Haven't we seen this before?

Trends can be found in every aspect of home design — furniture, color palette, wall coverings, flooring, windows and window treatments. The list of options and opportunities in home design is almost limitless. Not all trends are necessarily ones to avoid, but being a little cautious and taking a few important things into consideration before going all-in on the current trend bandwagon will save you a great deal of time, money and energy in the long run.

Whether you're updating a single room or an entire home, I suggest taking a close look at the bones of the space. By keeping the hard surfaces such as flooring, windows and walls in a classic, conservative design, you've given yourself the opportunity to enhance or freshen other areas quickly, easily and much more cost-effectively.

Pop trends, which are trends that are created or greatly influenced by pop culture, can have a big impact on the general public. Those trends can also be seen as "dated" equally as fast. Working with a designer that has an understanding of the historical perspective of popular trends and can share examples of trends that have cycled through the industry more than once in the past 10 to 20 years can prove to be a vital resource and becomes an important guide when making critical large-scale design choices. Classic white kitchen cabinets are very popular in current kitchen redesign; this is not new. This clean, stark white look was very popular in home design in the early to mid-1980s. I have no doubt that this will be back again in 15 to 20 years; in fact, you can count on it.

It is important to make your home uniquely yours, but try to avoid letting trends define the space. The classic design takes into consideration what comes and goes and makes sure that what you select for your home is something you can live with for years to come.

Mike Rust is an Interior Designer and owner of Rust & Martin in Cape Girardeau