Beautiful kitchen, and I so agree with you! When we gutted the front part of our house and added-on, our builder kept saying "no no no" to a lot of things I wanted.

But he was a builder in the City, where homes are cookie cutters, even large homes. I'm in the country where it's common to decorate country/farm style.

We did a fireplace and had to hire someone who specializes in this particular one, which made us at the time only the 2nd place in the state to have one. The builder was freaking out over that. lol Not what it looks like, but the way it's built inside.

My kitchen backsplash and floor is not the norm at all. But when all was said and done, he was stunned at how it all turned out.

I think my kitchen would be a turnoff if it was in a large city, but it would sell here in the country. Who cares though, I'll be dead by then. :)

I absolutely agree that you should decorate for yourself first. However, as someone struggling to replace a built-in 36" refrigerator for a reasonable price, I would have been happier if the layout of the kitchen in this house weren't so darned efficient that there's not a spare half inch to be found anywhere.

Annie,
Yep, yep, and yep. :)

Your kitchen is lovely. All in all, style is personal.

We can't take any of it with us, which I sadly remembered this past week, in burying a childhood friend, who was just 40 and left behind 3 children and a lovely wife.

This morning I awoke to an email from another childhood friend, who is serving in the Peace Corp in a tiny town in remote mountains. He shared stories of his simple life there and that of his PC friend, who was building his own shower where he was placed for the next 2 years, as there wasn't one in the "house" that he was living in.

Yes, we just redid our kitchen--for better function for our family and loved ones. We did put hardwood flooring in (b/c it's much easier to keep clean and will last longer than carpet (not to mention, we have a child with many allergies). We put granite counters in, which were actually cheaper than laminate. Our family and friends have a better place to gather now...which is what's important for us. :)

Oakleyok, you are right. Builders like to build what they know as it is efficient for them. We built green and had to teach architect and builder what that meant...we did a lot of research and sourcing ourselves as they just didn't know. So if you want really custom to your taste, you do have to work for it.

fun2Bhere, yeah, some of the choices we made yesterday are a regret today, but isn't that always the case? If I didn't have that brownie sundae yesterday.....

mpmg, Oh I am so sorry to hear of your loss. You are absolutely right that we have to enjoy what we have today as tomorrow is uncertain. And a house is just a house without the people we love to make it a home.

And yet, Annie, I see many elements in your beautiful kitchen that have been influenced by current style--- if only because of their prevalence and availability. Your ORB faucets and pendant lights are fantastic... And very much in style. We don't live or decorate in a vacuum, so we are all influenced to some degree or other by trends. When we (me!) prefer something considered out of style we are still being influenced by a trend, just an older one.

I get what you're saying, and no one should adopt a look she doesn't like merely because it's fashionable if it doesnt suit her lifestyle. Otoh, I don't have a problem with people who want everything au courant because being "in" is important to them.

Our mantra is "resale is our kids' problem"!

Annie, Your post made me LOL. In 1986 my husband and I rented a small ranch on Rice's Lane in Westport. The owner of the house drove a red Porsche and was scraping enough money to be able to tear down the house and build to the limits of the lot. Small world and all that!

Oh Gosh, I thought this was going to be about you coming OUT, leaving years of marriage for a lesbian lover, and daring us to convince you to do otherwise! LOL! (Guess you would have posted that on the Conversations side, huh?) Guess I've been reading (about) too many racy books these days!

Your kitchen is beautiful & your entire house sounds very special! May you (and your dh) enjoy it (together) for many years ahead!

I couldn't agree more. I almost laugh out loud when people enter a house and call it "dated" just because it doesn't have stainless steel appliances. I've been wondering for a while now if in 20 years stainless steel appliances will have the same fate as avocado green and harvest gold!

Unlike the harvest gold and avocado appliances which were well built, the stainless steel appliances definitely won't last 20 years. They will maybe last 10 (?) and then we can replace them with the "in-style" stuff.

I like my stainless appliances a lot, & for my particular kitchen, I think that's the prettiest choice. The ones I have aren't fingerprint magnets, & in fact are the easiest appliances to clean that I've ever owned!

I liken stainless appliances to blue jeans--pretty classic, simple, sturdy stuff that can be dressed up or down. Having said that, nothing works everywhere, for everyone. It's all a matter of context & preference.

"...nothing works everywhere, for everyone. It's all a matter of context & preference."

A rousing AMEN to that!

Annie- I love your kitchen! And I agree with what's already been said.

Our first house, a split level built in 1955, had the original builder kitchen, which contained no dishwasher, but had a stainless steel wall oven and cooktop. The people we sold it to in the late '70s ripped it out and replaced it with harvest gold. Funny how the wheel turns.

kswl, I love it...let resale be the kids' problem! You're right we are all following trends of some sort, and it is the combo of those trends that make our personal style what it is.

Being "IN" is important to some people and certainly it is what makes the world go round. Green demolitions is full of Greenwich kitchens that have seldom been used but have been swapped out because the stove was getting dusty. And manufacturers count on us wanting the next and latest greatest whatever as that's how they sell product. But that is not very green, nor is it very cost effective. As wealth has dropped and the economy gotten rougher for the majority of people, I have a feeling we'll be seeing a slowdown in drive toward latest and greatest.

stinky, you had me laughing out loud over coming out! Very funny! Personally, I don't understand how people can come out of the closet anyway....mine are too full of stuff to even get in them in the first place!
;)

stephf and blfenton, clearly what comes around, goes around. When the hip hugger bell bottoms started coming back with the platform shoes, I said, yup, I remember all that. Pedal pushers to capris. Short shorts to hot pants. But there are always a few items that are so iconic to their era, they won't be back again...like saddle shoes and poodle skirts....or aqua or avocado appliances.

LOL, Annie!

And while sometimes what's out is in, and what's in is out, some things are always out....outhouse that is! We topped ours with a weathervane of a flying pig....considering we took 3 years to build and 7 years to design our new home, we figure we'll get this house finished when pigs fly!

I always wanted cobalt blue in my bathroom....didn't get it in the house, but did in the out house!!

I remember the story of the fellow who told his interior designer that he wanted a real authentic colonial bathroom....she replied, "Sure. How far from the house do you want it?"

And note the wisdom of the colonialists...the door on the outhouse opens in...so no matter how deep the snow gets, you don't have to shovel your way in to open the door!

One thing to remember about demolition of dusty, unused, high-end kitchens--- the appliances and often the cabinets are recycled! Sometimes they end up in remodeled houses, sometimes in the demo crew's house, sometimes in resale appliance shops or online for sale. They provide some very lucky second owners with top end appliances and cabinets at a fraction of their original cost :)

Just saw a magazine spread featuring "dated" granite countertops being ripped out to make way for "today's sought after soapstone." Bet someone on the team of that re-do snatched the "dated" stuff up in a hearbeat, (speaking of "recycling!")

Annie your outhouse is absolutely adorable!

Love the outhouse and the pig!

I have never been one to need to be "in". I march to the beat of a different drummer. That said, I do not have stainless appliances or granite. We built 15 years ago and I'm starting to wonder about our dishwasher. Think it will be the first appliance to be replaced. Now, I'm actually thinking the stainless might look nice in our kitchen LOL (although like Stinky, if we go with that, it will have to be the printless kind). I am, however, a fan or ORB. I believe going with what you like. We don't plan to sell, although if the right property comes around, we might. We didn't think of resale when building, we built what works for us. Same in updating it.

tina (good thread!)

Tina, I highly recommend the Frigidaire Gallery line! I've been so pleased with it for ease of cleaning & performance. You know my sis just gutted an entire house & rebuilt it, and she also selected her appliances from this line! She has a beautiful kitchen & is quite pleased with the FG appliances. (We were just comparing notes the other day!)

I like your idea of bringing in some ORB. I especially like the look of stainless mixed with ORB in kitchens! Too much of one thing can get boring. In the case of cool metals, it can also get cold. A mix would add warmth & charm.

For the life of me I can't figure out why appliances don't come in various colors, unless you want to pay an arm and a leg.

Home decorating is definitely "In" right now, so why does a yellow stove cost a fortune, IF one can be found?

I actually miss my harvest gold appliances. They'd look pretty good in my kitchen right now. lol

Stinky,
I have taught in a school lab for years, and soapstone coming in style does not please me. Any black counter reminds me of labs. I would expect a dead frog or smelly chemicals on my kitchen counter.

DH grew up in Westport! It's quite a bit different from when his parents bought their first house there in the 1960s.

Ladypat, not pleasant thoughts to conjure up while cooking, huh? Well, you'll just have to be "out" too, I guess! I will join the ranks as well, since I've had my granite for a year and half & it's not going anywhere! Fortunately DH & I think our stone is really pretty & we enjoy having it...even if it has officially been proclaimed "out" by home decor publications!

The process of discovering cool kills cool, because that early cool person is scared of one thing, and that is of seeming like everybody else. So the faster everyone else adopts the idea, the faster the cool person has to run in the opposite direction. And also remember that one of their things that sets a cool person apart is they have short attention spans.

Gotta love Malcolm Gladwell...no matter how you try (or even if you want to try) cool/in style/trendy never lasts for long does it? You're so right Annie...who cares?!

Interesting interview about trends in the link. (The Dee Dee name is just coincidental!)

Here is a link that might be useful: The merchants of cool

And, I think, there are always distinctions between what is in or out, and what is in good taste. I also think a lot of people either disregard, or forget about that.

I think a lot of things that are trends are not in the greatest taste even at their hottest, or at least they can be used or combined in ways that are not in particularly good taste. And people still like them because they are trendy. But when the trend dies, that is when people start to look at it more objectively and start to think that it is ugly (which is part of what "dated" seems to be). My feeling is that it was always ugly, but people were blinded by the popularity of it. I feel like I can tell with some of these kitchens or decorating schemes still in the "selecting finishes" stage, which ones are going to take a nose-dive out of favor the fastest.

There is also a time lag....it takes time for your eye to adjust to something new. Think fashion and when skirts went from short to long, at first they looked so dowdy. But then they looked good. When the 80s jackets with massive shoulder pads first hit, they looked like football players, but then without the pads, everyone looked so wimpy. Now that the shoulder pads have been out for a long time, they look ridiculous again.

Princess Diana, line backer!

Ladypat, you reminded me of high school biology which I had the misfortune of having during lunch period...no way could I get the smell of formaldehyde out of my hands before I ate my sandwich. YEECCHHH!

pal, what really struck me was your posting awhile back with a classic colonial house which you said was decorated in what the 1980s idea of colonial was. I mean a classic is supposed to be a classic like something from 200 years ago, yet you clearly identified an era of decor associated with that version of colonial. So even timeless has trends associated with it, given that generation's take on the timeless trend...

Shoulder pads all over the runways in 2011 and 2012.

There was a misunderstanding of the paint colors of the colonial period from the first reconstructions at Williamsburg to toward the end of the 20th century.

We would not like most authentic color schemes of the 18th and early 19th century, nor would most people go in for the pattern mixing that they did. Most colors were brilliant, and they mixed whatever was available, which became more limited as you went down the economic scale. Remember, that especially in cities, they lived inside in the dark a good portion of the year. Things had to be bold to even show up.

I don't think "classic" means that the period is beyond identification. I think it means that its inconsistencies with current fashion don't jar as much as high fashion 1960 clashes with high fashion 1980. Classic can sometimes be a bit dull, but that is not a bad thing necessarily.

"Shoulder pads all over the runways in 2011 and 2012."

Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose.

Nice thread. Glad I found this tonight. :)

A rose by any other name...

I confess...I liked the copper tone appliances in our old kitchen.

Here is a link that might be useful: Retro colored appliances

I think everyone needs to be mindful that some people do need to be concerned about resale, so asking what's "in" is smart in an economic sense, if that is what their concern is. It obviously isn't a concern if you are planning on staying put for years and are not worried about getting your money back when you do sell. I don't think it is a "good or bad" "right or wrong" situation. Some people have the luxury not to care, others have to look at their homes from an economic perspective because of tight budgets or because they tend to move around, others from an emotional one. No one should be embarrassed to ask what's in.

gmp, I don't think anyone was implying that asking what's IN is a problem. Understanding modern trends, technologies, colors, and perceptions are important elements of design and should be part of design making decisions. Learning about what's available today really broadens your options in terms of design choices. And if you want the latest and greatest, and hot trends are your thing, then that's fine. That is part of your personal style. Design should serve what is important to you.

If you need to sell, then what sells is important. When we got our old home ready for resale, I did make decorative choices that were not my taste, but that looked more modern, like swapping out light fixtures, cabinet hardware, etc. I really really liked my 80s shiny brass fixtures in the bath, but out they went and in came the satin nickel. Out went my lovely jewel toned walls and in came the neutrals.

But my point is we don't all need to follow the leader when it comes to design. And if we are not into the latest and greatest, that doesn't mean we can't come up with good, tasteful designs that reflect our personal style and meet our needs.

Design should serve your needs and wants. If it doesn't, it isn't good design.

Annie, I wholeheartedly agree with your reply to Gmp3, and with the spirit of the thread in general, which celebrates individuality and unlimited self-expression and questions a mindless following of trends. And, I think Gmp3 makes a point worth noting. It is, as she concluded, a luxury, in a sense, to be in a position NOT to have to think about the "R" word & the issues that accomany it.

For those who need to stay flexible, who have career paths that may involve transfers, or have family issues that prompt a need to relocate, the spectre (strong word, but, well, in this market, it kind of IS a spectre) of needing to sell looms large.

It's enjoyable to read on this thread about houses that have become personal, unique homes that serve the owners well and delight them on many levels. In the midst of that, Gmp3 reminds us that everyone isn't in a position that allows them the freedom to live on such a creative path. Hopefully, every home owner will reach a place in life & on the map, where they find themselves able to have a home they can truly make their own.

The slump in the housing market has generated a lot of sadness & anguish out there. I do hope we're approaching better times on that front.

I didn't mean to be critical of Annie's post, just commenting and offering a perspective so those posters who need information on trends could feel like they could ask . I also didn't mean to imply Annie's intention was to belittle anyone, I think she was stating her point of view, which is great too, and Annie, your home is beautiful. People visit these boards for a variety of valid reasons. Please forgive me if it was taken as a criticism.

I don't disagree with any points Annie made in her reply to me, nor did my original post state that following trends is important, just that some posters have a valid reason for asking the question.

I am smiling about Annie's comments about getting a home ready for resale. I replaced my heirloom carved mahogany antique chairs with chairs from the dining room and replaced an expensive original oil painting with a framed print from Kmart of all places to make it "match" and not look dated. I even replaced the powder room sink with a vessel, which I hated but knew would appeal to buyers.

Gmp3, I also didn't mean to sound critical of Annie, her thoughts, or this thread either, LOL! Just noting that you raised an interesting point, and presented the flip side of the same coin. I didn't think you came across at all critical in your original post, btw. You were contributing another (important) POV, IMO.

I'm stunned at how polite folks are on this forum! In other forums, people don't take offense until the language gets worse than a drunken sailor's!

There was no offense taken. It was merely an attempt to get clarity about all the points being made. That is best done through pointing out differences. That is not offensive. That is not personal. Instead it is a way of honing communications so it is most accurate and most clearly understood among all participants. That is critical discourse and that leads to greater understanding.

I appreciate all the points of view being expressed here. It's a fun topic, I think...carry on....

What is less fun is gmp's point about how many people are not as well off as they were a few years ago and struggle to make ends meet. As another gal is posting in the forum about redoing her kitchen and going over budget, going with the latest, greatest trends can and often is the most expensive way to go and may not be affordable. The good news is we can still create beautiful spaces, even on a budget. The better news is we are only at our most creative when we struggle the most. Learning to make do with what we have is a great way to think outside the box and achieve creative solutions to difficult situations.

Annie you are so right about the struggle. We decided to downsize and purchased a home that has been a total redo. We decided we wanted a nice home, but didn't want to overspend. I am very satisfied with the modifications we have made and it has become a game to me to reuse, minimize and work with what I have. It would be fun to do some threads on low budget updates.

Annie -- your home is really really lovely!

So very very out here -- usually out-and-about (heehee!) and my home needs so many many updates .... but that is NOT going to happen anytime soon ....