Transformative Homes with Mitchell Thompson Interiors

Designing for Longevity: Balancing Trends with Timeless Appeal

• Roy & Diane Mitchell • Episode 7

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What’s The Process Like When Working With Your Team On A Home Redesign Project?

Ever wondered how to keep your home feeling fresh without constantly redecorating? Roy and Diane Mitchell tackle this perennial design challenge with practical wisdom earned from their combined 50+ years in residential interior design.

The heart of successful trend integration lies in strategic budgeting. Before falling in love with that statement wallpaper or bold cabinet color, consider what it might cost to change it when tastes inevitably shift. As Roy explains through the evolution of white kitchens, some trend elements are significantly more expensive to replace than others. While repainting cabinets might be manageable, replacing marble countertops or specialized flooring represents a much larger investment. This forward-thinking approach helps homeowners enjoy current styles without future regrets.

Diane offers a treasure trove of practical update strategies that won't break the bank. Think solid-fabric sofas with trend-forward pillows, easily changeable artwork, and strategic furniture pieces that can be refreshed without major renovations. The conversation takes a fascinating turn when discussing trend longevity, with brushed nickel emerging as a surprising survivor that has maintained relevance for over two decades. Perhaps most compelling is their insight on mixed metals and incorporating antiques—approaches that transform spaces from generic showrooms into homes with genuine character and personal significance.

Ready to create a home that balances trendy with timeless? Schedule your complimentary 30-minute discovery call at MitchellThompsonInteriors.com and let Roy and Diane help make your unique vision a reality that will stand the test of time.

To learn more about Mitchell Thompson Interiors visit:
http://www.MitchellThompsonInteriors.com
Mitchell Thompson Interiors

Speaker 1:

Welcome to Transformative Homes with Mitchell Thompson Interiors. Join hosts Roy and Diane Mitchell, the creative force behind Mitchell Thompson Interiors, who together bring over 50 years of expertise of residential interior design across the US. Are you navigating a major life transition, upsizing or downsizing your home, purchasing a vacation home or redefining your space? You've found the team to guide you so your home truly reflects your unique dreams. Stay tuned and learn how to schedule a complimentary 30-minute discovery call. Let's delve into today's topic.

Speaker 2:

Trends come and go, but your home should always feel fresh, comfortable and uniquely yours. Here's how to strike that balance. Welcome back everyone. I'm Sophia Yvette, co-host, slash producer, back in the studio with Roy and Diane Mitchell, owners of Mitchell Thompson Interiors. Roy and Diane, how's it going today?

Speaker 3:

Wonderful Sophia, how are you?

Speaker 2:

I am also wonderful and it's so good to see you both again. So, roy and Diane, tell us how do you incorporate trends without making the home feel dated in a few years?

Speaker 4:

field dated in a few years. Well, sophia, I think one of the most important thing about a trend is the money that you're going to need to spend on it, and this is one of the things that, when we go through our discussion prompts with our clients, we are focused on meeting their budget needs from the get-go. It's a very honest and transparent conversation. So, anything that is trendy, what we try to do is advise our clients in terms of, once this trend starts to become stale, what is it going to take for you to fix it or change it or update it for the next trend, and where can we put money into the project so that making that shift is not a major investment in the future? I'll give you a great example of this White kitchensitchens. So the classic white kitchen is always going to have a place in design, and there are people who are always going to enjoy a light, bright, white, airy kitchen. Not a problem.

Speaker 4:

The white kitchen, though, became a trend. It's probably almost 10 years ago now that every you know new home builder, every model home that you saw, most kitchen showrooms, even just white kitchen, white kitchen, white kitchen, white kitchen and people bought into it, and people updated their homes and loved it for a long, long time. But as trends go, it's now starting to change and shift. So building cabinets and painting them white is the least expensive option.

Speaker 4:

In the transformation of a white kitchen now into something that has richer color, or even taking down some of the cabinets and installing floating shelves around, maybe, the sink area, those types of changes can be made fairly simply. What really gets into a lot of money is your, you know, natural material and marble surfaces, like your countertops, and if you've done flooring that is also dependent on the white of the cabinets, replacing your flooring can be very expensive. So the key to incorporating trends, which is absolutely fun and inspiring and, for people who love change, can be a great way for them to enjoy their home over the years. But the key is to implement the trend in the home in a way that you're already thinking about. How can I change this and what will the expense be down the road?

Speaker 3:

I just think about the next trends. No one really knows what the next trend is. It's like a sofa. If you do a solid fabric sofa and do fun pillows. Same way with art Art is so easy to exchange and find something else to put on the walls. Same way with pillows. You can jazz up the sofa with different pillows around the piece. Same way with chairs. Chairs are very easy to replace. They're less expensive than, say, the sofa. Or you could basically do the same thing as you do the sofa. That would be ways to change it. The other thing is rugs. Just depending on what type of rug you purchase, those are easy to replace. Just certain things throughout the room and replacing different pieces to go along with the next trend.

Speaker 2:

How do you decide which trends to avoid for long-term projects?

Speaker 4:

That actually depends on the homeowner, because remember that when the homeowner is putting together this home, their lifestyle and their color preferences and their mood that they like to have in their home is always going to come first in the design that we are putting together. And so anything that disrupts or is really outside what we call the boundaries or the parameters of what that family loves, that's what we want to avoid. And if they start to see something in a magazine that they really love, if we can incorporate it, great, but if it's outside those boundaries, then we're going to guide them to ignore that one and do something else.

Speaker 2:

Can you give an example of a trend? You've seen age gracefully in a home?

Speaker 4:

Aging gracefully. I can think of one that I think has surprised probably a lot of people. When brushed nickel plumbing fixtures came into being and this is going back a very long time ago, over 20 years Brushed nickel hardware basically replaced chrome. Chrome was kind of the chrome and brass shiny brass and shiny chrome were being used mostly. And brush nickel came into into being and it was just such a good neutral and it was not very expensive. And most you know door hardware companies, plumbing fixtures everybody incorporated brushed nickel and to this day it's still a viable finish.

Speaker 4:

Now the one thing that's really been exciting is the mixing of metals, because now we see a lot of that. We see black with brushed nickel, we see gold with brushed nickel, we see black with gold, you know. So the mixing of metals has become not so faux pas, which it was for a while. Everybody used to try to match everything in the home, but we're not doing that so much anymore. But the brushed nickel finish is, like I said, still relevant and has been around for a very long time any final words on that roy?

Speaker 3:

well, I'm gonna say you know I've always loved antiques. The empire look has really never gone out of style. You can put empire with almost anything, especially the trends that are going on today, which is very contemporary, but you can mix it in with European contemporary. It just shines wherever you put it.

Speaker 4:

And it's nice to have a piece like that incorporated with our modern seating and furnishings, because then it makes your home look more unique and personal and collective Most certainly, it just doesn't look cold.

Speaker 3:

I went to one store and you said, oh, I want this look and there's no heart behind that look. I mean, anybody can do that. But you know, if you want your house to have a little heart and a little story to tell, that's what Diane and I are into we want to know about you and how you work. Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Thanks for joining us today, Roy and Diane. We look forward to seeing you on the next episode. Have a fantastic rest of your day.

Speaker 3:

Well, thank you. You too, rest of your day, well, thank you.

Speaker 1:

You too. Thanks for tuning in. That's a wrap on this episode of Transformative Homes. Are you ready to begin the journey toward elevating your home and lifestyle? Visit MitchellThompsonInteriorscom and schedule your complimentary 30-minute discovery. Call Roy and Diane will explore making your vision your reality. Join us for the next episode as we continue discussing elevated lifestyles through the lens of interior design. One unique and exquisite home at a time.