It's not that odd, and it's not because they are millennials.

I'm not a millennial-and I still went through a stage when I liked something distinctively different from what I grew up with. Then you kinda make a full circle, picking up new ideas and things on the way that became important to you because you experienced living in certain places, cultures, met people, traveled, got a new appreciation for art you knew not much about before-and you get back to the style of your childhood..just tweaked because you're a different person after all, and every era is different.

Every style develops like that-first it's things you know..then it's a certain fight with the things like you knew them, your steps to independence..then it's new appreciation for some old ideas, and also new ideas that you encountered while you were..well, living. You get your own unique mix. Of who you were, and what you've become.

It's like all the growing up and aging thing-cyclical.

The thing that probably is unique to millennials-it's this strange virtual reality thing..))) I don't know what will happen with that, but I suspect the next big idea will be getting away from all of it..))

Otherwise, it's a normal cycle of nature. Nothing new.

By the way my millennial daughter does want a very-very brown bed from IKEA..brown to the point that even I-I love brown furniture! (and rocking chairs too by the way)-even I'm unsure...))

..oh, and when I think about it some more-my daughter's previous bed was this ornate iron white painted thing, Pottery Barn girly girl style..she picked it herself. I wasn't the influence believe me. But she was 14.

So now fast forward five years-she wants boxy contemporary and brown. Makes sense:)

I think the current trend (for those on a budget) is to purchase traditional furniture and paint it..This trend has been over the blog world for years. I didn't read the article, but I would also add that furniture sets are NOT popular currently.

When I was a child my mother redid our living room with 'Danish Modern' furniture. Perhaps that's why I don't care for MCM. My home is a mix but definitely has a more traditional look.

I have 1 Gen X and 2 Millenials - they're all living with hand-me-downs from family or friends. My DD has a picnic table for a dining room set and 6 chairs in her LR - no couch. Recently 2 of them purchased homes and they're thinking about finding some new pieces - as soon as they can afford it. It will be interesting to see how their own individual tastes emerge.

I think there will always be "brown" people. Just like there will always be "beige" people. Thank goodness for the purple and red and other colors people!

BLACK they want black. My in laws died and we were selling/distributing their very nice things. Nephew getting married took the MCM danish? maple dining set, cane back chairs,table went from round to seating 12, beautiful china/server cabinet piece. They kept it a year before swapping out for IKEA junk all in black very modern looking. They would have been a head if they had just painted what they had. MIL's lasted 60 years this new stuff won't survive 10. I don't think it is BROWN that is the issue it is WOOD. They want everything painted. My parents have a very substantial bedroom set circa 1957, that is all black with these white clouds in the middle of the panels. It tells me this has all been done before!!

I think the want minimal, preferably unobtrusive, so black works, visual lines are to recede into the horizon so that they can spend all of their time on their devices. The architecture of the Fountainhead has prevailed. I always thought the opening sequence with the architect/lines was the best part of that book.

I am far from a millenial.. approaching 60. My tastes have changed drastically over the years. Started out scouring antique shops for golden oak in the 80's and pretty much had a ton of it. In the 90's, started heading more to the stripped pine stage. Wanted everything lighter and cleaner lines. Downsized into a much smaller house in 2009 and went somewhat transitional. Now I am furnishing our lake house, very soon to be permanent residence. Went with more of a clean mid-century modern vibe with some selected pine(stripped and some painted) pieces added for warmth.

I have passed on some very, very nice 'brown' furniture because it just seemed 'old' to me!

I, too, am older and slowly changing out some of my dark brown furniture for things that look more comfortable. The dark Browns often look too formal, I am over 'formal'.

I love this look by Sarah Richardson.

I tend to be skeptical about any pronouncements about entire swaths of any population.

I completely agree, carol_b. These kinds of articles are just puffery. It's not like anyone bothers to do a lengthy survey of hundreds of people to collect the data. I see silly pronouncements like this all the time, about all sorts of things.

That hard rock maple dresser looks just like DH's furniture from the old house.

Trends come and go, but at this point our DD's do not want our Queen Ann Dining room set. One has taken a beautiful oriental rug that was my parents and paired it with a contemporary DR set with white slips and it looks great. We'll donate our stuff when we move to "the home".

I read the article and it's not really talking about furniture. It's an observation that millennials are the generation that is far enough from the depression days when nothing could be thrown out, and close enough to the digital age where anything can be replaced almost immediately with a click and free shipping. So millennials don't feel required to accept a hand me down item that will "make do" until they can get what they really want. With that thought they also don't feel like they need to buy heirloom items that will last for their kids that don't want their stuff either.

I don't post here as a pro, because this place is something for my downtime from work, so try not to get too specific with my business. But I'm in the furniture industry, and I can attest to this being my experience with millennials as well. All the millennials that I work with want the grayed, rustic, and painted look. In certain areas I work in, the extremely rustic, multi paint colored look is huge. I have to really work to get them to refrain from doing their whole house in the same very distinctively distressed look, sometimes called Bombay rustic in the furniture industry. I keep telling them that in less than a decade, they'll want all new furniture, because this look is becoming as ubiquitous as blue and mauve geese in the 80s.

The thing is, the solid wood, hand painted and distressed pieces that are created and sold new, are not cheap, even though some people have claimed it looks old and worn out. When purchasing something manufactured to look old, it takes many processes to get it to look that way if it's a quality piece. So many of the millennials I've worked with are shocked that one painted and scratched up 24" bar stool, made to look like it came out of Granny's barn, can cost $200 and up. They're wanting the flea market look, but they don't want to do it on their own. However they're expecting dug-it-out-of-the-barn-myself picker prices.

Many in the furniture industry can't wait for the rustic craze to be over. They're ready for people to want real furniture again. I prefer a mix in my home. I think a rustic painted piece in my kitchen contrasts well with the mahogany non-rustic cabinetry. But the millennials I've been working with lately completely turn their noses up at solid wood, beautifully stained pieces, even if they're Henredon or Stickley.

I remember MtnRd posting that. I agreed then, when we were dealing with my late parents' belongings, and I agree now, when we are dealing with my inlaws' belongings. I think the article is wrong about ages -- I think it's not just millennials but also younger boomers who are refusing their parents' things.

My inlaws were collectors and have two houses worth of belongings, and except for our family (husband, kids, me), who like vintage and antique pieces and admittedly also seem to be a bit more sentimental and nostalgic than the rest of the family, no-one else -- his siblings and spouses (10 between the ages of 40 and 55) and their kids -- wants anything. They roll their eyes and have no problem telling my mother-in-law that "This is junk and nobody wants it." They've also had trouble getting rid of things (auction, dealers, etc.), and lots has just been thrown out or donated to the local Goodwill and ReStore. My problem is that we got some good pieces from my parents (1960s Baker, Kittinger, Kindel "brown stuff", silver, Persian rugs) and don't have room for much else.

It's been a rocky road for my mil, who is already dealing with a husband who has been in a nursing home for more than a year with dementia, and now she's dealing with downsizing and moving. Her world is already upside down, and to have children, inlaws, and grandchildren telling her that the treasures she and her husband lovingly collected over a lifetime together and hoped to pass along are worthless to them has been incredibly difficult, and I feel for her. So much so that aside from the items that we like and have wanted, I've cheerfully accepted some things I don't like or want (a tin with the aforementioned mauve geese...) because she wanted to give them to us. I have those things in a box in the basement, and I'll just hang on to them until she's gone -- it seems a small price to pay.

I will say that while most of my siblings in law and their kids don't want any of Grandma's and Grandpa's stuff, they're not quite as "minimal" as they say because they seem to do quite a bit of shopping (often for very similar items) at HomeGoods, Target, and Z Gallerie.

I think it's somewhat regional. I'm in the millenial category (dislike that term for some reason) and don't seem to fit that decorating mold and don't know anyone else IRL who does either. While I don't want a bunch of queen anne furniture, I like brown, stained wood. A few painted pieces are fine, but I'm not big on how a majority of the blogging world takes pieces of furniture and paints it aqua or some splashy color. Worse, painting it only HALF the splashy color and leaving another part stained. Someday they'll be a mess of people out there trying to strip all that off walnut dressers and what not.

From the article:

Thanks, Mom, but I really can’t use that eight-foot dining table ...

I actually know a millenial that just had a custom 10' dining room table made (extension leaves). It's medium brown. Ok, so it wasn't hand me down.

If you don't care for the hand me down furniture being offered, I certainly don't think you take it. I also don't think you should take a bunch of things if you won't really use them or don't have the room, etc. I think you should really think about certain items though (rugs or good quality furniture) because it may take a while to really find your decorating style. I cringe at what I liked when I first started out. While my likes have shifted a little, they're much more consistent now.

Ok, so after fully reading the article I do have some things in common. My parents (Mom) kept too much sentimental stuff. I remember when she handed me a box of preschool papers and stuff from my first birthday party.... I just can't see keeping all this stuff though I do understand why she chose to keep it. It's just taking up space and maybe every so many years I'll stumble upon it in the attic and glance through. I'm good with taking a photo and getting rid of it. I do have a bunch of textbooks and sports crap stuffed in plastic containers in MY attic, not my parents. I plan to go through and purge more this spring. I refuse to keep that much stuff for my kids to go through (our stuff or their stuff). Ok, so I'm rambling now.

I could do without the white table/chair and would prefer paint on the walls vs. pickle looking stain, but overall I really like that photo Maddielee posted above.

ETA - They bring a lot more confidence to how they want their homes to look

Are we really? Weren't are parents confident with how their homes looked? I'd say most were certainly more content for a longer period of time.

To qualify as a millenial, the age is supposedly. 18-35. My youngest DD is older, almost 40, and *she* does not like 'brown'(wood)furnitue. Her great room tables are metal/glass, breakfast room metal/glass, DR furniture metallic paint/mirror, kids room Ikea/painted. The only wood furniture they have is their bedroom and 'leftovers'(wood)in the upstairs family room and media room. The other 4 kids all veer to the side of traditional. I remember when I married my parents gave us their beautiful mahagony Federal style furniture, which I couldn't wait to paint ivory, thinking I was making it look newer. When mom saw it I thought she was going to have a heart attack. I totally 'get' the millenials.

Since we moved around a lot and my mother was a frustrated interior decorator, I lived in at least twenty different decors growing up (I'm a Boomer). The only thing we didn't do was what mom called "American granny" furniture - Victorian-style, or anything cluttered or 'fussy'.

It made my mother very sad that none of her kids wanted her silverware or china. But if I'm going to polish forks and spoons, it's going to be my Modernist, hand-forged bronze flatware, LOL. We ourselves like clean lines and neutrals, because they show off our two major collections: handmade rugs and a ton of books.

My Gen X best friends, nephew and nieces seem to have similar tastes to ours but in darker woods - warm cherry or stained espresso. However, nephew is on his 4th home (his job transferred him around a couple of times) and last month I was just admiring the stunning gray-stained cabinets with marble-look quartz countertops he had installed in their new kitchen. Stainless appliances to match the Blue Star range I got him addicted to, thanks to the Kitchen forum on GW!

I don't expect to pass anything along to anyone in my family. If they want something, great; they can have it. But outside of my grandmother's tiger painting - the only thing she managed to save before they were thrown into the Tule Lake relocation camp - there's only a couple of things we have that are worth enough to warrant trying to save from Craigslist or the dump.

One is a 9x12' 120-line Imperial-grade rug. They don't import these any longer, and only did do so for about ten years. Ours is also sheared so that when you touch the pile it's like touching velvet, not wool. The pattern is unusually intricate and there are more colors (muted in tone, used for design detail) than most Chinese rugs.

The other is a pair of true Danish MCM-style bookcases from wild teak. Even the shelves and back are solid teak. We bought them in the mid-'70's before the King of Thailand banned all teak exports due to overharvesting. After that, teak bookcases became veneer over particleboard or MDF.

But the rest? Can't imagine why anyone would want them, unless there's some young Gen Z kids looking to upgrade from IKEA, lol.

I think I'm insulted. The sofa in that article -- I'm sitting on it right this minute! It's a Broyhill and was expensive!

I agree with these sentiments:

- Matchy-matchy sets like Grandma's large dining table are out of style. Give it time. "Sets" will come back.

- I do agree that it's human nature to see your parents' stuff as "old" and to want something "new". Maybe that's why I don't understand why anyone would want mid-century modern; it just looks "old" to me. However, the trend towards nostalgia, cottage and Craftsman is fairly strong.

- Millenials are far enough removed not only from the Depression but also from the days when goods weren't so readily available that they don't appreciate NOT being able to go out and buy something new.

To expand that thought, many don't have the same fear/avoidance of debt that I have -- perhaps because so many of them borrowed for college, or perhaps because they buy into the "everyone's in debt" idea.

- It's also undeniable that "formal" is decreasing for people in all age brackets. Lots of Houzz pictures of "formal" dining rooms feature bright colors and non-traditional light fixtures. We can't deny that discussions of formal living rooms are rare on this site.

My daughter and niece are both engaged to be married within the next year. Neither of them registered for formal china or sterling. To be fair, my daughter commented that she could always borrow from me if she hosted a fancy dinner.

My daughter, however, is practical enough to have accepted a hand-me-down table from one family member, 4 chairs that don't match the table from me, and a sofa /loveseat from another family member. She's practical enough to say, "These are for our first apartment. I don't want to buy nice things to my own taste ... only to discover that they don't fit into the house I'll buy in a year or two."

And one last thought:

Keep in mind that house styles have changed. My parents and grandparents had houses with distinct rooms. Kitchens with doors that could be closed off. What fits into that type of house doesn't necessarily mesh with today's open floor plans.

I'm too young to be a boomer and too old to be a millennial, but I think the article makes a valid point about then vs. now when it comes to collecting things. When I was growing up in the 70's, not just my parents but most of my friend's parents had 'collections' of things. My mom collected decorative plates, dad collected antique pewter. My best friend's mother had a collection of blue glass, the neighbor had a collection of antique piano babies, etc.

All these collections required housing. Glass-fronted china cabinets, curio cabinets, etc.

Nowadays, just imagining a glass-fronted china cabinet of untouchables taking up space in my home makes me twitchy. I like decorative objects quite a lot and I do have what I guess could be called 'collections' but they have to fit into regular life--a couple on the coffee table, a couple on the buffet, here and there on bookshelves, etc. I can't think of a single friend whose home I've been to in the past ten years who has a china or curio cabinet or even shelves of collections, other than books or videos.

I think in my parents' day, having a collection was a way of displaying that you had some disposable income or inherited valuables, that you had this or that kind of taste, and that you led a genteel enough life to have a bunch of breakables kept sparkly clean under glass. Nowadays, people display the same financial resources and hallmarks of taste in other ways that do not require china cabinets: year-round pedicures, vacation travel, groceries from Whole Foods and having their kids play club lacrosse instead of school sports are things that spring to mind in my circle.

I can understand why I like MCM stuff-because I associate it more with my grandparents than my parents..)) True, we all lived together..but to me-it's still this one generation jump..the time it takes for a style to come back to you and find you again.

People pass away; their stuff finds its way onto markets and vintage stores; somebody looks at it with a new eye-somebody maybe my age-not old enough to be sick of it; not young enough not to get it..uses it in a room but mixes it with new colors, and art of his liking..others see it, appreciate it, think to themselves "hmm..how's this furniture called?" and start googling...)) then it gets popular again, secondhand raises in price, replicas appear..then it gets too much for many...and a new circle starts..

As for collecting-I think some people just like it more than the others. It was always like that. Collections are vastly different though..it doesn't have to be china..

But during my life I met enough people that were collecting..they were of different ages and interests..one old man was collecting teeth of prehistoric fishes, sharks and all..))) they were kept in the special albums. He didn't need a curio for that; yet he was an avid collector.

I collect netsuke; they're tiny and expensive and I have just a few..very rarely do I get a new one. Also don't need a curio for that; yet I am, to some extent, a collector..

april, netsuke are woundrous objects of incredible quality and workmanship. No wonder they're expensive. I've never understood collecting Lladro or other kitschy things that have no intrinsic qualities of beauty or workmanship, but to collect something beautiful and timeless and/or something of historical interest or significance is something else altogether. It forms a connection with other times and places, and that is something that has lasting appeal. For me it was a passion for antique Chinese porcelain. I have a very few pieces of what are probably vintage rather than antique pieces of brown furniture, and they also connect me to another time. A lot of young people don't care about that, but once they've lived a little, traveled, read a lot or had other meaningful experiences, their tastes do change, just as all of ours did.

DH and I bought several netsuke over the years, I think we probably have 10 or so and they are arranged on an Oriental chest in our living room. I love looking at the detail and faces, some of them are rather bizarre but still beautiful.

My oldest daughter, who will be 45 on Sunday so definitely a Gen-xer, has the china cabinet and buffet that that belonged to my parents. It is unequivocally brown as it is dark mahogany. I'm fairly certain she would not choose it, as her (and her husband's) style runs a more modern. However, she adored my mother, who died when she was 9. It is a link to her that even now she is unwilling to relinquish. Just yesterday she and her family moved from WI to GA, and we figured out that those 2 pieces of furniture (I obviously had it first) have been moved 9 times in the last 40+ years. She was worried they might not survive this move (I assume they have).

While I don't always like articles that generalize like the one the OP linked, I find it interesting that millennials appear to be so much less, what, nostalgic? Of course they want there own style, and everyone here has made good points. Maybe I'm nostalgic (of course I am) as well, but I'm really glad my daughter still wants those 2 pieces of furniture that have been dragged all over the country.

And the china cabinet has a tiny little decal on it that my older brother put on there when he was around 14 . . .

Millennial weighing in here. I must be the oddball because I went for a traditional (early 60's style) honey oak bedroom set with antiqued brass pulls and matching sleigh bed.

Modern furniture tends to be wobbly, made of substandard materials, and resemble fisher price toys (or if it is wood it looks ridiculous, like something out of Versailles) . If this trend is true people should send me leads on where to pick up these old pieces, because It's ridiculously difficult to find genuine wood furniture these days.

The hardware trends on most houses tend to be very minimalist and light, so it provides a good contrast and looks timeless.

I completely agree about the quality of the modern pieces..unless they cost thousands of dollars, you feel you are not exactly getting your money worth.

That's why two thirds of my furniture was picked up on Craigslist/vintage stores/Etsy..they are 40 or 50 or 60 years old and will survive another 50 years because they are well made.. the lines are noble, the wood is nice, the finish is meticulously done, and they work in almost any style of a room.

As for small imperfections they don't bother me..I find them rather endearing.

Some people are superstitious about getting old furniture. I am not, but I can understand it. Everybody's got his/her preferences and quirks.

I dressed my babies almost exclusively in second hand cause young and poor and also-why not?..and plenty of moms do that too. But one of my friends couldn't bear the idea of old clothes for her baby, she had to have everything new. It was important to her.

I think the bottom line here is, like we often say in other threads, it is THEIR HOME they get to do what they want and what "we" think doesn't really matter! LOL. I am a baby boomer. I have always found it easiest to save a buck vs spend one. Hand me downs and garage sales were marvelous when my three offspring were children. My home has a few serviceable pieces, many many made by DH or my father pieces and a few cast offs/inherited pieces. It is quite eclectic. DH HATES stain of any sort on his favored OAK. Dad stained everything DARK... Then there is the found on the curb pine china cabinet I wouldn't have if not for the FIND part, it was to be a temporary space saver until DH made one to match the table he made. LOL I remember when my MIL gave me the pie crust table and the stockman's desk. She had been given them from her MIL and HATED them. She wanted NEW and modern, it was the60's!!! I LOVED getting them, thought I was special until I found out she had ALWAYS hated them and was happy to 'unload' them. She had many dressers that would be antiques but she refinished them all hoping to get rid of the "used" look to them. They mean something to those that inherited them because they are "family" pieces (no longer of much value due to the refinishing.) Her grand kids will want none of it so the handing off will end with the baby boomer generation. That is fine. Our mantra became "we don't have to take it, she loved it but she is gone and that is that." I guess we need to give the next generation the same freedom. I agree with the collecting being a sign of disposable income. I am a collector at heart but while raising kids--managed to not spend money on them, recently things have gotten out of hand in that area, so much for an "empty nest"!! LOL

Apparently it's the same in the UK. Was looking at designer Ben Pentreath's Instagram last night and found this post, with comments about "brown stuff" and "brown furniture" that could be from our discussion here : )

This makes me laugh because I am an original "mid century" person so I remember when it was just called "modern." Even back then, it was just a certain style that some people liked and some did not. Mom had some pieces as a young single gal and when she first married, but then gradually, as she aged, became more into antiques. I remember going to all kinds of auctions with her and she picked up big old "brown" wood pieces for a song. We had an old home with large rooms so it was the kind of thing we needed, and they didn't go with those ranch homes back when they were new. So I remember the "anti brown" trend back in the 60's, so even that is a revival'! I remember folks going on about how antiques were so "tired" and then I remember folks going on about how silly MCM furniture looked years later and paying out the wazoo for old oak antiques. Also I remember grandma's house, with all the painted stuff, which is what she did with old wood stuff to have it look "fresh." I remember painting some of mom and grandma's old pieces white with some bright colored accents, which I think look hideous now. And then, sometime in the 80's, mom had it all stripped and refinished. I love the wood now. I swore I hated mom's French Provincial mahogany stained maple dining room set and would get something more Shaker or Mission if I ever had my own home, but now that I have inherited it, I just don't have the money to get something real wood and nice, and I have gained an appreciation for traditional pieces. I'd rather have something solid, sturdy and with beautiful natural wood. It can be dressed up or down, and can look "tired" or "fresh" depending on how one decorates around it, and how one feels about style. Some folks will always like the spare "modern" look and some folks like more ornate. So what goes around comes around. The "modern" generation will tire of the mid century revival furniture they grew up with, just as their parents tired of the arts and crafts revival furniture they grew up with, just as my late mother tired of it when it wasn't a revival, and then came back to it in the end when she tired of all the "modern" lines.

Even back then, it was just a certain style that some people liked and some did not.

And it was never so pure as it is now. Most people might have had an antique style chair or secretary in a room with modern furniture, or even (gasp) ruffled curtains.

That was back in the days when you didn't have to conform to a canned style. My parents' living room had an art deco sectional sofa, a two-level MCM corner table with a tiki lamp, a Sheraton secretary, a Jacobean chair with nailed upholstery, a large club chair upholstered in white brocade, and some 18th century engravings on the walls, and nobody thought there was anything odd about it back then.

My DS and DDIL are solidly millennial. Over the years (since we moved out of our big suburban house and into an apartment in the city), we've had them go through "the boxes" every time they're in town. It shocked me how little of the "memorabilia" I had stored they wanted to keep. Their position was "what am I going to do with it?". Oh well, I wasn't keeping it for me, so most of it is now gone and memories just live in our heads! (I, on the other hand, love to flip through my mother's many photo albums and scrapbooks, which include a collection of the playbills from every one of the many many performances she attended from 1936 on). As for furniture, mine like nice things (not brown!) but there's no way they'll spend a fortune on furniture -- they make a very decent living and are about to move into a beautiful completely redone house, but still, they'd rather spend their disposable income on other things.

I wonder if our reliance on decorating blogs and Pinterest rooms hasn't made everything just a little too homogeneous - the same modern rugs, beds with turned back comforters and stacked pillows, painted furniture, too many throw pillows (guilty), gray walls, blue bedrooms, etc.

Don't come for my throw pillows! I love them. But I think Writersblock and Ingrid are right--there is more of a standard look these days or at least more people who aim for one, perhaps because of the ready availability of design influences online. I know Architectural Digest and House Beautiful etc. were probably around when I was a kid but the people in my neighborhood certainly didn't subscribe to them (I babysat in half the houses in town, so I know!). Now, anyone interested in home decor has a million possibilities online, but even so there are probably a half-dozen 'styles' represented over and over, so the main trends are really accessible.

We always had a subscription to House and Garden, which everyone in the house except my little brother read, but I don't think we ever even considered most of it as relevant to folks like us. It was just an interesting magazine. I don't think we considered any magazine that we got (and those good old days there were a LOT of them) as a template for our own lives in any way.

I don't think millenials avoid brown altogether, but they/we are drawn to wood in shades that aren't super orangey or red. Espresso finishes were really popular for a while but now it's swung in the opposite direction with a lot of white, painted wood, and sometimes walnut colors. And a lot of us don't like the heavy and ornate looking furniture, which is why non-MCM antiques don't appeal to us.

Maybe as this present generation gets a little older they'll find that a few pieces of antique furniture, and they don't have to be heavy or terribly ornate, can really give a room with mostly modern furniture a presence that you can't achieve when everything is brand new. I can't think of a single high-end decorator who doesn't use antiques, whether it be furniture, art, porcelain or all three, fairly extensively. Sometimes just an antique Oriental rug can be enough. I've seen houses with "young" decor and they looked cold and uncomfortable to me, with black leather couches and chairs, lots of electronic stuff with trailing cords, bare wooden floors and very little color or decoration anywhere. You just have to hope they grow out of that phase and can think past what the media tells them to buy and begin to explore what they really like.

Don't you think that some the differences could be less age or generational and more location related?

Like PattyVinson, my daughter is also approaching her 40's. She's not really into painted furniture and her style leans towards pottery barn rustic but has both modern and antique mixed in, all wood. Maybe I'm biased but it seems she's got a pretty good eye for mixing styles, her rooms are put together really nicely. She hates collections, doesn't care for a lot of family nostalgia and would rather save her money then spend it. When it comes to buying furniture, she's pleasantly surprised me on more than a few occasions.

I've been thinking about this discussion for the past few days, and I've realized something. I was 20-something in the late 80s. In what I now realize was a direct rebellion to my parents colonial or early American style with maple finishes everywhere, my apartments were all about the so-called southwest look. I had blue and mauve flame stitch upholstery, pinky-white pickled wood tones, sandstone lamp bases, and glass tables. It was awful, and I grew out of it.

Beyond the headline-- the key points of the article "Thanks, Mom, but I really can’t use that eight-foot dining table or your king-size headboard."

“Millennials are living a more transient life in cities. They are trying to find stable jobs and paying off loans”

I think this says it all really.

Two additional thoughts:

The only younger people we know who use DR tables have kids. But since 60% of our Millennial/GenX friends chose not to have kids, it's noticeable they either dumped their DR tables completely, or end up using it as the "catch-all/dumping ground" spot.

One of the biggest reasons for a decor that leans more towards simple lines/contemporary, is that in major thriving urban areas, RE footage is costly. Most homes, condos, and apartment units are much smaller than they were when I was growing up in the '50's and '60's. You just don't want big clunky, blocky furniture pieces in a 10x12' bedroom when you're trying to fit in a queen-sized bed and smash all your clothes into a 4' closet, LOL.

I once remarked to my DH that I knew I had been in CA for a long time when I realized I had told someone my in-laws lived in a big house in SF. When I was growing up we lived in APARTMENTS in the Chicago ghetto that were bigger than their very nice, detached, million+-dollar SFH!

All these points are extremely valid-styles and trends aren't born in the emptiness..they're vastly influenced by social circumstances, different geography (climate, culture), and whatnot. That's what partly makes them so interesting-they speak of so much.

But I didn't even pay attention to the size of beds discussed while reading..I grew up in a big city(not in the US), and beds weren't even used that much where I lived-most people had daybeds or sleeper sofas or futons because yes, double function and presentable look through the day are important when you live in an apartment...

And then I changed countries, and cities, and apartments..it was a very transient life:)

I still went through the cycle of "rebelling" and "new acceptance"...I just had less time and opportunity to explore it with all the moving and all...

But the apartments were kinda the same)) Sometimes bigger sometimes smaller. Sometimes rented sometimes owned. Had nothing to do with my preferences for brown vs painted, or with ornate vs streamlined...

Had to do, in the end of the day, with what, out of everything I saw and experienced, I still find or start to find-beautiful..

And I can tell you-the more things you're exposed to-the more chance you'll start, at some point, finding them beautiful too..

You did once when you were a kid.

Right? Every snowflake, every leaf were beautiful to us.

So it comes back to you again. At some point.

It is this feeling of appreciation..newly found.

It will be the same for millennials as for hundreds of generations before them.

Some people are born more nostalgic, some-more perceptive to beauty, some are more artistic than the others. There will always be personal differences.

Yet the main cycle of life stays the same. You grow up with a sense of wonder. And if you're lucky you never loose it. In any case, even if you lost it a bit, with life and all-the wonder will get to you later. It will find you again. How it will look like is not so relevant. I daresay-it will look like so. many. different. things.