Pic: The Shutter Store
Trend 1: colored shutters
When it comes to dressing your windows, shutters are hard to beat for style and practicality. The trendiest take on the look this year? A colored finish. We love the beautiful gray shade seen here. It’ll work alongside some of 2018’s most fashionable colors (see below) as well as making an impact in its own right. Prefer a timeless look for your windows? White shutters will never date, or you can add a natural touch with a wood finish.
If you’re fitting new shutters, make sure you’re ready to DIY with the home renovators’ favorite: a cordless drill. It’ll make putting up the new window treatment quick and easy, and you’ll come to rely on it for a whole host of other projects.
Trend 2: large artwork
Creating a truly individual display with a gallery of pictures or photos is still a big interior trend, but for 2018 think about adopting a real gallery look by swapping lots of small images for one large one. Don’t forget that you’ll need a good spirit level ready to ensure the impact of the piece isn’t compromised by a tilt to one side or the other.
Trend 3: feature ceilings
Always play it safe with a white ceiling when you’re decorating? Be bold with the 2018 interior design trend for turning ceilings into the fifth wall with a color or pattern of their own. Putting wallpaper on the ceiling is harder than applying it to walls, but not beyond the skills of a competent DIYer. Bear in mind, though, that ceilings are generally well lit so mistakes will show, and a good tape measure is essential to make your work accurate.
Pic: Mylands
Trend 4: ultra violet
Ultra violet – a blue-based purple – is the color of 2018 according to Pantone, the hugely influential providers of color language standards. Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director, called it a ‘dramatically provocative’ shade, and Pantone suggests using the punchy color for a ‘tufted couch, piece of art or accent wall’. Trying the latter? Follow the lead of experienced home decorators and use low-tack masking tape to protect woodwork. It won’t pull away the new paint when you come to remove it.
Pic: Wharfside
Trend 5: kitchen color
White kitchens have been a hit for a while, but 2018’s the year when wood finishes or cabinets in gray, blue or cream will be the trendy choice. If you don’t need to work on the layout of your kitchen, swapping old cabinets for new ones is a straightforward job for a home renovation fan. Remove the old designs carefully so you don’t damage the walls – a utility knife is your best friend when you’re removing the caulk from the edges of old cabinets.
Pic: Audenza
Trend 6: blue-green
Sherwin-Williams’ pick for 2018 is Oceanside, a combination of blue and green we love. It’s easier to use than Ultra Violet (above) because it works as well for all four walls of a room as it does in smaller doses – for example on a front door. If you use this ocean-inspired color all round a room, we’d advise swerving trend 4 and keeping the ceiling white. Use a 2 or 3 inch brush to cut in at the junctions between walls and ceiling to keep your work neat.
Trend 7: spa bathrooms
You don’t need to travel to a resort to enjoy spa style if you’re prepared to invest a little time into a makeover to take a bathroom from functional to fabulous. Changing the tiles can give the room a luxury finish. The cheap but vital tool to keep to hand for a job like this? A sponge to wipe away excess grout. Miss this step and you’ll leave a haze on the tile that will compromise the finished effect. All you need to do is dampen the sponge and wipe once the application of grout is complete and you’ll leave tiles clean and beautiful.