4 | Smart Shopper Magazine | Howard

In 2012 there are two major trends in home design going on. The first is color blocking…right off the fashion runways and on-trend in home

décor. Paint choices are bold (we always recommend Benjamin Moore Aura paint). Drapery is great in blocks of color, too. Example: panels where the top or bottom quarter is in a complimentary fabric. The second big trend is gray! Gray is the new beige, and any color with a gray undertone is red-hot…or should we say gray-hot! Benjamin Moore’s Revere Pewter is a favorite greige (gray + beige) of ours.- Budeke’s Paints and Decorating, Columbia and Timonium

Revere Pewter color as shown

The trend [in flooring] has been toward hard surfaces as opposed to carpeting. Manufacturers have been coming out

with a lot of gray stains in their products: hardwood, laminate, luxury vinyl tiles and ceramic tile. When they introduced their new products in the spring we saw a big onslaught of gray!- Bode Floors, Columbia and Ellicott City

This area has been pretty traditional, but we’re moving toward transitional styles now, with eclectic décor.

Drum shades are big, chandeliers are big, but now with drum shades. Crystal is still big but with a transitional

flair. Iron with crystal is big in bathrooms and in dining rooms. We’re now pairing two big pendants over a kitchen island rather than three small ones. Metals have warmer finishes—silvers now are a more “golden” silver. They are lightening and warming in caramel tones.

Coordinating fabric for custom upholstered headboards, duvets and drapes is very

big. Drapes are mounted higher than the top of the window with decorative hardware. Graphic patterned linens and embroidered silks are on-trend fabrics for everything, with fringe or fancy trims. And we’re doing lots of nailhead trim on upholstered pieces…with contrasting pillows. Velvets and ultrasuede are having a fall resurgence. - Mill End Shops, Annapolis and Lutherville

A big trend we are seeing is the explosion of the orchid inside the home—mainly for

color but also for ease of care. Indoor gardening is mainly focused on tropical houseplants, like palms, hibiscus, oleander and gardenia. Gloxinia and cyclamen are easy to care for and give color for 4-6 weeks. If you are bringing these plants indoors from the outside patio put them near a south- or west-facing window or sliding glass door.- Watson’s Garden Center, Lutherville

Forefront by Merrill Witty

After several years of a sea of merlot, wood tones are

getting lighter and sheen is more satin than gloss. Casual is the buzzword for upholstery, with natural fibers and leathers gaining more popularity. Neutral upholstery is still popular, but brighter accent pillows and accessories add pop to a dull room. Bright orange, teal, navy and lime green are gaining in popularity.

I enjoyed talking to lots of our local interior design specialists about their ideas for the fall season. Here’s what they said.

Flooring: Preverco Wirescraped Zebra

Three-light copper drum Shade Chandelier found at Dorman’s

IN THE

Orchids and tropicals add color and life to your home

Neutral and natural bold prints

- Gardiners Furniture & Mattress, Towson and four additional locations

- Dorman’s Lighting and Design, Lutherville

Howard | shoppingheights.com | 55 | Smart Shopper Magazine | Howard

Color is back! The new furniture displays that we will be featuring

this fall include a sofa with a pewter ground print with accents of bright yellow, turquoise, coral and purple. All the colors are very vibrant and crisp. We offer accent furniture pieces that allow you to pop these colors in any room. Linen and textured fabrics are prevalent and our onsite workroom is busy fabricating simpler treatments including English-pleated panels and Roman shades. We have seen a trend in carefully selected drapery hardware in slick metal finishes and are stocking a wide variety of flat braid tapes and trims.- Alexander Blank Fabric & Design, Timonium

The color green in every shade, from yellow-green to hunter, is popular. Neutrals are

still huge—but in gray tones; it’s easier to sell a house done in an all neutral palette, by the way. For fabrics, people want neutrals, blacks and whites, and also big, bold graphics, like chevron prints and trellis prints.- Maryland Paint & Decorating, Annapolis

Kitchen cabinets are going darker, for a richer look. The room can

still look bright if you have excellent artificial lighting. Traditional

cabinet looks are on the wane; a cleaner-lined transitional (enroute to contemporary) look is in. Countertops are granite or engineered stone. Appliances—always in stainless—are more

energy efficient and quieter. Fridges with

French doors, in-door dispensers and even TVs

are very big now. Wall colors are gray or a grayed blue, not yesterday’s bright and bold hues.- SD Kitchens, Pikesville

People are loving the casual, coastal look. In the last few months, there’s been a big run on

plantation shutters. Ninety percent of those were in white. People who don’t have the budget for the shutters are doing wood or faux wood blinds with 2 ½" slats, rather than the standard 2". These are popular in both wood tones and white. Roman shades are also popular, as are the honeycomb blinds.- Budget Blinds, Annapolis and Columbia

Contemporary is the “it” style in furniture, as it has been for a while, and it’s gaining

in strength. You don’t see many skirted sofas anymore. Most people are choosing the solid body fabric of a couch in a neutral like cream or gray and adding toss pillows and accent chairs in purple, red, orange or green. Prints are Ikats and other modern graphics; you are not seeing florals anymore.- Sofas Etc., Columbia and Towson

Chevron print Oxford GreyTrellis prints, fabric by F. Schumacher

Kathy Ireland wood blinds

Accents are bright and bold

Solid bright tones trend in fall upholstery

Coming next issue:fall fashion

Alexander Blank Fabric & Design

www.alexblankfabrics.com

Bode Floorswww.bodefloors.com

Budeke’s Paints & Decorating www.budekes.com

Budget Blindswww.budgetblinds.com

Dorman’s Lighting & Designwww.dormanslighting.com

Gardiners Furniture & Mattress

www.gardiners.com

Maryland Paint & Decorating

www.mdpaint.com

Mill End Shops www.millendshops.com

SD Kitchens www.sdkitchens.com

Sofas Etc.www.sofasetcmd.com

Watson’s Garden Centerwww.watsonsgarden.com

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