Have you ever been so excited about something trendy only to be annoyed when it seems like EVERYBODY is following it? Right now, for me, it’s the French country/country chic look. I love Fixer Upper and love this style but now it seems like it’s being overdone. Everywhere I look on Instagram there are tobacco baskets and scales and vintage bottles…you get the idea. Don’t get me wrong, I adore each of those things but when it becomes the thing of the moment to have I’m almost immediately turned off. Even the goddess (Joanna Gaines, duh) herself is thinking outside the chippy paint box.
For some this is the look they truly enjoy and appreciate, which is how it should be. But the moment I start seeing trends all over the place and not balanced out by other styles an uneasy feeling washes over me, which is actually good because it makes me go back to following what I really like- honing in on my own tastes and instincts. And when you do this, you can never go wrong.
For example, mercury glass was, and seems to continue to be, a big trendy item. But I love it and have touches of it in almost every room of my home. Same with apothecary jars. For me these items are timeless but for others they are passé. Even though this is part of my style I still try to keep the amount of it to a minimum. The key for things looking timeless and not trendy is balance and moderation.
There are touches of mercury glass throughout my home but I really amp it up around Christmas time. I just love how the light bounces off of it and gives everything such a warm glow.
I am not saying you can’t score a great olive basket or have the color of the moment (by the way it’s still gray- in all it’s varying tones) in your home because everyone else has it, my suggestion is to not get to the point of overkill. We are fickle by nature and to think that you will love a certain style forever, or even that it will stay in vogue for very long, is ignorance. Granted, styles come back (hello there, mid-century modern) but then fade again. You can buy that starburst mirror or that Eames chair but I wouldn’t suggest spending a whole paycheck on them unless YOU really, truly in your heart of hearts LOVE it.
As you may gather from my other posts I’m a big fan of classic investment pieces. But in order to be sure you are making a good investment you have to listen to your gut. Is the amount of money you’re about to spend going to be recouped in the long run? Does it fit your lifestyle? Will you be able to sell it down the road when you’re finished and will anyone even want it then?
Our furniture wasn’t extremely expensive but I opted for neutral colors and a pattern on the chairs that I still like 4 years later. Even though white wood is currently in for furniture, I went with a dark wood coffee table (which I also consider classic) because of our lifestyle (i.e. kids) and it fit better with the color scheme of the house.
There are lots of things to consider when designing your home and but I like to stick with classics as the canvas and “paint” with some trendy accessories but also with things that are meaningful. This is what makes a house a home. Everyone can shop the $1 bin at Target (I have a lot of things I love from there!) but do you want to decorate your whole home with the same things everyone else has? Where is the personality?
My challenge to you is to look at your home and really assess what you have. Is it there because you love it or because it’s “in” at the moment. Does it all fit together? What story does it tell? You can be both timeless while staying current but it definitely doesn’t happen by incorporating all the trends all at once. Would you wear every fashion trend happening right now in the same outfit? (I’m hoping the answer is no) Same rule applies to your home. Be a follower of what makes you happy and comfortable, not necessarily what’s current.
P.s. For the record, I probably won’t stop wanting a sliding barn door or subway tile in my home. Oh, and I also keep my blankets on a ladder.