Although clients rely on her eye for trends and creativity, Gail Grillo isn’t constantly reinventing the wheel in her own home’s decor.

“I don’t redecorate,” said the interior designer. “When I find something I like, I hang on to it. Once I like something, I keep it for quite a while.

“I also don’t have the time,” she added, with a laugh. “When I was having company, I was putting up valances in my bathroom at 10 p.m. at night.”

Bold and neutral colors, and natural fabrics are the signature design elements on tap for the coming year, according to Grillo, owner of Marvel Home Decorating in the New London Mall.

A shade similar to orchid, this year’s go-to hue, will continue into 2015.

“Things don’t drastically change,” she explained. “For a few years in a row, it was all about pinks and corals. This year it was a blend of purple and that’s what it will be for next year.”

Customers in this region don’t tend to follow the national trends, said Grillo.

The color gray will be popular among homeowners and businesses in the coming year, as will natural fabrics and fibers. Recycled materials, such as water and milk bottles, will be used even more in the manufacture of drapes and carpeting.

“The easy maintenance kind of stuff is what people will appreciate,” Grillo says. “The heavy formal drapery look is going out.

“Metal grommets with straight drapes are a great look. We’ve had the grommets in the store for years, but people weren’t really into the look until now.”

Grillo says many of her clients are downsizing, simplifying, or renovating their living spaces after their chidlren are raised and grown. Older clients in particular, she observed, appreciate “clean lines.”

“They want something that’s no fuss and is easy to take care of,” she explained.

Hunter Douglas is the store’s major supplier of window treatments and is focusing more on natural products. Shades made of bamboo are a favorite of Grillo, mainly because the material is so durable.

“If you have it in your yard. ... you cut it down and it grows back twice as much. It replenishes so quickly,” she says.

Trendy decorating ideas aren’t just limited to interiors. Grillo says shutters are “a look all by itself” that can dress up the exterior of a home.

To stay on top of exciting innovations and emerging ideas, Grillo attends four trade shows a year, paying close attention to developments at the major ones in January and late July. She has an affinity for hand-painted furniture and has moved toward using more of it in her client’s homes.

“There is such gorgeous stuff out there I never have to repeat the same stuff in a house,” she says. “You should have eclectic pieces in every room. It’s nice that everything doesn’t have to match. That would be very boring.”

One trend that Grillo will shy away from next year is furniture that has a “rustic” look.

“I’m not very fond of the distressed look. Furniture that is old and beat up … my customers are trying to get rid of it,” she says. What does work well in a room are small accent pieces – a side table or a chair – that are not common in every store.

“You can mix a lot of different things when you decorate a room these days,” she says.

The best advice Grillo gives clients? Stick with what you love.

“Nothing is spot-on in terms of trends. When I go to people’s homes and they ask ‘What should I do?’ I tell them anything they like, we can make work. We can start with a simple thing and work around it. Not everyone needs to have the same style.”