I pay attention to the trends, but I don't let them decide what I am supposed to buy. I buy what I like & ignore the rest.

That said, HGTV does make it easier for me to find out what the trends are as I'm not a magazine buyer (Have you seen the Canadian prices on magazines?).

I pay some attention to trends but only because we don't plan on being in this house forever. (Mostly I use this as an argument when Hubby wants to do something that is just Not Good for the kitchen, etc.) But, we do plan to be here for the next 5 - 10 years, which means we'll be passing through at least a couple of trend cycles. Mostly, we do what makes up happy and what we know will work for us.

For home decor, I try to find vintage pieces or timeless looks rather than buy what's "current". But then the great deal at Target sometimes wins out-LOL!

Sometimes comfort wins out. Any furniture that I'll be sitting on is usually new as it's more likely to be sized and padded for comfort.

As for appliances, I want the most energy efficient--yet pleasing to my eye--version available. Hence, the FD fridge that I LOVE, my trusty frontloading W & D, etc. As for the unseen, I also prefer new over vintage. When we replaced the 30-year old HVAC, our electric bills instantly dropped by 20%.

So as we trend toward "green" products, I'll probably buy some but will also re-use and recycle some greats from the past.

I bought one trendy item, Brushed Nickel faucets, I did not buy into the trend, I bought it because I love pewter, have lots of it and the brushed nickel looks a lot like old pewter. In my last house I found it the easiest to care for too.
So it could go out of fashion and I wouldn't care one bit.

I've never paid attention to trends when I've purchased anything (I don't even like to travel to "trendy" places or eat in "trendy" restaurants. ) My taste runs fairly classic and simple and that's what I tend to buy, regardless of the current trend.

Hey, bluekitchenobsessed...I love your posts and love your kitchen.

I enjoy reading and seeing the new trends but they don't influence my overall choices. If I can see that something new will work for my style and needs, then I'll consider it. But I've always had definite tastes and love the look of older homes with wainscot and inset cabinets, built-ins and wood floors so the real hip, modern looks are appreciated but won't be part of my decor.

How can anyone not pay attention to trends when they dictate what's available in the markets? At least, in medium-to-low-level markets. For instance, you can still find a simple crackle tile in pretty colors at high-end shops for a premium price, but the vast majority of shops and all big-box stores stock a handful of white/other neutrals glazed tile and the rest is a stupor-inducing redundancy of stone and stone-look tile because that's the now trend.

Yes, I do pay attention to the trends, but I buy what I like. ~barbie

Lots of posts over the months (years, I'm sure) on trends -- is granite out?

Granite's a staple... not a trend. It's been around and in steady use for about 30- 40 years as a countertop material. It's not going anywhere any time soon.

Well, I think that Rosie has a point - price and availability dictates a lot of choices for many (if not most) of us.

That said, I try to buy things that appeal to me and that I will be happy to live with for years to come. It's one thing to buy an aubergine blouse because that color is hot this season; it's another thing to buy an aubergine heart shaped whirlpool bathtub for my master bath. I have clothing items that I've owned and worn since 1979 (one slubbed silk jacket that was hand tailored for me by my mother comes to mind), but most items don't endure. Even if I splurge on that blouse, and don't buy it at the thrift store :-p, If I decide that puce is not my shade, I really can afford to ditch it. Once I buy that tub, I'm going to be married to it, for better or for worse, for a LONG time to come.

Now, if I was truly pining for the aubergine heart shaped whirlpool tub, I'm sure that I'd find justification to buy it! In that regard, having my remodel delayed for a few years has been a blessing in disguise. Many things that I simply HAD to have have become much less important to me. It allowed me to gain a much needed perspective on this process. Time has allowed me to think about "the aubergine tub" in different varieties of light - like the paint splotches that anointed the side of my house for five weeks before we painted.

I observe trends to some extent because it's inescapable if you don't have or aren't willing to throw buckets of money at something. In the end, though most decisions represent a compromise between

what do I want?
what's available in my market?
what do I need?
how much can I spend?
how much am I willing to spend?

Look at the trends and then make your own decisions.

B

oooh, an aubergine heart-shaped whirlpool tub sounds wonderful. Don't think I could talk Hubby into that, though.

With all the shelter mags I subscribe to, I'd be lying if I said I didn't pay attention to trends. But I don't think that current trends will be as short-lived as trendy things of the past were.

My last house was a 70's contemporary style and in 1991 I thought it was hideously passe. I worried it would be hard to sell when the time came to move. Fortunately, by the time we did sell, contemporary was back "in" and it sold quick. Now, neither contemporary nor traditional seems outdated.

When I think of kitchens of the past, it seems like it wasn't until the beginning of the 1990's (or somewhere around there) that kitchens got to be really nice in an aesthetically pleasing way. Generally, modern-day kitchens before then may have been up-to-date for their time but they were never very good-looking rooms.

I think that now, when new materials come on the market and begin to get popular, they don't necessarily eclipse what we have now, e.g., stone or stainless steel or whatever, they just add another choice.

The drastically-outdated seems to me to have a slowed-down timeline these days for other things too. For instance, kids nowadays don't look terribly different than they did when I was young. Their music doesn't seem terribly different from popular music back when I was young. Cars for a long time have looked a lot alike, compared to how radically different their styles used to change - cars from the '50's were instantly recognizable as distinct from cars of the '40's - and those cars were, again, very distinct from cars of the '30's. Whereas cars from the '80's, '90', '00's almost all look alike. I think things like energy-efficiency and new technology are now a lot more important in defining what's outdated.

i can't say i'm for or against trends. it just depends on what i like. i prefer to go with classic details and styling for our home since it will outlive any fashion. we're building now and i have to say that while i'm in my lower 40s i have a very clear idea of my preferences. the one thing some might consider trendy in our new home will be the oceanside glass in my master bath. i saw it two years ago and can't seem to shake it, so i'm going with it. everything else is classic all the way, with "glimpses" of more current colors and textures in accessories and some textiles.

I also find my choices dictated somewhat by trends. For example my appliances will be stainless not because I love the look but because it's that, white or black and my pro-style range (bought for its functionality) is stainless and black, which means stainless or black, and black appliances in my 11x10' kitchen would be oppressive.

I've made other choices based on what I like that's available right now. I'm sure the kitchen will look dated in ten years. I just hope it will be 'period' and not a hideous example of the times.

I pay little attention to trends, and generally dislike most of them. I've got white appliances, stained maple cabinets with no glaze, that sort of thing. When I've been looking through kitchen design magazines, I'm always drawn to the classic looks, and think the trendier pictures are not attractive.

Trends? Oh yes, I have followed them for decades in various level magazines/books and could probably could pay for my new kitchen with the $ I've spent buying the mags. That said, as I have gotten older (almost 62 now) I have come to appreciate that trends are geared toward a target audience more and more and I don't fit in.....I'm single, work full time, don't entertain, don't like to fuss with housecleaning (rather be gardening or reading in winter)and have come to appreciate how my body works/doesn't as I age.

Example, microwave over oven. I will keep mine at waist level so I don't have to worry about heat/weight causing me to drop/spill from a level above my shoulders!

I love a top freezer refrig - I'm not a cook and use frozen meals a lot of the time. I don't want to be bending and arching my neck to have a bottom freezer and a side/side is $$ & takes up too much space with decreased interior space.

Island? No thank you! My kitchen is 12 x 14 and will have a slightly new layout and new cabs this Fall. I don't like stools where feet are not fully on the floor. I have a 30 yr old butcher block pedistal table (30 x 36") that has so many memories etched into the wood that I could not think of giving it up. I like having a separate multi function dining room - computer, library shelves, dining table (for the rare special dinner,) project layout space, can shut the door to kitchen (don't see mess or hear noise.)

People have different needs at different stages of their lives.....married, kids, single, no kids, entertain, use take-out. I think of all the people who live in major city apts (NYC) who do just fine with a galley kitchen. Most of the kitchen trends I see today assume you have at least a L-shaped room and the sq. footage that is almost the size of my entire first floor and a budget that puts people in hock for decades (in today's economy???)

I've had a SS sink and am now going back to white porcelin, I still use an on the counter dish drainer, and a regular gas stove (great when we lose power in winter.)

And with this new kitchen redo (old 1952 frameless wood cabs) the new cabs will be simple shaker style, simple tile backspash (how do people clean those intricate small tiles behind the stove of grease, etc???) take out the large garden box window over the sink (have to stand on step stool just to get to the cranks for the casement windows) and put in 1-2 dbl hung windows.

Classic styling is 'classic' for a reason - give me a basic classic foundation that I can change with accessories as time goes by. I don't have the $$$ to redo major pieces every 10 years! All this is IMHO.

I don't pay attention to trends. If I'm going to spend my dh's hard earned money on household items then it's going to be on something that I LOVE.

I remember watching one of those declutter shows on HGTV or some similar channel and the host had said "don't buy something for the house unless you absolutely LOVE it" and those are words I live by.

It's why I haven't found a foyer table yet, and we've been in this house 2 1/2 yrs! LOL

Hmmmmm, good question. I am currently having a hard time with this. I am looking to install inset white cabinets with hidden fridge (behind an armoire of sorts) a la Christopher Peacock and am struggling with just how trendy this look has become. DH and I are going forward with it but spent some time thinking about whether or not it was the right call. Finally I realized that much like my perfect wedding (for which I wore pink - long before Gwen Stefani made it cool)that I spent countless years imagining my perfect kitchen which is white so DH and I are going for it - maybe Peacock copied me . . .

We just picked what we liked. If anything, in our area, contemporary isn't the most popular (read "trendy") choice, traditional kitchens/cabs still rule apparently (FWIW, we're just north of NYC).

Maybe we're just ahead of the trend! I like jenna's comment re: her wedding. When I married my ex in '86, I wanted a black and white wedding, and a strapless wedding dress, neither of which were even on the radar at that time. I had to have my wedding dress made for me, as I did for my bridesmaids (white with black bows), and my mom wore a stunning one shoulder black gown. In the ensuing years many, many brides wore and continue to wear strapless wedding dresses, and numerous bridal parties have been dressed in black.

Who'd a thunk it? LOL

I have to agree with the majority of posters here, I am interested in what 'the trends' are, but go with what I like. Having said that, I am always relieved to read a list of 'what's in', and find out that what I have chosen is on the way in rather than on the way out!!!

I think it's basically a good idea to be an 'informed' consumer. Learn what new things in the market are driven by customer demand- ie convenience of full extension drawers, drawers vs plain base cabinets, etc, vs 'styles' that are basically driven by those with a vested interest in selling us 'new products'.

I watch trends but having lived through harvest gold and avocado green, I've learned to buy what I like while keeping an eye on trends. I never liked vessel sinks so I didn't buy into that trend. I also never liked subway tiles and haven't bought into that trend because not only do I not like subway tiles but I think that too will pass. I did buy a french door fridge a few weeks ago, because I liked it, whether trend or not it is something I prefer over my last fridge. I happen to think granite is timeless and will be around for a long time to come, but if someone doesn't like it -- buy what you personally like. Right now quartz is hugely popular and personally I think that is a trend that will fade much quicker then granite will. I'm in the minority in that I still love OAK !!! I love the warmth of it, the graining of it, the comfort of it and I'm hanging onto my oak because not only do I love it, but I know that it will come back into favor just as birch and maple have come back into favor. Ultimately, trends come and go, so get what you like and forget about trends.

Jenna, I wore pink at my wedding too! We were married on Valentine's Day 27 years ago.

I had no idea until I came to this forum that my oak cabinets were outdated! Many posters refer to oak cabinets as "orange". When I asked my hubby about it he thought maybe those cabinets were varnished and turned an orangy color. We use polyurethane on ours so I don't consider them orange at all.

My good friend has a home built in the 50's. Last year she spent several thousand dollars re-doing her bathroom which had the turquoise sink and tub and pastel colored ceramic tiles. Actually none of the elements was chipped or anything. She was just tired of it. But when I went to some of the other forums on GW I see people are buying mid-century homes and are thrilled if they get original fixtures! My friend had never heard of the term "mid-century" refereing to a homestyle. To each their own, I guess.

I love trends. Unfortunately, the trends I like the best in home decorating are about 50 years old. I've had a blast with our new (old 1947) house, playing with period accents like vintage curtains and cabinet hardware.

I incorporate kitchen trends the same way I do my wardrobe. It sounds silly but it's true. I pay the most money on the neutral staples that will last for years - my favourite pair of blue jeans, black dress pants, white button down shirt, brown boots and black heels. Then I rotate with trendy, colourful accesories that don't cost as much and I can change easily - purses, scarves, cute sandals that will go out of style in two years. The splurges come in "signature" items that are pricey but I can commit to the fact that they will look dated with time because I *love* them so much - my real jewellery (engagement and wedding ring, diamond necklace from my mother-in-law) and my red Coach purse that I l-o-v-e.

In kitchen talk, the staples would be the cabinets, floors and appliances. The accessories would be faucets, hardware, vases, canisters, cute salt and pepper mills, bowls, plates. Signature splurges would be sinks, granite countertop and glass backsplash (I don't care if they're "trendy" - I buy them cause I like 'em).

If you are afraid of something looking dated, I'm sorry to say that most things will become dated as there are advances in production and technology - fancier ranges, new backsplash profiles, new faucets, etc.

In a nutshell - I pay attention to trends but I don't restrict myself towards or against them!!

I was going to say what Rosie said - trends dictate what's available to buy, so of course I pay attention. I do exactly what Redroze said, though, spending most on simple, classic items and less on more trendy things.

As I'm planning my kitchen, I keep trying to think about whether the kitchen I'm planning would have looked out of place 20 years ago, or 30, or 40. I've loved simple white cabinets since growing up with them in my grandmother's kitchen, so that was always the plan. And I've wanted stainless appliances since the late 70's, when I used to read "Architectural Digest" and plan a home where everything was vintage except the kitchen, which was filled with white cabinets and stainless steel.

So I'm getting white cabinets and stainless steel appliances. Is it trendy? Definitely, but I like it.

I think I'm getting what I'm getting because I like it, but for all I know I could just be following the herd. Am I the chicken or the egg?

As a teen, I thought I had a unique outlook on most everything. It's been very humbling to grow up and realize culture's powerful influence.

I find it mildly humbling but really more amusing. Like one of my first strong post-adolescent/new wife lessons--a strong fascination with tropical fish, springing up seemingly from nowhere (truly!) but surprisingly coincident with fish stores springing up everywhere. The fish outlived my fascination several times over, of course.

I have no true idea.
Really. If you read through these posts, most of us want to think we aren't trendy. But that may just mean we don't have the money to keep changing as new things enter the stores, or it may mean that the trends of June 2008 just don't do it for us. Wait till August 2008. There may be some great thing that hits the stores that will really strike a chord. Of course, when we think we want it, we won't think we're trendy, we'll just think they finally carry something that we have liked for a long time.

I am as carried away in the aisles of HomeGoods as the next girl. I bought one of those lamps with the crystal balls. And that's after I made fun of them for a year. I went looking for a very neutral paint shade when I got my bath tile floor layed last month, instead of the intense color that usually gets my attention. Is that because I love neutrals on my own, or have I just finally succumbed to the magazine layouts? Don't know. Don't care.

I try really hard not to get carried away. But I'm a girl. We like pretty things. What can I do?

Never cared for fish. That's good, huh, rosie??

Red