KEY POINTS:
The hottest trends in living rooms can give your home that designer edge. How do you keep current with the trends, so your house doesn't end up looking "so last year"?
Every year new decor trends come out of Europe and the United States, as the previous seasons decorator looks get stale and start to wane.
To keep in touch, check out international magazines and websites or local sites to tap into the hot new trends for homes.
You'll find there are five big influences moving into homes overseas. Adopting any of these trends would be safe and should set you up for at least the next couple of years.
White: Could you live in an all-white room, with a family? Actually yes, if your sofa has durable leather, or washable covers. White interiors are extremely hip now and pack a powerful punch. Different shades of white and textured accessories complete the look.
Monochrome: Add black to the mix for more drama. Think black leather sofa, white floor, checked cushions and a tweed throw.
Modern: Contemporary style is redefined every year, but the principles remain the same: sharp edges, square and oblong shaped furniture, authentic materials. So, a concrete fireplace with wooden floor and a sprawling sectional sofa. Maybe some red in there for a hit. But keep it simple.
The New Classics: This is perfect for villas or more traditional homes. For the new classic look, think symmetry and balance: place a mirror above the fireplace, lamps either side of your sofa and a centrally positioned coffee table. To this oasis of ordered calm, add a bust on a plinth and a flourishing leafy green plant or two for quiet life in your living room.
Wallpaper: Geometric pattern on the walls and sculptural furniture creates a funky kind of retro vibe. Consider the big picture and give wallpaper a go in your living room.
Stylist Trudie Kroef designed this hip room, using a geometric wallpaper as her starting point. Her wallpaper of choice is busy, but used in these neutral colour tones it poses less of a threat to the nervous decorator.
"Keep the furnishings and accessories simple," she says. Instead of settling for heavy furniture she found a slatted chair and stool and, if you look closely, the shape echoes the wallpaper pattern.
The curtains are in a pale hessian fabric, chosen for its flyaway feel, coupled with its durability in this light-filled room. The nubby texture is scaled up in the white rug.
The lamp is a decorative accent rather than for serious reading, but all the elements add up to a light, fresh living room.
Kroef says when using wallpaper, pick one wall to avoid overkill. If uneasy about a pattern, choose the paler colour tones. Add subtle understated furniture.
"I can also picture this room with a white couch and white accents," she says.
Easy living
Wallpower: Bravery required, but individuality is the payoff.
Black and white: Easy way to inject drama and guys love it, too.
Modern: It's still hip to be square: geometric rules.
White: Gallery-like, a blank canvas for artistic flourish.
New classic: Two of everything and symmetry rules.
