{"id":1054,"date":"2012-09-28T14:03:35","date_gmt":"2012-09-28T13:03:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.egeve.com\/up\/wordpress\/2012\/09\/28\/the-seven-dated-sins-of-decorating\/"},"modified":"2022-10-29T14:31:10","modified_gmt":"2022-10-29T13:31:10","slug":"the-seven-dated-sins-of-decorating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.egeve.com\/en\/the-seven-dated-sins-of-decorating\/","title":{"rendered":"The Seven Dated Sins Of Decorating"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Style is not eternal. It\u2019s hard to believe that my own beautiful, pricey granite kitchen counters installed in 1999 are now considered passe. This does not mean that I am tacky. It means that this part of my house looks dated.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not the only one. With the lingering recession, many remodelling and redecorating projects are on hold and we are living the \u201cas-is\u201d lifestyle.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018Dated\u2019 means that at one time it looked good,\u201d said Amy Zantzinger, an interior designer based in Chevy Chase, Md. \u201cBad taste never looked good.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benign neglect makes that giant whitewashed armoire or faux-finished ceiling that was once on the cover of Elle Decor your own personal monument to decades past. Compare your interiors to a clothes closet that is never weeded out. From time to time, rooms need a fresh eye and a wardrobe change. Home fashion repeats itself but rarely in the exact same way. Elements come back in slightly different forms. Wall-to-wall shag was the toast of the 1970s. In the past decade, shag area rugs have become a designer showhouse staple. Avocado-green walls were pretty much banished after the 1970s, but olive green is having a revival as we speak.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyone who spends time dropping in on open houses in their neighbourhood knows that many homes, with their puffy balloon shades and sloppy slipcovered sofas, are stuck in another decade. So remember that the orange, gourd-shaped lamp you think is so chic may have no takers on Craigslist in 2020.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the spirit of fun, we asked a few designers to come up with a list of the seven deadly sins of dated decorating and how to fix them. How many will you confess to?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Mauve: A paint colour of yore<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mauve was big in the 1980s and 1990s, when the distinctive dusty rose colour showed up on carpeting, sectional sofas and especially accent walls. If your bedroom is painted mauve, you are sleeping in a time warp.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Debbie Wiener, a designer based in Silver Spring, Md., has strong feelings about this colour. \u201cMauve has come and gone, and there is no place for it in our future,\u201d she said, singling out Benjamin Moore\u2019s Mauve Mist. \u201cHorrible.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an alternative paint choice, Wiener is hot on Benjamin Moore\u2019s Rhine River, a medium-intensity green she says can be warm and cool at the same time and fits modern or traditional decor. \u201cWhere mauve resembles nothing in nature,\u201d Wiener says, \u201cthis colour has a very natural look.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Track lighting: Way off track<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Designer Amy Zantzinger thinks lots of living rooms need an overhead lighting overhaul. \u201cTrack and recessed fixtures interrupt a beautiful ceiling. They are overdone and look tired,\u201d she said. \u201cTrack lighting is also bulky and clunky, cluttering up your ceiling.\u201d Zantzinger also says ceiling-mounted lights are unnecessary to highlight your paintings. \u201cI don\u2019t live in an art gallery,\u201d she said.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zantzinger believes that floor lamps are making a huge comeback. She likes a combination of floor and table lamps to personalise a room. Some of her favourite floor lamps are skinny metal ones that give an overall glow and add height to a room. She likes those from Holtkoetter.com, especially the floor lamps with a small metal shade.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Flower power: Not on upholstery<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember when huge roll-arm sofas upholstered in bold floral prints were a mainstay in living rooms? Fabric in dramatic patterns isn\u2019t generally a wise investment, said Erin Paige Pitts, a designer based in Gibson Island, Md.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVery strong patterns often turn out to be the elephant in the room,\u201d Pitts said. \u201cI am very deliberate in the use of patterns, especially in upholstery.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pitts suggests keeping to neutrals in sofas and club chairs. Get your jolt of colour in pillows, which you can buy inexpensively at West Elm or Wisteria, or, better yet, make yourself. Pitts suggests splurging on good-quality fabric (look for sales) and sewing 22-inch squares. Her tip: \u201cDon\u2019t make thin, small pillows. Use fewer, bigger pillows. If you buy two yards of fabric, make two large fabulous pillows out of it.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Tiles: Twenty years in Provence is too many<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you went on vacation to Tuscany or Oaxaca, fell in love with vivid tiles and installed them in your kitchen or bathroom 20 years ago, it\u2019s time for a change.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marika Meyer, a designer based in Bethesda, Md., says a wall of tile in different colours and patterns is not only a pricey travel souvenir, it can make your home look like a ceramic showroom. \u201cIn a brand-new construction home . . . using French or Italian tiles just doesn\u2019t seem authentic. People get seduced and inspired when they travel, but you do eventually have to think of longevity and resale,\u201d Meyer said. Although French style is classic, the romanticised American version of French country feels tired.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meyer recommends subway tile, the glossy white rectangular tile (traditional size is 3-by-6 inches) created for the walls of the New York transit system. She also likes the 2-by-5-inch size for kitchens and sometimes a 6-by-12-inch for baths. \u201cStick with a simple, neutral backsplash or bathroom wall,\u201d said Meyer. \u201cSubway tile has been popular since the turn of the century: It\u2019s not going anywhere. That fancy tile work will feel dated in just a few years.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to add a modern element or a vacation memento, accessorise with a coffee pot, a contemporary glass bowl or a set of towels in a fun colour.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Valances: Just say no to the droopy swoop<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A decade or two ago, homeowners fell in love with the trend of draping their windows in yards and yards of fabric. We now live in simpler times.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really don\u2019t like valances,\u201d Washington designer Annie Elliott said, \u201cespecially the drapey kind that hang atop a window, or those that are installed as a limp, droopy crown above matching drapery panels.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A tailored valance with box pleats or a cornice style is still a clean, classic look,\u201d said Elliott. She suggests avoiding anything \u201cflounced, unstructured or droopy.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, she recommends exposed metal rods and ring-top drapery panels with straight curtains hanging to<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

the floor.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Brightly coloured Orientals: Can your rug be saved?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good, hand-knotted Oriental rugs are an investment and a staple in decorating, and they look better as they age. Less expensive, mass-produced Oriental rugs with thick pile and vibrant colors became popular about 30 years ago.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI see a lot of these bad Oriental rugs from the 1990s that have a lot of heavy reds and navys in them,\u201d says Shazalynn Cavin-Winfrey, an Alexandria, Va.-based designer.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, the look has moved to new Oriental rugs that actually look old. Manufacturers caught on that people were looking for thinner pile and softer colours. If you have an Oriental of a darker genre but are ready for a fresher look, Cavin-Winfrey suggests bringing it to a rug expert, who can do a chemical wash for about $300 to $500 for a 6-by-9-foot rug. \u201cThat will create a rug with a more variegated color, like what you\u2019d find in an old rug,\u201d Cavin-Winfrey said. \u201cIt will give it a much more<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

youthful look.\u201d \b<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Wallpaper borders: Bordering on antiquated<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While wallpaper is staging a major comeback, those six-inch-wide borders that were glued to the top of many walls look like yesterday. \u201cYou just can\u2019t do them anymore,\u201d said Elliott, whose design firm is aptly called Bossy Color. \u201cWallpaper borders are a great example of 1980s overdecorating. They look especially tired when they sit on top of another wallpaper.\u201d Elliott says that \u201cmatchy-matchy\u201d look is out of favour. Wallpaper a whole room, not just a border. A kid\u2019s room is the only place Elliott might go for a border. For that, she is a fan of Wallies removable wall decals.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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