Home decorating is sort of a passion of mine. I love to see what's new in home design trends, and try to come up with ways to update my home on a tight budget. I love a good challenge. My husband and I are fans of old homes, bold colors, classic woodwork, and modern design elements. If we had our way, we'd build a new craftsman style home with all of the update features we yearn for.

In 2017, we hope to move to a new home. We have outgrown our house by leaps and bounds. We know that making our home appealing while we still live there is important- for ourselves, and for our children, I have been studying up on design trends for 2017, so when the new year rolls in, I can do a massive clean sweep in the house, and start fresh for the new year. I love a clean slate to work with, don't you?

A hot trend in decorating for 2017 will be wall coverings. I keep trying to get my parents to remove the wallpaper in their kitchen, but as luck would have it, wallpaper is making a comeback! They'll still need to remove the old paper and choose a new, modern design. If you're afraid to wallpaper a large area of your home, you could always wallpaper a small area first, to see how you like it. I love the idea of wallpapering the back of a bookshelf. You can add a big pop of color or texture to an otherwise boring shelf. I would love to add wallpaper to my son's reading corner in his bedroom- I think a cool space would encourage him to lounge and read on his own. Wallpapering behind a bed can also be a cool look. I would love to do this in my own bedroom!

The use of Smart home products is also going to be huge in 2017! We have already jumped on this bandwagon, by investing in a Nest smart thermostat for our home. I love being able to control the temperature of our home when we're not in it. When we go on vacation, we can simply adjust the temperature to warm or cool the house before we get there- from the road!

Mixed finishes is another big trend for 2017. Gone are the days of having to have everything match. This is a hard concept for me to get over- I am a matchy kind of girl. When I think about it, I mix metals in my jewelry, so why wouldn't I do it tastefully at home? You can easily create an eclectic look that's fun and funky or elegant, using select mixed finishes. Stainless steel appliances and copper light fixtures? Why not!

Other trends include things like multi-use furniture and room dividers for open concepts. It's a goal of mine to have more of an open concept home when we do move down the road. I think room dividers are a great way to divide space temporarily, without having to make structural changes to them home.

I am so excited for what 2017 will bring for us, and you'd better believe that I'll be making my pin boards so I can keep all of my design ideas in one place. If you want to get a leg up on decorating for the new year, check out the 6 hottest home design trends of 2017, and start making your wish list!

What are your home decorating goals for 2017? I'd love to hear them!