The Timeless Home: Best Selling Essentials You’ll Love Forever

Once in a while, we all get won over by an interior design trend. They inspire us and invigorate our spaces, but often they can feel dated quickly. However, some timeless interior design ideas offer reassuring longevity, with classically stylish and functional spaces that maintain their appeal from season to season and for decades to come.

Crate and Barrel's curated collections of artisanal furniture and home accessories are ideal for executing a timeless aesthetic. We'll show you how to select foundational elements and finishing flourishes from our bestsellers for a fad-proof home you'll love forever. 

Quality pieces that last a lifetime

Nothing delivers timeless home design quite like high-quality furniture. Turn to hand-crafted pieces built by seasoned artisans using traditional techniques and durable materials that last a lifetime. Quality speaks for itself, so it's always a good idea to choose beautifully made furniture whenever that piece is a focal point in a room. 

Crate and Barrel’s best-selling plinth-style Milano beds are an exceptional example of quality making a statement. Inspired by Italian design, each Milano bed boasts clean lines and combines the coveted modern low profile with the timeless sophistication of walnut. The beds are skilfully made with solid mahogany and handsome walnut veneer, commanding the space with a style that transcends trends.

Timeless silhouettes and neutral hues

What is a timeless silhouette? Think about the forms we keep returning to in furniture design, from understated clean lines to gentle curves that bring movement to a room without distraction. Take your silhouette inspiration from mid-century, Scandinavian, Art Deco, and other vintage designs for furniture that will stay in vogue for years to come.

The little things in your home also matter when you’re nurturing a timeless aesthetic, so think carefully about your silhouettes when choosing home accessories and dinnerware. You’ll find an abundance of timeless outlines in our bestselling Tour dinnerware range. Tour's flatware brings an elegantly sleek silhouette to your tablescape, with polished, satin, and textured finishes that stand the test of time. What could be more timeless than understated white porcelain dinnerware? Tour's plates, bowls, and platters feel classic and contemporary, with angled edges and pleasing simplicity.

A neutral colour palette feels soothingly fresh, light, and airy - an ambience few will ever tire of. It creates a blank canvas against which your high-quality furniture can stand out, and when you add colourful accents to a space, they'll pop. 

Natural materials

Natural materials like hardwoods, stone, clay, and linen have a timeless aesthetic and are highly durable, meaning furniture and decorative accessories crafted from them are built to last. These are materials that won't go out of fashion, and they bring an anchoring solidity to your interior design. An elegant hardwood dining table, like our bestselling Montana Live Edge table, crafted from solid American ash, illustrates this anchoring effect. Or, how about the Gustav marble dining table, whose grandiose grace won’t go out of style. 

Decorative accents can also add a timeless appeal to your home, such as our popular Jimena Natural Round Vase, which feels earthy and organic with its glazed clay construction and sculptural curves.

Create functional spaces 

To love your home over the long term, you must create spaces that are practical for you. Before investing in exquisitely crafted, classically designed furniture, you need to consider what you actually want and need from each room and how these needs may change over time.  

Living areas can be particularly challenging in this respect. Some days, you want this space to feel intimate and cocooning so you can curl up and unwind, but when it's time to entertain friends or family, you want it to feel airy, with sociable seating for guests. Our wonderfully deep and exceptionally comfortable Gather and Axis sectional sofas help you find the best of both worlds. With the L and U-shaped designs, you can put your feet up and watch a movie or, with the careful placement of a coffee table for drinks and snacks, create functional seating arrangements for catch-ups with loved ones.  

Bedrooms can also be tricky, and space may be limited for meeting all your needs, but with Crate and Barrel's clever design options, there are many options to explore. These include hidden storage beds that let you tuck away seasonal wardrobes and loft beds for a little one’s bedroom that will accommodate a desk beneath as they reach school age. 

Our top design tips for a timeless home 

As you start to breathe timeless elegance into every corner of your home, keep these top tips in mind:

1.  Work with your home’s 

Choosing furniture that complements your home’s architectural features gives each piece a sense of belonging. A deep bay window makes a delightful spot for a window seat, such as our Lounge Deep Ottoman, with hidden storage. Echo curved windows or doorways with flowing forms, such as our bestselling Willy Charcoal Pedestal Coffee Table and Annie Natural Media Credenza.

2.  Choose trends wisely 

Some trends resonate, and bringing new style elements into your home is fun, but we'd recommend adding just a touch. How about an accent table or chair that reflects the latest design craze or a scattering of throw pillows in the season's most desirable Pantone or print?

3.  Style seasonally 

A timeless design scheme doesn't have to be boring; in fact, it offers the best backdrop for seasonal styling. In the fall and winter, introduce warm tones with soft furnishings and ambient lighting with lanterns and candle holders to nurture a cosy atmosphere, then bring the outdoors in over spring and summer with our popular artificial potted plants and tree range. 

There's never been a better time to embrace mindful home purchases, selecting items you'll cherish forever. If you need help creating a timeless home, TheDesignDesk can offer everything from furniture selection and layouts to colour scheme suggestions and styling.