What's next in home decor

I'm seeing metallic in a lot of wallpaper and fabrics, says Marks, who recommends using shimmery touches sparingly. Otherwise, the room ends up looking like a disco. His recommendation for not overdoing it? Paint the legs of a chair in a metallic color, or add metallic accent pillows.

Exotic stones, and most especially onyx in honey, caramel, and black, are being used as accents in bathroom tiles, coffee tables, dining sets—you name it, says Bullard, whose clients include Christina Aguilera, Cher and Elton John. The beauty is that you can light them from behind so they glow.

Color is really big, and beige is totally out, says Marks, who has decorated homes for Amber Valletta, Gillian Anderson and Paul Reiser. I'm seeing purple, red, pinks, turquoise. The bold hues of the 1980s are back.

Wallpaper used to be thought of as old-fashioned, but now it's the hottest thing,” says Bullard, who is currently designing a line of wallpaper with Schumacher. For the most up-to-date look, he suggests looking for papers that have a lot of sheen, almost as if they've been lacquered.

The lines are blurred between formal and informal spaces. An eat-in-kitchen might have formal seating but that doesn’t mean the kids aren’t gathered around having breakfast in the morning. “The (fussy) formal room is no more,” Bullard says. “The kitchens open up to the family room, and people get to live, work, and experience everything together.”

When it comes to entertaining, Be adventurous,” says Bullard, who recommends spicing up traditional holiday decor with some global style. Recently, he’s been traveling to India to get inspiration for a line of holiday table-covering accessories that feature colored glass (he is designing the pieces with Mary McDonald for One Kings Lane).