The holidays are over and it's time to get back into the swing of things. This month, we'll be kicking things off with our annual January Jumpstart. Personally, we'll be taking a good look at our home's decor and making some changes. This week's Los Angeles Times Home & Garden takes a look at some popular trends from 2008 that deserve the heave ho in 2009 (we're guilty of a few), suggests some ways to reuse old film canisters and, since we always start off the year optimistic about how organized we'll be, rounds up some letterpress calendars that'll keep us on track. If you've resolved that this is the year you'll actually decorate your home instead of just reading about what the rest of us are doing, find some inspiration from a house in Silverlake furnished entirely from street finds and another with items found at flea markets, thrifts stores and in alleys. After all, one man's trash -- even last year's trend -- is another man's treasure (getting it for free is on trend). More, pics, and links, after the jump...
Bad Design Trends We Hope Die in 2009: From granite countertops to fake suzanis, here's a round-up of the design trends Los Angeles based designers hope are out with the old year.
Film Canister Uses: When celluloid dreams die, here's a way to repurpose those old film canisters.
Letterpress Calendars: Start the year off right with this selection of cool letterpress calendars, all of which are made in LA.
A Home Full of Salvage in Silverlake: In LA, especially at this time of the year, you can find practically anything on the street. Ask Al Teman. Even the house itself -- built in 1909, it was red-tagged after the 1994 Northridge earthquake -- is salvaged.
Recycled Living: A bohemian L.A. loft is decorated with flea market finds: When it comes to furniture, old is often better and, given LA's proliferation of thrift stores, flea markets, salvage yards and prop houses, it's not impossible to find what you want. Just keep your eyes and your mind open. So much the better if you have a loft downtown to display it in like Robert Heller and Elizabeth Kramer.
[images: Eric Boyd for LAT; Debra Prinzing; Gary Friedman for LAT; Spencer Weiner for LAT; Irfan Khan for LAT]
Jonya & Brad's Modern A–Frame 
Quick Cleaning Tip: Keep Baseboards Cleaner With Fabric Softner
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Essence Wine Glasse...
Mac and Cheese: The Secret to Making It Rich and Creamy
Summer Recipe: No-Bake Strawberry Icebox Cake
Comments (14)
Well, according to the LA Times, I'm passe. Sh!t happens, I guess.
Hello again AT and happy new year! Glad to see "new" posts again :)
http://notyourgoddess.blogspot.com/
My halogen lighting system is greener than CFL's??!!
Thank you, LA Times -- I'll sleep better knowing that.
I realize these were trends but were they really bad design? Is it bad design now that people are tired of seeing them?
I personally think that the Suzani-inspired bedding and the coral plates shown are quite pretty.
To play the "what's in, what's out" game is not sustainable, nor is it financially feasible for most of AT readers, I think .
I am only buying what I love, and if it happens to be a major trend, or a trend on its way out, too bad.
Forget the trends. None of us on real-life budgets can afford to keep up with them. Who changes their kitchen counter or their dishes or their bedding every year? Buy what you love - it's the best way to ensure that you will keep using it for a long time and not be tempted to get rid of it and run out and buy something new, and that's the "greenest" answer of all!
Hi, glad to see the new posts up and running. Happy New Year !!!
building on mfarling - if you keep your stuff long enough, it'll be in again anyway. In which case, it might be more fruitful to consider yourself as 'ahead' of the game, rather than 'behind' it. happy new year, all.
The designers quoted in the article sound insane. Get rid of your sleigh bed and replace it with a a gilt-leather upholstered headboard? Yes, all of you! Get rid of that bed! Now find a gilt-leather headboard! Find one noooow!
hate to admit it, but i might pimp the urinal trough as sink idea.... if i can get past the gagging.
Thank goodness trends don't last. Or trendsetters...
lol @martha.
No, see, you are missing the point: DESIGNERS want these things to be passe -- you know, the people some folks PAY to be trendy for them -- THOSE are the ones who think all those icky old ideas need to be jettisoned. Not sane, sensible, homeowners who actually live with the stuff.
It's called (or hoped to be) "job security". (Plus, probably they just get bored with using the same stuff over and over.)
My new kitchen has granite. It will remain a selling point to most people for as long as we own the house. Regardless of how "common" and "ordinary" it may be. People only live in one house at a time, generally -- it doesn't really matter what other people live with if they like what THEY live with.
Here in New Zealand, the big trend was/is black leather-covered lounge suites, in fact, black furniture - tv's, credenzas, dining tables and chairs, with light coloured carpet. All that black is a bit much for me. It's probably thought to be sophisticated and dramatic but practical. Meanwhile, where's the colour? There are no cushions (pillows) or throws to give colour or texture. It's time for this trend to go.