Is one of your New Year’s resolutions to make your apartment home a trendier place to live? After all, it is your sanctuary and you should surround yourself with things that please you and turn your luxury apartment home into your oasis. And sometimes, we want to impress our friends and family, too, right?

First, let’s review some of the overused home decorating trends that are oh, so 2018 and not in style now:

• The modern farmhouse
• Expensive furniture updates
• Millennial pink
• Plants, plants everywhere
• Word art
• Bold graphic wallpaper
• Gray walls
• Macramé art
• Extreme minimalism
• Copper everything
• Accent walls
• Mid-century overload

Instead of accent walls, home decorators are predicting that all the walls should match with focal points coming from decorative accessories. Don’t give up entirely on mid-century modern (and don’t just give pieces away!). Design experts say we should be mixing different types of furniture, including mid-century modern, instead of having all the furniture match in one genre. The idea is to mix mid-century modern with something more traditional.

Color it beautiful

What colors are hot for 2020? Actually, the trend seems to lean toward cooler tones. Of course, everyone pays attention to what Pantone says are the trendy colors for the new year. The word seems to be “blue,” with oceanic tones. Browns are also 2020 colors—think dried seaweed and driftwood for inspiration. Sand-tinted hues are also in the palette, along with deep blacks and oxygenated tones of green. The thought is to combine colors through texturing and layering, which will add dimension to your decor. Nothing should be flat!

The team at Coloro, which includes experts in color, textile, fashion and the creative industries, has come up with five colors it believes will define 2020 decor:

• Mellow Yellow: Yellow will reach mass appeal after making cameo appearances in palettes ove\r the past three years. This is a deeper, more grounded tone that draws inspiration from baked, earthy colors.
• Cantaloupe: Forget about the peachy tones of the ’80s, this is a milkier, more subdued version of the oranges seen more recently that plays into typically feminine colors that cross over into other designs.
• Cassis: Recent seasons have seen tones of pink and purple and now, we have gender-neutral cassis to fuse them.
• Purist Blue: Again, blue is a trendy color for 2020. This is a softer yet sunnier version of once-trendy cobalt with a coolness that makes it crisp and contemporary.
• Neo-Mint: Far from tired, industrial mint, Neo-Mint has evolved from formerly popular soft pastels into a forward-thinking hue that embodies an almost utopian optimism.

TV decorating trends

Of course, the folks at HGTV have a lot to say about design trends and we all follow the network’s shows for inspiration, don’t we? Here are some 2020 decorating trends suggested by the network:

• Coastal colors: This is an easy way to bring colors into your current decor, especially those blues.
• Vertical gardens: Here’s a great way to bring the outdoors in and introduce bursts of green with different textures.
• Art deco and geometric lighting: The right fixture can transform an ordinary space into elegance and modern chic.
• Textured wall decor: Think woven wall hangings to give a space a tougher, earthier vibe.
• Tropical flourishes: They’re not just for bathrooms anymore!

Creating a trendy apartment home decor is more than just picking out the right colors and furniture, right? We should also keep in mind some living trends that are transforming our living spaces as well:

• Cool and comfy: Forget about living rooms that nobody is supposed to live in. Comfort is the key word here, with the trendiest rooms appealing to our instinct to sit down and enjoy good company in cozy spaces. Furniture should be plush, in rich jewel tones of green and blue, with plenty of faux-fur pillows and blankets and surfaces such as coffee tables made out of natural materials such as wood, stone or marble.
• Eclectic boho-chic: Yes, your furnishings should complement each other, but don’t think that means matchy-matchy. Give your guests lots of eye candy to look at with a boho-chic attitude that includes plenty of different textiles and cohesive colors.
• Minimal, but personal: The decluttering trend is still happening (for good reason!). But having clean lines and neutral colors can be complemented by thoughtfully curated items that can create an intimate feeling while making personal statements.

Flexible living areas

We all multitask, right? We couldn’t get through our busy lives without a bunch of multitasking each day. So our homes also can multitask, according to the folks at Mercana, one of North America’s leading home furnishings wholesalers. Mercana’s interior design and retail partners around the world see these living trends:

• Multifunctional furniture: Many of us are downsizing from larger homes into size-appropriate apartment homes. Multifunctional furniture includes beds with drawer spaces and desks with shelves above. It’s another way to help contribute toward sustainable living, with each inch of space contributing to minimalism and mindfulness. Look for pieces that are not only functional, but visually interesting.
• Mindfulness in design: The rise in mindfulness is a direct result of rapid urbanization that has made our lives faster than ever, but psychologically damaging in many ways. No wonder designers are striving to restore mindfulness in our homes. When you’re decorating your Arizona apartment home, consider creating spaces where you can relax and do yoga, meditate or otherwise take your mind off the outside world and surround yourself with a mindful interior that cultivates your creative side, too.
• Home offices: This is a trend that continues to dominate as many of us telecommute or take on extra jobs outside the “day job.” Carry the functionality and mindfulness of the rest of your apartment into the space that works, too.
• Evolution of storage: There’s a good reason there are stores devoted to providing storage units. Whereas we used to have shelves for books, CDs and DVDs, our contemporary needs have changed along with our need to stow them with some sense of style. Look for evolving storage options that will serve the right purpose without being an eyesore.

Remember, it’s your apartment home. You don’t need to have a dining room if you don’t want one and you don’t need to have a sofa-TV-coffee table area like a traditional living room. The idea is to make your apartment home space fit your comfort and your needs. It doesn’t matter what it says on the floor plan.