Perhaps you’re interested in decorating new digs, freshening up your current living space, or staging a home for sale. Whatever your current goals are, understanding recent trends will give you an edge. When you’re faced with zillions of choices for fabrications and colors and details, you can use this list of 2014’s hottest interior design trends to guide you in your selections.

Bold Contrasting Two-Color Patterns

Take several simple-but-bold two-color patterns such as chevrons, zigzags, ogees, frames, damasks, floral and geometrics. Select them in vivid, eye-catching colors. Sprinkle them throughout a room—on sofa cushions, area rugs, wall art pieces—anywhere you think needs a splash of color! This trend is applicable to virtually any space and most modern design schemes.

Wood Surfaces

On the one hand, it’s debatable whether wood surfaces constitute a “trend”. They’re classics that never go out of style. On the other hand, wooden surfaces are appearing everywhere in modern designs. There’s no arguing that it plays a significant part in achieving the look-of-the-moment right now.

We’re seeing a variety of different wood colors, wood grains and wood stains. Light-colored and honey-toned woods are going strong. We’re also seeing interesting combinations of light and dark woods used together in the same space to create an elegant contrast effect.

Metallic Surfaces

According to West Vancouver custom home builder Tom Humes, trendsetters are currently gravitating towards metallic surfaces of several varieties. Increasing in popularity right now are brassy, glittery, golden, and burnished metallic surfaces.

If you want to embrace this trend, but you don’t have actual metal surfaces in your space, consider using metallic paint colors for making quick, affordable updates. Humes reports that many trend-savvy, modern home owners are incorporating this metallic (and faux-metallic) look into their kitchen renovations and bathroom designs.

2014 Color Trends

Beiges and celadon greens have been popular in previous decades, but lately their importance has been declining. These days, we’re seeing an increase in color stories that focus on navy blue, white and / or gray.

Bold, clean colors are popular accent colors for 2014: We’re talking turquoise, red, orange, yellow, purple, or pink.

To get the look-of-the-moment, we don’t recommend using all these colors together. Instead, try using one or several bright colors, paired with white or navy blue.

As far as paint goes, white paint remains fail-safe. It’s both trendy and classic at the same time. If you’re not sure which white to choose, and you have no idea which furniture will occupy the space you’re painting, try a versatile shade of white that’s midway between bright optic white and creamy off-white.

There they are 2014’s hottest interior design trends. Now that you know what they are, you’re better equipped to adapt them for use in your own space, with your own signature style!