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[Peaches McPhee]

The whole thing about housing decor "trends" is hilarious.  Unless they define the trend as 10+ years?  Who, outside of HGTV, redecorates more than that? 

A kitchen re-do because it is not on trend?  Really? Other than painting and new appliances when necessary, my kitchen has not changed in I don't know how long - it predates my ownership.

[summerwind]

My old kitchen of over 30 years was blue and mauve, country kitchen-style, at least in my opinion.  My new kitchen will have reddish, country red? and maybe green, or the second may change with the seasons. Just getting settled. Anyway, some of my old wall-hangies will also be there, as I love them and they are mine and IDC who likes it!

[Azcowgirl]

I have always thought that no one else would like my decor style, Ive never followed the trends. Yet the homes I’ve sold over the years, nearly every one had murals I had painted on walls. All of the buyers loved and wanted the murals left and not painted over. ☺️

[Snowpuppy]

Other than a couple of pieces of Waterford, I don't buy mass produced decor. To me mass produced decor doesn't reflect your style if you have something from WM that a million other people have.

I like browsing artisans who still produce well made pieces. One of my finds is a heavy hand etched glass bowl. Another is a set of artisan made coffee mugs. Great designs, well made. Right now I'm coveting an oversized floor pillow on an Etsy shopthat will be for a reading nook.

That's also why I shop an Amish furniture builder. I get what I want, the wood, the stain and hardware I like. Oh he charges for his work! But I have something that's not from Costco or Wayfair and he doesn't deliver unless I'm thrilled first.

[jeanlake]

Celebrity names don't influence me. This post made me think -- because husband and I are active in household decision making, I don't decorate strictly in my style, which is fair. We compromise. He likes dark wood, more masculine mission style and modern farmhouse. I like polished casual, nature inspired and upscale coastal. We make it work, even though our styles vary. I guess that makes it eclectic.       

[RedTop]

I like bare walls and bare surfaces.   After 36 years of living in my house, my living room is the only room (not counting my daughters rooms), where I actually have multiple things on the walls.  The main bathroom has a clock, but the walls in my bedroom, master bath, kitchen, dining room, and my TV are totally bare.   I don’t get tired of looking at bare walls or surfaces, but I do get tired of looking at “stuff”, such as vases, knick knacks, plants, etc.  I do have numerous pictures of my family displayed in my home. 

[Mominohio]

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wrote:

Other than a couple of pieces of Waterford, I don't buy mass produced decor. To me mass produced decor doesn't reflect your style if you have something from WM that a million other people have.

I like browsing artisans who still produce well made pieces. One of my finds is a heavy hand etched glass bowl. Another is a set of artisan made coffee mugs. Great designs, well made. Right now I'm coveting an oversized floor pillow on an Etsy shopthat will be for a reading nook.

That's also why I shop an Amish furniture builder. I get what I want, the wood, the stain and hardware I like. Oh he charges for his work! But I have something that's not from Costco or Wayfair and he doesn't deliver unless I'm thrilled first.

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@Snowpuppy

I have come to feel sorry for people who don't have access to good Amish furniture makers right outside their back door! lol

We have a house full of furniture as does my mom. Most of our wood furniture is older, some very old (antique) and some bought like 30 to 50 years ago as new. 

But....my mom has it in her head she needs an additional chest of drawers (I think with a little tweaking, we could make work what she has, but that is beside the point! LOL).

So yesterday, off we went to pick up a custom made laundry hamper from the Amish that was my Christmas present (took three months to get it made, but man is it beautiful....I'll post a picture later this weekend). We looked at some chests while in their store, and my mom wasn't happy with the price, coming in at about $1000, so I said let's go the the place we have bought most of our furniture for the last three decades and take a look.

Wow. We had stopped looking at wood furniture for the most part. in regular furniture stores, because we just weren't in the market for anything for quite some time. We were shocked just how terrible the quality has gotten. 

Even the lines in this store that were said to be locally Amish made were not like going to some of the exclusive Amish shops we frequent. And the traditional lines, even some that were historically good like Stickley, were just a hot mess, and many brands now are made overseas.  Chests that were triple the price of the Amish made, but less than half the quality were all we could find.

So, while she hasn't decided on what to get just yet (waiting to get carpet installed first), we know for sure we will be not only getting Amish made for this purchase, but I am looking over my wood furniture needs/plans and taking stock of anything I may need to or want to replace in the wood category. I'm certain I will be choosing something from a local Amish shop, based on what I saw in what has always been a good quality store. 

Like everything else, quality is down in furniture too.

And I get what you are saying abut mass produced decor. Some times I look at pictures online, and see what you are talking about, the setting looks so predictable and too matched (and cheap). 

I think there is an art to taking mass produced home decor pieces and making a setting look rich and unique, warm and inviting, without making it look cookie cutter. 

I used to attend a lot of festivals where artisans sold hand made pieces, and have many in my home, but I find it hard to put together a complete look when trying to build it from independent artisans. I often can't get the look I want to achieve, as there just aren't enough choices. So I find mixing the right things (in the right way) from both sides gives me the look I want with some uniqueness to the  whole package. 

[Carmie]

@Mominohio  I too cringe when I see people painting wood furniture.  Paint should only be used to cover items made with scrap wood, not beautiful wood with a lovely patina. Even my wood trim is stained and natural.

[ccassaday]

We have access to a lot of Amish made furniture here in NE Indiana.  It really isn’t that more expensive then some of the furniture you see in stores. For the quality I would expect it to be so much more.

[Regal Bee]

I love to decorate and change things about. I follow certain rules but decorate basically to please myself and my husband. The one quality I always insist on is softness; I have it in every room of our home.