Simple Luxury: Trend-proof Your Design with Stately Wood Accents

A good design stands the test of time. It proudly wears its age and invites the onlooker to feel its longevity. Isn’t it strange, then, that so many high-end designs look shabby a decade on? What feels tastefully opulent in one era is in danger of being gaudy or brazen in the next.

If timelessness is at odds with our popular ideas about luxury, perhaps it’s time for a new conception of luxury. A simpler kind. One that always has an eye on the future, and prioritizes the materials that will never go out of style. No material embodies that like wood, the proven foundation for a clean, timeless design.

This idea of simple luxury embodies a cooler confidence, allowing large pieces of light, soft-grained wood, like tables or dividers, to define the space. Start with a cool, neutral color on the floor, like the Dream Home Traverse City Oak Laminate flooring, and allow the sunbaked earth tones of the decor to warm the space. Look into natural materials for accents, like lampshades in rattan or wicker and bring some woven textiles into the mix as wall hangings or couch throws.

Simple luxury is a great design scheme for a kitchen because of how well that room shows off wood statement pieces. Think of natural edge cutting boards and butcher blocks, or floating wood shelves with handmade pottery. Large wooden bowls lend the right amount of warmth to a concrete tabletop. On the floor, Colosseum Travertine Vinyl Tile beautifully mimics natural stone, blending into an organic, modern style, while being strong and waterproof.

In the bedroom, the honey barrel hue of Tangier Oak Solid Hardwood flooring invokes the soft charm and elegance of a classic country style. It’s a perfect setting if you’re lucky to have heirloom wood furniture, but also modern looking enough to be contrasted with more striking pieces of dark, wire-brushed, or even charred woods. Either way, make it feel cozy and classic with soft textiles in white, cream and beige.

This design can take on a beachy vibe, with off-whites and sand-blown elements. Imagine lighter wood furniture bleaching in front of big sunny windows. It can also feel more modern, using precisely designed wood accents to create dramatic lines and a greater sense of definition.

But the key word in a simple luxurious design is soft. Soft edges, soft natural blond honeys and taupes, a collection of the things that take on a warm glow and create a calming atmosphere. This is the confidence of a space with a design to last a lifetime, and then some.