How To: Create A Timeless Home

The constant talk about trend cycles in the interior design world is enough to make anyone dizzy. It can be almost impossible to ignore trends completely, especially when it seems new styles are trending month to month. While there’s no single way to create a timeless home, here are four practices we use as designers – both in our own homes as well as with clients to develop classic interiors.

Vary Your Sources of Inspiration

*Artwork can provide wonderful inspiration for unique colour combinations.*

When your inspiration comes from a variety of sources, you are more likely to develop a well rounded sense of style and refine your eye for design. This means not relying purely on Instagram and Pinterest (not that these are poor sources whatsoever – we love and use them both) because your algorithm becomes tailored to what you watch and like, and therefore you get fed more of the same type of content. This can sometimes lead to your feed becoming rather homogenous, reinforcing a perspective on interiors that is lacking in variety.

*While scrolling Instagram is convenient, there’s no feeling that compares to flipping though the pages of a design book on a Sunday morning | Image via York Avenue Blog*

We recommend reading books by interior designers, checking out international design magazines, and even studying art to see what moves you. Pay attention to the colour combinations that make your heart sing, the styles of furniture that jump off the page, and the way masters of the art of design combine unexpected elements. Once you start to view the world with the eye of a designer, you’ll be surprised where you begin to find inspiration.

*A case of interiors imitating art or the other way around?*

Mix Eras And Styles Of Furniture & Decor

*Featured in our Portfolio, this clients’ home is filled with a rich and layered mix of new and old to create an elegant retreat.*

You know those spaces you see and can immediately identify the year they were decorated? We call that the time capsule effect, and it’s a function of decorating exclusively with pieces current to the era you’re in. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with decorating this way, the results will often lack character, and more importantly your space will date quickly.

*This sophisticated home office blends traditional panelled walls with midcentury furniture and modern art – the end result is quiet and cohesive, but not bland or predictable.*

The best way to prevent this is to mix eras of your furniture, lighting, decor, and artwork. This doesn’t mean you need to go full on eclectic or start hunting for antiques if that’s not your style (although we fully support this, as all of us at Rousseau’s love this style in our own homes.) It does however, require you to be intentional about where you look for your furniture, and how you put things together to create a cohesive look. Buying a matching set or the same style of anything is going to be “easy” because it automatically just goes together. But easy does not equal interesting or timeless.

*A mix of modern art, a transitional sofa, and unique Ming style coffee table gives this space and air of classic refinement.*

It’s Okay To Experiment With (Or Even Love) A Trend… Just Don’t Go Overboard

The fact of the matter is, everything starts as a trend in some way. Some trends are like a flash in the pan, and others stick around and become part of the cultural or design landscape to become what is considered classic. That’s why we believe there is nothing inherently wrong with trends (and by the way, you’re allowed to like things that are trendy) The real issue is blindly following trends just because they are trendy, and incorporating too many current trends into the design of your home. This approach will lead to a greater likelihood of your home feeling impersonal and dated in a short period of time.

Maybe you choose a slightly “trendier” colour for your cabinets (that you happen to love, not because it’s on trend), but go with a more classic profile or hardware style and finish. It’s all about balance, and just because something is on trend doesn’t mean that you won’t love it in 10 years.

Aubergine may be one of the hot colours of the season, but these built-ins painted in Farrow & Ball’s Brinjal feel anything but trendy with classic shaker panel door and antique brass cup pulls | Image via Farrow & Ball.

Trendy furniture or decor can still work effortlessly in a timeless space when they are sprinkled in with more classic pieces. It’s all about balance and a little experimentation. Don’t be afraid to edit over time if you feel your space starts to look too “time-stamped” in one era. You can try pieces out in different rooms if they stop working in another. If you truly loved it at one point, chances are you can love it again in a different environment.

*A set of charming and classic ladderback dining chairs both complement and offset the trendier nature of the woven drum chandelier.*

Decorate slowly and let your home evolve

This is one of the most important lessons anyone can learn when it comes to the decoration of their home – good things take time. While you will likely want to order many of your foundational pieces at the same time, what slow decorating encourages is not forcing the completion of your space.

Homes filled with character in the form of slowly collected art, knick knacks, and antique furniture have a special kind of charm. *You don’t ever have to be “done”*

Don’t buy a piece of art just to fill a space on the wall. Don’t order a pair of lamps that you are lukewarm on just because you’re tired of looking. You can live without a rug for a year if you haven’t come across the right one. Part of the fun of decorating your home is finding things along the way that resonate with you and become part of your story.

These clients of ours used to own an importing business, and much of their home incorporates beautiful and unique finds from years of collecting. This is a home that feels personal and warm, and has evolved over time.

Design is so much more than how things look and function in a space – it’s about how they make you feel when you enter a room. A unique, personal, and collected home doesn’t happen overnight, and letting go of the pressure to “complete” your space right away will give you the breathing room to decorate with intention vs. rushing to an imaginary finish line.