Make home trendy without getting stuck in an era

Last year, Fort Washington interior designer and blogger Carrie Leskowitz noticed a trend: Stylish designers, manufacturers, and do-it-yourselfers were suddenly obsessed with dip-dye - plunging curtains, chair legs, and even utensils into vats of dye and paint. It made sense: A few years back, fashion runways had been awash with ombre, and the trend had filtered into hair and even nails - so why not home design?

Leskowitz blogged about the trend, but didn't bother doing any dyeing of her own. After all, she said, trends like that don't last long these days.

"Everything is so global now that the information is everywhere, and it's coming very quickly," Leskowitz said. "There's an arc to a trend. It builds and it picks up speed - and then once it's become so saturated that everyone has done it, the trend is over."

That raises a question: Even as a new year brings fresh trends, how can you put together a room that's up-to-date, but won't appear stuck in 2014 for perpetuity?

The key, said local designers, is applying trends selectively, layering them with neutral, classic pieces, and, most important, staying true to your taste.

"The tenet of good design is really using a certain amount of restraint," said Rittenhouse Square designer Ashli Mizell. "There's a big difference between being trendy and being current."

Mizell sees the design world adopting some bold trends from the fashion runway: Think ethnic prints mixed with unexpected pairings like plaid and leopard print. She's also seeing lots of graphic black-and-white patterns and bold clashing patterns in mixes like pink and red.

Those aren't easy trends to wear - and applying them at home is even more difficult.

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Make home trendy without getting stuck in an era