Utah Valley Parade of Homes Round Up: What's trending in 2014

Whew! The last few weeks have been both exciting and tiring as I've tried to visit most of the homes in the Utah Valley Parade of Homes. If you know me, you'll know that I'm crazy about good design and home decor so getting to tour newly constructed homes was like a dream come true.  And I got to do it all with this girl.

About a year ago she built a house down the road from me, and after my hubby and I walked through their house (ahem, yes, while it was being built, I guess we're trespassers?) I told him that she had pretty much done everything in the house that I would have done and I needed to get to know this girl.  We soon found out we'd gone to the same University at the same time, and our majors were even in the same building, on the same floor! Yet our paths never crossed until now. It was so fun to go on this tour with someone who is as passionate about good design as I am.

I loved seeing all of the things that are trending for 2014.  So here is my rundown (of what stood out to me!) of must haves if you are building or wanting to update your home decor.

(Lots of iPhoneography ahead…I was too lazy to take my nice camera.)

Barn Doors: When my husband tore apart our bathroom three months ago to remodel, I knew that I wanted to replace our two doors with one sliding barn door.  I had NO idea how popular barn doors were until the parade of homes.  I think that there was one in almost every house we visited.

Wallpaper: I have to admit, that when I first heard wallpaper was making a comeback, I was less than thrilled at the idea.  I had visions of early 90's floral prints and wondered how this could be trending again.  However, this home tour completely changed my mind.  Wall paper can be done in a classy way.

 Orb Lights: I didn't get too many pictures of these, but they were in every house we saw.  Considering that these are pretty costly little lights, I'm thinking of making my own.  It can't be that hard, right?

Feature Walls: From grid, to chalkboard, to corrugated metal, it's time to dress up those plain walls with architectural features.

Blue Cupboards: Obviously I'm a huge fan of the color blue, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that blue cupboards in bathrooms and laundry rooms were really trending.  From Mint to Robin Egg Blue, these hughes brought a crisp coolness to each room and added the right pop of color.

Tile: Obviously tile is always in style, but this year I noticed lots of Moroccan tile.

Here are some more unique tiles that I loved.

And last of all here are some of my favorites. There's a lot.  I had a hard time choosing!

Favorite Landscapes:

This house, by far, was very impressive (16,000 sq ft) but the landscape is what really drew me in. Every detail was precise and immaculate. It even impressed my landscape designer husband (who I made come with me one night so I could show him my favorite houses). He is rarely impressed by local landscape companies, but this one got an "OK" out of him.  I take that as a success. He's crazy picky about landscapes.

I also loved this entryway, although it fell flat for my husband.

Favorite Bathrooms:

Favorite Spaces:

I hope you enjoyed this picture tour as much as I enjoyed the real one! Are you ready to update your home with a new barn door or orb light?

I am.