Podcast: Play in new window | Download
New year, new home decoration trends! To kick off 2018’s All About Real Estate segments, co-hosts Carol Morgan and Todd Schnick sit down with Cindi MacPherson, Partner at The Interior Partners, to give listeners an idea about what interior design trends to expect in 2018.
The Interior Partners specializes in model home merchandising, sales centers and clubhouses for builders throughout the Southeast: in the Carolinas, Tennessee and Georgia. MacPherson and her business partner, Ashley Norred, founded The Interior Partners almost 10 years ago with the goal of becoming a boutique merchandising company that allowed them to enjoy each project they took on and truly love their jobs. “We are not an assembly line-type company at all,” MacPherson says. “Every single job, every single model, every single clubhouse is unique and special. The demographic is special, the area is different…it’s like doing the same job but doing something different every day.”
The process of merchandising a model home, sales center or clubhouse includes several steps. MacPherson’s team meets with the builders and gets several pieces of important information from them: their vision for the community, the demographic of the buyer, the price point, the surrounding area, etc. to give them a good mental picture of the family that will buy the home.
The Interior Partners prides itself on the diversity of generations on its team, which gives them a better look into what each demographic might want in a home. Another way they identify what each demographic wants is by categorizing the demographics by the home decoration stores they most frequently shop at, whether it is Crate & Barrel, Ethan Allen or others.
Another step is choosing the design and the color palette. Several considerations are observed when selecting a color palette, including making them different from competitor color palettes, what hasn’t been done for a specific builder, what will be popular five years later and so on. Once the decisions have been made, the team puts together a presentation for the client and the brainstorming becomes reality.
So what will be the most popular colors of 2018? Metals are going for the gold, beiges and browns are resurfacing instead of grays and paint companies like Benjamin Moore and Sherwin-Williams are introducing bold colors of the year (Caliente and Oceanside). “But neutrals still reign supreme,” MacPherson says. “We’re going to see lots of neutrals with Caliente and Oceanside accent pops and punches.”
Morgan adds that we live such cluttered lives, whether it means being bombarded by technology or driving in Atlanta traffic. Neutrals let residents relax and feel calm when they arrive home. “Everyone wants calm,” MacPherson comments.
MacPherson expects minimalist scale trends and interesting textures to continue to be popular, as well. Embellished furniture is out and clean, calming lines on furniture are in. More eclectic and interesting carpets that don’t contribute to cluttering the room are expected to trend.
The goal with model homes, she says, is keeping it uncluttered. Sight lines, focal points and scale all contribute to making potential buyers feel comfortable in a model home and to showcase the home instead of the decorations.
Learn more about The Interior Partners at www.TheInteriorPartners.com or by visiting their Facebook page.
______________________________________________________
A special thank you to Jackson EMC for sponsoring Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio. Jackson EMC offers homebuyers peace of mind and lower bills with its certified Right Choice™ new home program. These homes are built to be energy efficient and sustainable with improved indoor air quality, convenience and comfort.
______________________________________________________
The Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio “All About Real Estate” segment, presented by Denim Marketing, airs on Fridays and highlights the movers and shakers in the Atlanta real estate industry – the home builders, developers, Realtors and suppliers working to provide the American dream for Atlantans. For more information on how you can be featured as a guest, contact Denim Marketing at 770-383-3360 or fill out the Atlanta Real Estate Forum contact form. Subscribe to the Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio podcast on iTunes, and if you like this week’s show, be sure to rate it.
