Oh, I would definitely redo a kitchen 10 or even 20 years from now (egad-I'll be almost 80 then) if I could afford it! I would redo mine now in a New York minute-if I could afford it-lol.

As far as the rest, I would definitely tweak some things. Our house has a lot of early to mid-19th century family antiques and I tend to combine those with accessories that are more contemporary-lamps, vases with fresh flowers, minimalist stuff. I am already thinking of what I can put in the 1850 corner cupboard made by my great+++ grandfather. Right now it has lots of the old family plates that my grandmother and mother had in it. It just feels like it is my grandmother's house like that. I am thinking of putting away the old dishes and crystal which are lovely (but...) and putting in a few spectacular modern pieces instead to give it new life. The cupboard itself is magnificent and could stand on its own as art even if it were empty. Now, there's an idea!

BTW ttodd, I love your B/W photograph galleries-don't let anyone EVER tell you to change those!!!!

Oh, and I have traded the traditional, old dining room chairs for a more contemorary look, but kept the old table. Same with the inherited wing chairs recovered in slightly updated fabric-DH is more traditional-oh well. Art is a mix of classic still lifes and abstract.

It depends entirely on how much our lifestyle has changed. If we still own giant breed dogs and too many cats I will still have my leather sofas and distressed wood theme that I lovingly refer to as Ponderosa Chic. You could tap dance on a number of my tables (yes, the good ones) and not hurt them- I find that refreshing and hugely practical in a home where getting knocked down is par for the course.

No carpet ever as well used hardwood and area rugs are just right and I see no need to change. It's a groove, not a rut.
I may change out the draperies and switch up some of the color scheme but I believe my basic style will prevail if only because it is so thoroughly mine.

I try to have everything evolve as time goes along. I don't redecorate and I don't ever really finish. I actually stop looking at magazines when I am actively designing for someone so I am not too influenced by whats hitting the pages (which hit the pages of professional design mags two years earlier.)

I try to pick a few things that are way Not current for the mix.

If I am going to get nailed on anything, it is a couple of kitchens I did for people that are more responsive to current trends than I would like...they are nice kitchens, but the glazed finish, and the two-tone thing is going to be an indicator of era.

I try to have everything evolve as time goes along. I don't redecorate and I don't ever really finish.

This is what I do, but not necessarily in a purposeful way - mostly becuase I've never had the money to do everything all at once. I do prefer spaces that look like they have evolved over time, with old and new mixed together.

In a decade I'll undoubtedly be called out for still not having ANY of the house anywhere near presentably "finished". *snicker* (If I have haven't firebombed it and moved quietly into a condo/apartment carved out of one of the Victorian mansions downstate...)

" It's a groove, not a rut."

Most definitely!

Great thread ttodd!
I do think cearbhaill has found a name for the masculine side of Shabby Chic with her style name of Ponderosa Chic. I'd love to see photos of that!
I too have long since stopped looking at decor magazines. I think the last one I really cared about what, I think, called Apartment Life when they changed it's name to Metropolitan Home. That ruined me on looking to magazines for inspiration for all time and that was back in the late Seventies. I tried to change and ordered two years of Better Homes and Gardens when we first moved here over six years ago but have yet to open but an issue or two.
I've recently named my style MEE which stands for My Eccentric Eclecticism. I like what I like and just do it. We built a home in the Queen Anne style of the Victorian era, though using modern materials. Which to me is just what the Victorians did. Each room seems to have it's own personality depending on what it's used for. Some might think that doesn't work since in their mind they may not "flow" into one another. Hopefully, if we ever finish,they will. But then we may end up giving our home over to our son and living in a condo because of old age setting in before we finish. No unlike Johnmari.
So nope, I don't see much of anything calling out and dating our home considering much of it is already old.
I'll probably re-read this tomorrow and realize it makes no sense at all. Took a full dose of Tylenol PM 23 hours ago and it's still messin' with my brain.
Oh and I've had gallery walls forever in our homes. Only mine are mostly color unless they actually were old photos. Not sure that will date my walls or not.

As usual, Pal and just said a mouthful.

I tend to decorate timelessly... luckily, as did my parents and grandparents for the most part... although I wish I had the Danish pleather turquois sofa we had in the "TV Room" when I was a tot ;-) It was soooooooo MCM!

I am not a trend follower, so tend to redecorate as I get the whim. Of course will need to upgrade tired furniture, new carpeting and electronics. Probably invest in a really fabulous TV entertainment ensemble...3D with retractable screen that hides up in the ceiling with surround sound and all the works.

Bottom line...I think I will still be eclectic and decorating every room in a different style.

What vampire said x2 ;-)

About 10 years ago, I purchased really modern living room furniture and learned to regret it. The bright, mulitcolored harlequin chairs were recently sold on Craigslist and the sofa is banned to the "office of leftover furniture." It will go away next year when we get a sleeper sofa for that room.

Almost four years ago, we moved and purchased a lot of furniture. Most of it is from the 1920s-60s with a couple real antiques and a couple new, but classic, pieces mixed in. Basically, it's eclectic and already out of style. My kitchen and bathrooms are original to this 1931 house and will stay that way. So, in 10 years, my decor will probably be just as out of style as it is today.

Lisa

Hmmm...my decorating style is a mix of what I like, whatever I could afford and whatever is functional for my life at the time. Right now with 3 small kids, a slipcovered sectional works because I can wash the covers. I really wanted a plush velvet one, but wasn't going to fork over $6K for it and see my kids ruin it in a year. My farmhouse table and all it's imperfections work, b/c when my toddler played the drums on it with her fork and spoon the week after I got it, I didn't notice the marks it made. The ironic thing is, when I moved into my first apartment after college, it was decorated very similar to how my home looks now. I had a hand me down dining room table that was beat up, and all neutral colors. My first house looked nothing like this one. Bright, bold colors on the walls in EVERY room. I wonder if I've come full circle, and will continue going around and in 10 years from now be tired of the neutrals and long for color again.

Decorating Trends....Where Will You Be?

Same place I am now. Updating and still trying to be unique. Wanting personel involvement in my decor. I'm not attached to things in my home. I always want something new to look at. That won't change. :0) I LOVE to shop and I love deals!!!! I really like your black hallway ceiling and your white painted furniture in your dinningroom. So this "is" a good question.

THis is an interesting question. My first thought was of course my decor will be different in 10-20 years because I'll be different by then.

Then....well, I got to thinking. It's true I don't decorate in a Texas western rustic manner as I did 25 years ago. Instead our home now reflects our time in Europe and our travels around the world and less of my love of horses.

But...

there is a core decor 'theme'. Our goal is always to have a warm, friendly, comfortable, casual home. We will always have cozy sofas, whether fabric or leather, and put your feet up coffee tables. Our dining table will be a place where you can eat or sit for a visit OR spread out a craft project or play cards.

The style of the furniture may change; the accessories certainly will, but hopefully the overall mood will remain. I fully predict certain pieces of furniture will be here for the rest of my life--that's how much I love them.

Probably the overall color scheme as well. I've been decorating with shades of green, rust, gold, and purple since my high school days. During those awful (for me) blue and mauve years, I craved hunter green curtains. If the fashion moves toward colors I don't care for in the future, I'll be spending more time searching out the stuff I do love. Hopefully in updated shades that keep my house fresh and fun looking.

My great desire in decorating is for my home to reflect our family's uniqueness and memories. That's a timeless style.

Just a bunch of ramblings...I really enjoyed this question. Off to clean up one of my other decorating 'themes' ....messy kitchen and cluttered breakfast table.

I think this speaks to some philosophical differences of decorating vs. accumulating (perhaps) and if you want to make noticeable changes or not...and neither is any better than the other. I personally don't like people to notice a drastic change in my house, but I have done projects for people who are "once and done". I had a client who sold everything except artwork, and wanted all new furniture lighting and accessories--and wanted it to happen in X # of months. He had the money to make it happen all at once, and although it wasn't an overly pricey project, he didn't bail out or shift gears. It becomes more complicated when people serial redecorate but one "phase" of decorating never gets finished before they are ready to start with something new.
Accumulated decorating never has to be completely cohesive, but if you decorate with a very specific theme in mind,,,say the brown and blue from a while back, the minute you shift gears, it will be noticeable.

By contrast I just redid a bathroom, and without making it a historical document for the house, I also don't want people to know its all new--I try to sneak new things in like they were always there. Maybe its a version of "Oh this old thing?"

I see this in my "day job" too. I have patients who have had impossibly white and perfect teeth or obvious plastic surgery and want everyone to know, because they "paid for it...of course I want it to be noticeable" --while others are concerned that they just look "rested" and it looks natural.
Either way is fine, its just an individual preference.

I would imagine I'll be updating somewhat though my currrent focus is a home 120 years old...so updating might be a bit goofy LOL I would hope I'll be changing out some things for better things, given we have a 4 year old now and other financial focuses that take me away from my Renoir purchasing sprees (ok I've never gone on one of those but heck it might be fun LOL) Hopefully my house will be "done" in terms of restoration and I'll just be playing with the decor.

The great thing about an antique home with antique stuff is that you can always swap out one antique for another. they always have different appeals. Perhaps our family dining room will need a bigger table and I won't have to do pine (because DS won't be trying to destroy it LOL) or I'll have tired of cafe curtains....who knows :)

In our other house, we have more "modern" stuff though it's fairly eclectic. I'm sure there will be things I'll want to change. We also hope to have a cottage in CA by then and DH just mentioned a home in Panama (what the heck style is popular in panama? LOL) I would imagine if we do have those homes I'll be too insane to decorate regularly....

Perhaps I'm there now :oP

I'm not a trend follower either, so can't see too much of what I have as 'going out of style'. Dark wood floors or any wood floor will probably still be in demand, antique furniture...what can I say, other pieces of furniture are traditional/transitional in style, designers may decide painted furniture is on the wane, but i'll have the last say, and the bottom line is, i'll always love what *I* love. I'm not searching for perfection, just a home that suits my comfort level. ;o)

"I try to have everything evolve as time goes along. I don't redecorate and I don't ever really finish."

Exactly, altho I don't even try because it happens. I'm not interested in the trends but they can creep into one's decor. I don't think it makes a room look 'trendy' tho if used in moderation. Color IMO doesn't come into trends because they come and go (and come back again) and may be moderated by the rest of the decor. Of course extreme colors are an exception. To paraphrase a 'famous' poster "if it's never in style, it will never be out of style" is the way I want to decorate.

I know from the 40+ years I've decorated that no one who is interested in decor will *not* have their decor change over the years. Even if you love one style there will be new things you see that you 'fit' into it and it will not be the same. If I had had a dig camera decades ago I would have proof of how my decor has evolved. There are a few pieces of furniture and accessories that are constant over 4 decades but there are few similarities in the look even tho I still prefer a traditional base. Hindsight is wonderful but one needs some perspective for it to work. If you are in the 30-50 year age group you must know your tastes have changed a bit since you were 20. By the time you have lived and decorated for another 20-40 years you will change even more. At least I hope you do because not changing is not emotionally healthy. Rigidity is seldom conducive to a happy life.

I know I will always be interested in decor as long as I have my health and will continue to change things. There will be a 'new' (or different) color I will have to try, some 'new' antique I can't resist, some 'new' accessory from a home decor store or yard sale that is irresistible. All of these small changes add up to a very different look over the years.

What will never change for me (I believe at this moment) is that my walls will be filled with paintings,prints and whatever, and my decor will always be comfortable and not minimalist. Beyond that it really depends on influences I cannot predict. I doubt any of us knows what technology will look like in 10 years - TV's will certainly not be the same, nor will computers, and there will be many changes in home systems that will change the way we live and the way we decorate for that lifestyle. Many things will become micro-sized so your TV might be the size of a dime and you will wear special glasses to watch it! I expect tho we will wear some sort of headpiece that directs the picture to our brain. This is no longer science fiction but reality, it just depends how soon it is available in the marketplace. This could make a difference to your decor if you have no need of a large TV on the wall or on a piece of furniture. I believe security will become a much greater issue so that may change something in your house, I have no idea what. I suspect that in 10 years we will be posting asking for ideas on how to hide some of this technology! Food delivery and even the food itself will change for many altho I'd prefer to continue to eat the healthy natural diet we do now. However if that could be contained in a small pill there would be no need for kitchens, cooking, or food storage which certainly would change our homes.

I hope to always enjoy home decor magazines (and hope at least a few survive) altho I depend more on internet sites which will continue as long as the internet survives! LOL Even as recently as 5 years ago I had no idea I would be able to access the internet while traveling in a vehicle but I am now always connected as long as we are in an area with satellite coverage. Of course that has made home decor magazines less necessary for me while traveling. Unfortunate for that industry but it's how technology changes our lives.