Design elements that can come back to haunt you

 If you are planning a remodel, renovation or just a little refresh of spaces like kitchens and bathrooms, be very careful in your choice of finishes. How design elements need to work together and that can be a challenge if you are doing your first project. There are some design choices that can and will bite you. Take heed and choose wisely. Here's a few risky design choices and why they could bite you in the end.

The Power of Patterns

Now most backsplash design choices are lovely and will add a lot to your space, but some will give you an endless headache and harken back to what I call the channel 13 aesthetic. What do I mean, well, if you look at some designs in glass tile you will see they have a ton of vary colors. This creates a visual pattern. As a rule, you want to limit visual patterns, as they rarely work together with other visual patterns, thus creating that busy, channel 13 on your old tv look. (Hopefully some of you may be old enough to recall this, for the rest of you, google it lol.)

So if your backsplash is going to be patterned, keep other large design elements simple. If your heart is set on glass tile backsplash, consider one that is easy to partner with other patterns like this example:

If you notice, the backsplash in the photograph  is not competing with the pattern in the counter tops and this is easy on the eye and creates no design conflict. 

Pick your statement element, and let that shine, without competition.  A statement design element can be the flooring, the walls or the counter tops, but patterns too strong on every surface  will give you that jigsaw puzzle scrambled look. Patterns are powerful. What looks nice at the home improvement store that seems pretty tame can be overwhelming en masse in your space. 

The same applies to bathrooms, where you want the surfaces to compliment each other but never be in a battle. 

Trends : New and Old

I can't stress this enough, but be careful following trends! We can trace back through the decades and see exactly what was on trend and what cost a lot of money to erase as time passes. It is better to stick with classic design elements that have stood the test of time. If you love a current trend, use them in ways that are not permanent. Study the past 3 decades and see how many of those common features are possibly present in your home or someone that you know. Everyone jumped on these trends, and now there's regret. This will not be the end of the regret, and you become aware of it, especially if you try to sell your home only to realize that trend is dating your home and lowering its appeal the the buyers. Old trends are bad, but new trends will also fade. Look at how quickly everyone jumped on the "farm house" look and now its not as popular and again will date your space. 

That being said, if you love your trendy space and you're happy, more power to you. Always do what you love, but know that its likely to fall out of vogue with the next big thing, and you have to be ok with that. Some old trends are bad, and sadly not all new trends are any better. Pick things you love, find common ground between those things you love so they marry well together and don't over do it. Remember function needs to be incorporated into everything. Remember, design that you truly love, never goes out of style.