Nobody wants to imagine themselves living in a very dated home. Homes that still have posters hanging in them dating from 1987 that you only ever still see on the walls of less reputable hair salons.

It is important to update your home from time to time as it can affect a buyers view of the property. It is also important to note however that one should never get carried away with a trend and end up painting walls poison yellow just because it was fashionable. Some decor trends are hard to get rid of once you tire of them.

That said it is your home so for the time you live there make it your own, just make sure any decor changes are reversible so that others can imagine themselves making your old home their new home.

Here are a couple of decor ideas that should should stand the test of time quite well.

Colour is the best weapon in your arsenal, if you choose your colour palette right you will open up a world of possibilities for yourself  that take little effort to achieve. As you may imagine something neutral is usually your best bet. But neutral doesn’t have to mean bland beige, in 2009 there are a range of great colours available to you.

There is a vast array of neutral tones out there ranging from a slight rose tone all the way through to very pale green. The choice is yours and once you choose your base colour you can add fashionable highlights in golden greens, citrons, blue-greens,  blue-purple, oranges, wine, berry, tomato reds and earthy browns.

The trend of the season seems to be leaning toward an earthy feel that will include bronze trims and accessories. If you are on the more adventurous side you could choose to paint burnt orange accent wall and build your decor pieces around a Moroccan theme. Inspiration can be drawn from mosaic patterns, cultural design and eclectic combinations.

The biggest cultural influence of the season seems to be the Middle East, China and India. This is expressed most obviously in colour combinations traditional to these areas.

Imagine yourself relaxing in your beautiful Chinese inspired living room that all started with painting your wall a soothing pale green. All you have to remember is to keep your base colour the most neutral thing in the room and then to have fun with accessories.

Whatever your personal taste may be remember that everyone has a different opinion of what good taste is. Enjoy your home and your personal style while you are living there but when selling your home make it as easy as possible for buyers to imagine their own furniture inside.