The Midwest isn’t the West Coast. When design trends reach Northeast Ohio, homeowners make them their own. The projected trends of 2023 are no different. Both Halle Chiappone, interior designer and selections coordinator for JEMM Construction in Painesville, and Michelle Liebendorfer, head designer and project manager at Kitchen & Bath
Design in Mentor, note the gradual evolution of theme and style for their clients. “The kitchen is still the heart of the home,” Chiappone says, but mentions the open plan continues to speak to multipurpose areas over individual occasions. Meanwhile, Liebendorfer sees a clear “back to nature” theme emerging with granite and metals. Here are six trends that they point out.
1. Warm Walls
Lake Erie’s gloomy effect is being evicted from Cleveland homes long shackled in somber grays. Both Chiappone and Liebendorfer see a step away from industrial vibes and an embrace of warmer neutrals, like ivory, bleach tones, white oak and rustic alder. The clean yet cozy look makes homes livable and allows other textures and curated trinkets to shine. “We all got forced into our houses and started to take a look at how important your environment is,” Chiappone says. “Things got a little too stark and too sterile.”
2. Full-Height Backsplashes
Not far from the vein of metal mixes, Liebendorfer says she is also seeing clients turn to full-height backsplashes, whether they be for the kitchen or bathroom. These full-size quartz slabs not only give the room a cohesive, creamy, organic rock look that varies from agrestic to bone white; they’re easier to keep clean and maintain. “Previously we were using a lot of tiles, and we still do, but tile can look busy,” she says.
3. Tuscan Textures
The homeowner’s fascination with Italy’s Tuscan finishes is resurfacing, fused with a certain nostalgia for the 1990s. Remember the painted plaster swirls that looked like they were made by a trowel? They’re back, albeit in warmer neutrals. “Not the bold spice colors,” Chiappone says. “They're again taking some things that are a little more traditional but cleaning them up for today’s living.” Even wallpaper is being made to mimic this texture.
4. Ceilings That Sing
Ceilings might go over homeowner’s heads, but current trends show they are finally getting some love. Exquisite trims, tray ceilings, stained wood box-outs, curved ceiling illusions — a ceiling trick catapults any room to the next level. Add the perfect chandelier and you’re crafting ether. Chiappone says a smart ceiling can prep a “swing” room for multiple purposes. For example, a home office set to become a dining room after retirement. Floors are also seeing more details, typically from wood patterns, even if they’re vinyl replicas.
5. Metal Mixes
A stoic, stainless steel fridge may come to mind when metals are mentioned in design, but Cambria is challenging us to rethink how metal is, in fact, a part of nature. Borrowing from the marble’s lightning-streak aesthetic, the company is infusing copper, brass, pewter and silver into quartz countertops. Straying from glitz, Liebendorfer says these metals are muted for a more subtle enticement.
6. Bolder Curations
Don’t be embarrassed of tchotchkes! The favored neutral palette easily accommodates a desire for bolder fabrics, furniture and linens, as well as antiques. Chiappone explains these items enhance a room’s personality and contribute to the cozy look while calling out details. “It feels more like furniture rather than functional cabinetry,” she says. “Even the appliances; the appliances are incredible, the finishes that they’re coming in. I have one now that’s doing white appliances and they have rose gold accents on them, rose gold metal handles.”
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