Ditch The Trends And Take Erin Napier's Advice Instead For A Timeless Kitchen

If there is one thing true about trends, it is that they come and go. There are kitchen features that are hot and trendy one minute, and then outdated and ready to be put to bed in the next. If anyone has experience with renovating dated kitchens, it's HGTV's Erin Napier. Traveling all around Laurel, Mississippi for her hit show "Home Town" Napier and her husband Ben transform old homes and kitchens into modern masterpieces whose designs are inspired by the personalities of the new owners. And for those who are trying to transform their kitchen into something timeless, Napier's advice is to ditch trends and look to history instead.

In an episode of "Erin'spired" focusing on designing kitchens, Napier said: "[When] choosing shapes for something like hardware, something that was popular in 1910 and is still popular today sounds pretty timeless. So find that shape or that color or that finish that you've seen in every decade, and use that."

The idea here is that you allow shapes and colors that have been popular in the past and have remained so for years to influence the design choices in your kitchen. Rather than hopping on board trends that are actually making your kitchens look dated, like flashy cabinet hardware or tile countertops, follow Napier's advice and use your own personal tastes to create a timeless look to your kitchen.

There are many ways HGTV star Erin Napier blends timeless design elements while also pairing them with a homeowner's personal tastes and preferences. Take her alternatives for subway tile backsplashes as an example. Though still a popular choice, subway tile has fallen off the trendy scale and can seen as a material that's dated or lacking in personality. Napier's alternative is to swap subway tile backsplash for hand-painted tiles that bring texture, color, and personality to the kitchen.

Another way Napier helps make a kitchen both personal and timeless is in her choice of colors. The Laurel Mercantile blog offered this tip: "Bring color into your kitchen with bold cabinet colors or a colorful backsplash. Erin often proves that the heart of the home deserves a touch of playful elegance." These bold colors can be paired with neutral whites and beiges to create a unified color scheme that can look good for decades.

The biggest design cue, however, is going to come from the house itself. As Napier said in the "Erin'spired" episode, "When you're stripping a kitchen down to the bones and you find something that's original to the house, like brick chase, you've got to keep it." Reclaimed brick is a hallmark of many of Napier's kitchen designs as a wall or unique flooring option. Bricks can anchor spaces with history and timeless texture, and are a material that will easily elevate the design of your own kitchen.