Design trends focus on casual comfort, pleasing details and lots of warm color.
"’Cacooning’ still describes what our customers are doing and what they seek in their home interiors," says Kathy Asmuth, owner of Kathleen F. Asmuth Interiors, Mequon. "People are looking for security, and their homes represent that both emotionally and financially. They also want their homes to reflect their individual personalities with the details they select. They’re not after what’s ‘hot’ now that can become dated later. They’re after what’s visually and tactilely appealing."
Paul Schultz, the owner architect of Sunarc Studios in Oconomowoc, agrees. "In the architectural spaces we design, we’re seeing customers paying attention to details, such as millwork, arches, fireplace treatments, unusual ceilings," he explains. "The ostentatious features of the 1990s have given way to a more down-to-earth look with lower ceilings and larger, more open areas. Formal living and dining rooms have given way to dens and studies for quiet times, open kitchen spaces that link to a breakfast nook, the family room and more – places for living and entertaining."
While Geneane Francour, a designer with Peabody Interiors, Milwaukee, notes that customers want comfort, "They still want their homes to look fabulous and up-to-date," she says. "They look for comfortable furniture, for example, usually covered in the soft chenille, wool or leather. They buy pieces with quality construction and style, displaying cleaner lines and simpler, less busy fabric. Customers are gravitating toward tactile furnishings that are comfortable."
Dianne Albrecht of Paper Dolls Interior Designs in Lake Geneva points out that people are putting money into their homes more than ever today. "Since 9-11, it’s different," she says. "People want warmth, security and hominess – texture and warm, earthy colors predominate. Natural touches like granite countertops, tumbled-stone or marble floors and ceramic tiles add to the earthy feel."
More specifically, the designers cite a growing use of red, gold, black, softer greens (not hunter), terracotta, spice tones, aubergine (eggplant) and the like. "We’re seeing brighter, stronger, cleaner colors," Francour says.
Albrecht adds that the trend for furniture is toward darker woods, such as cherry and mahogany, away from the light oak, pine and painted pieces of the past. "Kitchen cupboards tend to be light birch or warm maples and cherry. Oak seems to be ‘out,’" she says. "Neutrals are still used in color schemes, along with iron, brushed nickel and faux finish accents, while shiny things like brass are less common."
"We’ve seen the use of alder wood increase," Schultz adds, "which is a western wood that’s similar to cherry but more knotty. It’s gives a casual feel to woodwork and accents."
Accessories and accent pieces again reflect individual taste. "We’re still seeing a mix of heirlooms with modern, and the traditional is strong," Francour comments.
Albrecht agrees. "Multicultural pieces and an eclectic mix of old and new give people a sense of making their home their own."
Budget dictates amenity selection
Those with a higher interior-decorating budget are opting for both traditional and modern conveniences in their homes.
"Customers in the higher income level want ranges with more features, stainless steel sinks, lighting systems and surround-sound capabilities," Dianne Albrecht of Paper Dolls Interior Design, Lake Geneva, says.
"We see accessories for wine keeping becoming more popular," adds Milwaukee’s Peabody Interiors’ Geneane Francour. "Near or attached to master bedrooms can be small refrigerators and coffee makers so people don’t have to run down to the kitchen to get a snack or their morning coffee."
She and other interior designers say flat-screen TVs are going to add flexibility to room arrangements. "Media rooms and dens don’t have to be so large because flat-screen TVs can tuck in anywhere," Francour notes.
"These TVs are much more affordable now," Paul Schultz of Sunarc Studios, Oconomowoc, says. "We’ve seen keypad controls to program lighting, big screens than come down from the ceiling, sound systems, DVD players and more in media rooms."
He adds, "On the higher-end homes, some up to $1 million, there are whole-house computers with cameras. You can be working in the kitchen and see what’s happening in the nursery or the exercise room. Other systems control security, sound, lights and heat. People can be somewhere else and program their thermostat to warm the house, turn on the lights and play the stereo."
On a more prosaic level, Schultz is installing more elevators. "As the population ages, people are more aware that some day in the future they may not be able to climb steps to a second-floor master bedroom," he says. "Some realize their parents are aging and want to be prepares to have them as guests or provide a more permanent ‘mother-in-law’ suite."
Kathy Asmuth, of Kathleen F. Asmuth Interiors in Mequon, says you don’t have to be rich to add some nice amenities. "We’re seeing people willing to put money into amenities that make life more pleasurable," she notes. "These might include heated towel bars, magnifying mirrors, big showers with multiple heads and lighting systems with mood settings."
