I think both....regional first, then age. Younger people usually follow national trends more, but older people (except on this forum) not so much.

While magazines do have some influence, from what I've seen...it's more about what their friends have. Which is ironic, because it's used to be young people that were more influenced by their friends. And I say this as being over 35....okay, well over 35 :)

But I do think people of all ages are getting more comfortable taking a chance and doing what they like. Maybe it's the poor housing market....at least in our area.

Look at the thread on the real estate forum here about what 1 million buys in your location. Almost all of the newer houses, regardless of location, have white kitchens. Regionalization of trends is dying. The information age has killed it.

Regional first. I think there is some loss of regional trends with fixed elements like kitchens because builders are building them, but as to how people are decorating, I think there is a lot of regionalism.

If you look at my area: Northeast Corridor Mid-Atlantic Urban, and where my sister lives. rural but University town 3.5 hours west of here, there are huge differences --as in years behind on some trends--and some things seem to be divided between "urban" and "rural" and what is commonplace in my area is unusual there.

I think age is involved mostly because people stop redecorating at some point in their lives.

I think the highest price point in any market has a tendency to be more on trend, I think. I think it's more important to look at the middle of the market. The very top of the market where I grew up hired decorators from Pittsburgh or someplace else hours away, and the women bought clothes from NYC. No one else below the top of the market did. So the very top of our market looked like something comparable in a city, but nothing else did.

So I also think you can't compare $1M to $1M. Where I grew up, you'd have to buy two houses at the top of the market to hit $1M, but in my immediate neighborhood $4.5M is the top of the market, and the very bottom of the market is the same pricewise as the top of the market I grew up in.

gender --- and region
I was stunned when a male friend (from California) told me: painted = cheap; stained = upscale.

It depends on what he means. If he means DIY painted and repainted (in latex for CA), that's often considered a "cheap" update recommended in these forums, so he's probably right from that perspective.

I agree with Palimpsest and others that there would be a number of factors. The firm feelings some have for this issue makes me suspect another of those factors might be the two basic conservative and liberal personality orientations. Apparently all human beings are born with and continue to develop some nature + nurture degree/mixture of those two orientations.

Possibly of note, research has found that, very generally speaking, populations of hot climates around the world tend to be somewhat more conservative overall and of cooler ones more liberal, which both national and global maps tend to bear out more often than not. So this factor, if valid for decorative finishes, would tend to be somewhat regional for large groups, but of course not individuals. On, and to a lesser degree age related as well. Most of us become somewhat more conservative with age, compared to our youths.

Nope, not DIY painted. He, in turn, was surprised when I told him that a white kitchen is actually more expensive than a plain oak or maple kitchen.

I guess the reason the kitchen cabinets in my future home will be stained and not painted is because the ones I have here today ARE cheap. After 20 years, the association remains, even though it need not be true. The cabinetry was thrown together like the rest of the kitchen. So, since that's what I have -- cheap painted cabinets -- my plan is to have stained well-made ones. On the other paw, I have visited people who have nice painted cabinets of quality. PS, for demographic purposes, I'm female, early 60's, and live in New England.

we live in NNJ in a small, relatively upscale town. and many of the new kitchens here are painted with white cabs. i've not really thought of one versus the other being more or less cheap in appearance.

I look at houses for sale in my area and I think there's a real mix. Many high end homes have stained wood cabinets, but there are quite a few very nice custom painted finishes. And on the low end, those standard builder grade high gloss honey stained oak cabinets are running neck in neck with cheap painted white cabinets. While people may prefer stained over painted or vice versa, I think in terms of value, it boils down to the quality more than the finish of the cabinets.

In terms of my own preference... If I was picking between two high end houses and one had stained wood cabinets and one had custom painted ones, I'd most likely pick the stained wood. But if I was picking between two low end houses, I'd for sure pick the painted white cabinets over the builder grade wood cabinets. I'm not sure why, but that's just what appeals to me.

While I do think the internet and TV shows are making things more homogenized, differences are regional and age based as well as social class/income level.

There is also a part of me that hates painting over really good quality wood, and its features. If it is a done deal, I don't think about it. But in action... hmm. But then again, I'm building a log home, and I love the grains in wood. No, not everything will be wood, or wood-stained, but I enjoy the textures and 3-dimensionality of it. I'll contrast and/or complement with paint where appropriate.

I see very strong difference in gender tastes. There is a strong preference among men for:

1) new things (vintage and antique styles are just seen as "old")

2) contemporary styling (also just called "looking new")

3) wood (especially medium to dark woods)

Obviously not all men have those tastes, but quite a lot.

Regionally, I think the geography influences design a lot. You see a lot of porches in the South because it's hot there. You see a lot of nautical/ocean themes influences on the coasts. You see a lot of log cabins in the woods. A lot of stucco in the desert. And cultural influences -- Spanish style in California, colonial homes in New England, etc. So I don't know that trends don't reach various regions -- it's more that not all are applicable to the typical homes in those areas.

I dunno about age and trends. In terms of pure aesthetics, the only real difference I've seen is that younger people are on the internet more, so we've seen a larger variety of options and are more up on trends. But a middle-aged person who uses the internet often wouldn't be any different.

I do see a difference between ages when it comes to function. Experience means you've seen more of what does and doesn't work and therefore you are more specific about that. Young people don't have any idea what works until they've lived in a few houses, and until then they just pick what's pretty. I consulted with my mom on function many times during my remodel, and her perspective as someone who has lived in a zillion houses was invaluable. She'd point out all kinds of functional concerns that never would have occurred to me.

And there are the basic facts that younger people tend to not be in their forever homes, so resale is always a concern. And pockets aren't as deep. So they might seize on trends for resale purposes, but they'd seize on the cheaper-to-install trends. Whereas older people have more money and more freedom to please themselves.

But at base, in terms of liking trends? Not installing them, but just liking them? I only really see the difference in genders.

I got curious and checked my local listings. After looking at over 50 listings of homes built in the past 5 years I saw only 2 that were white cabs. The rest were wood, dark stain, light stain, I saw one that looked like knotty pine just sealed.

Also didn't see a single wood floor in a kitchen and a dissapointingly LARGE number had these ridiculous barrier islands, I'm talked 2ft by 3 ft in the middle of a small U shaped or galley kitchen. I'm guessing they were put there simply so they could advertise "kitchen island!!!"

So yes, I do absolutely think it is a regional thing. As I've said before, I've never seen a white kitchen IRL except for in an old 20s built run down rental.

The homes I looked at ranged from 140k-940k with most in the 200-300k range.

There is definitely a perception in this area that painted cabs are cheap.

Yes, regional. No white kitchens here, except one from the 70's with light oak edge banding and one that has not been touched since the 1940s.

Ok, I really upset may-flowers with this view on one thread, but I have hypothesized that age, or more specifically the cartoons you watched when you were a kid (so age indirectly), affects your tolerance for visual complexity when you grow up. Classic Looney Tunes have a limited color palette, somewhat muted hues, and very simple, hand drawn images. My generation grew up with Dexter's Laboratory that had more complex, brighter computer generated images. My nephews watch Adventure Time that has, interestingly enough, muted limited colors, but very busy, complex images. The have much greater tolerance for "busy-ness" in all things than I, and I have greater tolerance for visual complexity than my mother did.

Supporting this hypothesis is the observation that many major design trends are identified by their decade, not their region. If I were to describe a house as a classic Midwestern ranch, you'd have no idea what it looked like. If I described it as a 1960s ranch, images would fill your mind's eye.

eam44, how does that hypothesis work with Victorian design--pre-cartoons and very visually complex, probably more visually complex than any of the post-telvision era styles?

I'm in the Midwest and all new build homes are stained wood cabinetry. Mostly cherry or medium stained maple. IMO when some people think of white cabinets, they're only thinking of the cheap, plastic looking ones. Perhaps they've never seen quality white Cabinetry. If you wonder down the highway to the country areas, you're likely to find all oak cabinetry.

Eam44, interesting hypothesis. I'm at the tale-end of the baby boomers generation and watched Looney Tunes growing up. Yes, I have a limited color palette that I prefer...even monochromatic. And as I'm getting older, I find myself more conservative....in all areas.

Crl obviously if you didn't have cartoons, you don't fit into my hypothesis (although illustrations in children's books of that time were quite ornate) but note that you call it Victorian design, consistent with a period more so than a place. We are, all of us, to some extent, products of our generations whether we like it or not.

Design, I love it when data fit the hypothesis - YAY.

Well, I'm a baby boomer who loves color and gets sad in neutral color schemes. I do like monochromatic but only if it's in stronger, brighter color choices like various shades of blue including turquoise! Love turquoise. And I'm not a pastel gal. And no grays, greiges, beiges, or browns. And Looney-Tunes and Merry Melodies are my favorites (well, after The Flintstones, The Jetsons and Under Dog). And, as I'm getting older, I'm getting more liberal in all areas.

I don't think it's as simple as the toons you grew up with. Or having B&W TV only during my younger years. We were one of the first on our block to have a color TV. Everybody, and I do mean EVERYBODY came to our house to watch the annual showing of The Wizard of Oz. Anyway, the movies had Technicolor, Cinemascope, and all sorts of vibrancy. ETA: Which means in my early years, all cartoons were B&W anyway. D'oh!

But, also, home decor had a tendency to brighter colors, I think. If you ever visit RetroRenovation, there are examples of all sorts of homes built in the 40's-60's that were full of color and texture. The living room in my childhood home had colors very much like Joan's on Mad Men. If you don't watch that show, red walls, purpley-cranberry couches, with a lot of green and yellow accents. The kitchen was a fairly bright blue with a lot of other colors, not really a color scheme but just many strong colors. My bedroom was bright green and while my bedspread was white, my area rug was bright multi-colors. People weren't afraid of color back then. I remember visiting a lot of colorful houses.

Maybe that was regional. I dunno. But we live on the opposite coast of Joan's bright NYC apartment so maybe not.

Funkycamper, you sure you weren't describing me? And I grew up like you but on the Lawn guylind.