Have you ever wanted to become an expert at something? Well I am a firm believer in some things are best left to the experts. And the rest of us are better off just becoming familiar enough to carry on a decent conversation.

Whether you are interested in rolling up your sleeves to spend the recommended 10,000 hours, time needed to become that expert, or just garner enough knowledge to understand your client’s product line or service process, you need an established, deliberate, intelligent approach to learning before the learning spark fades. According to Seth Godin people quit because they experience “The Dip.” They lose interest, run out of time, run out of money, get scared, or just don’t take it seriously any longer.

New challenges invigorate us and increase dopamine in our brains. But over time we lose that spark. The key to learning new skills is to achieve some level of success to help propel you through the highs and lows of learning.

Keep it simple.

The first challenge is to narrow down your learning goal to a specific skill, not just writing but for example specifically blog posts. I think we all have a tendency to overestimate our cognitive abilities and bite off more than we can chew.

Break the skill into logical, bite sized pieces, and prioritize those smaller parts. By focusing on the parts essential to your success, those that actually help you get what you want, you are more apt to see results sooner which is encouraging. With every layer of success you add another layer to your learning goal. Nothing is more encouraging than success itself.

For example, let’s say you want to learn how to effectively use social media. Diving in and trying to tackle Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc. all at once may sound simple, but once you start you’ll probably realize you are best served to tackle one platform at a time; and, even break that down into smaller components like learning where your clients are, best times and frequency of posts, what to say, how to engage, and how to track analytics.

Learn from someone already an expert.

Clearly the fastest way to get good at something yourself is to find a person who’s already getting the results you want, and then have them teach you or model them.

“It doesn’t matter what your age, gender or background is — modeling gives you the capacity to fast track your dreams and achieve more in a much shorter period of time,” wrote Tony Robbins, a motivational speaker and self-help author, in his book Power Talk.

Don’t know any experts in the skill you want to learn? Go to the internet and do a search. You’ll find a bevy of sources claiming to be experts; narrow down and choose someone whose name pops up most often. If you are more of a visual learner focus your search on YouTube. Don’t rule out community colleges either. Many have shorter skill based offerings on software like Photoshop, Excel. etc.

Different media activates different parts of our brain and that brain teamwork makes it easier to retain knowledge better and remember things more quickly. Studies show that you are more likely to retain information if you learn that information from different ways. So don’t stop at just one source. Read, watch, listen and write.

Something about pen in hand really solidifies the learning process. Jotting down notes as you learn creates spatial relationships between the information we are jotting down, “tricking” your brain into thinking you’ve actually done what you’ve just written.

Practice makes better.

If you set your sites on learning something entirely new and are starting from scratch, you’ve obviously spent some time reading, listening, and watching what has worked for others so you know what you are supposed to do. It’s now time to focus your time on actually practicing what they’ve preached.

Dan Coyle, author of The Talent Code and The Little Book of Talent, suggests using his aptly named “rule of two-thirds.” It means for every one-third of your time absorbing the information, you should spend the other two-thirds of your time testing yourself on that knowledge. So there was a reason for all that homework.

The amount of time you practice is dictated by the amount of time you have. But remember it doesn’t take 10,000 to get good at something; it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert in a highly competitive field. To get good at something, Kaufman says it takes about 20 hours or 40 minutes per day for a month of focused, deliberate practice. If you’re serious about the skill, make a commitment to practice for at least 20 hours before considering quitting.

Don’t forget about seeking feedback on your performance and correcting mistakes before they become ingrained. Enlist the help of a mentor, a coach, a friend to point out and help you correct your form and mistakes. Sometimes we are just so close to the process, we are oblivious to the mistakes we are making, and those mistakes become ingrained in our muscle memory. The quicker you get feedback and correct your form and mistakes, the quicker you’ll improve.

Don’t forget to set deadlines.

Set aside specific times to work on your skill. Put it on your calendar; an appointment with yourself, and set deadlines for checkpoints.

According to Parkinson’s Law. “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” Turn Parkinson’s Law into your favor by setting deadlines. Hold yourself to the commitment, it’ll make you do it more efficiently. Take videos of your progress and publish a promotional time lapse on YouTube or lock yourself into outside presentations. Both force you to spend time preparing and learning.

Eliminate shiny objects.

To learn quickly, it’s important to commit your full focus and attention to the task of researching and practicing your skill. Contrary to popular belief, multitasking is a bad habit. Only 2% of the population benefits from multitasking, the rest of us become less productive and make 50% more mistakes than non-multitaskers.

To help you stay focused eliminate your “shiny objects” by turning off your cell phone and closing your email program.

Keep your tools sharp.

Did you ever wake in the morning to have the answer to yesterday’s puzzling thought? Sleep plays an important role in our ability to learn new information and skills. When we’re asleep, we consolidate the new memories associated with the day’s stimuli. This is called the brain plasticity theory which suggests those all-important structural and organizational changes take place in our brain when we are sleep.

Without adequate sleep, learning becomes more difficult because our brain doesn’t have the opportunity to review, process, and absorb the new information.

How do you learn new skills? Share your experiences with us in the comments.

SOURCES:

The Role of Deliberate Practice in Acquisition of Expert Performance – K. Anders Ericsson, Ralf Th. Krampe, and Clemens Tesch-Romer

Writing and Remembering: Why We Remember What We Write – Lifehack.org

Medical Student Education – Loma Linda University

Why Do We Sleep? – Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Science

12 Bad Habits that are Making You Less Productive – Hubspot

Only 2% of People can Multitask, This Test will Tell You if You are One of Them – Business Insider

Power Talk – Anthony Robbins

How to Learn Anything Faster – Hubspot

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Experiential Marketing: What is it and 7 Tips to Make It Work

Even though you’ve seen plenty examples of its execution, you may still wonder how can I do that?

Everyone loves a good story. And when that story happens to contain a captivating narrative and it’s shareable, let’s just say that’s the happy-ending. Marketers tell stories through the messages and content they put out. But while we’re great at telling those stories, we don’t create them often enough.

Experiential marketing is not new. Google it and you’ll find entire summits and programs dedicated the topic. Most marketers that use it say it yields significant results. Even though you’ve seen plenty of examples of experiential marketing execution, you may still wonder how can I do that?

Here are some basic tips to help you get rolling on your own experiential marketing initiatives.

First, What Is Experiential Marketing? According to an article in CMO magazine, experiential marketing is a

mutually beneficial interaction between customer and brand in an authentically branded engagement.

What does this mean? Well, it’s authentic in the sense that it goes beyond simply sending one-way behind scenes messages to your target audience, digitally or otherwise. Instead it requires creating a live opportunity to interact with your brand. As for the mutually beneficial nature, the consumer benefits by experiencing your brand in a tangible way and you benefit from sharing that content as well as every time they “repeat” your story.

Consider that 49% of attendees at branded events create videos while there, with a significant percentage sharing it on social media. Experiential campaigns tend to be event-centric, but more important than the type of event format, it’s the interaction that people have with your brand that is important.

What does that look like?

7 Experiential Marketing Tips

1) Take Advantage of Virtual Reality

Tools like virtual reality (VR) and 360° video are steadily on the rise. Get this. More than half of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand that offers VR experiences — and when a video comes in a 360° format, viewers are more than 2X likely to watch it in full. The power of VR is that it provides an immersive experience in something beyond their current surroundings and it puts the viewer in control of that experience.

What are those experiences that your brand can create? Once you know the answer, turn it into a VR experience — here’s a great guide for doing so on a budget from CinematicVR — and bring it to the user.

2) Bring it to the User

One of the core tenets of inbound marketing is to avoid interrupting your audience. Instead, the best way to turn strangers into customers is to bring them to you.

Experiential marketing is no exception, which is why it’s often best executed where you know your audience is and engaging them there. Like Google did with its Impact Challenge campaign — installed large, interactive posters in places where people “had the time to make a difference” — like bus shelters, food trucks, and restaurants.

3) Transform the Space

Every year, the city of Austin, TX is taken over by an event known as SXSW: A self-described conference and collection of festivals. It’s chock full of elaborate experiences created to promote the work of the interactive, film, and music industries.

Although you most likely aren’t trying to market a hopeful box office hit, it shouldn’t stop you from thinking about transforming a space into a branded one. Think about collaborating with a local business to create a branded experience per your product or service. And don’t be afraid to think outside-of-the-box and use holidays and seasonality to your advantage.

4) Partner with Other Brands

When approaching another brand to create an experiential marketing experience, it’s probably not the best idea to just show up and take over. You need to provide some incentive and understanding as to how this partnership will benefit the proprietors.

That’s a fundamental piece of co-branding: ensure that you both stand to benefit from the partnership. Creating an experience together can accomplish that, but you’ve got to approach it strategically. When you begin to determine what the experience will look like, start thinking about what co-brands would complement and enhance the experience for participants. You should each bring different elements to the table instead of competing efforts.

The same goes for the people you want to attend the event. A co-brand that already shares the same audience as you might not accomplish much. You want to reach a population that would be interested in your brand, but are out of your circle of influence, your first level network. Both you and your co-branding partner should stand to benefit from exposure to the other’s audience.

When you work with your co-branding partner, build an experience that allows the audience to engage with both of you.

5) Teach People Something

If you’re wondering what’s stopping people from learning more about your brand, it might be that they simply don’t understand it. Maybe that’s why 58% of customer experience experts say that simplifying products and processes should be a business priority.

When creating valuable, teachable content to your audience that helps them learn more about your product or service, consider building an experience that accomplishes the same thing. Facebook did this with its IQ Live event, wherein it created simulated real-life experiences and settings that brought the numbers to life. Its IQ Mart simulated the online shopper’s conversion path when using social media for buying decisions. 93% of participants felt the experience provided them with valuable insights on how to use Facebook for business.

6) Create Something Together

70% believe that creativity is a valuable quality to have, but only 44% believe they fully embody it. Maybe it’s up to us to put our own creativity toward allowing others to express theirs. That would be quite a remarkable and memorable experience to participate in.

7) Add a Digital Element

Make your event shareable by adding a #hashtag to it. A branded hashtag that people could use to attribute tweets and other social media posts from the engagement. People love to share their event experiences online. Give them an easy, creative way to attach your name to it. If you’re on Instagram, create a new location that people can attach to their photos, leaving little doubt about who created the experience.

Proceed to Offer the Unexpected

You should now have a good baseline for starting your experiential marketing initiatives. The scale of your budget only limits your ideas but many of the best ideas don’t require a lot of money, but rather a lot of good planning.
Have some fun and give your B2B or B2C audience every reason to not only show up, but also stick around and share the experience. The only caveat is to make sure it makes sense for your business.

What are your best experiential marketing tips? Let us know in the comments below.

Source

Twitter Primer: Building Your #Brand While Engaging Others

Your brand is what people think about your small business.
When it comes to projecting your image on social media, you must do more than set up an account.

For instance, Twitter is an easy and excellent place to build your brand. It just requires an image and 140 characters. Sounds simple but the key is you must also “use” it. By using it I mean you need to engage with others, not just consistently send out one-way communication.

If you are new to Twitter or if you don’t make regular use of your account, consider this Twitter your primer and know that you don’t have to adopt every strategy. Even if you decide you’d like to make better use of Twitter as well as other social media platforms, you will still benefit from some basics before you hire someone to manage your social media accounts.

Twitter Basics

• Legalities. Do a quick check with your licensing agency to make sure you understand the rules of engagement for your practice in your state.
• Insurance. Depending on your line of business, you may even consider insurance to make sure you are covered if someone misunderstands the purpose of your post.
• Account. If you have a personal Twitter account, don’t use it for your small business unless you intend to use it solely for business purposes (i.e., no political rants please). Your small business’s Twitter profile should tell followers and visitors the type of business you have and include any type of short disclaimers you may want to include.

Follow

Follow people or businesses who fit your ideal client profile, but don’t feel like you must follow everyone. There are better ways to see what people are talking about.

Lists

You can set up lists on Twitter for anything you want. If you practice estate planning, you could set up a list of other small businesses who tweet news related to taxation. If you are an architect, you could create a list of real estate agents who tweet news related to what home style is popular. You don’t have to follow anyone to do it either. To create a list:

1. Visit your Twitter profile and click Settings.
2. Click Lists.
3. Create a name for your list.
4. Find accounts that you want to add to your list.
5. Add them to your list.

Going forward you just look at your lists to catch up on what those accounts have posted. It’s a nice feature if you don’t spend a lot of time on Twitter or just want to keep up with similar small businesses to see how they use their account.

Hashtags

The pound sign was dubbed a hashtag and eventually made its way into the dictionary. Twitter keeps a list of trending topics with hashtags so people can easily see all related tweets. Hashtags begin with the “#” and are followed by a word or short phrase. For instance: #Taxation or #ThinkBiltmore. It’s not necessary to capitalize but it does make it easier for people to read. Hashtags do use up your 140-character limit so incorporate them into the body of your message if needed.

Hashtags are active links on Twitter, click to see what other people are saying about it. Hashtags are great engagement tools because you can find:

1. Someone who needs a question answered; and
2. New ideas for creating content to share on Twitter, other social media platforms, your blog or in a company newsletter.

Creating content based on trending hashtags is a good move for your small business account. Page rankings from search engine results are greatly influenced by semantic searches. A semantic search works by trying to understand the searcher’s intent and the contextual meaning of terms used. So, if your main subject on Twitter is taxation, semantic searches would capture some of the associated terms and topics discussed above. When you create blog posts, make sure that you place a short call to action in it and direct people to your Twitter account so they can follow you there.

Twitter Search

Twitter search can help you find accounts related to certain subjects or conversations. With this tool, you can choose whether to look at live search results, accounts, or tweets; allowing you to zero in on conversations related to a subject you’d like to read or post about.

What and When to Post

Consider posting up to three times a day. Ideally when your target market is most likely to be online. There are free online tools that will analyze your Twitter account to determine the best times to post things to your followers. You can then either post things on your own at the suggested time or use a social media tool like HootSuite to schedule tweets in advance. Using tools like these can dramatically cut down the amount of time it takes for you to keep up with your Twitter account.

Once you’ve established your schedule, don’t feel like it’s the only time you can post. It’s also important to review the schedule every so often. Using tools like Hootsuite or visiting your Twitter home page allows you to see which of your links were retweeted and clicked the most letting you know what is resonating with your audience.

The hardest thing about tweeting is deciding what to say. But perhaps it’s easier to broach this subject by pointing out what you should not do. Don’t constantly look to sell. Don’t be that person. If 12 sales people accost you when entering a store, does that make you feel warm and fuzzy? No. It just annoys you. Don’t start or end every tweet with a sales pitch. Until you have established yourself as an expert, give helpful tips or say things out of empathy and compassion. Feel free to direct people to your blog if it contains the answer to their query. Give them information as you build trust.

Here are some sources for Twitter content.

• Draw from your blog posts. When you write your blog post, note the main points so that you can compose tweets that address those points. If you are a real estate attorney and you write a blog post about the importance of a title inspection, create a list of questions that the blog post would answer and link to your post.
• FAQs. If you have FAQs related to questions that you’re asked on a regular basis, you can use those on Twitter in much the same way that you use blog posts.
• Forum Q&A. If you’re an active member on Houzz, your Q&A responses can be a Twitter gold mine. Post the question and use a hashtag on the keyword. Link back to Houzz.
• Videos. There are a lot of small businesses that use videos on Twitter. You can spend a lot of money producing videos or you can keep it simple and just use your phone. The easiest option is to download and install Periscope on your mobile device. Periscope videos feed live to Twitter and people can interact with you; you may even get people who ask questions. Answer those questions during the feed or use them to make even more videos.

Other People’s Content. Share things you read that are interesting. If you share out someone else’s content, look for them on Twitter, find their account name, and include their twitter handle in your tweet to them know you’re sharing their work. This is a great way to build relationships, get new followers, and continue to engage with others on Twitter.

Twitter engagement doesn’t happen overnight. Stay with it. Have some fun and enjoy the conversation.

Source: Twitter Tactics

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Eight Top Arizona Designers

Phoenix is growing and changing and the chances of being a big hit are small.
However, some designers do make it and become superstars in their own field.

LuxePros selected eight top Arizona Designers that are a valley reference of talent, sophistication, and success. This list includes names like Adrienne Hart, Danielle Jacques, Ernesto Garcia, James Hann, Joi Prater, Laura Eagan, Leslie Dixon, and Susan Marquez. Let’s meet these top Arizona designers and their top projects in Arizona.

Adrienne Hart

Adrienne Hart has been celebrated for her harmonious integration of architecture and interior design. Based in Scottsdale, Hart’s 3-person firm works on luxury residences throughout Arizona, providing a full range of interior design and renovation services, all bearing her signature environments that flow with balance and harmony.

Danielle Jacques

A native of Arizona, Jacques represents a true Phoenician. Her ability to make unexpected and fortunate design discoveries within each client’s home is why her work transcends expectations. Her impeccable interior design taste and eye for aesthetics always conveys her client’s authentic story. Like the phoenix, with its great beauty, Jacques creates intense excitement and brings undying inspiration to her projects.

Ernesto Garcia

Trained as an Architect, Garcia’s extensive knowledge of style and views on glamour, curation, elegance, and livability allow him to create uniquely beautiful spaces, whether they are traditional, contemporary or transitional in genre. This versatility and unerring eye are evident in his extensive portfolio, where every example conveys a classic and yet richly innovative quality catering to high-end luxury residential.

James Hann

James Hann is one of the most respected names in architecture. Over a thirty-year career with projects reaching around the United States, Hann has created a body of work that is wide-ranging in style yet always modern in sensibility. Whether boldly inspired or carefully nuanced, Hann’s strength is in the diversity of his work, striving to create design work as both sculpture and functional living space. He has an innate ability to interpret his clients’ needs and apply creative solutions.

Joi Prater

From the exacting interior details to the landscape, the creative process of Joi Prater is intimately connected to an environmental dialogue. Over a twenty-five-year career with projects reaching coast-to-coast, Prater has created a body of work that has been highly published and displayed in the San Diego Museum of Art, CA. Whether boldly inspired or carefully nuanced, Prater’s interiors are above all clean-lined, sophisticated and highly attuned to each client’s lifestyle.

Laura Eagan

Eagan is universally known for her ability to create stunning modern, yet classic kitchens and baths that retain an inviting aesthetic which reflects the individuality of her clients. Eagan’s innate design talent, experience and access to the latest technology ensures your space is an extraordinary environment. Focused on enriching your life and maximizing your home value, Eagan is the most sought out kitchen and bath designer.

Leslie Dixon

Leslie Dixon takes no shortcuts to produce the finest in custom draperies, shades, bedding, pillows and more for any home or office. Known for her warmth, expressiveness and impeccable attention to detail, Dixon creates spaces you love to live in. Dixon has a reverence for the inherent beauty of each client’s personality, treasures and lifestyle, thoughtfully incorporating elements of each into every project.

Susan Marquez

studioMarquez is a full-service interior design with an emphasis on both residential and commercial spaces. Marquez’ interiors showcase signature designs that are understated yet refreshing, straightforward, beautiful and functional. Whether a renovation or new build, balance, light, space and color factor into every design, creating a timeless effect. Clean lines and simple but well-crafted furnishings, with an attention to texture and the highest quality materials are Marquez essentials.

What do you think about these top Arizona designers? Want to see more articles like this, let us know in the comments below!

Trending Tile Patterns

There are many modern, stylish tile patterns to choose from. But the biggest trend — tile itself.

As 2016 wound down, designers ramped up the style that will define tile in 2017. Here’s a jump start of what’s in our future from the tile designers and tastemakers leading the pack in trending tile patterns.

Patterned Tiles

Tiles that have dimensional patterns and look hand painted are trending in both bathrooms and kitchens. These spaces are full of hard, straight lines and surfaces. Patterned tile brings in a little softness with curvilinear patterns and break up the still dominant gray and white color palettes as well as instill a little personality into the space.

Vintage Reborn

The lines between contemporary and vintage have blurred with modern bathrooms and kitchens featuring subway tiles due to the versatility in the look and timeless appeal.

Creative Layouts

Standard rectangular patterns have increased in length. Arranging these rectangular metro tiles vertically instead of horizontally in straight lines has gained popularity due to the cleaner and more contemporary look in minimalist spaces.
The typical rectangle is also becoming slimmer and being arranged in “finger” or “kit-kat” layouts. These long and thin tiles look great laid in vertical or horizontal rows as well as in herringbone patterns.

Geometric Styles and Shaped Tiles

We will continue to see an increase in the use of shaped tiles, such as hexagons and triangles on both floors and walls.

The hexagonal shape is a long-lasting trending tile pattern and a very popular design combination with multiple variations that can go into multiple interpretations. Such as 3D depths. The popularity of this classic shape is in its easy application and fitting of the geometrical pieces into endless array of combinations only limited by the imagination of the creator.

Realistic Porcelain Tile

Technology has been having a positive effect on porcelain tile. Today’s trending tile patterns are so realistic that it’s hard to tell from wood, marble, and other patterns. Due to its easy maintenance and realistic appearance, porcelain tiles will continue to gain in popularity throughout 2017.

Fabric textures such as tweed and denim will remain extremely popular bringing softness to hard surfaced spaces.

Large Format

Large format tiles are here to stay. Homeowners love the clean look, low maintenance, and limited grout lines. Tiles are being used on floors and walls, taking on an urban feel, and bringing texture to the smooth white and gray surfaces.

Earth Tones

White and grays will still rule in 2017 but a new dimension of soft earth tones will be added. Terracotta will begin to make a comeback in homes as part of the growing design trend. This trending tile pattern is all about the quality of handmade items and raw materials but in a clean simpler way. Unlike the rustic tile of the 80s, terracotta tiles will have a natural matte finish and be used as feature walls in bathrooms or for cladding fireplaces.

Pantone colors

Tiles that match Pantone colors

Modern Marble

Marble will continue to retain its popularity with its white and gray tonal properties. However, stone trending tile patterns will show modern influences with clean lines, creative edging, and geometric cuts as well as color or metallic additions.

Antique Mirror Tiles

Metallic will also play heavily 2017 with the resurgence of mirrored tiles in gold and silver in trending tile patterns.

Sources: Images from Facings of America and Anne Sachs

Modern Bathroom Design Trends 2017 – Materials (Part 1)

Simple, easy to maintain surfaces that are dynamic and playful.

The bathroom is one of the most important rooms in any home. And, although the basic functions of the bathroom continue to be the same each year, this space is evolving and changing to adapt to our ever-changing lifestyle needs.

What can we expect in 2017 in modern bathroom design? The year is to be marked by a return to the natural as we search for new looks and functional spaces. Many time-honored features will only grow in popularity, while others will be new to the U.S. market. If you are planning to build or renovate your bathroom space in the next 12 months; pay attention. Here are some directions that may give you not only a more enjoyable bathing experience, but also adding value to your home.

Modern bathroom design 2017

Source: Interiorzine

When thinking about 2017 trends in modern bathroom design, colors, and materials, think understated luxury — fashionable, stylish, and easy to maintain.

The year recommends making choices in favor of minimalism and simplicity. Brevity of form is why high-tech style is one of the favorites in modern bathroom design.

Source: House Interior

Lighting is also changing and instead of one main light source, multiple lighting devices highlighting separate areas will dominate.

Top decorative materials and tile in modern bathroom design

Source: Kohler

New ideas are outlined in the use of the to be expected decorative materials such as ceramics, glass, and natural stone in modern bathroom design and remain at the peak of the popularity.

Source: House Interior

In 2017 nature is reintroduced into our homes through wood, supplementing this range of hard surface materials. Wood or its qualitative imitation is used as a material for wall panels, decorative elements, as well as furniture, visually softening spaces and bringing in more organic influences.

Source: House Interior

Continuity will be a huge trend for 2017. Think simplicity with easy to maintain materials that are dynamic and playful. The ever so stylish and classic look of straight lines and masonry installations using the same material for wall and floor surfaces combined with organic materials.

Source: Cambria

Stone such as marble and granite remain highly popular. However, manufacturers such as Cambria have perfected a wide range of artificial equivalents that are virtually indistinguishable from the original. Stone, or its look alike, are used to cover walls, floors, and countertops.

Stone is also being reworked with metals, glazes, and cut in geometric shapes crossing the line between organic and constructed. Advances in waterjet technology have given tile manufacturers new ways to express themselves and the results are incredible. Whether in natural marble and stone or in a porcelain composition, these fantastic tiles bring drama and style into the bath.

Source: Interiorzine

The hexagonal shaped tiles are rising in popularity most likely due to its classic shape and easy application. The possibility of combinations is endless, limited only to the imagination of the designer.

Source: House Interior

In addition to decorative stone and tile, we are seeing brickwork as accent walls in bathroom renovations. Along with pebble-covered floors such to imitate a rocky beach.

Source: Interiorzine

Much like wallpaper and fabrics add pattern and visual interest to a room, dimensional surfaces in bathrooms transform the space from ordinary to extraordinary.

For further discussion on fixtures, furniture, and technology anticipated in this coming year’s hottest designs see Modern Bathroom Design Trends 2017 – Fixtures, Furniture + Technology (Part 2).

If you are thinking about remodeling your bath, LuxePros Find Luxury Pros can help you find a highly-regarded bathroom designer, residential architects, and custom home builders.

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Modern Bathroom Design Trends 2017 – Fixtures, Furniture + Technology (Part 2)

Modern bathroom design in 2017 is marked by a return to the natural as well as understated luxury in favor of minimalism and simplicity.

If you are planning to build or renovate your bathroom space in the next 12 months, read this article as well as Part 1 published earlier this month. These tips are intended to not only give you a more enjoyable bathing experience but also to bring value to your project.

Modern bathroom design in 2017 is marked by a return to the natural as well as understated luxury in favor of minimalism and simplicity. Time-honored features will continue to grow in popularity with others being new to the U.S. market.

Look for more emphasis on unique lighting as well as wood or its qualitative imitation being used as wall panels, decorative elements, and furniture, visually softening spaces and bringing in more organic influences.

Balance of space will be a huge trend for 2017. Use of the same material for wall and floor surfaces, softened by organic materials, and completed with understated and easy to maintain fixtures and furnishings.

Fixtures in 2017

Source: Kohler

When thinking about trends in plumbing for modern bathroom design, think rough luxury. Rough luxury is about the intrinsic value of objects. The luxury lies in the simplicity and beauty they bring to the space. Timeless, collected looks that are not strong on any one metal, subdued and unfussy.

For those seeking a simple white and black color palette, dark bronze metal finishes add elegance and pulls all the elements together.

Source: Tile Mountain and Interiorzine

Black is the new black (again) and nothing says luxury like black fixtures, basins, and tile.

Source: Kohler

Industrial and vintage looks in both basins and fixtures.

Source: Kohler

For a traditional yet of-the-moment style, a predominantly black palette is hard to beat. Brimming with elegance, especially when paired with bronze metallic, black is unfailingly classic and chic.

Source: Kohler

Add black’s favorite partner, white, in stunning geometric patterns on walls and floors to keep this classic look distinctly non-stuffy.

Source: Interiorzine

Marble cladding for the walls and metal accessories in hues of brass and gold makes for one very trendy 70s inspired bathroom project. Brass is leaping to the forefront as the most fashionable metal for the bathroom.

Source: Interiorzine

Freestanding tubs have been gaining in popularity over the last several years and all indicators point to this trend continuing into 2017. Homeowners and designers love to see the tub as a simple, beautiful piece of furniture in the bath with no surround, no steps, and no platform.

Source: Kohler

Whether you select a simple soaking tub, or a therapeutic air tub with Chroma therapy, heated backrest and built in speakers, the tub for 2017 is sculptural and beautiful, taking on a prominent place in master bathroom design.

Source: Houzz

Pet washing zones and built-in kitty litter boxes are on the increase in bathroom remodels per The Ntaional Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA). Adding an extra handheld, spray allows makes rinsing dirty paws or an all-out bath much more pleasant for all.

Furniture and technology in 2017

Source: House Interior

Floating vanities create a sense of space and openness and offer more variation in height. Expect these vanities to offer more practical storage going forward.

Source: Interiorzine

While the white bathroom trend with accents of grays and neutrals will still dominate, we are seeing a strong trend to add natural wood to the bath. It can take a rather cool, sterile design and bring in the warmth of the outdoors to the bathing experience. Pull in wood species and stains used in other rooms for inspiration and to connect the bath with the rest of the home.

Source: Kohler

Bath designers know that a beautiful bathroom is also a well-organized bathroom. Cabinetry manufacturers now offer many interiors options to keep bathroom essentials at hand and fully powered with smart storage options.

Source: Kohler

Technology has followed us into the bathroom in more ways than spray showers and Chroma therapy. Wireless speakers, Bluetooth devices, and docking stations are being incorporated into bathroom mirrors, showerheads, and vanities. For those who love modern design at its most elemental, a showerhead with a pop-out speaker help make this space as high-functioning as it is striking.

Source: Thermosoft

However, sometimes luxury is simply a little extra-added warmth. Warm toes and a warm towel with in-floor heat and towel warmers can make all the difference on a cold winter’s morning. Radiant floor heat is energy efficient because heat rises, warming you from the bottom up.

Radiant tubes offer a magnificent eclectic touch for any modern foundation.

If you are thinking about remodeling your bath, LuxePros Find Luxury Pros can help you find a highly-regarded bathroom designer, residential architects, and custom home builders.

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Top Kitchen Trends for 2017

These trending upgrades for a kitchen will make your space functional, enjoyable, and a style-setter for years to come.

Expensive and permanent spaces such as kitchens are not typically the area to follow fleeting trends. However, kitchens are undeniably the heart of the home so you want to have a fresh and up-to-date look incorporating the latest features and styles that will keep your kitchen looking stylish for many years to come.

Source: Zillow

Wondering what color to paint your cabinets? Whether traditional or contemporary in style, white dominates with gray hot on its heels in kitchen trends for 2017.

Source: Houzz

Combining cabinet colors is also a trendy look that’s holding strong. We see richly stained woods with charcoal, soft grays, and neutral pastels like pale green gray and pale blue beginning to show themselves as must-have kitchen cabinet color counterpoints. We believe shades of blue will remain strong throughout 2017 and continue to grow in popularity.

Source: Cambria

Along with natural stone, quartz countertops are kitchen favorites for ease of maintenance, warmth, and durability. With over 100 designs, Cambria quartz countertops are nonporous, resistant to heat, and a smart choice for busy kitchens.

Besides these solid trends there are some features I believe will become even more important in 2017. Add a few of these upgrades for a kitchen that will make your space functional, enjoyable, and a style-setter for years to come.

Cabinet Extras

Source: Pine Kitchen

Kitchen designers know that a beautiful kitchen is also a well-organized kitchen. Cabinetry manufacturers now offer many interiors options to keep kitchen essentials at hand and fully powered with smart storage options such as built-in USB and electrical connections. Not to mention quartz countertops that wirelessly charge your devices simply by setting them on the surface.

Graphic Tile

Source: Haskell Interiors

Although basic subway or Carrera marble can be simply stunning, tile today is so much more. Today’s tile manufacturers are utilizing modern technology to create wonderful floors and walls in porcelain with graphic patterns that work well in both traditional or contemporary settings. Reminiscent of old European hand painted tiles, patterns can add a wow factor to an otherwise basic kitchen, when used as a rug design or as a backsplash.

Pops of Color

Source: French Range

Kitchen pizzazz isn’t limited to cabinets and tile, appliances are trending away from basic white or stainless steel.

Source: La CormueUSA

From eye-catching orange, to eggplant and sage, a colorful range is a great way to pop in a small amount of color in a neutral kitchen or make it more of a focal point by using the same hue in the backsplash.

Hidden Appliances

Source: Yale Appliance

Stainless steel appliances are still big sellers in today’s kitchens. Equally popular are overlay cabinetry to hide appliances allowing them to seamlessly meld into the design scheme. We are also seeing some manufacturers move to black stainless in appliances and matte blacks in plumbing fixtures.

Beverage Centers

Source: Dacor

The kitchen remains one of the top entertaining hot spots for most homes. Whether an entire wall or just a niche, the beverage center has become one of the hottest trends. Besides wine coolers, ice machines, and built-in coffee machines, appliance manufacturers are offering wine dispensers.

Mixed Metals

Source: Decorpad

Homeowners are choosing appliances and accessories with various finishes, such as gold, pewter, or pops of color. Resulting in one-of-a-kind, eclectic spaces dominating in kitchen trends for 2017.

Bold Fixtures

Source: Decoist

Color isn’t the only way to go bold in kitchen trends for 2017. Oversized light fixtures give a great sense of depth perception and create drama in a room.

Pet Spaces

Source: Houzz

Pet spaces have been taking over in laundry rooms, bathrooms, and kitchen spaces. A recent survey by members of the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) found that more than 35% of designers were incorporating pet areas into their client’s kitchens. Whether a simple feature such as a drawer for leashes and food, or a more built-in solution as a feeding center with raised bowls or water and food bowls integrated into toe kicks this is one trend that will become a kitchen staple.

If you are thinking about remodeling your kitchen, LuxePros Find Luxury Pros can help you find a highly-regarded kitchen designer, residential architect, and custom home builder.

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