GETTING REAL: HOW TO BREAK FREE OF DECORATING TRENDS
THE SHORT ANSWER IS FOCUS ON WHAT'S TIMELESS. THE BIGGER QUESTION IS HOW? DESIGNER LISA SHERRY WEIGHS IN!
SEPTEMBER 3, 2024 | CHARLOTTE, NC
Hello, autumn. I know your type. We’ve been here before. Cooler temps. Shorter days, longer nights, football, sweater weather, and – wait for it – seasonal home decor trend prognostications. Frankly, it’s the trend that gets my dander up. I am passionate about the ever-changing world of design, but I flatline at trendspotting.
With that, join me on a short counter-trend journey today. I call it timelessness. No need to fasten your seatbelt. These seven design “principes” are simple, clarifying, slow and easy. Remember, what’s real is always in style … fall, winter, spring and summer.
A TIMELESS P.O.V. FOR FALL AND BEYOND:
LAYERED NEUTRALS
Fashion aficionados especially love to trend-spot colors. Does anyone else have whiplash? As always, I remain passionately neutral. And timeless. My favored neural palettes are evergreen, always fresh, always in style. The many shades of white have been sort of a signature palette for me, but I’m always evolving creatively – and personally. More and more, I’m experimenting with an expanded and layered neutral palette, including soft taupes, creams and beiges – in addition to my favorite whites. LSI’s “new neutrals” feel like a sensual tide, a natural force.
COZY TEXTURES
“Don’t touch.” Do you remember receiving that motherly guidance as a kid? Today, at Lisa Sherry Interieurs, quite the opposite is true. Please touch. As I ready my own homes for the fall and create new spaces for LSI clients, I am doubling down on my passion for texture. Touch might be my favorite sense. Of course, tactile upholstery fabrics, throws and coverlets are low hanging fruit for fans of texture like me. But in my world, everything in a room is a candidate for textural expression. I love wallpaper, wood grains, smooth lacquers, paper mache, gesso, tadelakt, stone and metal – for the fall and well beyond. Texture is for all seasons.
HANDCRAFTED CUSTOM DESIGNS
As an interior designer, I shop for a living. I’ve cultivated some amazing relationships with showrooms and brands, and – more and more – custom workrooms and ateliers. I love finding perfect pieces ready-made, but the chance to design something from scratch for a client is a wonderful creative challenge. It’s a joy to meet the makers and collaborate. Most importantly, custom upholstery and wood pieces are fully aligned with the functional needs of the space – no workarounds or compromises. Custom designs also elevate a space. By definition, custom is truly like no other.
METALS
Whether it’s a renovation or a new build, homeowners can be overwhelmed with the world of options and hot new trends in the design world. Frankly, it’s generally a lot of racket – noise, not news. Metal selection is a great example. There’s always some bright, new, shiny kid on the block. I soulfully gravitate to the timeless, quiet luster of aged, hand-rubbed and unlacquered brass. New steel tones are very much in this natural vernacular. They’re not black and not nickel, but elemental like raw steel.
AMBIENT LIGHTING
Fall and its partner-in-crime winter, are the seasons of dwindling daylight. Yes, I will miss the sunshine too, but a thoughtful ambient lighting plan will lift your spirits and your decor. But first an admission: I do specify overhead lighting in all of my design plans, but more out of necessity than joy. Ambient lighting from the ground up is where the magic happens. It’s the spark of life. From decorative wall sconces to chandeliers, pendants, accent lamps, task lighting and even portable lighting, ambient lighting is like a dose of vitamin D for a design plan. Gentle pools of light throughout a space are functionally brilliant and also create flow and soul. Rooms look better in low light – and we do too!
ORGANIC SHAPES
There’s a good bit of trend talk around biophilic design these days. It’s not new to me or longtime LSI clients. My design philosophy is rooted in the celebration of nature, blurring the lines between inside and out. Embracing irregular, organic shapes is one of the most interesting expressions of this “trend.” In life and design, I’m drawn to natural, irregular and asymmetric shapes and material expressions. In life and design, everything does not need to be perfect, just perfectly real and human.
COMMUNITY
“Home” is sort of a single-unit dwelling in a larger place called community. Today, movements are growing throughout the country to help those struggling with homelessness. Furnish for Good is one such organization here in Charlotte. I am proud and humbled to be among one of four designers participating in FURNISHED, a friendly design competition and auction to benefit Furnish for Good, and their work flighting housing insecurity – an unfortunate trend. Community is the stronger force.
ONE BEAUTIFUL WHOLE
Have you noticed? Everything is connected. I began this blog as a roundup of specific design tips, advice and ponderings to create trend-resistant, timeless design. There are seven individual "principes" for your consideration; yet they are all interconnected. This makes my heart happy!
INTERIOR DESIGN: Lisa Sherry Interieurs
PHOTOGRAPHY: Alexandra Cabral, Brie Williams and Stacey Van Berkel