Well, I'm liking light wood tones now--maple, birch, some beeches, but most of the stuff that's in stores now is dark--wenge, chocolate, and of course black. (I have some pieces in black, but those are going into the guest room.)

I was in a contemporary store in Richmond a while back (La Diff), and I saw a whopping one maple-toned armoire in the 3-floor place. I asked a salesman if there was anything from catalogs that could be special-ordered and he told me something like "Chocolate--cherry--dark woods... that's what people want now! You're behind the times!" I hot-footed it outta there when he didn't even bother to pick up any of the manufacturers' books. (And that's quite a disappointment for me regarding this store, which I've always really liked.)

BUT... when I was in L.A. a few weeks ago, there were equal parts light and dark wood armoires at a really large showroom (can't recall the name). Maybe you just have to live in the right part of the country? Sunny climates=lighter finishes?

But whether I'm in or I'm out, I won't change. I like what I like.

It's kind of rude for a salesperson to tell you you're "out," don't you think? Better for the person to say "Now, I think this tone would coordinate very nicely with what you have..."

pammyfaye wrote: It's kind of rude for a salesperson to tell you you're "out," don't you think?

Well, she didn't exactly TELL me my taste was "out", it was more implied that the colors that I'd had in my family room for the past 10 years were not what they were seeing now in the new designs and that it was time to update! Which may be true.....but I agree with you, I like what I like! If I do choose something that happens to be "in" it will be because I really like it, not JUST becasue it's in, kwim?

laura and pammyfay,

The real irony is that if you wait long enough, what goes around comes around! Been there, done that, lol. I guess I'm just the rebel at times and believe I should decorate for myself and my family and our tastes and no one else---not even guests or company who come to my home (and especially not the designers that make money off their ideas). If visitors to my home don't like it they can stay away! Buy what you like and what makes you feel good and makes your home YOUR home! (Sorry, think this must be my crabby day).

I agree with all of you. You should buy what you like and not what's "in". What if "in" was the most uncomfortable hard chair - do you buy it just because its "in", knowing that this is the chair you want to sit in and watch TV when you are relaxing? I think what's "in" needs to be adapted to real life.

I buy what I like. In my case, it's "Scandinavian Modern," which is hot now, but wasn't when I started buying it. I have yet to walk into a Scandinavian-or mid-mod-furniture dealer and have them tell me what I like is "out". :-) I know better than to walk into other stores, since Scandinavian Modern isn't usually found outside its niche and, someday, SM won't be "hot" and I don't want to be told my taste is behind the times. It's within my time just fine.

Not at all! but that's only because I like so many different things. I have purchased exactly two furniture pieces that are IN my home; a very traditional bedstead (Ethan Allen, 4 poster) and a custom sideboard from a very talented guy who used to participate on this forum (haven't seen his name lately, though). We've also purchased a faux wicker sofa and two side tables for the deck. The rest of the house is full of old family pieces... nothing really incredible, but sentimental. I'm big on "mixing and matching", so a complete set wouldn't suit my taste, at all. I am the occasional buyer... and I buy quality stuff that fits the bill perfectly or it stays in the showroom/on the drawing board. I am not someone who will replace furniture, unless I decide to pass a piece on to someone I love.

The only time my personal taste tends to be "out of vogue" is with respect to the current trends in drapery treatments. I make them professionally and have seen more than a few lavish, well considered, carefully orchestrated interiors over the years. But I'm capable of making anything I want, so my own taste doesn't really "matter", if you see what I mean. Mini-blinds and a valence is a starting point for me...

Oddest of all is that Laura1202's chosen sofa is lovely and, I think, pretty classic in line and fabric. I can see that going into a relatively modern/"contemporary" living room; I can see it in a more traditional setting. In fact, I kinda like it myself.... where'd you find it, again? (-:

Andreagb wrote: Oddest of all is that Laura1202's chosen sofa is lovely and, I think, pretty classic in line and fabric. I can see that going into a relatively modern/"contemporary" living room; I can see it in a more traditional setting. In fact, I kinda like it myself.... where'd you find it, again? (-:

At Arhaus. Thanks, I really do like it--now to convince my H that it's "worth" the money. @@

Here is a link that might be useful: Arhaus Furniture

Hey, folks, dealers sell more furniture if we fall for all the "old sales lines". What drives sales?

And who made salespersons taste gurus?

we, the buyers, have the power of the pocketbook.

Believe in what YOU love. If it works for YOU it will never, ever, be out of style.

"Style" is how we put things together in our homes to create rooms that make our lives easier. Our custom sideboard made our lives easier! We liked the living "area" furniture enough to have it fully reupholstered... works slick and looks great.

I don't care a fig that the opulent "balloon shades" are too frou-frou for more modern tastes, "bucking" the present trends... WE like them and we love the fabric. Uh, I loved the fabric and decided to "go for it"... , if I'm really honest. But the helpmeet was quick to relay comments about te beautiful window treatments whenever his friends came over.

"Your" style can't be something you copy from a magazine. If you "copy" something, you're only "borrowing"! I'm a perpetual, unapologetic "borrower". I borrow from Empire, I borrow from Victorian, I borrow from reproduction "Colonial"/"Shaker". Art Deco, "mid-century modern", if it fits the bill, I MAKE IT WORK.

Now that's "style"!

How funny! Because I am redecorating my family room in green, red and mustard yellow. I LIKE them. And dark cherry furniture because I LIKE it, too.

I don't know if my taste is out, but I do know that I balk at buying anything that Pottery Barn has that Target is copying, etc etc. I guess I'm a rebel. I will still pick up some of the ideas, but can't get myself to "copy" the rooms. I guess that is why I never seem to finish a look. It would be a lot easier to just go with the whole look and call it a day.

My taste is so far "out" that it's coming back "in" again.

I buy what I like - if it's not in the retail stores because ti's "out", I shop in post-retail establishments (a nicer way of saying thrift shops and junk stores).

Most of our stuff is "hand me down"... not bad when the people who left it to you died in their 80s and THEY inherited it...

;)

We happen to like the lines and the history... but it if we didn't it would go on the auction block and we'd buy what we wanted!

Is my taste out? Probably, but I like what I like and intend to get what I like.

Btw, I had just the opposite experience yesterday and it was so refreshing. I went into a furniture store fully expecting to be snubbed for my relaxed cottage/farmhouse taste. Instead, the sales associate was a designer and former furniture store owner. She totally got what I wanted, practically read my mind and after a short chat confided that she wasn't overly thrilled with the current trends saturating the market and disliked the way so many stores, including the one she was working in, weren't bothering to carry anything else. She is a firm believer in the tried and true classic lines and knows how to make them work with whatever fabric colors are "in" at the time. Needless to say, I was really thrilled to have found her. Now if I can just make a sofa decision, but that's another post. ; )

Diana

I'm sure some of mine is but I don't care (laughing maniacally :-) I know that the whole "in/out" thing is a concept created by Madison Avenue to get us to feel insecure and buy new stuff. Same with fashion and the cosmetic industry. Take a look at those pictures from the 80's and you'll see what I mean!

Plus being a decorator and being more mature (ok older), I have more confidence in my own taste. It takes me forever to buy something, but then I usually hang on to it for a long time.

One interesting thing I've noticed is that a 10-20 year old fashion trend can look REALLY out-of-date, whereas if you just wait the style comes back again. I'm 60 years old, and I totally baulk at the attention being given to 1950's style. I didn't like it as a youngster and I don't like it now. However, 1930's art deco, which had gone out by the fifties but which I dimly remember from visiting older people as a child, kind of grabs me.

This is hardly a new problem...

"[N]ever attach the least importance to any recommendation which (at such establishments) the shopman may make on the score of taste. If he says that one form of chair is stronger than another form, or that the covering of one sofa will wear better than that which is used for another, you may believe him, because on that point he can judge, and it is to his interest that you should be correctly informed so far.

But on the subject of taste his opinion is not likely to be worth more, but rather less, than that of his customers, for the plain reason that the nature of his occupation can have left him little time to form a taste at all. He neither made the furniture in his shop nor superinteneded its design. His business is simply to sell it, and it will generally be found that that his notions of beauty are kept subservient to this object."

--from Charles Eastlake's Hints on Houselhold Taste, 1868

Regards,
MAGNAVERDE.

MAGNAVERDE, I was about to leap through the net and hug you (how unlike me) when I read the above until I realized that you didn't write it. I love the language. It is so rich and proper. Sigh, even I have given up talking like that these days. Ok Dude?

I really like this thread, as I don't think the question should be if people have an outdated taste, but rather if they have style.
Here in Denmark I've noticed that a lot of my friends, who all went for the minimalistic look (think white sushi restaurants meets Scandinavian design and harsh lightening) in the 90's, is now turning towards a more maximalistic look (think Scandinavian design meets great great grand mother Agathe).

My own taste is very much mix and match. -My dining room table is a 1880's mahogany piece, matched with chairs from the 1980's in chrome and palissander. I have a bedside cabinet from the 20's, my grandmothers closet from the 30's, an archive from the 40's, an office chair from the 60's,a shell chair from the 70's etc. -I still need furniture from a few decades, but I'll get there!

-Some people might say that my style is very kitch, but I couldn't care less.... It's still a style!

Oh, and by the way, it seems to me (from looking at what my friends are doing) that hunters green, maroon and gold is coming back in vogue (and I really would love some hunter green velvet curtains)!

All I can say is that I do not like what I am seeing in all of the magazines- the retro sixties styles-- even if the colors are "updated" Reminds me too much of the faded pictures of my early childhood. I get Home magazine but it is kind of a waste for me.. too modern, with the emphasis on style rather than comfort. Guess I should go back to Southern Living....

Possibly her taste was all in her mouth that day. In reality, your taste never goes "out" because there's still a big group of people that like that particular style if it was ever popular. She just wasn't concerned about making the sale that day.
When I bought my SUV, the man tried to convince me that I would like a Rav 4 over my trusty Blazer. No. A Rav 4... Everything about that was just wrong. I am not going to purchase the car they can't move off the lot, even if it means one salesperson thinks they can convince me that I'm out of the loop.

Sales people should try to never inject their own personal style onto customers. Everyone has their own style and taste and it is the salespersons job to help you find what you are looking for not to steer you towards what she wants to sell. go back to the store and work with a different salesperson, hopefully you get the proper help this time.

Uh-oh.... I am "out", because I am awaiting delivery on a chair that is the same line as Laura1202' couch!!!! What can I say!!!! I think it is beautiful, and I am looking forward to admiring it in my den! (which has old fashioned wood paneling and brown/green carpet ;^)

This is a helpful thread for me. After a 4-5 year period of being away from decorating (had some chaotic, stressful times during which we just abandoned decorating altogether), we have just renovated our house and will now be decorating it top to bottom. During my "absence", I found that my tastes have changed, much to my surprise.

Earlier, I used to favor some variation of the french country/shabby chic thing that was happening in the early 90s. Over time, I realized that I was starting to really enjoy the more pared down, more contemporary look. I fully expected that when we began decorating again, I might go for that look.

Well, now that we're finally ready to go, I realize that look isn't for me after all -- at least, not in its entirety. What I like is the absence of clutter -- my previous style had far too many knick-knacks. A little older and wiser, I'm tired of cleaning around that stuff. But I still enjoy the warmth of some of the French influences. I realized I may not actually have a "style", but rather just "stuff I like". I really like the looks of things that don't look brand new, that don't match. I think I'll get the same things, just with cleaner, more traditional lines, and less clutter.

I'm sure I'll be very "out". :)

My taste must be really "out" - if you can call "early depression" taste or style! Seriously, I have all hand-me-downs: a 1900 oak dining set with buffet and china cabinet from my grandparents; solid cherry tables in the living room with Queen Anne chairs - my sofa, loveseat and chair are only several years old but the upholstery simply fell apart so I invested in $200 worth of slipcovers; a 1939 radio cabinet (gutted); a 1970's console stereo (has an 8-track!) turn table w/radio; colors are peach, mauve and burgundy. Some days I like it, some days it looks like junk! However, I HATE my sofa - it has those loose cushions on the back, as does the chair and loveseat and they always look sloppy. I'd love to have a new set with just a regular padded couch back like they made in the 1940's - but EVERYTHING seems to have these loose cushions! Mhn, 1940's...I think there is an antique shop downtown that has a matching horsehair sofa and chair in kelly green - fixed backs on both and I already have the slipcovers!!!!!

I'm in the process of redecorating my living room, getting away from the mission style that was overwhelmiong me. I'm buying used vintage furniture and loving it. What I really love is the Ethan Allen Classic Manor line, which isn't made any more. So I'm really out of date as far as style goes, but it just really suites my taste and my living space is very comfortable for me now.

My out of style taste for bisque furniture means I usually get it for cut rate prices. Then I hold it till it is back in style, then SELL it on the open market as an "in style Antique" and pocket the difference.

Salespeople generally don't know what they are talking about when it comes to style. Buy what you feel comfortable with.

Hello--I guess I must be out as well, as I have been looking for a couple *years* for blue fabrics and items, but to no avail. I'm talking about about a blue like 'Prussian blue' watercolor paint color. It's not really teal, it's not turquoise, it's not ultramarine or cobalt, but sort of a mix of all of those, and it's just not been out there. Blues of any type have been scarce, except maybe Navy blue or what reminds me of country blue used so much in the 1980's, and those aren't what I'm interested in. I'm also 'out' when it comes to couches. We're hoping to find a classic, full size but compact, tailored looking couch in the future, but everything looks really over-stuffed, over-designed and RIDICULOUSLY HUGE. In retrospect, I wish we had kept my MIL's 1940's couch, since it was pretty close to what we need, in excellent condition, comfortable and we could have had it reupholstered.

The reason to buy a couch is if it's long enough to lay down on and stretch your feet out all the way comfortably, and firm enough to take a nice lazy nap on. I picked up a leather wonder-sofa at Macy's in downtown Chicago a number of years ago and nobody that sits in it wants to get up. Couches have to have 3 cushions so your tush doesn't fall in the crack when you're napping. Position it so you can see a nice view of the fireplace or the gardens, and can get good lamp light for reading. Other than that, it doesn't matter much :)

So by that criteria...we gave away the perfect couch to charity!

And someone like me probably snapped it right up, lol!

Your taste is only out if you decorate with avocado green, oranges and golds (of the 70's)! And... it's funny because I kinda like those colors, and orange is back in. I agree to decorate with what you like. I have an eclectic taste and have a hard time sticking with certain colors or styles. I do think the powder blues and browns will eventually fade out like everything else that's why you do what you like. i think dark browns and blacks will always have a place in decor...