I probably like more things that are considered dated than I do trendy things.

Whether they are âÂÂin or outâ I have always liked transferware dishes, toile, barkcloth, English chintz fabrics, bone china cups and saucers, chenille bedspreads, doilies, tablecloths, roller blinds, laminate countertops, good quality vinyl flooring. I have and love a vintage 40's 'car rug' that was always in our car when I was a child. It's a green and black plaid small wool blanket with fringes. Washes beautifully and brings back fond memories.

I love well-polished silver holloware and abhor seeing it all tarnished like on some blogs.

For those of you who mentioned bedspreads. I was watching The Golden Girls the other night (I have been hooked on The Golden Girls and The Big Bang Theory all month - been driving dh nuts ...lol!) and now I want Sophia's bedspread. Fitted yet still plush then softened even further with a full bedskirt. Probably would have to have it custom made though.

Calico Corners can make the bedspread in any color/fabric you like, but you would probably end up with it being dry clean only, which is what has stopped me from ordering one.

Lots of things outdated in this house (including me), and the only thing I can honestly say I dislike of this 1968 built house, is the paneling in the kitchen, hall, dining/family room. The hall, and kitchen, as of this week, are both paneling free (celing and walls), and nice new sheetrock that is now painted in its place. My avocado wall oven wouldnt be my first choice, but, since it works better than any oven I have owned in the last many years, it stays. I love my lavender bathroom fixtures, and wouldnt change them ever. I like knobs on my drawers, and handles on my cabinet doors, and I like door knobs on all the rest of the doors. I like lace curtains (dont have any at present), and roller blinds, and vinyl floors, and laminate countertops.

Books, lots of them.

Too funny I guess I don't know what is dated or not I just bought one of those smock pillows at JYSK it was the perfect color.

Real doorbells. Where you can actually see the chimes.

Ricksample- ha!!

Love old honey colored floors, houses filled meaningful contents, not just whatever is being sold to the masses and kitchens that work (and bring joy!) for/to the current owner, even if it is "dated." Yes, yes to the pencil sharpener!

Landline phones, ceiling fans, the aforementioned incandescent floods (100+ W)......

"wall mounted ice crusher"

Ice-o-Matic. I have one. Next to my 4C Kitchenaid.

Cottage keys (can openers).

Pink and black or green bathrooms, but prefer the green ones. Actually, LOVE the green ones.

Old school wall ovens, like the 1950's ones.

Heating with wood (but we do it with a modern secondary burn stove)

Ceiling fans are out? Oh well. We have 4 and 3 are ones we installed.

Kitchen Geese.

Cast Iron cooking pans.

Rotary dial phones.

This post was edited by eclecticcottage on Sun, Aug 18, 13 at 23:13

When my daughter was born I bought from a garage sale, a beautiful navy blue pram with the big white wheels and a bonnet edged in eyelet. I loved to go walking with that - or even just across the street to visit while the other kids played. It made a nice bed, and was so easy to push. The cool people all had umbrella strollers!

I too like my formica countertops. They are 30 years old and almost like new. I only have to wipe them, and maybe clean with bleach if I spill blueberries, etc. No sealing, just a nice simple solid color that even goes up the walls to cabinet height.

Love this thread! Have to ditto the incandescent bulbs. DH and I fight over this one. He thinks CFLs are the greatest.

Screen doors

Linen napkins

Pinch pleated floor length drapery

Hand cranked ice cream

LOL at the 'dogs that walk' comment!

Some kitchen utencils are meant to last forever. I will never get rid of my manual can opener, potato masher, even though DD tells me mashing is easier with an electric mixer, my cutting board and sharp knives, and for the last year or so, have been thinking about getting a percolator coffee pot. I also gave my Mother's old wind up kitchen timer to DD who uses it for the kids when signaling for dinner and bedtime. So much better than the buzzing stovetop one.

Top mount kitchen sinks. Thank you Koehler....for making my new sink top mount. :)

Cuirio Cabinets filled with pretties.

Landline phones. I have one in every room.

Sheet vinyl in the kitchen and bathroom. I got rid of my kitchen vinyl only because people would say it's "dated." I wish I didn't listen to people when I remodeled.

Wall décor that doesn't try to boss me around!! Who the heck decided framed pithy sayings should be everywhere we look. I'd rather see the poker playing dogs done in velvet.

Patterned berber.

Are we almost done with fake "patina" ? Vintage can be so interesting and lovely because of its history- even if you don't know the history you can use your imagination. New stuff needs to earn its' patina. I'm beginning to feel a little like retailers are cracking up at everyone buying stuff that looks like it should be returned,

Books. The rush of finding a first edition of a ten year old book by your favorite author.

What Bumblebeez said! If every closet, drawer and cabinet looks professionally staged, it makes me roll my eyes (invisibly), I think it's related to reality tv shows.

Oh, Pattycakes, thanks for the reminder! I love my percolator! It makes good coffee and it is HOT! Love my old potato masher, too.

Love those old pencil sharpeners, although mine is a desk model but sharpens like a dream even though it was my dad's and well used before I got it.

Merrygardener -- love the line "houses filled with meaningful contents." That perfectly sums up my decor strategy.

Split-levels. I miss mine.

So, it is OK to love the "dated" things but not the "trendy" things that one day will be "dated"! I am all confused! And if I keep reading all these threads I might as well burn all my belongings - because they are either "dated or trendy."

Burlington Coat Factory has pillows like the one Pal posted. $7.99-9.99 at our local store. I saw them Saturday when the girls and I were shopping for bedding for their room.

I'm also a fan of regular light bulbs. Dh brought home a box of CFLs from the store last week because they were cheap. I spent 3 days trying to find out where the high pitched whine was coming from. I put them in the pole barn for dh to use. I honestly thought I was losing my mind.

I also love bedspreads and ceiling fans, avocado appliances, vintage and antique furniture. I wouldn't give up my windowless formal dining room for anything except a formal dining room with windows. I love hutches and would happily put one in every room of the house.

yvette123 - LOL.

And we wonder why people get paralyzed when trying to make decorating/renovating decisions.

I adore sterling hollowware and flatware, I have many special family pieces that I love displaying, and even enjoy polishing! And sterling tea services...omgoodness, I am so happy they are "out" because I want to get one for dd (she is only 10 now, but I can't imagine parting with mine when she grows up!) I am already looking for the perfect one at consignment shops!

Along those lines, formal rooms are a MUST for me. We designed our home 3 years ago, and I told the architect there had to be a nice-sized, separate dining room, as well a separate study that I could decorate formally. I know the current trend is to not have these rooms...but I literally wouldn't buy a house without them. I LOVE the look of a beautiful dining room, and using it lets me use all my pretty things. Plus, while we don't eat in there all the time, it certainly makes the occasions when do very special.

Ugh, and don't get me started on the ugly CFL bulbs!! The light is so ugly. I am stockpiling incandscents. My neighbors have a lovely 5000 sq ft Tudor home with beautiful details. They just put CFLs or some other Gawd awful light bulbs in all of their exterior features. Their home now resembles a 7-11 at night.

I don't get paralyzed. I love reading these threads and taking what I like. It's only subjective, after all. Celebrate your own personality, and, perhaps, the other personalities in your household too!

As I have figured out, my approach to decor isn't everyone's cup of tea. My own Deco to Disco thread on re-doing DH's and mine home offices in retro modern gets zero interest here, although I'm having a blast researching decor styles (not on Houzz), discussing my ideas with DH, choosing paints and fabrics, and scouting CL. It feels good to take a less beaten path.

Each new trend gives us a choice whether to adopt it or not. As we travel through life, we accumulate a treasure chest of decor styles, ideas, items and skills. We keep those that make us and our loved ones happy and comfortable, no matter what the current fashion is. At the same time we keep our minds open to novel things that could become new gems in our treasure chests.

Posted by yvette123 (My Page) on
Tue, Aug 20, 13 at 10:04

So, it is OK to love the "dated" things but not the "trendy" things that one day will be "dated"! I am all confused! And if I keep reading all these threads I might as well burn all my belongings - because they are either "dated or trendy."

Yvette, the way I see it some 'trendy' things will go on to become longer lasting styles and eventually become dated. Many trends tho do not - I expect it depends on many things, perhaps some more knowledgeable decorators can explain.

And just to confuse further some dated things were never trends at all, just useful consumer goods that have been replaced by newer things!

quilts
cross stitch needlepoint
milk cans
chip cans
metal fireplace match boxes and tools
record players

I'm almost embarrassed to mention this dated thing that we like because I got so much pressure to alter it (both from contractors and on-line) when we remodeled the kitchen.

It's the overhead light box. We like it for our kitchen because it puts out a lot of light and the light is very even - good for what is primarily a work area. The ceiling would be pockmarked with the cans that others urged us to put in to get anywhere close to the light we have.

We have updated the interior of the box to use newer better florescent tubes and we replaced the old yellowing diffusers with nice new ones. Ours is made to not stand out - it doesn't have the heavy oak trim that some do - just a flush metal frame painted to match the ceiling.

TVs in the basement and nowhere else. A problem if you don't have a basement (like me), I agree.

I think I agree with just about everything here. I need some pictures, though!! Everything sounds so delightful.

I am terrified that I will no longer get to buy non CFLs or LEDs. Give me warm yet inefficient! I returned some Christmas window candles because they each had a horribly cold LED bulb. Not cozy. My husband and I argue about lighting a lot! When I buy lamps I try to get shades where the CFL bulb won't be as cold through it.

Our kitchen has nice maple cabinets and LAMINATE countertops (all done by PO). DH was so disappointed about the laminate. I find them easy. I almost miss my linoleum floor, too. I have to babysit the tile in this house.

I still love dark hunter green walls with dark wood trim. It's what I have on the walls in our den/library, which is an intentionally dark room done in a men's club style. The mahogany bookshelves are filled to the brim with real books that my husband and I have collected since college. I couldn't accessorize the shelves if I tried, because there is not a lot of room for non-functional items. There's a Turkish rug on the floor, leather chairs, and a floor to ceiling brick fireplace and mantel. A couple of my husbands antique duck decoys are in there, but they were his grandfather's and not the fake mallard motif that was prevalent in the 80s, although, I'll admit, I do love a nice mallard. I love that room. We live in a country club neighborhood, and that look simply fits the house architectural style and the regional location. I know dark woods and dark greens are not the the trend now, but I still love them, and with a little refreshing every year or so, it can be a classic, timeless look.

I think the light box ceiling, detailed in the right way, is an appropriate detail in a house like yours cloud_swift. Right, sometimes they are awful, but I've seen the update or "solution" that's not much better, too.

bpathome, I love split levels too! Also, I've had fantasies for years of buying a high ranch to renovate. Something about being off the ground level that's appealing, same with a split level.

Dark wood (substantial) trim, vintage light fixtures, flower boxes, 1900's-1950's era stoves, painted vintage furniture, push mower, linoleum floors, plaster walls and most of what others have said.
Diane

I didn't even know it was dated until I read this thread but I like having my flat panel TV in a beautiful piece of wood furniture instead of hanging on the wall. I had it on a corner swivel mount in my last house because I didn't have enough wall space for an armoire. I have two large armoires that are thick solid maple - one is in the bedroom and one in the LR. They are both build with a clothing bar and shelves so they are great for storage which makes them versatile. :)

I love this thread. Basically, I decorated my current house many years ago with the very best things I could afford (and couldn't afford) and am still very happy with it--good oriental carpets and lots of glazed chintz. I know the colors I like and I echo someone above who said they missed dark ground glazed chintz. Which is why I came to this website today. I lost my mother, who lived in my small hometown, this past May, and because I have some business, not to mention sentimental reasons for keeping the house, I bought it from my sibs. It was a beautifully built and maintained house, with pristine plaster walls and perfectly tiled ( jade green, and pink in the powder room) baths. No need to do one thing there. But there hadn't been a "soft goods" update since Clarence House's Robin about 30 years ago. So, I went online looking for glazed chintz. NOT! I see that everything is linen, and although I like linen--who could not like linen--it certainly takes dye differently and hangs differently than cotton. My biggest concern, if I have to go there, is how does it hold up? Does it start to look droopy? As you can tell from all of the above, I like to buy what I like, and live with it a very long time. I would hate to invest a lot of money in curtains only to have to replace them in 10 years. Does anyone have experience with custom made linen, lined, pinch or other pleats, curtains? Love to hear from you before I jump into the pool.

There are fabrics that look like linen but drape better and overall perform better for drapes. My mother had custom linen like pleated, lined drapes made for two windows and they were gorgeous (helped sell the house) but quite expensive, about 2k, 15 years ago.

[quote]When all of you reach the great grandmother era, you won't give a hoot what's in or out - believe me - just what's easy and comfortable with colors that warm your heart and give you pleasure[/quote]

That is so true!

29 year old custom box pleat draperies in my starter home here, I still can't think of anything to replace them that I would like better.....

Dated things that I love:

I agree small bathrooms are great. I live where it gets cold and our small hall bath is the toastiest place to take a shower.

Oak hardwood floors. Tough and all that grain seems to hide dirt.

Vinyl sheet flooring. Easy to clean, cheap to replace.

Tile that didn't need to be coddled or sealed and could be really scrubbed.

Also I still like beige. And door knobs.

I have a pine armoire I am having a hard time saying goodbye to. I am currently using it in the corner of my DR and Kitchen area...

I only have 2 tv's, but they're both in an armoire, and they're staying put, dated or not. A tv is not a ' decorator accessory' so why would I want to play it up in a room? Over a beautiful stone fireplace? Forget it! Trends may come and go, but what you love always works!

Not giving up my nice wood armoires, some of which are antiques retrofitted, for a darn TV which is going to be the out-of-date item in the next decade.

Dated? Bring it on! My go to shopping store is the resale store; second go to is the "antique" store. Define antique .......broadly! I saw a 70's lamp on craigslist described as antique. I prefer things at least 60 years old.

Everything everyone has already listed and analog TV. Every time a cloud floats over or the wind blows I have no TV reception.

chenille bedspreads- I paid a small fortune for one on ebay a couple of years ago. Love it still. It makes the room.

musicteacher, use baking soda to clean that laminate. It isn't abrasive and is much kinder to your laminate than bleach. Yes, even for blueberry stains. But if you have compromised the finish already it might take a bit more elbow grease.

so many things listed here that I love - and still live with!
I love inefficient light bulbs! I don't have many 100watts. probably should have stocked up on t hem - but couldn't think of any room where I used them! I have bunches of 60 W bulbs and will buy a bunch more. including the ylw bug bulbs. and some 3 way bulbs - I have OLD brass floor lamps that use those.

I love the Vinyl kitchen floors - mine is in planks now rather than sheet. If there's a dw leak, I can rip up a few planks and replace them. Same will go in the baths and laundry. Actually, the whole house will have them - with area rugs. Including an old oriental or 2 (from my MIL). I would probably have carpet if not for allergies, desert dust, the dog and ease of cleaning!

I still use a landline. I'm the only one I know who doesn't use a cell phone. I have one in a drawer - haven't used it in yrs. I shld put time on it and use when I drive tho.

"I despise the idea of cell and smart phones which can interrupt anything else you're doing" - I agree. I hate seeing / hearing people walking around in stores with a phone at their ear. or talking to someone on a cell ph in their car. I don't want to talk to someone driving.

old fashioned bedspreads - I still have the chenille one my mom bought for me (and my sister) when we were in HS. It's a twin size, but I keep it.

ceiling fans - many people don't like or use them. Here in AZ we love 'em. I have them in all living spaces/rooms. I had a newer one put in my bedroom last spring and will replace the one in the LR in a few months. The ones in the other rooms are just cheap white ones (you can buy for 50.00 or less in HD).

I'd rather have old brass or glass doorknobs BUT my hands can't turn them these days, so I'm switching out to the levers.
Most of what I have and love was from my MIL's house. She died at about 74 in '78. Nothing in her house was new - it came from her mother's or MIL's house or was bought when she was newly married. Heavy old furniture - beautiful. Even most (if not all) of my lamps came from her house. I had several rewired yrs back and have a good number of them that still need rewired before I can use them.

I have lots of books - and several bookcases for them to live in.

My windows will have shades, not louvered blinds... I can put the shades up during the day and see out. But then, I live in the country on acreage so no one's close enough to see in anyway. Most of my windows don't have anything at them yet.
louvers are a pain to clean on windows or doors!

and I love my bisque appliances. don't like SS

I even like my old laminate counters!

I love my OLD stuff.

Deedee99, I know those as "bed caps". They are often sold for bunk beds but you can get other sizes, too. Here's an example at Wayfair

Here is a link that might be useful: bed cap set

Lace curtains and electric window candles.
Screen doors that slam.

Deedee, re the picture from Golden Girls you posted above: I had to draw what we called a "bed cap" for our local soft furnishings fabricator. She had never seen nor heard of them, and I wanted one for ds2's double bed, along with a tailored bedskirt (inverted pleats at corners and at midpoints of the long side). I bought a lot of green and ivory Ikat fabric--- still a bit underused in 2006---and used the greener side for the cap, the more ivory reverse for the skirt, and had a club chair upholstered in the green side and had curtain panels made from the reverse. I still think the bedcap is the best possible way to get a kid to make the bed..... It is fitted, so no tucking or trying to center! No idea why the pic looks electric, IRL the walls are a soft gold.

Lands end had bed caps, fitted-foot blankets and top sheets, too, about 15 years ago, got them for my boys and their beds always (well, often) look tidy. For the oldest's dorm bed, I ordered x-long twin linens with fitted feet from Better Bedding.net in Wisconsin. They work well with dorm beds.

Linoleum for basement floors.

This post was edited by Quadesl on Thu, Jan 23, 14 at 16:34

I would love to have a feather mattress like the one I had back in the 1980s-1990s. I bought it at a little known variety place, Waccamaw. I loved it. When I moved here, I think my husband left it at the other home or gave it away. He hated it although he never had to sleep on it. I had it in the guest bedroom and the bed was so luxurious looking, beckoning even a wide-awake subject to fall into it and sleep.

I have not been able to find one. All the mattresses or mattress toppers of down or feathers are baffled and that takes away from the beauty of a feather mattress.