So what exactly is the controversy?

If these are trends or are not trends?

Or if these trends are past their peak and reaching saturation?

My opinion is that these are all things found at just about every price point and are therefore trends. But that some have been around a long time (chalkboard paint), and some are fairly new and may not be mass trends yet (fiddlehead fig trees)

I'd say that birds (especially owls), mason jars, chalkboards, stylized handlebar moustaches, etc. have been in for a few years now, at least for a certain group in the population. So yes-- to me the things on the list are trendy.

Oh, and for poufs-- imagine a knit/fabric ottoman thing.

I really enjoyed that, Thanks!

But I am not getting rid of my mustache wallpaper!

And, fyi, my tree stump was free and is a very soft, muted gold and I love it.(really!)

My family had a leather pouf that we picked up in Morocco 30+ years ago ... not sure that something useful that has been around for decades, if not centuries, can be called a trend.

Since being off work for 6 months, I've spent way to much time on the blogs.
These are the ones I have NOT seen much of....
Fiddle leaf fig trees
mustaches
balloons
denim
colored Christmas trees
The rest I see quite frequently....(Does that a trend make ?)

The one I can still not get enough of
are the barn doors.
I've had the parts for over a year and still I fear
drilling into the walls..What !?!

I've seen most of these and am guilty of a few! Some of these might not even be trends any longer (open floor plans) while others I agree have not hit the mass market (fiddle leaf figs).

I do love barn doors and am looking for the right space to use one. You really need the right home and the right expanse of wall space adjacent to the opening.

I've had two fiddle leaf fig trees in my living room for nine years. It's tough for me to keep houseplants alive, but these guys have survived my neglect, so trend or not, they stay!

Are fiddleleaf figs seriously trendy? Huh? I had one for many years that had to be rehomed when I moved. It was way too big. They grow all over Hawaii and tropical locations, so my plant reminded me of vacations... sigh.

I agree with what forboystoo said (in that most of those are big trends on blogs,) except taking photos with mustaches on is annoyingly trendy right now. Not sure that relates to home decorating, though.

I don't get it. Do people just make this stuff up? Went to the link and quickly became bored with the comments. Would take me a day to read and respond.

I'm not even sure if they actually selected a specific trend, the list seemed to be more of a single entity someone just doesn't like. If you do read some of the discussion, they showed ways for items on the list to be used in a functional and agreeable decor. Any one of us on GW could have written a list with our own personal likes/dislikes. The difference is that we wouldn't get paid for it.

Birds? My husband loved hand carved decoys. Was it a trend? Not to me, they were a collection of art.

And I love barn doors too Forboystoo. If there was a place for one I would be stuck on this trend until it came around again.

I have seen mustaches everywhere in gift shops -- I think they are replacing owls as "the thing". Glassware with mustaches on them, mustache stickers, mustache shaped ice cube molds, and more. Okay, I did/do kinda think owls are cute. Not so much the mustache. I have seen all the others (except balloons!) and think some are trendy but some seem like trends from years ago -- like I do remember when I was seeing a lot of furniture upholstered in denim but that seems like it was 10 or more years ago. Wicker, same thing, but I also think there always has been and always will be a place for wicker without it having to be trendy. I'm thinking wicker chairs on the porch, baskets for storage.

If anyone's wondering about birds, check out Portlandia's "put a bird on it" skit.

Here is a link that might be useful: Put a bird on it

Sueb, that was so hilarious. I have never seen Portlandia-but that is an excellent representation of P-town! LOL.

Yes, they put birds on everything.

Maybe it was a slow day in decorating so the hgtv staff came up with this. hgtv called it "controversial", not me. I pretty much stopped reading the web site or watching the channel. I do get an email from hgtv and clicked on it to see what the controversial decor was. Maybe I need to unsubscribe. I didn't read any of the comments.

Interesting. Some here say an item is a trend and other say they haven't seen it much. I'm sure its very regional.

The bird video was funny. I admit I stenciled two birds in my dining room. Had no idea of any trend and would do it again.

I never want the thing that is "it". I prefer to march to my own beat.

I have a thing about birds - and never liked the owls and here in my area I have not seen the mustache - but would not want them in our home.

If you read many blogs you will see alot of these trends. The Fiddle Leaf Fig is popular with the bloggers - as are the poufs, tree stumps, etc.

I agree that many of these "trends" are probably regional.

Funny, I usually run from trends. I like being different! I'm sure I have some things that are/were considered trendy - so just don't tell me. ha!

tina

I think most of those 'trends' listed have been around quite awhile. Perhaps wax and wane in popularity but some are never really 'out'. Mustaches have been around at least a year, maybe 2 and are IMO a strange trend. I don't want to see mustaches on a drinking glass - ugh. Only like to see one on a face I love. Fiddle leaf fig trees may be the only newish trend altho it's really scraping the bottom of the trend barrel when we're choosing plants to be trendy. I'm waiting for African violets to be trendy again because then the Grandma style will be also and I can go full-on back to the more-is-really-more style! LOL

I do love hearing about trends but seldom buy anything because it's trendy. I won't avoid something trendy if I really like it but am likely to wait til next year when it's in a yard sale! LOL

IMO articles such as this come under the heading of 'we're-desperate-for-a-topic-that-will-suck-in-the-gullible' and have little to do with home decor but everything to do with selling products.

I agree that some of these must be regional. I have never seen the mustaches, and the big thing here is foxes! Which is fine with me-- I like seeing them, they are such beautiful animals. But I haven't bought anything with one on it.

I've had "birds" long before they were a "trend," and they aren't going anywhere. :) Only one owl, though.

LOL, I had seen most of these and even considered many to be trendy like moustaches and owls, but had never heard of a fiddlehead fig. So I looked it up. OK, but not sure how trendy it is...
Then I hop on Pinterest this morning to find a recipe I had pinned and right there on the first page is a picture of Frida Khalo with a fiddlehead fig - and labeled as well, LOL! Plus a second pin with an autumn styled DR, featuring a fiddlehead fig.

Here is a link that might be useful: fiddlehead fig pin

I just picked up a copy of the HGTV magazine for the first time yesterday. It was colorful and had some good ideas, but I felt like I didn't "get" some of it. After reading this list and not even identifying some of the trends, I think it must be regional. Or perhaps I am just out of touch??

How can they say wicker is trendy? It's been around forever, and I love it, plus rattan. I have an antique wicker sewing rocker which resides on my front porch, and will until I die. Wicker is so "genteel" and essential to a veranda or porch, or inside. I had two wonderful antique wicker chairs, heavy springs in them, which I finally sold for a great price. They came from the estate of a very old lady who died. Wicker just says summer and shade trees.

Just at Kohls and saw a shirt with a mustache on it.
Cross that off my list :)

Marg~ As far as wicker being around forever
what makes it "trendy" now is that people are
incorporating it more into their design choices today.

Any takers ~

Here is a link that might be useful: Kohls web site

I like to think that natural things like birds, trees, and animal prints, as well as wicker and florals, are timeless.
They've been used in furnishings/decor for A Long Time and seem to have stood the test.

I've seen all the other stuff and used some of it, but I don't think I've seen balloons used in decor.
What is that?

For those in certain metro areas like SF, the pink moustaches are becoming ubiquitous on the weekends as "Lyft" unregulated taxis are spreading. In Rome the weekend before last, I saw it being used as a logo for a big club night.

Today I was shopping at Kirklands, Marshalls, Joann etc., and Pier 1.

All I can say is, Peacocks.

Peacocks...oh...OH...I took this down and put up an old calendar print, for the summer. This thing is going back up over the stove...today. ;)

Oops, forgot to add--I have barn doors...on the barn :). I was planning to use a pocket door on a (future) bathroom, but I'm thinking a top-mount barn door would be nice, and would be a nod to the history of the property. It's a space just inside a back entry, meant to provide a quick pit stop, without trekking through the house.

I haven't seen the mustache trend here, but I rarely shop, unless you count Goodwill. Had to look up fiddlehead fig--in my day it was ficus, and I remember when I was a kid everyone had a philodendron vine. I still have philodendrons, so maybe those aren't trendy. My mother polished the leaves on hers with cream--mine is lucky to get watered once in a while.

And, I think my grandmother would be smiling, to think that Mason jars are trendy. :)

I try to be aware of trends and its not hard - just looking at ads and magazines shows what's of the moment. The moustache's I've seen enough of - I don't get it. But some of the others are just things I have always liked. Sometimes I buy something like a print that is trendy, but its something I like anyways so I am planning on keeping it. When I go through the antique stores I see and recognize the trends I went though - like the MCM that's trendy now and has been for a few years. My parents had that stuff. That's why I prefer an eclectic style where I can mix things up that are from different times. That way it doesn't look dated. I remember the Crabtree and Eveyln store at the mall that was done with dark wood shelving and really had the old English feel to it, they remodeled it according to the current trend of everything light and airy and to me it really lost its charm - it just became generic. I didn't care about shopping there because it was like shopping everywhere else. Its hard not to see anything but trends if you only look at the popular womens magazines and the decorating shows. I do try and avoid getting sucked into trendy things but I just recently bought an owl print! But then I love nature and like my house to reflect that.

Just because something is trendy doesn't mean it will always be in style. But people should do what they like and realize that if they are gonna sell their home any time soon they better rethink something they did that was trendy and neutralize it as much as possible.

FWIW I don't like the new barn door look at all. I can see that thing being dated in a few years. And once removed it seems that it will be a large gaping hole IMHO.

Zoe~ No "gaping hole" when removed.
Removing for resale or if decide you don't like it is just
a matter of 6 or so nickle size holes.

Mustaches as a trend? seriously? I'm glad I'm missing that one.

I've seen barn doors in "trendy" industrial loft apartments but that's it. I know that most of the list has, at some point in the past year, been so-called trendy but not in my life or in my house.

My son is involved in real estate development of townhouse complexes - I'll have to ask him if his decorator is using any of these things in their show homes.

I hate when something I like becomes trendy. How long will I have to wait before it is safe to paint rooms grey, without looking as if I painted them during the trend period?

I think the reason that mustaches are a trend is because men are starting to sport them, especially the curly q ones. Men rarely weigh in on trends but it's interesting how this does come into play regarding trends. Probably because the mustaches are showing up on mostly alcohol related items. But it could be a chicken or the egg thing...did mustaches on men drive the trend or did mustaches on the alcohol related items drive men to sport mustaches?

I was at TJMaxx/Homegoods yesterday, and that mustache motif was printed on lots of stuff. I think it's vile, and have seen it semi-adopted by teenagers around here, who seem to view it ironically. I wonder if it originated in some anime show or something on-line. When my teenage style expert gets herself out of bed, I will ask, and will post any insights.
I've been collecting little bird figurines and bird printed fabrics most of my life. The only impact the trend has had is that it's much easier to find things now, and it looks as if I'm trying to be trendy with my birds all over the place, but I'm not.
I also have a sunburst mirror in my living room, which I bought over 20 years ago in an antique store. The problem with them being so ubiquitous now is that the next step is for them to become passe, and I love my mirror. I'm not ever taking it down.
I saw a fiddleleaf fern in a blog, and was going to buy one, but not now.

HGTV as an arbiter of taste.... Too funny for words.

9.95 at H&M

But seriously, I'm drooling over some of the things on their web site (not the owl, though).

That owl needs a cane then he can be Fred Owlstair

LOL.

Who is this?

I don't follow trends, because then I'd sometimes be in and sometimes be out. I'd rather just be me. Hence my nickname.

Birds are in? The parakeet will be so pleased!

I could see my daughter searching for items on your list..for her dorm room, but I can't say I have felt any pull toward any of them. Just because HGTV gets paid to "inspire" NEW does not make it a fad/trend/decorating MUST HAVE. My home is decorated with memories, items that I love, things that scream ME, US. When my living room becomes as trafficked as the mall I will concern myself with the "suggestions" of the likes of HGTV influenced. A side bar, they have been pushing "the pouf" for some time...really? Who needs something for guests to trip over? It makes me want to say "get a real foot rest!!!" I wouldn't allow my worst enemy to sit on that "extra party seating". Great if you want to give kids something to haul around crawl over. I seriously do not "get" that trend AT ALL.