apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Maybe this is just reverse snobbery, but whenever something I own becomes trendy, I usually put it away for a while, or change around the decor.

Does anyone else have this anxiety not to be trendy?

YES.

Because usually when something is trendy, it will suddenly become exactly the opposite just as quickly.

...

Those aren't lamps, unless the hydrangeas light up.

Oh yes, certainly... I love my gold For Like Ever poster, but I cringe whenever I see it in a House Tour.

But then I remind myself that everyone I know shops for furniture at Walmart so.... no big.

Lisa (Montreal)--I completely understand. I try not to worry that something becomes trendy, but I secretly do.

On another note, I think those look like vases, not lamps.

I don't have an anxiety not to be trendy, but I do find it irritating when something I've loved FOREVER in my decor is suddenly everywhere. What kind of makes me sad is when something I loved before it was trendy, become trendy and then falls out of favor. Then I look like "sad person who still has a green glass rooster" not "person who gets joy from having her grandmother's beautiful green glass rooster in her space every day."

Then I remind myself, "Oh yeah, I have this 'cause I love it and it makes me happy and I don't really care what anyone else may think."

I shop for my home decor the way I shop for my clothing: I don't buy anything trendy for the sake of being trendy. Now if I see a trend that I absolutely love, I *will* bring it home, because I only bring things that I love and make me happy into my home.

I know that some people buy things for the short-term, and that's cool because there are tons of people willing to buy second-hand, but that's just not the way I roll.

I am adverse to living with anything merely decorative. That means that I must love every piece of art on the walls, every knickknack, every doohickey . . . they must mean something to me personally. So, the decor avoids being trendy because it's so me.

it's funny the whole trend idea...I buy things because I love them, have been collecting turquoise accents for years and years, and have had a neutral grey and white palette for like five years now....but now it's trendy and I see it everywhere-doesn't make me like it less, just reiterates how 'forward thinking' I must have been!!! :)

Know what you mean, Lisa. Case in point: birds. I have loved them since I was a little girl and now that I'm all grown up I have managed to build a nice, smallish collection of bird prints and figures that I adore. The current mainstream fascination with all things avian has ruffled my feathers (groan) just a bit, but thankfully I haven't brought home any of the cute, fat, stylized "retro" versions that you see on everything from stationery to backpacks, so I think I'm safe hanging on to my more elegant feathered friends until this trend dies out. Same with antlers. I'm not giving up my antlers.

On the upside, trends can be a great opportunity get your hands on things that you have always loved (and probably always will) more easily than you may have been able to before, or will be able to a couple of years from now. Just watch out for the mass-produced, common crap and, as with all things, exercise restraint.

The reason why we all dread 'current fashion' is because if it's hot right now, it's only a matter of time before it's dowdy... then hideous.

For those of you unfamiliar with the art historian James Laver, I include "Laver's Law" below. (Applicable to clothing fashion and decor fashion alike, though some of the adjectives he chose apply more readily to fashionable garb--)

--- from Wikipedia ---

"Laver's Law" was an attempt to compress the complex cycle of fashion change and the general attitude towards any certain style or period into a simple timeline. It first appeared in Taste and Fashion (1937).

Indecent-- 10 years before its time
Shameless-- 5 years before its time
Outré (Daring)-- 1 year before its time
Smart-- 'Current Fashion'
Dowdy-- 1 year after its time
Hideous-- 10 years after its time
Ridiculous-- 20 years after its time
Amusing-- 30 years after its time
Quaint-- 50 years after its time
Charming-- 70 years after its time
Romantic-- 100 years after its time
Beautiful-- 150 years after its time

I don't have a problem adding trendy items to accent my home.. I just don't spend a lot of money on them...
Something trendy can be fun!

@Lisa

Every time I saw a turquoise accent wall in the color contest, it made me want to repaint my bedroom. Darn it.

"Laver's Law"... interesting. Thank you for posting that.

According to Laver's Law I dress between amusing and charming and furnish my home between quaint and beatiful - I can deal with that.

I always get excited when something I already like becomes trendy. I buy lots of things and store them, for when the trend dies out and the items become scarce again. Also, I keep some things where only I can see them so that I can enjoy them without feeling trend-anxiety.

tmoore...same thing with me and birds. They've long been a recurrent theme for me in decor, as pets, and outdoors. It's no different because they're the trend of the moment, and they'll be with me long after.

I think avoiding stuff just because it is trendy is as silly as getting stuff just because it is trendy. If you like it get it.

But I agree with tmoore, sometimes something becoming trendy makes it more widely available and at a more affordable price than when you were pining after it before it was trendy. Which is good :)

Lisa...I completely feel the same way. So, I usually find myself attracted to decor that is deemed out of style by most people. However, I am slowly learning to listen to my instincts and ignore what everyone else thinks...it's a process.

I love all these comments. It is comforting to be with 'like-minded' people - if only in cyberspace.

Love the Laver's Law post. So true.

Everything I own is trendy, hip, cool, & chic. Being a style setter is such a burden...