There's something comforting happening in the home. As life gets faster and more impersonal, Midwesterners seek a place to relax and regenerate, a place that expresses our own unique personalities and fosters connections to our family and friends.

Living Spaces

We talked to home experts all over the Midwest, and they concur. New design ideas and products that reduce maintenance, that pamper and that offer the level of personalized style you demand are burgeoning. As a result, today's Midwest style is a beautiful concoction of the practical and personal, cutting-edge innovation with classic design inspiration. This year, there really is no place like home.

Inside the home, Midwesterners seek organization, comfort and expression of personal style. There are no hard and fast design rules, but Jane Hughes, a Cincinnati designer, sees "transitional" style coming on strong. "It's a mix of good traditional and contemporary elements, but not radically one or the other," she says, like a classic wingback with a plexiglass side table. We're hiding everyday items that don't add to the design, and we prefer open floor plans to keep the family connected, with nooks for individual privacy when needed. "People really live in their homes these days," says Shannon Marie Monahan, a Minnesota interior designer. "They're not just showplaces."

Tips from the Experts

"An important consideration in Midwest interiors is the quality and amount of light (sun) and how far it penetrates into the house."
- Robert Kleinschmidt, architect, Chicago

" The desire for built-in storage is high. We're seeing bay windows seating/storage, understairwell bookcases, carved-out niches, banquette kitchens, etc. Storage can be so creative, far beyound simply utilitarian."
- Shannon Marie Monahan, interior designer, Forest Lake, Minnesota

"A popular direction for color schemes is building from a neutral base and accenting with bold blocks or accents of color."
-Gigi Steadman, interior designer, St. Louis

"Finishes and fabrics are less dressy with less pattern. Even hard surfaces are more earthy: honed limestone instead of shiny marble; brushed nickel instead of chrome; bronze instead of brass."
- Billy Beson,, interior designer, Minneapolis

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