How to ensure your décor doesn't date

Home interior design is very personal and subjective, and yet it tends to be heavily influenced by trends and fashions. Over the decades, many outlandish interior design trends have come and (thankfully) gone. Some of us will remember burgundy carpet wrapping around toilets and avocado bathroom suites, while textured wallpapers and ornate light fittings have cycled in and out of fashion.

One problem with following fashions is that they rarely last long, potentially leaving a recently decorated property looking behind the times. Conversely, it’s possible to ensure your home’s décor doesn’t date by making restrained choices. It’s also advisable to remember that interior designers’ careers necessarily depend on radical changes from one year to the next.

These are our tips on interior design which will make even a brand-new home feel well-established and stylish for years to come…

Choose solid wooden furniture

From Victorian times onwards, solid wooden furniture has been found in the best homes. Its appeal endures today, whether you choose timeless oak or a more dynamic timber like walnut or mango. Avoid furnishings with extravagant styling – louvre doors and cornicing – in favour of flat-fronted pieces which will last a lifetime while celebrating craftsmanship. Solid wood furniture works especially well as statement pieces in home offices and dining rooms.

Stick to understated colour palettes

This year’s Pantone colour of the year is Mocha Mousse, reminiscent of 1970s British Leyland cars. Stick to classier hues – pale pastels or rich natural colours like emerald green, enabling you to change furnishings or accessories. Wallpaper is eternally popular but avoid dark colours or heavy patterns; rainforest wallpaper feels incongruous amid a Scottish winter. Feature walls work well, though decorating whole a room in one paper is more cohesive.

Use timeless techniques

Full-height curtains look as classy today as they always have done; door curtains work equally well but check their height and position curtain rails accordingly. Large lamps illuminate whole rooms more subtly than ceiling pendants, and more timelessly than harsh modern LED spotlights. A well-chosen artwork or picture can be the centrepiece of any wall, and kitchen worktops always look better if they aren’t covered in clutter, post and crockery.

Think before you commit

It’s easy to be captured by the idea of theming soft furnishings in purple, or painting the kitchen red, before regretting your choices. Look online for other rooms styled as yours might be to gauge the aesthetic; try sample paint pots before breaking out the ladder and rollers; and use online room planners to see how a space might look with furniture in it. The latter is especially useful when planning for a home you don’t live in yet, like a new-build purchase.

Mix different eras and styles

If you slavishly replicate an Art Deco look in your bedroom, it’ll date if that era falls from favour. Better to choose furniture, decorations and accessories you’ve always loved, so you can continue to appreciate them regardless of fads. It’s fine if they’re from different eras – this is your home, so an Art Deco mirror can work above a Victorian bureau. Modern homes represent a blank canvas for individual tastes and personality to shine through. 

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