics to lamps to sofa pillows.

  • Warm woods and traditional styles – Antiques and even second-hand items are having their moment again, with consumers looking for skirted tables, wooden chests and other wood pieces with a sense of history.

  • Indoor and outdoor fireplaces – The coziness trend favors indoor fireplaces, working or not, with homey hearths as a nice spot to gather. Outdoors, fireplaces are preserving the joy of summertime barbecues.

  • Crafts and artisanal accents – In a world of increasing mass production, there has been a shift back to artisanal and boutique choices in pillows, wall hangings, quilts and other accent pieces all around the home.

How to Reduce Your Home’s Carbon Footprint

You may work to reduce your personal carbon footprint by driving less and recycling, but do you consider the footprint of your home? Here are some tips to make your home and your wallet a little greener.

Buy efficient appliances. Appliances are getting more efficient every year, and some have better energy and water-use ratings than others. The energy rating of an appliance is easy to find and can be a great guide for those looking to reduce their electricity and water consumption.

Install low-use fixtures. Shower heads, toilets, faucets and other fixtures now come in models that use less water than others. These fixtures can lower a home’s utility bill as well as reduce the amount of water a home uses.

Plant a garden. Plants remove carbon dioxide and give off oxygen. Keeping a garden can help counteract your carbon output, provide a fun hobby and supply you with homegrown vegetables or beautiful flowers. Install a drip irrigation system so that plants get only the water they need.

Landscape using climate-appropriate plants. Local plants are better adapted to the environment, are non-invasive to other species and require less water than outsiders.

How to Find the Perfect Neighborhood

By David Hakimi

Location, location, location. Half of buying a home is finding where you want to live. You may have found your dream house, but it might not be in your dream location.

Here’s how you can find the perfect neighborhood:

  • Check It Out Online
    Look up what people are saying about the neighborhood you’re interested in. Do people actually enjoy living there? What do they like and dislike about it?

    Google the crime statistics for the area; safety should be top of mind. If you have kids, look up schools in the area. How are they rated? Social media platforms like Facebook and Nextdoor also offer a great window into the ins and outs of your potential neighborhood.

  • Scout It Out
    Literally. Do drive-bys, and do them at different times of the day to get a feel for the neighborhood. Is there a soccer field or baseball diamond close by? You’ll want to know before it’s too late whether cars will be lined up on your street every weekend. What’s that nearby intersection like during rush hour? Is there a grocery store close by? The more questions you can answer before moving in, the more confident you’ll feel when it’s time to put down an offer.

  • How Far Is Your Potential Home From Your Job?
    A long commute has the potential to become an everyday stressor. If you take the bus, look up the route and times. If you drive, check out the route during your normal commute times on Google Maps.

  • Do Your Research on Property Taxes
    Property taxes greatly differ from one region to the next and could majorly impact your cost of living. Do your due diligence and make sure you can afford the area you want to live in. Check out other costs of living while you’re at it—think utilities and food prices.

How Marie Kondo Is Fueling Our Thrifting Goals

Whether or not you’ve bought into Marie Kondo’s wildly popular method of tidying up, there’s no denying that the current decluttering trend has had a significant impact on one industry in particular—thrift stores are bursting with donations.

For the uninitiated, Marie Kondo is a Japanese “tidying consultant” who employs a method of purging items from your home that do not “spark joy.” Between her New York Times Best Seller The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and her new Netflix series Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, her KonMari method is in full effect, and what doesn’t spark joy for others, might spark joy for you. Here are some great items to look out for:

  • Books
    Gently-used, vintage children’s books are common in many thrift stores. These and uniquely-colored books can be great to use in decorating.

    For the flippers out there, good-condition, used box sets like the Harry Potter series can sell for around $30 to $50 on eBay. Other popular box sets include The Lord of the Rings,The Hunger Games, and Little House on the Prairie.

  • Wood furniture
    Thrift stores are a great place to score solid wood furnishings at bargain prices. Even if you don’t end up finding your vintage dream piece, items that look more “grandma” than Mad Men can be transformed with a little paint, varnish, and fresh fixtures.

  • Dishes and Glassware
    Vintage dishes can be particularly valuable, so do a little research when you’re out thrifting. Glassware lovers enjoy vintage Pyrex cookware, as well as glass in different shapes and colors, so keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary.

  • Mirrors
    Mirrors make your space feel bigger, so they are the ultimate accessories for your walls. New mirrors can be expensive, however, so you can save big bucks by finding one at a thrift store.