Image Credit: thegloss.com

With the new year just getting started the gym is packed and downloads for budgeting templates are at their peak. While self improvement is an admirable and very popular goal, improving your living space can also bring a sense of calm and order to your life-a concept at the core of many top new year’s resolutions.

So while you’re plotting your reps, dollars or yoga poses consider adding these three design resolutions to your goals for the new year:

Learn to Let Go of The Outdated-This is probably one of the hardest things to do, but essential to making room for better design. From lamps to old light fixtures, holding on to something when it is no longer in use or no longer appeals to our taste is a tempting option, especially when you consider the price tag for such items. However, learning the difference between something that is classic and just needs to be spruced up and something that would only find an acceptable second life as an upcycled item is key to letting go of bad design and embracing good. Classics are items that are solidly constructed and something you could name the style in which it was produced. Something that couldn’t withstand being passed through generations or that could only be categorized as a passing trend is begging for a replacement and this is the year to do it!

Find Your Personal Style-If you haven’t done it yet, make this year the one where you identify your personal style. Do you edge towards the classics, super-slick modern, or combination of the two. Use a notebook or a site like Pinterest (you can find Hibbs Homes on there and follow some of our board for design inspiration) and begin clipping and collecting items that really appeal to your personal sense of taste. In short order you will start to see your personal style emerge and you can begin relying on that to make decisions when picking out cabinets or purchasing new rugs. Designing with your personal tastes in mind will help you to create a space that is perfectly suited to you-which will never go out of style.

Tackle a Makeover in the Room You Dislike the Most-Everyone has one, the room into which you never invite guests. Starting today make a resolution to get that room under control and begin planning your project. Here’s how to do it:

1. Start by setting a realistic budget for the project and begin saving.
2. If it’s a major renovation project you’ll need to decide if you’d like to tackle the project yourself or hire a professional contractor to handle all or some of the project. If it’s a simple redecorating project start comparing prices and places to find those perfect pieces.
3. Begin looking at photos on websites for inspiration and start dreaming up your perfect space.
4. Once you have all of the pieces in place and you have a plan for getting it done set your start and completion date and you can enjoy watching your home design transformation unfold.

You can adopt one or all three design resolutions for the coming year, and, unlike going to the gym or budgeting, they can be pretty easy to stick to. But one thing is for certain, living in a home that is designed to suit you does wonders for your psyche!

Though hardwood and marble are hot trends for kitchens and baths right now, there is nothing more classic than thoughtfully laid tile. On the back splash or on the floor, tile still remains a top choice for beautifully designed kitchen and bathroom spaces. But your tile choices aren’t limited to just a square laid next to a square, laid next to…

Here are some recent tile designs that we have installed in a couple of custom homes that think outside of the tile box, and with beautiful effects.

Octagonal & Hexagon Tiles-A popular tile choice for the powder and bathrooms beginning at the turn of the century, these tile styles can still be seen in many historic homes and are making their way into the new homes and remodels in the St. Louis area.

Hexagon and octagonal tiles are reemerging in home design and can be found in the vintage, unglazed form or in high-end materials like carrera marble. When installed in a bathroom next to a modern vanity with clean lines, the tile adds character without looking dated or edging too far on the vintage side, like the bathroom we built for a Richmond Heights client (pictured right). When paired with a claw-foot tub and classic pedestal sinks the look is stunning.

Subway Tile-Made popular by the famed underground transportation that is it’s namesake, these rectangular glass tiles were popular in pre-war homes. Originally installed in the famed subways of New York, complete with in-laid signage and mosaics, these tiles add a touch of pure Americana and history to a home.

Subway tile is a perfect choice for a kitchen back splash and complement shaker style cabinets well, adding a touch of sophistication, history and a polished look. They are also easy to clean, which is important in a busy kitchen. Paired with the Ikea shaker-style cabinets and the bead board island, the kitchen in this Richmond Heights custom home shows a perfect marriage of clean lines without sterility (pictured right).

Basket weave Tiles-With a look reminiscent of hexagon tiles, a basket weave tile is both unique and adds visual interest to a room. Not to be confused with laying tile in a basket weave pattern, you can actually purchase tile grids that look similar to a woven basket in many different styles, materials and colors.

Though basket weave tiles are a newer style, they have a historical look to them so they compliment homes that revive past architectural styles, and add some dimension to a larger space without being overwhelming to the eye. In a Kirkwood custom home we recently completed the homeowners chose to add style and texture to their bathroom by installing a basket weave tile that works perfectly in the space (pictured right).

But if you have your heart set on installing square tiles there are still ways to add interest and keep the room from looking to industrial. Adding borders, laying tile in a diamond pattern, and paying close attention to texture are all great ways to keep your next tile project from being stuck inside the box.

One of the top buzz-words from the last year in the housing industry is “right sizing.” The days of development communities full of single lot homes brimming over with excessive square footage are numbered, and the tide is changing towards custom homes that fit the family who lives there – both in terms of square footage and personality.

So many folks have heard the term bandied around, but are still left wondering what exactly right sizing a home means. When you are working with an architect and builder to develop the perfect house for your family, right sized means…

Useful Spaces – Open floor plans are great, but design elements like the two-story lawyer foyer are showing up in designs less often because of the unusable square footage they leave. On the flip side of that coin is creating formal and family duplicate rooms, instead design your space to fit your family’s lifestyle and needs.

On Budget – Right-sizing also means building a house that fits your budget both in terms of building costs and the cost of living and upkeep. If you don’t think you can afford to, or if you don’t have the inclination to worry about tuck-pointing a two-story brick exterior might not be right-sized for you. Think about how much your finished home will cost to maintain and live-in to eliminate superfluous space.

Lot Space – Have you ever driven by a home that has amazing curb appeal… until you realize they may as well be sharing a wall with the neighbor? One of the problems people run into when building a house that doesn’t fit on the lot they own or purchased is that the houses run right up onto one another. This is commonly seen in older and highly coveted neighborhoods, and an often complained about annoyance. Size your home to the lot so you have plenty of living space outdoors to enjoy. After all, St. Louis is a city well known for their BBQ cookouts so you want to make sure you have plenty of space for one.

As the name implies, right sizing is about getting down to business and being economical with both your square-footage and your space. The trend is steadily moving away from overly spacious, sardine canned homes and moving towards homes that families wear instead of homes that wear families.