Renovating your kitchen can be a pricey endeavor. And while you might be tempted to embrace the latest trends in your kitchen renovation, if you want to ensure you’ll love the look of your kitchen as much 10 years from now as you do today, the best thing you can do? Choose a kitchen trend that will never go out of style.

In a recent article, home improvement website LifeRejoice highlighted 40 of the most timeless trends in kitchen design, including:

Pairing whites and cools. If you want to create a streamlined, organized look in your kitchen, consider pairing white with a cool neutral (like gray).

Statement tile. Intricately designed tiles can add visual interest to your kitchen and make for a unique (yet timeless) design. Just make sure to keep other design elements, like paint and fixtures, more understated to keep your kitchen from veering into “visually overwhelming” territory.

Using lighting or color to define the kitchen. If your home has an open floor plan, strategically using lighting or color can be a great way to define your kitchen space and separate it from your living area.

If you’ve been thinking about renovating your kitchen (and you want that renovation to have serious staying power) embrace one of these timeless design trends.

Autumn is here! And while fall is always a cozy time, this year, coziness has officially emerged as one of the biggest interior design trends of the autumn season.

A recent article from remodeling website Houzz highlighted the biggest trends from the 2020 Atlanta Furnishings Market—including cozy decor and design. Things like camping-inspired pillows, plush throw blankets, and earth tones were definite players at this year’s market…which makes sense…

As people anticipate spending more time in their homes than usual this fall and winter, there is a desire to make their spaces as comfortable and inviting as possible—making cozy design the go-to trend as we move into the last few months of the year.

So, what does this mean for you? If you’re thinking about doing a bit of redecorating to get your home ready for the fall, make sure you’re on trend (and super comfortable!) by embracing all-things-cozy in your decor and home design.

Thanks to COVID-19, the first half of 2020 saw many people hunkering down and spending more time at home—which has led to a huge surge in home design projects. But which projects and trends have been the most popular?

The Wall Street Journal asked design experts for their insights into the hottest design trends for the first half of 2020. According to the experts (whose responses were outlined in a recent REALTOR Magazine article), the hottest interior design trends of 2020 so far include:

Going two-toned in the kitchen.

Mixing and matching different tones in the kitchen—like using a darker color for your bottom cabinets and a lighter wood or paint for the top—has emerged as an on-trend way to add new life to your kitchen in 2020.

Sprucing up the home office…

With so many people working remotely, redesigning home offices has been one of the most popular interior design projects of the year. Many people are investing in structural pieces to make their home offices more functional, like built-in desks.

…and the outdoor space.

All the at-home time has prompted many homeowners to renovate their outdoor space to make it more comfortable and functional with elements like fire pits, pools, and outdoor dining areas.

Urban areas have long been the hottest real estate markets in the country. But the pandemic and stay-at-home orders left many people longing for more space, both indoors and out—and now that restrictions are being lifted, many of them are leaving the cities and heading to rural destinations to find the space they’re looking for.

And as interest in properties in rural areas is increasing, so are prices.

According to data outlined in a recent article on REALTOR Magazine, rural homes experienced an 11.3 percent increase in sales price year-over-year during the four weeks ending August 2—which is higher growth than in the suburbs (9.2 percent) and significantly higher than growth in urban areas (6.7 percent).

So, what does this mean for you? If you live in a rural area and have been thinking about selling your home, now is a great time to take advantage of increased demand and fetch top dollar for your home.

When it comes to your home, you want to make sure you have everything on hand you need to create a safe environment for you and your family. But what exactly do you need to make your home safe? Here are six must-haves you need to ensure your home is safe for your family and yourself:

1. Smoke and carbon monoxide detector

A smoke and carbon monoxide detector is a must to keep you and your family safe. You can either buy each detector separately or purchase a model that detects both. Either way, you need to make sure that you have a detector monitoring the air in your home for both smoke and carbon monoxide at all time.

You should have at least one smoke and carbon monoxide detector on each level of your home (so, for example, one in the basement, one in the ground floor, one upstairs, and one in the attic). Test them regularly and replace the batteries at least twice a year to ensure they’re working properly.

2. Fire extinguisher

House fires are more common than you’d imagine. In 2015, there were over 365,000 house fires in the United States. And while you hope that a fire will never happen to you, you still need to have an extinguisher on hand just in case.

Keep your fire extinguisher in or easily accessible from the kitchen; most home fires start in the kitchen, so you want to have your extinguisher close should a fire occur. If you have a multi-level home, you should also keep a fire extinguisher in your bedroom should a fire break out while you’re asleep.

3. An exit plan

When all else fails and your home becomes unsafe, you want to make sure you and your family all know how to get out of the home quickly and safely.

Develop an exit plan that allows you and your family to safely exit the home from all areas of the house in case of an emergency; you should have an exit route from all levels of the home so that no matter where you are when an emergency occurs, your family knows where and how to get out.

Meet with your family at least once a year to review the exit plan and make sure everyone knows what to do in case of an emergency.

4. First aid kit

Minor accidents are inevitable in your home; your children might fall and scrape their knee, you may burn yourself while making dinner. These things happen. But to keep minor injuries from escalating, you want to make sure to have a first-aid kit on hand.

First aid kits should include:

• Bandages
• Gauze
• Antibiotic Ointment
• Pain reliever
• Alcohol Cleansing Pads
• First Aid Tape
• Ice Pack
• Gloves
• Finger Splint

Depending on your family’s needs, you might need additional items, like an Epi-Pen for allergic reactions. You can pick up a first-aid kit to suit your needs just about anywhere, including First Aid Store and Amazon.

5. Contact sheet

In case an emergency happens when you’re not home, you want to have a contact sheet full of important contacts and information so whoever is home with your family or children will know who to call and how to get in touch with them.

Include your own contact information, the contact information of friends and family that live close to your home, your family doctor, and all emergency numbers, like the police station and fire station. You’ll also want to leave insurance information in case it’s needed.

6. Disaster kit

In case of a major emergency, like an earthquake, that would cause you to hunker down in your home (or leave in a hurry), having a disaster kit on hand can be a lifesaver.

Your disaster kit should contain the following:

• At least 3 days worth of water and non-perishable food items
• Cash
• Flashlight
• Batteries
• A battery-powered or hand-cranked radio
• Copies of birth certificates, passports, insurance cards, and other important documents
• Can opener
• Disposable utensils
• Pet food (if you have an animal)
• A backup cell phone battery and/or a solar charger

In an ideal world, you won’t have to use any of these safety items. But these six must-haves are essential in keeping your family safe in case of an emergency.