"I do think we are exposed to so many visuals these days that it's not hard to be influenced, want something different, or to begin to feel like what you have is looking rather dated or dowdy." I'll agree with that 100%, at least about the first part of your statement. What also happens, I think, is that you see something completely new to you, in a shelter magazine or on a blog or here on this forum, and suddenly, you, too, want to own A Whatever or paint a bathroom in Whatever. This has happened to me so many times. pal's example of Robshaw comes to mind. I first saw a bedspread in a book, and I immediately coveted it. I'd never heard of John Robshaw before; all of a sudden, though, it seemed his textiles were in every issue of every magazine that came into my house. I realized, after seeing pictures of his own place, that I really didn't want to decorate much in his style: what I REALLY REALLY want is that first bedspread. That particular fabric seems not to be produced now, and I probably won't ever be able to get it. But I might end up with some other fabric of his on a bed. It might seem like I'm following a popular trend/designer, when in fact I really like some of his textiles. To the extent that having a Robshaw textile on a bed is a trend, it's undoubtedly because I'm hardly the only person to see an example, like it, and want it. As for things looking dated or dowdy, I could not give one whit what anyone else thinks of my stuff. However, and it's a big "however," when you regularly see new or updated things, I think you do begin to look at your own things with new eyes. When you do that, sometimes your things don't hold up well in such comparisons; sometimes, you've become exposed to different versions of what you have. These versions may be more expensive, better designed, or of different materials, or just plain different. "I'm thinking of painting my powder room gray. I've never been a gray person. Didn't care for it much at first. But I've seen it so often now that I've grown to like it. A lot. I'm not sure how much gray I could live with but I am glad I've come to appreciate something new. Will it be a love that lasts or that I could live with forever? Who knows. " I know what you mean. I don't want to live in gray rooms, with gray furnishings; it's not a neutral I'd ordinarily find pleasing. However, we have a couple of stone walls and stone floors, and their main color is gray. In one room, I'm actually considering a gray trim to match the walls. I don't think of myself as someone who would ever slavishly or blindly follows trends, but I can't say I'd have considered gray as a trim color if it were not for this popular craze for gray. Anyway, except for the person who starts what becomes a trend, isn't everyone else a follower? :)

Well, if your house style isn't leading you in a particular way (or, restricting you to a certain style) I'd say you're on the right path by just pursuing the things that please you. Personally I always enjoy visiting homes with eclectic style, because they're usually owned by interesting people. I think there are far worse things than mixing items from different periods and styles, especially if they're meaningful to you (like your mother's antiques.) So what do I do when you come to the actual substantial pieces I'd saved for and purchased that I just plain no longer like!? I'm going to disperse of some of these items via Craig's List, as you have. And I'm working up my courage for a giant garage sale. (How is your queen bed "too big to sell?") My rationale is, I enjoyed the anticipation and the purchase, and owning them for a while. So, I got that value out of them. Now, some don't work. So, shall we beat ourselves up about changing our minds about what we like? No, we shall not, because changing means we're growing, and growing is a good thing. Growing means we're aware, alive, having fun, and becoming something new. And besides that, it's totally unfair to your queen bed to make it live in a house where it's not truly loved for its angular maple goodness. Set it free, and let it find happiness. And besides that, when you sell your queen bed, and give somebody a heck of a deal, you are singlehandedly stimulating the economy and encouraging commerce. And goodness knows we need that. Why, it's almost your civic duty. (Being able to rationalize anything is a very handy skill, have you noticed?)

You are doing it well, simply fill up the landscape with hostas, as I do it too!

Below is a good article about coffee de-caffeination and changes in the process down through the years. Someone said they did not want to drink coffee processed or prepared with chemicals. That excludes about all coffees since water is a chemical. I think was was meant was prepared with 'harmful' chemicals with a possibility of carryover of some of that chemical into the final drink. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decaffeination An early chemical, benzene, was declared potentially harmful and the search began to find other ways to separate caffeine from the coffee bean. The "Swiss water process" is discussed in the above link. Another term found in this article, critical point, may not be familiar to most except chemical engineers and thermodynamicists. Gases can be liquefied under enough pressure. The percent mixture of gas and liquid is temperature dependent. Above a certain pressure, it will be liquid over a wide range of temperature. This temperature-pressure point is called the critical point. For carbon dioxide, it is about 700 psi. This high pressure explains why working with liquid CO2 as a solvent is problematic.