The Midwest is not really known as a mecca of trendy and forward design.
No offense, Midwest. I love you. Kiss kiss.
And I have a similar problem. I’m a Midwesterner through and through. Which means I tend to err toward (what I think is) classic and farmhouse style. If it is hot and hip enough to hit the newsstands, it’s not going to make it in my home.
(And when it comes to clothing, I’m almost almost about 2 years behind a new trend. I’m talking to you, booties and skinny jeans.)
But as we’ve been planning the house, I’ve been spending more time than usual wondering if the decisions I am making have staying power. Because we’ve lived in (and renovated) enough homes to know that design trends come and go.
These decisions often die a slow, hideous death that leaves future owners cursing their name. My favorite example of this is Boozy Susie of Russet Street Reno fame. Some of these things are just bad contractors and the like. But things like paneling and ugly wallpaper and shag carpeting have been cursed by many home owners.
So here are a few things we’re planning to do in the new house – none of which are forward-thinking in terms of design. But while they are all pretty standard in new homes and renovations today, I still find myself wondering if they will be something I hate a few years down the road.
My mother-in-law chose almond bathroom fixtures in her house when they built int he 80s. Because they were IN. And she made me promise her I wouldn’t choose something other than white fixtures because they were the bane of her existence.
What do you think? Will any of these become something that makes a home feel dated in 20 years? (Because while many of you are cool as a cucumber about planning for renovations, homey don’t play that.)
White trimwork and cabinetry
Judging by the number of horrified comments I get on my blog about painting trimwork, I’m going to wager a guess that not everyone loves the idea of painted trim. Which is a shame since it was our house and I really didn’t care what people thought who didn’t live there. (Bam.)
I have loved it in every home we’ve had. We’ll have it in our next house.
I find it to be crisp and easy to clean and touch up. I also think it looks classic and modern. It goes with anything and everything.
But could white trimwork and cabinetry become the equivalent of the 80s honey oak? Because, guys, that stuff was obviously popular at some point. And I’m not interested in stripping trim when I’m 80 years old.
Recessed lighting
I love myself a good amount of recessed lighting. It’s inexpensive, provides great light, and LED lights use barely anything in terms of electricity. The lights can be dimmable and blend into almost any decor.
But, what if recessed lighting becomes the modern day equivalent of fluorescent lighting in homes?
Because I checked out a book about building a house in the library and the author RECOMMENDED LARGE FLUORESCENT LIGHTS IN THE KITCHEN. These are things I wouldn’t joke about.
Wainscoting and planking
I’m pretty certain that the surge of popularity in board and batten, wainscoting, planking and shiplapping is going to dwindle.
Do I love it? Yes. Are we going to have it? Yes. Do I think it CAN be classic? Yes. (In the case of 19th century homes with board and batten.)
But our parents and grandparents also loved paneling.
And I think shows like “Fixer Upper” (which is one of my favorites) help to boost the popularity even further. And I ask myself if these painstaking wood treatments will become a bit dated in time. And then everyone will be ripping them out.
Oil rubbed bronze hardware
This could very well already be “out” by the standards of the powers that be. But I can’t bring myself to use stainless or chrome or brass.
What’s going to be the next big thing? Because I don’t think it’s going to be ORB. But are ORB knobs going to feel so passé in 2025?
Rustic elements (like beams and boards)
I live in the country and can fully embrace the use of barn boards and beams and other rustic elements. (Heck, we have full barn board walls.)
But I do wonder if this look feels too trendy. Will rustic design go the way of the shag green carpeting in your aunt’s basement? Will it feel as dated as mirrored furniture in the 80s?
I’m not judging any design decisions and I don’t want your hate mail. I believe that you have to make decisions that feel right for you, your family and your home. But that doesn’t mean that it’s easy to make those decisions. And if you are like me, you want to make choices that you love for a long time!
What design trends do you think are going to be out of style before we know it?
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Jenn says
Love this post and your insights. Aaaaand you’re hilarious.
Gretchen S says
Hi there! I’m from MA and almost every home of every person I know has white (or sometimes off white) painted trim. It’s just more fresh looking and more coastal/less county in my eyes, but probably because I’m used to it. My house growing up had white trim, beadboard in the hallway and recessed lighting… My folks built it in 1986 and those elements are still popular. Luckily they also did white toilets 🙂
Katrina says
So many fun questions to ponder! For me two classics are black door hardware and white trim….I never was a fan of wood trim, lol 🙂 As for recessed lighting a think a combination of recessed + center light fixture is ideal depending on the room!
Kim says
I love this post because today we got to see our wood floors installed in our new house. Hopefully cabinets go in soon. Building new and making all those decisions is stressful enough without worrying about staying power. But I worried about it, too. Especially the harder-to-change stuff, like flooring and cabinets. I think, though, that the point is to just do what you like. What makes you happy. For me that has been white cabinets. Been dreaming about them for almost 20 years – maybe more! So for me they are NOT a trend. They are my style. And since I have to live in my house and see those things every single day, I want something that makes me smile when I come into the house. And white shaker cabinets with a slightly rustic wood floor will definitely do that for me 🙂 If tiny floral wallpaper comes back in style in the future, I can put it on a wall somewhere 🙂 But for now, it’ll be planked. Or beadboard. Or board and batten. Because that’s what I like and what makes me happy. And if I’m happy, my house is happy 🙂 So I’m done worrying about what others think of my planked walls and white trim, etc – because while people who see it once in my house think I’m just following blogs or HGTV or Pinterest, my family and my husband know it’s just my style and has been for decades now!
Have fun – and LOVE seeing your new spaces!
Rebekah says
Who can predict? I spent so many hours tearing off wallpaper, swearing that I’d never do that to a house. Who could be so stupid, stupid, stupid? But…have you seen the cute removable wallpaper? Tempting! I love Joanna, but don’t you think with every house having so many similar character traits (that I and most of America is loving and mimicking) we will collectively jump off the shiplap, exposed beam, cottage wagon? This is my fear. I love it so much, but I usually wait so long to actually implement it, that the fad is gone by the time I get to it. My question. What about subway tile? Everyone says it’s time tested, but I don’t feel like it was in the average American home (albeit it was in the turn of the century homes). Will that become so overdone? Tell me, because I’m so ready to put it in my kitchen.
Kim Woodward says
If you love it, go for it!
I think the whole point of this post (at least in my mind), was to be cognizant to do things you love in your home. Then if the trend passes, you’ll still be happy.
christine says
I’m glad you wrote this post, this is a reply I was actually going to add as a response to the fireplace surround debate (btw, I’m still pro-white painted hardy board planks). 😉
Trends are the way of the world. If there were no trends, there would be no reasons to change anything, ever. Marketing and businesses depend on influencing people to change their preferences and buy new stuff. Buying new stuff gives lots of people a job and makes the economy go round and blah blah blah. So yeah, someday you might be sick of planks, or white trim, or white cabinets or the oil rubbed bronze. I think your choices depend on how much you love it now, how much you feel the need to keep up with the Joneses, and how basic/classic your design is now. The choices you’ve made so far, you’ll easily be able to update with accessories and paint, you’ll be fine. And yes, stuff will eventually look outdated, maybe not by Henry’s graduation, or college graduation, but probably by the time you have to host an engagement party, you’ll have Ryan redoing the whole house anyway.
So I agree pretty much with everyone else, don’t make yourself crazy, you’ve had a few homes by now, you know yourself and your personal style, and it’s all going to work out and be fine. 🙂
michelle@decorandthedog says
I’m really good at ripping new stuff out (oops) so I worry less about whether I’ll like it in 10 years. Because I’m pretty sure I won’t. Totally not an economically or environmentally sound approach but that’s me. 😛
Julia@Cuckoo4Design says
I don’t feel it will look to trendy. It’s more classic and I’m so feeling you with the painted trim.
cathy Lafrenz says
OK … I am old. I lived through honey oak, brass-everything, pink-fixtured bathrooms and shag carpeting. AND I made some of those same mistakes.
Quality lasts. Good quality brass fixtures still look good. Well done wainscoting looks great forever. And that means spending a little more upfront so it will be there. Buy what you love … really love … and it will last you a long long time ….. trends be damned!
Paint …. carpet …. drapes …. even appliances are easily changed. Spend your money on good bones and they will last forever and ever. But trust me … you will be changing things out at 80. Just sayin’.
casacaudill says
Of everything you listed, the only thing I think is going to go away is the rustic beams and boards. I’m already starting to see a number of people actively commenting against the pallet furniture/decor craze. But white trim? Well, there’s a reason why it’s still around and that’s because it’s timeless. It can be classic and trendy, depending on how you decorate around it. And while I don’t really think of board and batten as being trendy, I know what you mean. A lot of houses that wouldn’t have had it otherwise were getting the DIY treatment, thus making it a trend. But yeah, another classic. While you’re building a new house, you’re not looking at a contemporary or modern style. You’re a true classicist through and through.
Katie says
I love this post. We’re not actually building right now, but we’re planning to in the next few years. I’ve already started planning, and I keep looking at things and wondering if they will still be acceptable in 20 years. Faucets are one thing, but kitchens are expensive!
Gretchen says
There are very few things in my house that I worry about whether they’ll go out of style or not. Like tile–yes. Because I certainly never want to tile my bathroom floor again ever. ever. But what metal I use for fixtures? eh. they’re fairly easy to change (especially since I buy cheap ones. I’d hesitate before spending $400 on a brass faucet, even if I super loved it). I mean, I don’t want to be ripping them out in a year, but it’s always safe to assume that almost everything WILL look dated eventually, so what can you do? People have been painting trim for literally hundreds of years (which is something the haters never seem to understand. Haven’t they ever been on a field trip to Mount Vernon or anywhere?!), so I think you’re safe there :).
casacaudill says
Exactly! We currently live in a house built in the 1880s and it’s white painted trim as far as the eye can see.
Amber @ Wills Casa says
Man all about the hot topics today! I worried about the same thing. Then I overthought a lot and worried more until I realized I should just pick what I like best even if it seems like it might be trendy. I’m so with you on the white trim. I nearly had the trim painted a color which I still love that idea but knew it would be a pain to deal with later when I eventually wanted a change. My kitchen is so classic trend right now – open shelving, white cabinets, marble, island a different color – but that’s what I like. With wood floors in there, I didn’t want stained cabinets. I don’t like how high they hung one of my open shelves, but that’s another story. On things like that I had to step back from each decision and think about the big picture and decide if that choice was because it was trendy or because it was the best option for the best/what I want.
Nick kept reassuring me saying well we live in the country so all this stuff will be trendy years after we do it, so we will be good! I can see us living here a few more years or for forever. Neither would surprise me! 🙂
Jenny @ Words On Wendhurst says
Here’s my take, because this is something I think about all the time actually ?
Rustic – definitely a trend anywhere but a farmhouse. So you’re good there. ?
Wall “character” – I think done well, in a space where it makes sense, is classic.
Recessed lighting – anything that attaches to the ceiling, or hands down from it, is subject to trends. But I think recessed lighting is pretty safe from being trendy, if anything it will be the size and the type of light bulbs inside that will date them.
White trim is for sure a classic, white cabinets, I don’t know. Maybe they will be overly popular, but I still think they will always look good.
ORB hardware better not ever go out of style because I love it, like a LOT. ?
Kim Woodward says
Thanks so much for weighing in! I agree with everything you’ve said!
jess says
I think a lot of elements like the molding and wood beams will still be classic. I say this because I saw a lot of it in Europe and aren’t we supposed to do what the Europeans say if we want to be stylish?
Anyway, I’m probably the wrong person to ask: I renovated my really really busted kitchen on a tight budget, which meant painting cabinets dark to hide the dings, and I scored neutral tile cheap to replace the linoleum with particle board showing through….and my sister came over and said I made it look like the house we lived in the 90’s. She ain’t wrong. whomp whomp.
Kim Woodward says
Awwww….. your sister is brutal!
KNatGU says
I’m going to go out on a limb and say in 20 years when Henry is in college you’re probably going to want to change something major in your house. Maybe kitchen cabinets or redo a bathroom, because you love your home and you love to decorate.
I think what you need to do is make peace with that future self. If you hadn’t built and bought instead a house you were madly in love with today, in 20 years you wouldn’t be saying “oh man we should have kept looking because now I hate this bathroom” You would just save up the money and change what your could when you could.
Don’t let the fact that YOU & Ryan had to make all the decisions 1st time and mean you attempt to hold yourself to some unattainable standard.
Just my 2 cents 🙂
Emily @ imperfect says
I hear you! With our bathroom I was adamant about not doing wood grain tile because I think it’s a trend and I’m not going to tear up the floors in 5 years when it’s out. It’s funny how regions change standards too – out here wood trim is considered dated and all white trim is the standard. So in Colorado, white trim and kitchen cabinets are classic – their popularity may ebb and flow, but they’ll never be out of date. I think beautiful woodwork and moulding are classic, wood beams too. Again, popularity will come and go, but they’ll always be classic.
cassie @ primitive & proper says
oh best line ever! it was our house and I really didn’t care what people thought who didn’t live there. (Bam.)
what a great post! i think so many of these “trends” can be keepers depending on your home, where you live, and how you style around it.
Kim Woodward says
But seriously, why do people think I care that they don’t like my design decisions?
deb says
I think it’s most important to use what you and Ryan want. I really don’t appreciate stainless steel (a pain to keep fingerprint free), and have white appliances with my white upper cabinets and turquoise lowers. It’s easy to repaint, but I don’t want to be buying new appliances. Re: fixtures – I have chrome and stainless steel because I think it goes best with the white uppers. Again, it’s not that expensive to change out a faucet if you really grow to hate ORB. But…if you use what you guys like and want, it won’t matter what the trends are!!!
Kim Woodward says
I totally agree, Deb. This is definitely the main point I wanted to come across in this post – that trend or no trend, you gotta do what works for you, your life and your home. But I do think it’s important to think it through – do I love this because I see it all the time on Pinterest or do I really love it? And the ORB issue is more for our doorknobs and such – because I really don’t want to switch those. =)
Jill says
That’s funny what you saw about the fluorescent lighting recommendation! ACK!
I do feel like recessed lighting gives a bit of a 90s vibe. Maybe because it was getting put in as everyone around me was finishing their basements back then? Not sure. I do think it’s pretty practical and can be blended well with other more current or trendy lighting fixtures.
I love painted wood, so I’m on board with that 🙂
Kim Woodward says
Ha – I just cannot imagine installing a huge fluorescent light in my kitchen today. But maybe I’m a light snob. (Is that possible?)
Kenzie says
Love this post and your thoughts! Although we are not homeowners now, these are definitely things we want to keep in mind for the future.
I think that ANYTHING can come/go/wane in popularity, I think that the important thing is choosing what seems classic and timeless for your home and location. Barnwood or shiplap seems to be going into every home renovation lately, but could quickly go out of style in the suburbs, or city loft apartments. While it would seem like a timeless accent in a farm house in the country.
Kim Woodward says
Totally true about things coming and going in popularity. I think we all want to hold tight to our design right now and say it’s so timeless and classic. But really, no one liked timeless and classic in the 80s (or at least the idea of timeless and classic were totally different – hello, blue and mauve floral wallpaper).
Lisa H. says
Overall, I think you’re safe. Your choices are consistent with the style of your house, backed by practicality, and/or can be changed relatively easily. The benefit of going classic is your design choices last for decades!
Kim Woodward says
Thanks, Lisa! I’m pretty comfortable with the decisions we’ve made, but I’m not a person who wants to make any big changes for a while.
Lisa Hamel says
Lol. I just read this article for what I thought was the first time. Imagine my surprise when I saw this comment!
Lisa Hamel says
Also, I would like to add my own take: painted accent walls. Of you could only see the walls of the house we’re purchasing…
Anne says
I don’t think you can possibly figure out what you will be tired of in twenty (or more) years. Here in the MidAtlantic, everybody has white painted trim and it still looks lovely to me. I generally aim for keeping things white and light and neutral and swapping curtains, lights, rugs, furniture as I get bored with things. Just pick stuff you like now, not because it’s trendy, but because it makes you happy.
Kim Woodward says
Hahaha…. But I WANT to know what I’ll be tired of in 20 years. You don’t think I can predict it? 😉
Totally kidding. I really just want to make sure the bones of the house are transitional and easy to work with changes in style. Which I’m sure will come. =)
Sarah says
I LOVE this post! I am in the process of buying a home that we will renovate big time. As I am choosing the finishes, I keep thinking about this same topic! I think about our first home – I wanted everything burgundy and hunter green! How quickly that has changed! It’s hard to imagine not loving white cabinets and ORB in a few years, but still…
I’m a midwesterner, too. I do think your style has been pretty classic in your homes! I’ve loved watching the progressions!
Kim Woodward says
Thanks, Sarah! Good luck with your renovations!
Kathy says
Just my personal take….
I think rustic elements (beams) or more standard classic home features (board & batten) have stood the test of time. Trendier things like pallet wood accent walls…not so much.
I think finishes like ORB come and go, so it’s important to pick things that either a) you can afford to change fairly easily if you really start to despise them or b) are tickled enough with that you’re not likely to change them even if they become dated.
Elizabeth A. says
I completely agree with Kathy.
If you can look at a 100 year old house and still love, I say put it in your house. I think painted cabinets and woodwork will come and go and you just have to do what makes you happy.
Kim Woodward says
Agreed – I hope this is what you took away from the post. I wasn’t intending to put down any design decisions, but to make myself think about what I really love and want in my own home.
Emily says
I think Elizabeth’s comment hit the nail on the head. If you love it in old homes, you will love it in yours. Plus, the market adapts to trends. They actually have kits to convent light boxes to recessed looking features (darn those florescent lights). If it is trend the market will fill those gaps.
Kim Woodward says
Totally great insights, Kathy! And I’m completely in agreement.
Skillet says
I think shiplap (pallet walls)is as classic as you can get having been around since the dark ages. I remember going to my great uncle’s farm as a kid (40+ years ago) and the walls had such character.
Kim Woodward says
Interesting point – maybe this could be regional? I don’t think I’ve ever seen an old home in my area with shiplap walls. But I could see that in some areas of the country, it would be more common place.