Trends in home decor [Archive] - Simple Living Forums

iris lilies

5-14-18, 1:45pm

Last year I brought you the decor trends from big box stores like Hobby Lobby and Home ______(something) and Michaels that consisted mostly of

1) nautical themes

2) giant sized letters of the alphabet

3) lanterns.

So, as your emissary from consumer land, let me tell you what I saw last week:Farmhouse! We are all now expected to make our homes farm homes, even apparently (and probably especially)suburban track homes. So yeah. Itis a big NOPE for me.

The Farmhouse aesthetic is carried out through tin objects and signs. Tin vases, tin containers, objects d’arte in tin abound in the stores. And then, the most ridiculous thing, are 24” tin windmills, replicas of old farm windmills. I guess they look nice on your coffee table? I guess?

And then, the signs. All of them are on an off white background resembling chalk paint, or sometimes on faux weathered barn board, with wording such as “Farmhouse” or “Bless our nest” or “Bless our Farmhouse nest” or sometimes wording about chickens, eggs, and kitchens, and families. Oh yeah, and love. Wording sbout love.

This trend is so deeply felt by some that there is one tiny shop in the tiny town of Hermann MO where the entire floor is devoted to Farmhouse signs, linens declaring love of Farmhouses, and yes there is tin work there, too. How can this tiny place sell enough of this crap to stay open?

My mind is boggled.

This post is obviously a way for me to make fun of the mass consuming hordes, so beat me up. But I felt compelled to express my annoyance and disgust for this embracing of “authentic” life through objects made in China in a completely inauthentic way.

Teacher Terry

5-14-18, 1:48pm

So they expect people to change all that stuff on a regular basis?
I have only had 2 themes my entire life. The first was country and now I have wine/italy.

Float On

5-14-18, 1:56pm

IL....you forgot to mention "shiplap"......

iris lilies

5-14-18, 2:02pm

IL....you forgot to mention "shiplap"......

I know! shiplap! It is what our farmhouses should have!

Tenngal

5-14-18, 2:07pm

finally decided to ignore the "trends." I am keeping my honey oak kitchen cabinets and my huge oak entertainment center.
The kitchen cabinets are in perfect condition and the entertainment center has lots of storage for odds and ends.
I like them and that is enough.

JaneV2.0

5-14-18, 2:15pm

I try not to pay attention to decorating trends--like the ubiquitous gray on gray and moorish tile/lattice patterns everywhere. I like what I like, and I'll go with that.

nswef

5-14-18, 2:24pm

I keep waiting for colored bathroom tile to come back. They're easy to clean...look shiny and fun so much different from rocks and gray and brown. So, we still have pale blue (1993) in one bath and peach and pale blue (1960s) in the other. The floor is vinyl in the peach bathroom. Gray kitchens....ick, ick, ick! My house is clearly "dated' and I'm fine with that. glad everything works!

catherine

5-14-18, 3:20pm

I agree with you on the trendy themes! DH and I were actually LOOKING for tin stuff at an antique store where small buckets were going for $50. Then I happened to go to Michael's and the whole front of the store was devoted to tin--most of the stuff under $15. Didn't buy anything.

And I will never buy a weathered sign that says "EAT" or "KITCHEN" or "MAKING MEMORIES" Years ago I did buy a sign that appealed to me that says "Remember, as far as everyone else is concerned, we are a nice, normal family." That spoke to me and my insecurities, and so I do have it hanging in my kitchen in NJ.

My other guilty pleasure in terms of home stores is the section of Marshall's and TJ Maxx called Home Goods. I usually covet a ton of stuff there. And I did find some beautiful storage containers for my open shelving. But they don't look like fake vintage 40s enamel stuff. I passed that up.

The idea of buying tin collectibles from a chain store located in NJ and bringing them up to our Vermont farmland home seems so totally stupid.

rosarugosa

5-14-18, 4:29pm

I have an old traffic sign at the foot of my cellar stairs that says "No Left Turn." Does that count? It isn't tin, though.
I believe I learned the cool word "fake-tique from Float On.
We are going out for belated Mother's Day tonight. They are having a Paint Night type of event later in the evening where one can paint an adorable sign out of pallet wood with a company called "Pine2Posh." They apparently have come all the way from Indiana. (We are not participating).
Catherine, the sign that really kills me is the one that says "ALWAYS KISS ME GOODNIGHT." Um no, if DH needed a large written mandate on a sign, I would rather go to sleep unkissed.

KayLR

5-14-18, 4:29pm

I blame Joanna Gaines (Fixer Upper host on HGTV). This trend has been on up here in the PacNW for quite some time.

lmerullo

5-14-18, 4:45pm

My sign says "Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts!".

pinkytoe

5-14-18, 5:03pm

I like some aspects of the "industrial farmhouse" look (oxymoron) as it looks clean and simple. Currently, I am stuck on Scandinavian simple (my own term) - white or off white walls, light wood matte floors, pine furniture and lots of shades of blue though I think that might be called "coastal" right now. It seems classic to me and makes me feel calm. We had to figure out a "decor" for the kitchen we just remodeled and ended up with light wood oak floors, creamish/grayish stone counters, off white cabinetry and nickel hardware. Still trying to decide on the tile backsplash as that is another DIY project. It is hard to know what to spend hard-earned dollars on when we probably won't stay in this house for the long haul. The only sign I have is an old antique print belonging to DH's grandma that says "Give us this day our daily bread".

SteveinMN

5-14-18, 7:01pm

Yeesh. Manufactured trends which encourage the insecure to junk what they have and buy new crap. ("How about jewel tones? We haven't done that one in a few years...") >8) Leave me out of it.

Nothing at all wrong with living in an attractive environment, but I have no interest in trends which inject materials and styles into spaces where they don't belong and -- worse -- which are declared passé arbitrarily. Ick.

Float On

5-14-18, 7:24pm

I kind of get amused by the posts on craigslist or marketplace where someone posts their entire living room or kitchen or bedroom and say "ugh...I just want it all gone...make an offer and come get it" and you can tell it's all stuff within the last 8 mts to a year!
The money that is spent! Crazy.

pony mom

5-14-18, 8:45pm

The signs that really get to me are the ones that just say "Simplify". Does adding another knick knack really help?

ToomuchStuff

5-15-18, 1:54am

When I think of trends in home decor, I think of "fashionable" debt, or more what I have been, (salvation/estate/hand me down) decorating.
It is a place to sleep.

Chicken lady

5-15-18, 6:03am

Our “farmhouse” (it’s a house, it’s on a farm...) has always been decorated mostly in a style we call “midcentury American attic” (stuff our parents and grandparents didn’t need anymore)with an overlay of “daycare/elementary school/summer camp/library”

lately it as been trending a little more “ikea” (cheap, practical, grand-dog friendly) and “a potter lives here”

our new new front door currently opens into an entry space with subfloor, drywall without trim, a bare lightbulb, a chair dh made from a cheap kit we got at Roses (low end department store) 25 years ago, a fake aged brass (plaster?) birdbath style fountain my grandparents bought in the 50’s(?) a cheap doormat from Meijer's, and two gorgeous benches handmade by my fil from a walnut tree felled on dh family farm. The concept of buy8ng coordinated “decor” is foreign to me.

flowerseverywhere

5-15-18, 8:53am

The only decorations in our house are Pottery, glass and quilting items I have made, and DH’s gorgeous woodworking. Walls and floors always neutral. Every time we have sold a home we have almost nothing to do. Pack up some stuff in our relatively uncluttered spaces and our homes have sold quickly. Minimal is best in my book.

Sad Eyed Lady

5-15-18, 10:28am

I think the most interesting and pleasing decor is the one a person constructs from the things he/she loves. Like a lot of you have said, the mass produced trendy stuff is just not something I like, and the fact that it is only meant to last till the next decorating trend comes along is crazy. I have two friends who were so caught up in the "Prim" look that it was almost laughable. New mass produced stuff made to look old and "primitive" when neither of them would step outside their house without their cell phones and GPS in the vehicle.

freshstart

5-15-18, 10:56am

I blame Joanna Gaines (Fixer Upper host on HGTV). This trend has been on up here in the PacNW for quite some time.

I agree. All her fixer uppers look exactly the same to me. They have a line now at Bed Bath and Beyond.

I like mid-century modern and had it in my townhouse, clean lines, little clutter. Then I moved with the hoarder parents and everything is hodgepodge of each of ours stuff. I was able to make the common areas presentable with a mix of modern and traditional. If my mother was well, she'd have all those signs, ugh. My very wealthy cousin just did a wall of her bedroom in ship lap as if she had discovered it. I'm sure that trend will pass soon or at least I hope it does. We did paint all the common areas two shades of grey before I realized grey was a thing.

goldensmom

5-15-18, 12:58pm

I think the most interesting and pleasing decor is the one a person constructs from the things he/she loves.

A friend once thought she had no taste in decorating so she hired an interior decorator. The décor was beautiful (the don’t touch type) but it was not her so I was not impressed. I would rather see a home reflect the person I know and in which they are comfortable.

iris lilies

5-15-18, 1:08pm

I agree. All her fixer uppers look exactly the same to me. They have a line now at Bed Bath and Beyond.

I like mid-century modern and had it in my townhouse, clean lines, little clutter. Then I moved with the hoarder parents and everything is hodgepodge of each of ours stuff. I was able to make the common areas presentable with a mix of modern and traditional. If my mother was well, she'd have all those signs, ugh. My very wealthy cousin just did a wall of her bedroom in ship lap as if she had discovered it. I'm sure that trend will pass soon or at least I hope it does. We did paint all the common areas two shades of grey before I realized grey was a thing.
I visited ghe home og one of my garden club ladies at Christmas time. Her ranch style house was decorated in grey and red, and her Christmas decor was mostly white. It was so pretty, I loved it! It is hard for me to like anything in
post 80’s tract houses, but this one felt rich and pulled together, I was impressed.

beckyliz

5-15-18, 4:24pm

Joanna Gaines is at Target, too. It just never ends.

Teacher Terry

5-15-18, 4:24pm

I like to have things that mean something to me. I have a bookcase in my dining room that is full of family photos and items that people gave me that I value.

pinkytoe

5-15-18, 6:17pm

Yesterday, I finally unpacked a few boxes of odd decor that we brought with us to Colorado. They have been in the boxes for going on two years. It was like meeting old friends again - a small jade frog, a cut glass prism to hang in a sunny window, antique bronze bookends...and a small box that said rocks. It was full of beautiful seashells and specimen rocks I had saved from trips. These little things made me feel more at "home" instantly and brought back all the associated memories.

Rogar

5-16-18, 8:54am

I inherited much of my furnishings from a family funeral home business. At a time I had described my furnishings as early mortuary and I had a little attraction for the Adams family home. I still have some of those pieces left, but have been going more for simple lines and smaller footprint. The evolution of wood popularity is interesting. Oak seemed like the rage a few years ago, but now it's lighter woods although walnut has a place for higher end things. Metal looks to be more common. I'd rather have something a little dated than rain forest wood or some sort of saw dust or plywood composite with veneer.

I browse Craig's list routinely for a few items on my wish list. The volume of cheaply made and outdated furniture for sale is amazing. It seems to me like there are bargains for the older what we would call antique furniture.

catherine

5-16-18, 1:39pm

I browse Craig's list routinely for a few items on my wish list. The volume of cheaply made and outdated furniture for sale is amazing. It seems to me like there are bargains for the older what we would call antique furniture.

I agree! I've been perusing the internet for first and second hand furniture, and I have gotten the most excited about what I see on Craigslist! I love a good patina on furnishings and you just don't get that with brand new.

Speaking of which... a while back I posted on whether or not to use my great-aunt's silver for every day up the in VT house, and I was encouraged by you guys to do so. I'm so glad I did. As we speak I am soaking the old tarnished monogrammed 1920's era silverware in baking powder, salt, and boiling water, and it really works! The silver looks great, and it makes me very happy to see my aunt's monogram on it. I feel connected to her. Now I just have to instruct people to be careful throwing stuff away, but whatever. If I died, my kids would either throw it out because they don't know its worth (solid silver) or they'd sell it for scrap or pennies at an estate sale. And it collected dust in my sideboard for 30 years. I'm thrilled to be using it today.

nswef

5-16-18, 6:47pm

That's great Catherine! funny how as we age using rather than displaying or storing is more important.

freshstart

5-16-18, 8:48pm

We use Corelle dishes in our house because my parents need them to be light and unlikely to break, but when I have my own place again, I am using my Grandmother's china as my only dishware. I use it occasionally now and it brings back such happy memories. I highly doubt my kids are gonna want it so it's gonna get used with love.

Gardnr

5-16-18, 10:43pm

rosarugosa

5-17-18, 5:32am

I think it's a great trend to actually use these wonderful old things.

messengerhot

5-18-18, 2:08am

I think it's a great trend to actually use these wonderful old things.

I like the idea of a vintage theme.

ToomuchStuff

5-18-18, 9:19am

The Joanna Gains effect!

I like the idea of a vintage theme.

So would vintage Waco decorating be crime scene tape around a charred living quarters?

freshstart

5-18-18, 9:14pm

So would vintage Waco decorating be crime scene tape around a charred living quarters?

OMG, I laughed so hard, I snorted!

SiouzQ.

5-20-18, 10:32pm

I used to watch that HGTV back in Michigan at the gym when I did 30 minutes of the treadmill-thingy and really grew to hate those stupid out-sized clocks with the Roman numerals (think train station) that Joanna Gaines insisted on using in EVERY single remodel. I hate that paid advertising crap!

pinkytoe

5-21-18, 3:42pm

I think the Gaines' are brilliant or have a brilliant manager. They are getting their fame and fortune everywhere they can...while they can. It won't surprise me if they quietly disappear as time goes by - by design.

iris lilies

5-21-18, 4:39pm

rosarugosa

5-21-18, 5:01pm

We gave up our cable when Queer Eye for the Straight Guy was still pretty new, and I remember saying that was the one show I would miss ( so probably 2003 - 2004 ish). It turns out that I didn't miss it all that much, but I know not these HGTV shows of which you speak. :)

freshstart

5-21-18, 5:15pm

Queer Eye for the Straight Guy is back, it's on Netflix

Gardnr

5-21-18, 8:21pm

So would vintage Waco decorating be crime scene tape around a charred living quarters?

Every time I watch that show I first think of the massacre!:(

iris lilies

2-10-19, 10:25am

Yesterday I walked around the touristy shops in Hermann. They are full of folksy, mostly-faux vintage items with chalk paint finishes. There are lots and lots of signs. I saw this sign in 3 different places: “Today is a good day for a good day.” I guess if you buy these signs and hang them in your suburban ranchette you might feel like you are on a farm? I dont know.

Having spent time recently on a real farm, I do not recommend farm decor. But anyway.

Also popular in tiny Hermann is anything that plays to the “drinking wine” theme. Tea towels with wording about drinking are all o er the place as well as the signs about drinking, of course.

Teacher Terry

2-10-19, 10:50am

We were in a tourist town in fall and noticed the same thing

catherine

2-10-19, 11:09am

Yeah, those fake vintage signs do seem to be popular. I feel like we've lost the art of conversation to such an extent that now we have to symbolize superficial thoughts and feelings on t-shirts, Facebook memes and "vintage" home decor. Someday there will be no conversation at all. We'll simply point to trite phrases. I don't need a big sign that says "Family" to let people know I love my family. I don't have to have barnwood that spells out "Believe" to get through the day.

I was into the Life Is Good T-shirts for a while--I thought they were so cute. I bought a couple, but I found I felt silly wearing them. I have one that says "Live Simply" but I felt downright stupid wearing it in Vermont, where everyone there does that every day and they don't have to advertise it.

Lainey

2-10-19, 11:47am

…..

I was into the Life Is Good T-shirts for a while--I thought they were so cute. I bought a couple, but I found I felt silly wearing them. I have one that says "Live Simply" but I felt downright stupid wearing it in Vermont, where everyone there does that every day and they don't have to advertise it.

Catherine, this made me laugh out loud. I guess the equivalent is wearing expensive designer clothes that advertise that you like to "Live Extravagantly."

iris lilies

2-10-19, 12:41pm

Yeah, those fake vintage signs do seem to be popular. I feel like we've lost the art of conversation to such an extent that now we have to symbolize superficial thoughts and feelings on t-shirts, Facebook memes and "vintage" home decor. Someday there will be no conversation at all. We'll simply point to trite phrases. ...

These are horrifying thoughts! Yikes. That is a direction we are headed.

Fortunately after being overloaded with the faux-vintage crap in 3 shoppes, I was able to adjust my head in visiting the town’s only real antique shop whoch always has something of interest.

That reminds me, below is a new acquisition I purchased for our Hermann house, the only thing that will remain after renovation. It sets the tone for cottage decor. I have not been a “country” decor person but I am transitioning to casual, cottage look for this house. This chair has so much character! look at its big knobby ornamental rail and ball feet!

2662

JaneV2.0

2-10-19, 2:13pm

Yeah--what is the fascination with drinking? You'd think the young'uns had just discovered it. Fancy cocktails at 12$ a glass and up...Bound to be fallout from that trend.

catherine

2-10-19, 2:37pm

These are horrifying thoughts! Yikes. That is a direction we are headed.

Fortunately after being overloaded with the faux-vintage crap in 3 shoppes, I was able to adjust my head in visiting the town’s only real antique shop whoch always has something of interest.

That reminds me, below is a new acquisition I purchased for our Hermann house, the only thing that will remain after renovation. It sets the tone for cottage decor. I have not been a “country” decor person but I am transitioning to casual, cottage look for this house. This chair has so much character! look at its big knobby ornamental rail and ball feet!

2662

Hey, I have the cousins--my mother's Ethan Allen chairs that she bought in the early 70s. Very sturdy and classic country. I had the seats re-rushed once. Love 'em! I really love the arms on yours!

2663

iris lilies

2-10-19, 3:24pm

Hey, I have the cousins--my mother's Ethan Allen chairs that she bought in the early 70s. Very sturdy and classic country. I had the seats re-rushed once. Love 'em! I really love the arms on yours!

2663

oh, nice! These guys are close cousins indeed. Mine has a new seat as well.

Teacher Terry

2-10-19, 3:32pm

Love the chair

Float On

2-11-19, 11:49am

These are horrifying thoughts! Yikes. That is a direction we are headed.

Fortunately after being overloaded with the faux-vintage crap in 3 shoppes, I was able to adjust my head in visiting the town’s only real antique shop whoch always has something of interest.

That reminds me, below is a new acquisition I purchased for our Hermann house, the only thing that will remain after renovation. It sets the tone for cottage decor. I have not been a “country” decor person but I am transitioning to casual, cottage look for this house. This chair has so much character! look at its big knobby ornamental rail and ball feet!

2662

You are looking very instragram decor there. All you need to do is add a green plant. Wood tones, ratan/wicker, light grey or even better white walls with white woodwork (a heftier 6" baseboard would be best) and you are stylin' IL! Oh...add something brass as well.

JaneV2.0

2-11-19, 1:30pm

iris lilies

2-11-19, 2:39pm

You are looking very instragram decor there. All you need to do is add a green plant. Wood tones, ratan/wicker, light grey or even better white walls with white woodwork (a heftier 6" baseboard would be best) and you are stylin' IL! Oh...add something brass as well.
Oh you are so right, the baseboard is non existent, there is just quarter round trim. Some idiots modernized the living room decades ago and put up awful paneling and new trim, ugh. It all has to come out.