I don't consider overhead lighting to be a fad. I need it to be able to see in my kitchen after dark (undercounter and pendant lighting is not enough; I need broad illumination not spot task lighting). In the 60s-90s people houses had flourescent tube lights that flickered and had spotty coverage; recessed can lights with incandescent or LED bulbs are a big improvement. For a new build I'd put in some sort of overhead lighting so its there if you or someone else need it. You can always elect to never turn it on.

One I stay away from is home automation. Build an iPad into a wall? Talk about planned obsolescence.

I don't like recessed lights or can lights in living rooms etc. I DO
like can lights in kitchens, bathrooms, and some narrow hallways where
"less is more". And it has nothing to do with a "trend" - they just
work very well.

I'm not a fan of canned lights. I agree with you that I like some things in certain applications ... but not other applications.
As for white kitchens; well, there have always been white kitchens.
Before WWII, nearly all kitchen cabinets were painted and were often
painted white. Natural wood cabinets came in around the 1960's or so. A
white kitchen can make a kitchen with poor natural light look much
brighter and fresher.

Yeah, people say that, but those kitchens weren't the same as today's all-white kitchens. The current white kitchen trend shares concepts with those earlier white kitchens, but they aren't really the same.

Plus, if you have to justify something being "a classic", is it really a classic? Consider other things that are genuinely classic features: Sink over the kitchen window, built-in bookcases flanking the fireplace, inviting front porches, clawfoot tubs, hexagon tiles, bay windows, window seats, gracious wooden staircases ... they're universally accepted as classics, so no one argues their worth or worries about them becoming outdated. Oh, people may say, "That's not for me" or "That's not cutting edge trendy", but these actual classics have never really disappeared or been considered "out".

I don't consider overhead lighting to be a fad.

Not all overhead lighting -- just canned /recessed lighting instead of standard light fixtures.

One I stay away from is home automation. Build an iPad into a wall? Talk about planned obsolescence.

Totally agree. I see the Smart-house stuff as something to break and become obsolete. I don't have a problem locking my doors or turning off my lights the old fashioned way.

Trends for which I don't care:

- Duplicate sinks and toilets in closets; they require more square footage ... and make your bathroom less efficient.

- Island at any cost kitchens, meaning the trend towards squishing in an island ... even if it doesn't suit the kitchen.

- Open shelves in place of upper cabinets. Really, 1-2 open spots for display is one thing, but purposefully planning a kitchen with shelves that'll become grimy and store very little ... how's that practical?

- Edison light bulbs ... overpriced, and will they be readily available in the future?

- Marble anywhere. Ick.

I like a lot of recessed lighting (although not as the primary solution). Even in a living/family room where a nice fixture will give the warm/intimate feel, there's nothing worse than it being evening/night and the room being too dark. I have that problem right now - tons of windows in my big cathedral-ceiling living room, but my big hanging fixture and some table lamps just aren't enough... so I like the idea of also implementing some supplemental recessed lighting so it's there if it's needed.

I'm not a fan of home automation. I grew up with a horrible system... no physical switches for lights anywhere, just touchscreens. And the system crashed well too often... so I really resent them now. I plan to do a stand-alone light management system (mainly to consolidate 20,000 switches), but I do not want to do automated audio/tv/blinds/etc. Systems today are light years better than systems/software from 10-15 years ago, but I'd still rather not worry about it

I really don't think all these wifi enables appliances are going to become all the rage. Cameras in your fridge, ipad built into fridge door, wifi stove so you can remotely preheat... pretty soon coffee makers and toasters will be wifi too lol. I think these are more of a novelty (doing something just to be new). But hey, they're wifi so if you want one it will connect

Other recent things that I don't consider trends:

• high-wall outlets/cable/data for wall mounted tv's I think are needed to future proof rooms
• running data to most rooms (for smart tv) or better internet connections (wifi has weak points)
• If the house is large enough, hardwiring more than one "wifi antenna" spot to avoid dead zones.

Painted cabs, especially a shade of white, are the result of another fad...wood floors in kitchens which is the result of open floor plans between kitchen, living room and dining room. Keeping the flooring consistent between all the spaces. It's easier to blend with a lot of wood already there by painting the cabs a solid color.

Recessed lights work better because of the move towards higher ceilings needed because of the larger rooms from that open floor plan again. The better recessed lights have enough depth to look good. Short cans used between floors don't make the grade, imo. But maybe as LED bulbs get more efficient towards and passing 100 lumens per watt smaller mr16 sized fixtures could fit in those shorter applications. I designed and installed all deep recessed lighting in 1981. So not much of a current fad. I'd use these Philips A-19 bulbs. 14.5 watts for 1500 lumens. $6 10k+ hour life.Philips 100w equivalent led

With dishwashers no one needs a double sink. Two people don't stand in front of a view every night after dinner washing and drying everything. No window needed.

Another change is towards wider counters than the traditional 24 inches. 28-30+ makes work zones more usable. More like island space.

We are going to have a smart house with lots of automation.. that will require a lot of maintenance, no doubt! :) We are choosing a Savant system. Although, as Stan Z pointed out, we are not having the iPads built into the walls, because I agree that may not always be the controller and the iPad may change as well.

We are going with the white trend on all the walls and probably the upholstery too. That made the kitchen an easier decision because it takes white marble and white cabinets off the table in order to avoid it being too white.

We are going to have recessed lights. The new versions can actually be quite attractive or at least inconspicuous.

I almost got sucked into getting black faucets because I think they are very cool, but I worry I'll tire of them. It's still not too late to change my mind!

Oh, another fad that may raise some discontent: laundry/mud rooms that are bigger than the kitchen. In the houses where I've seen them a year or two after moving in they have become a giant drop zone for stuff (well, I'm being nice with the word "stuff"). No matter how big it seems to fill up within a few months and then the stuff overflows to the adjacent rooms again. Better to keep the stuff from accumulating in the house in the first place using frequent trips to donation center, one in/one out rule for kids things, etc. That's my rant for the day. Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas.

Getting rid of the double sink- I handwash all my cooking and bake ware, and prefer to have a secondary sink to rinse and let it drip until I can dry it. Or let it dry overnight, and put away in the morning.

I love recessed lights; I love lots of light. I think they are not good in lieu of fixtures, but can easily compliment and add light to the space.

I highly prefer warm colors, and not all this grey and white stuff.

One fad I do like is the backpack station, but keep it minmal- no one is "living" in that space, but a small, well-desined area allows a spot for mom to check for papers etc (young kids), put lunchboxes, coats, etc so it's all there and together to go out the door. No-one is running back through my house with shoes on trying to find their coat/backpack/gloves/shoes/etc. We have a 3ft station for 4 backpacks (double hooks), cubbies above and below (some with doors, some without), and it works wonders. A regular coat hook on the wall for DH and I near the garage door is perfect for us.

Natalie - If you wonder about the "recessed lights" obviously the fixture itself draws your attention to it. The question in a kitchen should be about "lighting", not the fixture itself. Recessed lights are excellent for general lighting. However, if you want to draw the attention to a focal point (e.g. counter, breakfast bar, appliance etc.) you can use a variation of multiple light sources and strategies.

A few inexpensive practical tips: 1.) Install a a dimmer for the overhead recessed lights, 2.) add under cabinet lighting (e.g. LED strip) 3. install a spot light over focal points.

If you can afford to spend a few dollars use smaller recessed lights but more of them. A 3" or 4" diameter trim looks much less obtrusive than a 6". Moreover, contractors use the cheap 6" high hats in spec. housing so it could give a "cheap" look.

Lastly, always use LED bulbs but don't forget to choose the right color temperature. (i.e. warm white or soft white) Home Depot has displays where you can see the difference.

^ yes. I love how far LEDs have come, but I really hate the bright hospital white 6000+ Kelvin colors. It can make a beautiful room look so cold and sterile.

I forgot about 2 more recent trends - the lockers (as Renee Texas brought up) and the message center. I love lockers, even for adults. Place for shoes, jacket, and also hats/gloves etc.

When I first stared seeing "message centers" (found in the mud room or right where the garage enters the house) I kept seeing computers on them. Thought "who the hell would ever want to stand/sit here to do anything when everyone has a smart phone?" However, they make perfect spots for mail, car keys, calendar, a portfolio or something you need to bring to work, you get the idea. Currently, our mail/keys/etc get dumped in a "catch all" area on my kitchen island... it's bad. I think they're great as a small/efficient countertop but can be overdone and wasted space

White kitchens have been a staple forever. The difference is the cabinet style.

If you design a house based on the latest trends, then yes it will become dated in a few years.

To answer your questions:

1. What trends in construction or design did you decide to forgo or reject altogether no matter how many articles by experts told you this is the way?

barn doors, pocket doors, quartz countertops, wood look porcelain tile floors, colored metal faucets, grey anything, white walls, laundry room, tone on tone color in rooms

2. What fads did you implement even so they are overused and may be even pronounced as on the way out but they just make sense to you so you are sticking by them?

Considering I'm building a craftsman style house (not a builder's version, but one that hopefully pays homage to the true craftsman/four square style), here are the things I'm including (although not all are craftsman):

built in look for fridge and DW, white shaker style cabinets, kitchen island in oak, subway tile, farmhouse sink, craftsman house exterior including the square columns and rafter tails, mudroom bench and hooks, clawfoot tub, enclosed toilet in master bath, hexagon tile along with black/white subway tile in guest bath, pedestal sink in guest bath, repurposing old cabinet for vanity in powder room, cement tile in friends entry and powder room, craftsman lighting throughout house,

we have recessed lighting in all rooms of our home, but we also have traditional lighting features for example, we have 2 large windows and two smaller windows in the kitchen then we have 2 smaller pendants and a large pendant and six recessed lighting fixtures and the ventahood light and no upper cabinets to block lighting plus lighting in the desk area, finally have a kitchen i can see well in and i'm so happy with it....it's also painted white apparently many people here think white cabinetry is not and i would like that further explained ... as i've said before, i've had white kitchens in over half the homes i've lived in for 65 years and much prefer them over stained cabinetry which i also have in several rooms in my home

and are we saying that white kitchens are on the way out, or recessed lighting?

i can see possibly recessed lighting, but i think very little will compensate for the even lighting it provides

can't say that double sinks are fads but single sinks could be, it's hard to have soiled lasagna "dishes" in the sink and use the garbage disposal at the the same time in a large single sink, which i have and love

i'd love to have a "smart" house but i question how smart it would still be in 20 years? would all of that have to be "rewired" someday

our home has an enormous amount of porches, front, back/wrap and side we never considered whether or not they were "in" just that we wanted them and felt we would use them...which we do

we use our little desk/message center in the kitchen all the time, right now 3 phones are recharging, plus a nook and my laptop will be there in a bit sure don't like those things just here there and everywhere around the house....

love my clawfoot slipper tub --it's only be used one time in 3 years but i wouldn't have used it then if it had been a standart tub....

i maintain people should put what they want in their homes, assuming it's not an enormous ridiculous expense

what is trendy now will not necessarily be trendy in even 5 years...including color....

WOW! Thank you so much for your thoughts and discussion! White set in as a color in certain parts of the house along with the progress of science and laboratory in particular as hallmarks of new ideology in a society. White signals cleanliness, purity, and reminiscent of scientific laboratories.

I continue to be amazed how much wisdom and knowledge resides within each of us. I learned a lot about not only fads but the thinking behind why some things are important for us.

I am not anti-recessed lights altogether. Yet from all the reading I have done, it seems they have much more limited scope of use than many authors imply. Then there are considerations of insulation that come with holing solid ceiling surfaces. Seems like a lot of energy conservation and green folks have dislike for recessed lights.

Amazing note on the ease of painting cabinets to match with floors. I am the moron who is desperately trying to match two types of wood and it is not an easy task!

I'll have a wood kitchen floor too, and you are right, putting wood cabs on a wood floor IS challenging. I've seen it done really well but I'm not sure what the secret is. One neat thing I've seen is when the kick plate is stainless and acts as a material break. I don't think I'm going to do it but thought I'd share if that works with your style.

zippity .". i'd love to have a "smart" house but i question how smart it would still be in 20 years? would all of that have to be "rewired" someday"

that is why we didn't go with creston etc. We didnt want anything too complicated or custom. We are assuming that the wiring should work with anything, and having a remote system (like Savant) will make upgrades seamless in the future. With the wiring in place, I assume we could also switch to another system if Savant is ever a dinosaur.

I try to look at it this way: The difficult to change aspects of the house are it's "little black dress" - so I'm trying to keep things like flooring, cabinets, etc. classic in look and feel. I'll probably go with white cabinets, at least for some of the kitchen, and wood floors. As was mentioned above, the combination is fairly striking. There is less trouble with different woods fighting with each other, and the space can be brightened considerably. That said, my mother's kitchen is white, as was my Grandmother's. Heck, even the Hoosier cabinet I have in mine is white. I think it's a kitchen classic. NOW - super duper everything white with white subway tile and white marble countertops - will probably begin to lose it's appeal at some point for the masses.

I think apron sinks and subway tile are trendy - they look good in a farmhouse, but can be just trendy in other settings. Ditto, ledge stone. Great in a Craftsman, out of place in a lot of other styles.

As one designer explained to me (I was complaining about my current home, a 40's cape, and some of it's dated builder-grade fixtures), everything will look dated. BUT - if you can keep the hard fixtures in keeping with the original date and style of the house, they'll always look like the belong. So, as we spruce it up for sale, we're trying to keep things 40's style.

OTOH, things like furniture and paint colors are your house's "accessories." Easily changed, and if you want to be trendy, go right ahead.

I find I'm not choosing things based on whether they're "on trend" or not. (no ship lap, gahhh!!! Nor barn doors!!!) We're working on a Dutch colonial/farmhouse. So the goal is to keep it to things that look like they belong in that house. Surfaces that will age gracefully, and fixtures that have a classic appeal. Sometimes that means using something that happens to currently be trendy (reclaimed wood flooring is a possibility). Sometimes it means things that are so not trendy as to be hard to find (milk glass doorknobs, anyone?)

From my view, the house should fit with where it is. It should have a consistency internally, and have a "story" of sorts about what it is and who lives there and how it all came to be so.

Hmm, wouldn't it be difficult to wash dishes if it's over the window?

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Ugh, you'd think I don't know how to proofread.

Painted cabs, especially a shade of white, are the result of another
fad...wood floors in kitchens which is the result of open floor plans
between kitchen, living room and dining room. Keeping the flooring
consistent between all the spaces. It's easier to blend with a lot of
wood already there by painting the cabs a solid color.

That makes sense, and I agree it's ONE of the reasons white has taken such a hold on today's kitchens.

can't say that double sinks are fads but single sinks could be, it's
hard to have soiled lasagna "dishes" in the sink and use the garbage
disposal at the the same time in a large single sink, which i have and
love

Thing is, you can always pull out a dishpan and make your single sink into a double ... you cannot go the other direction.
As one designer explained to me (I was complaining about my current
home, a 40's cape, and some of it's dated builder-grade fixtures),
everything will look dated. BUT - if you can keep the hard fixtures in
keeping with the original date and style of the house, they'll always
look like the belong. So, as we spruce it up for sale, we're trying to
keep things 40's style.

Good advice IF your house has a specific style or age. So many people live in a typical suburban house without any distinguishing features to suggest a time frame.

The difficult to change aspects of the house are it's "little black dress" - so I'm trying to keep things like flooring, cabinets, etc. classic in look and feel.

Good luck trying that because 100 years ago, classic floors were 2 1/2" (I think that was the size) floor boards in oak or maple. Before that it was wide pine planks or whatever was indigenous to the area. Nowadays everyone wants 5" or wider floor boards. So what is "classic"?

Classic tile in the 20's was black/white octagon or square tiles with grey grout and was only put in the bathrooms. In the kitchen, everyone put down linoleum. In the 80's classic was beige 12" x 12" porcelain tile in both kitchens and baths or if really daring saltillo tile. So what is "classic"?

What is a classic cabinet? Back 100 years ago, there was one or two cabinets in the whole kitchen. These would have been overlay doors with hinges on the outside. Then about 40 years ago, classic cabinets meant raised panel arch top wood cabinets. Then oak in a modified shaker door or with a raised panel door was classic. Now it's inset shaker doors. So again what is "classic"?

20 years ago, no one would touch subway tile as it was too "old fashioned". However back in the 1920's it was all the rage.

If you want to be classic, then choose a style that works with the style of your house and/or the age. What is classic for a victorian home is different than what is classic for a craftsman home, or a MCM home or a contemporary home.

NOW - super duper everything white with white subway tile and white marble countertops - will probably begin to lose it's appeal at some point for the masses.

Once the masses start using it, then the appeal is already gone and the designers are trying to come up with the next best and greatest.

Ditto, ledge stone. Great in a Craftsman, out of place in a lot of other styles.

Actually I don't associate ledge stone with craftsman. I consider it a modern stone look that builders have added to their version of "craftsman" houses.

BUT - if you can keep the hard fixtures in keeping with the original date and style of the house, they'll always look like the belong. So, as we spruce it up for sale, we're trying to keep things 40's style.

Truly excellent advice.

We avoided a lot of current trends, including huge square footage, granite or other stone counters, wood-look vinyl or ceramic tile, two sink bathroom vanity, huge garage, dozens of roof gables, smart home stuff, big bucks kitchen, kitchen island, pendant lights, and typical subdivisions.

We did use some trends, including Craftsman styling, and our kitchen is white and gray. We've always had a white kitchen, though! Our plan is very open. We did use LED can lights in certain areas, and love them. We went with a peninsula kitchen, which is very dated, but our personal preference. Floors are reclaimed pine, another recent trend. Our house is very energy efficient; a trend of sorts. No upper cabinets in the kitchen; another minor trend. We have a good old-fashioned SS surface mount two bowl kitchen sink, UNDER a big window. Try getting that window away from my wife! We also have a prep sink, a more recent trend. We used barn door hardware for the powder room door, but the hardware is antique, as is the door and handle.

Most people that see our house agree that it is rather unique. I really had to fight with a stone mason to use round stones for our column bases instead of the much more popular square Tennessee stone. I also had to fight with the guy putting in the driveway. I wanted it curved, like an old country road; he wanted to make it straight. We used a number of antique lighting fixtures throughout, as well as antique hardware in the kitchen. The interior doors are all matching antique doors, as well as the hardware. I made all of our square, Craftsman-style trim and molding, so it matches nothing else on the planet. Same goes for the kitchen cabinets- my own design, built in place. Even our window returns are unique- I angled them to flare out to minimize the tunnel effect of our thick walls.

These are things I see as "trendy" and eventually looking dated:

1. Timber frame entrance on a house that is clearly not a log home or a home in the mountains or at the lake. These entrances seem to be tacked onto nearly any style these days, from ranches to french country to Tudor. However, they do look nice on a limited number of styles and also compliment certain locations, like lakes and mountains.

2. Farmhouse sink in a house that is clearly NOT a farmhouse. I blame HGTV for this.

3. Sliding barn doors. Again, I blame HGTV. They can look nice in certain homes that are super rustic or in a farmhouse, but most times they just look silly and trendy. Pocket doors are more timeless, IMO.

4. Oversized kitchen island within pissing distance of LR/GR. Imagine sitting on your sofa and being able to turn around and place your drink on the kitchen island or yank one of your bratty kids off a barstool for smarting off.

5. Two-tone kitchens. Mark my words, this will look dated in 5-10 years. All white cabinets and a dark stained island. Or all dark cabinets and a white island. By 2025 this will shout "2015."

6. Anything rose gold for finishes. Your bathroom faucet is not an iPhone.

7. Vessel sinks. These already look dated to me.

8. Subway tile. This isn't as big of a deal because ALL tile eventually looks dated. May as well get what you like because chances are it's gonna look dated at some point anyway.

1) Current house we have can lights nearly everywhere except of two kids rooms, that have ceiling light / fan combos. Every room also has task lighting can also turn on/off with the switch. Can not beat it. It is nice to have the options.

2) We have pendant lights, but NOT the long wire in the middle. These are fad.

3) FAD: Legrand adorne outlets and covers

4) Barn doors

5) The "Morning rooms", tucked to the side in addition to existing nook.

6) 8" tray ceiling. These used by nearly all production builders because of cost is only $300 to install them. They create illusion of the tray, while too short to be useful.

7) "Two-tone kitchens." - I though they were fad in 2006, but today I think it is there to stay. Two tones greatly improve mono chromatic look, make it look good for a seller on zillow and redfin. And this is what counts today.

8) I wish it would DIE: 16ft 32 sq panels O.H. garage doors. KILL IT PLEASE.

9) Vessel sinks.

10) Dual master bath. You know the one when builders posts "SAvE YOU MARRIAGE" his and hers toilet, shower, sinks.

2. Farmhouse sink in a house that is clearly NOT a farmhouse. I blame HGTV for this.

Yeah, I agree, though as an actual farm girl, I've never seen -- not even once -- an apron sink in a farm house. This is what old farmhouses -- including the one in which I grew up -- contain:

3. Sliding barn doors. Again, I blame HGTV. They can look nice in
certain homes that are super rustic or in a farmhouse, but most times
they just look silly and trendy. Pocket doors are more timeless, IMO.

Agreed. Barn doors are essentially pocket doors on the outside of the wall, and while that might be practical on a certain level, it's a look that isn't going to last. Pocket doors don't register anywhere on the trendy-scale.

7. Vessel sinks. These already look dated to me.

These have two advantages: They're super easy to install, and if you've crammed two sinks into the space where only one will actually fit, you can still have drawers underneath. Still, I don't see why anyone would want the extra cleaning ... and, yeah, the look. No thanks.

Good luck trying that because 100 years ago, classic floors were 2
1/2" (I think that was the size) floor boards in oak or maple. Before
that it was wide pine planks or whatever was indigenous to the area.
Nowadays everyone wants 5" or wider floor boards. So what is "classic"?

Yes, you've illustrated well how things do "come back around", but they don't come back in quite the same format. Today's white cabinets don't look like yesteryear's white cabinets. Today's schoolhouse lights don't look quite like yesteryear's schoolhouse lights. Etc., etc., etc.

But what do I know? I don't own a little black dress. I think they're dull.

mrs.pete - love that apron sink. My grandparents had one in their farmhouse as did a neighbor who also lived in a farmhouse. I have seen them on ebay occasionally and think one would look amazing in a new-build farmhouse!

Actually I'm putting in a vessel sink in our powder room. We bought this antique washstand and to the top of the marble, it's only 28" high so a vessel sink will help it not feel so short. Sometime's there are good reasons for doing something a certain way, but I agree that mostly it's just trendy.

And yes, a real farmhouse sink is like the one mrspete posted. The "farmhouse" sinks that are in favor now, do have their advantages in that you're closer to the front of the sink. Good if you're vertically challenged.

I wish it would DIE: 16ft 32 sq panels O.H. garage doors. KILL IT PLEASE

Oh I am so with you on that one Brian!

There are a couple of things we decided not to do that we're trends:

• Our kitchen has a peninsula and not an island
• Our master bath doesn't have a whirlpool tub--it has a double shower
• we put in a WBFP when gas was "the thing" (it does have a gas starter which the builders put in although we didn't ask for it and didn't pay for it--turns out to be really convenient)
• Laminate rather than granite countertops
• Front entry rather than side entry garage

There are a few things that are sort of trendy:

• ORB door levers and light fixtures (have had door levers rather than knobs for a long time (We put levers instead of knobs in a house 25 years ago, long before they were trendy and loved them)
• Rocker light switches (ditto on 25 years ago)
• Flat outlets (whatever they're called) (also did 25 years ago)
• Recessed can lighting--which I love even if they get a lot of hate here

This is what old farmhouses -- including the one in which I grew up -- contain:

Does this highback count?

Genuine refinished highbacks can be gotten for little more than reproductions.

(Just be sure your plumber has a strong back--the sinks weigh upwards of 300 lbs.)

Interesting thread.

Trendy and will not use:

• Vessel sinks and trough sinks
• Gold hardware (it was out for a while and now making a come-back?)
• Barn doors
• Rain shower heads (personal thing, I know many love one them)
• Wildly colored thin glass backsplash tile.
• Oddly colored tile used in shower nook or backsplash accent (see this all the time on Flip or Flop)
• Jetted tubs
• Tray ceils of any kind
• Decorative interior columns
• Pot filler

Trendy and will use (modern design home):

• Linear fireplace (will have the same in the outdoor patio to mirror the one inside)
• Metal and glass panel garage door
• Small fixed pane windows
• Legrand adorne rocker switches (Brian mentioned the outlets and I agree but love the switches)
• Dimensional tile (limited use)

We did our build 6 years ago. I like traditional, so pretty much the entire facade of our home is "off-trend" lol! Our neighborhood of custom homes is mostly 5000-6000 sq ft craftsmen or European styled homes. Ours is @3700 sq ft painted brick colonial. We did succumb to neighborhood trends in our front door, though. We did big mahogany double doors with 3/4 length divided light windows. It would have been more traditional to do a single painted door with an elaborate fan light and sidelights...but that would have really made our house not blend in! The mahogany is a good compromise.

I have white cabinets. I didn't think about trends when choosing those. I have always liked white cabinets...in our first little townhouse I painted the cabs myself(in the 90s.) In the production house we built we paid the $1000 up charge for white cabs. (Late 90's) I just like white cabs/wood floors! I didn't do shaker, though, which was the trend then. Just full overlay paneled doors.

On trend:

We're building modern, with a nod to mid-century modern, so that might seem on trend?

- Our last kitchen was dark grey with brass, leaning towards wood or white for this one, depending on floors, and still might choose matte brass. I love brass.
- Stainless steel appliances.
- Single bowl, apron sink. I hate double bowls. How do you wash your big pans?
- Open shelving. At barely 5'4", upper shelving is useless to me anyway.
- Large kitchen island.
- Open concept living.

- separate tub/shower in the master suite

- large mud/laundry room

- white everywhere (I don't like a lot of pattern or color)

Trends we're ignoring:

- shiplap everywhere (thanks, HGTV). I actually like this look, but it makes no sense in modern home in Hawaii.

- wallpaper - I see it making a comeback but we will probably forgo it as too fussy

- bathrooms for every room (it seems every new house we've seen has this? why?)

- barn doors (don't like them and I think they're on the way out anyway)

- granite (too busy, too dark)

- house larger than 2,500 sf

- enclosed attached garage (we have an open detached carport)

Actually I think omitting the master bath tub in lieu of a large walk-in shower is fast becoming on-trend so having a separate tub and shower is going off-trend! Tub goes in kids bath. People are realizing the large garden/jetted tubs take up a lot of space; are hard to step-crawl into; aren't useful for bathing kids or pets; thus are seldom used; and need a lot of maintenance if jetted.

On most cases (log house build here) I'm not sure exactly what is trend and what is good idea whatever.

I'm not doing white everywhere - bathroom fixtures are white, but that's about it. I'm not doing full open concept, but my build is semi open. I want walls. I want walls for upper cabs (I'm tall) and for artwork. And to lean bookshelves against.

And no stainless steel except where it cannot absolutely be helped. I don't like the factory look.

My favorite trendy idea, I have to admit, is the on-demand hot water. Yep, I'm doing that, and heated floors in the bathrooms. Since I'm hoping to age in place, my master bath will have a roll in shower, no tub. I think I can count on one hand the number of times I've actually taken a tub bath in the past 20 years. Not a trend, just being practical.

And yeah, the 50 pillows on a bed or a sofa trend -- no way. I have enough problems dealing with my personal clutter without having to invent more. All pillows must be functional.

Trends we won't be using:

White kitchen. I realize they've been around awhile, but they are so popular right now that people may think it's odd that I plan to have stained wood cabinets

Wood floors. While I love them, they aren't in the budget, and since they scratch easily, that would drive my husband nuts considering how much they cost. We'll have carpet in the bedrooms, upstairs hallway, office and living room, vinyl everywhere else.

Barn doors. I actually kind of like them, but I think they are on the way out.

Farmhouse sink

Open shelving in kitchen

Things we will have:

Greige walls, more on the gray side. I know I'm late to the party, but I hate tan, want neutrals on my walls, and have realized by looking at my wardrobe (thanks, Houzz) that I just like gray and cool colors. So there.

An island in the kitchen

1st floor master suite

Mudroom

Enclosed laundry room (but small)

Drop zone

I don't see why you would consider design features and materials fads when they have been used in homes for half a century. These things do change of course; recessed lighting is generally 4" in diameter rather than 6" and LED pin spots are miraculous; kitchen counters are now stone instead of plastic laminate which is good; and white cabinets are now sometimes vacuum plastic wrapped instead of painted which is not so good. The Romans used an under floor heating system called hypocaust; hydronic under floor heating works well in some locations but not in others.

In my practice I have never given a thought to what is currently popular nor have any of my clients seemed interested. It something you expect to hear from realtors and kitchen designers who see everything as a potential sale. I recommend you pay more attention to design and material quality than what others are using.

Who decides and pronounces what may be a "fad"? And who determines when something is "on the way out"? Can something be only partially "out", but still a little bit "in"?

Are the people who decide all this the same people who decide what the "color of 2017" is?

And as long as I'm at it, who names paint colors? I think I might be very good at it--I have some wonderful names to suggest...and I'm available at reasonable cost! Hurry, while I'm still mostly "in"...

This is something that causes me a little bit of stress. So far all of our houses have been built or renovated with the thought of resale in mind. That makes it a bit easier to go with fads because I'm not going to be the one living with them and being the in thing at the time, it makes the house more appealing to buyers. Now, it's for us. It makes it hard to say no to some trends that I love, but I'm not sure how I'll feel about them in 5 years.

1. What trends in construction or design did you decide to forgo or
reject altogether no matter how many articles by experts told you this
is the way?

We won't have barn doors. I do like the look, but that is one that I know I will get tired of down the road. It is temping for our entry closet, but so far I'm holding strong.

Huge pantry. They seem to be getting bigger and bigger. Personally I will have a large kitchen, with tons of storage, and a smaller pantry.

Multiple places to dine. We have no need for an island with bar stools, a dining table, and a breakfast nook. The first two will do for our daily needs. For other times we can rearrange to add more dining space. I realize this isn't probably consider a fad anymore and just the way things are, we still are going against the grain.

Arched windows. Again, probably not really considered a fad but certainly the norm. Personally I like more linear design and will stay away from arches.

Brass. I've seen a higher end builder say it's coming back. If it does I want it stay far away from my house.

Oil Rubbed Bronze bath fixtures. Still trendy in my area, still something I will avoid.

Multiple Islands. I'm going for one larger one rather than two smaller.

Farmhouse sink. I don't live in a farmhouse, no reason to try and make it seem like I do.

Wood look tiles. Not because I dislike them, DH even wanted them, but I'm a SAHM and think that would be hard to stand on all day.

2. What fads did you implement even so they are overused and may be
even pronounced as on the way out but they just make sense to you so you
are sticking by them?

Bigger laundry room. I really do think they will probably shrink back down in size at some point, but I make no apologizes for wanting my big room.

Gray walls. I have tried for almost 20 years to find a wall color I liked and failed. It wasn't until I finally looked at the trend and realized that a good chunk of my wardrobe is gray that it finally clicked. I love my gray walls and will have them in the next house.

Dark wood floors. I know all the issues, but they are pretty and DH is really excited about them. Since he gave up the wood look tile I'll give him this. If we can't live with it, then he gets the joy of redoing them.

White shaker cabinets. This has been the look that I've always been in love with. I'm excited that they are back in such a big way!

And the one maybe trendy item for me, a gray island. It's the one trendy element that I'm still not 100% sure of, and it's easy enough to change if I don't like it down the road. It's still TBA.

After much debate we did do dark brown/gray wood plank porcelain tiles. At first we thought they would be trendy but as we looked at engineered wood alternatives we realized that the finishes were very thin and easily damaged. We put a 2x3 sample board in the car's trunk over the weekend and by Monday there were scratches and nicks all over it! I decided we'd be disappointed within weeks or months and that it wouldn't stand up to 20 years of use. Personally my first preference was natural oak wood that better hides scratches but I got vetoed on color choice and dark it was to be. It's only been a month but so far I'm very glad we made the decision we did.

Our house was built in 1996 and has interior rounded arches and quarter round edges on all the 90 degree wall angles. We thought about taking it out during our remodel but decided that was over the top so we left it. I'm not wild about it would have been a lot of extra effort to replace.

I can see that the barn door fad has 'jumped the shark', to put it in entertainment terms. I saw a cheesy DIY kit at the big box store yesterday- a sure sign that a fad has been overdone. Luckily, ours is unique, with an antique door and antique hardware.

no recessed/can lighting except for very utilitarian areas w/standard ceilings-kitchen, bath(has other lighting too though), narrow hallway.

no automation. didn't know it was a trend-i thought it's something useful that i'm too dumb to use anyway. in general, me and technology don't do great together. my DH is very different; but he's too conservative to even want something like that.

are dimmers considered a trend? I highly doubt it; anyway we installed them everywhere, and I love them, versatility in mood and function, and less spending on electricity.

didn't do no claw foot/freestanding tub-love the look but not for me.

didn't do anything to make the home more open plan..on the contrary, partially closed the kitchen.

don't see the point in open plans except for when a house/apartment is large enough/belongs to a certain style. ours isn't.

did use quite a lot greiges/mushroom colors, and some taupes too-a) they are some of my most favorite colors b) it created a wonderful combo with the flooring-great contrast

did use subway tiles almost everywhere when needed-the alternative I loved was simply too expensive. no, they are not white. I stayed away from white in finished materials. I usually do, and this house especially wouldn't support it. I did use a color that sometimes looks almost white in one of my painting choices.

did go with Quartz (really wanted butcher block)

did go with wood flooring everywhere except for the bathrooms-didn't want to do it in the kitchen but all the other flooring seemed like an afterthought since the house is quite small and wanted to minimize the disruption in flooring.

did dare to mix metal finishes. not everywhere. that was scary:) but worked out just fine. I doubt anybody pays attention to it, but that's another story-only I know how brave I was, lol

added arches-I love round elements, my DH does even more so and the house clearly wanted them. we also rounded all the wall corners. We also built some rounded niches-luckily in a place nobody can see them but us, because the drywall team we got seemed like they battled their hard lives with substances, or something-straight lines were too hard for them, never mind niches. Finally one of the painters just took a day or two to finish things instead-he himself did a better job than this whole team. I understand this dry walling is a damn hard job; I just wish I knew not everybody is capable to do things they claim to be capable to do.I'd forego these stupid niches for example.

broke some rules, both ones that are quite widely accepted, and my own:)

Huge
pantry. They seem to be getting bigger and bigger. Personally I will
have a large kitchen, with tons of storage, and a smaller pantry.

I grew up on the farm, and we had a huge pantry -- everyone did. Older people who grew up without grocery stores often had an entire outbuilding called a pantry ... plus a pantry indoors, and they'd transfer food into the house as needed.

Of course, life has changed today, and we have access to food in multiple forms from multiple places ... so the huge pantry isn't a necessity in the same way it used to be a necessity, but that doesn't mean it isn't still a good idea. Reasons to have a big pantry:

- You have to have space for kitchen storage. A large pantry with simple, sturdy white shelves is as cheap as you can get storage. On the other hand, kitchen cabinets (plus expensive countertops) are one of the most expensive items in your house.

- In a pantry, your foodstuff, your small appliances, etc. are all laid out so you can see them at once -- and you can reach for exactly what you need. In contrast, when you store things in cabinets, things get lost in the dark recesses.

Bigger laundry room. I really do think they will probably shrink back
down in size at some point, but I make no apologizes for wanting my big
room.

Bigger, smaller ... what we all want is right-sized, and that's dependent upon how you plan to use your laundry room. Personally, though, I think location and layout can trump size.

didn't do no claw foot/freestanding tub-love the look but not for me.

I agree -- I love it, but I don't want the extra cleaning involved.

did go with Quartz (really wanted butcher block)

I'd like to have butcher block too, but I don't want the upkeep.

added arches-I love round elements,

Every time I see people on HGTV ripping out an arch, declaring it ugly, old-fashioned, out-dated ... I want to scream, "Send it to my house! I'll give it the love it deserves!"

- You have to have space for kitchen storage. A large pantry with
simple, sturdy white shelves is as cheap as you can get storage. On the
other hand, kitchen cabinets (plus expensive countertops) are one of the
most expensive items in your house.

- In a pantry, your foodstuff, your small appliances, etc. are all laid
out so you can see them at once -- and you can reach for exactly what
you need. In contrast, when you store things in cabinets, things get
lost in the dark recesses.

I definitely agree with the above; for years our second fridge/freezer remained in the garage, it will now have a place in the walk in pantry.

Bigger laundry room: I think layout and location/access to the master are key; I'm the one who moves dirty laundry from baskets in bedrooms to the laundry and cleaned/ironed stuff back to the WICs. I don't know if 16'x7' is big but the size works for us and is not a part mudroom unlike our previous home.

Mudroom: This will be our first home with an independent large mudroom connected to the garage though I still can't see myself bringing in dirty wellies.

Quartz: No decision yet though I'm in favor of granite if we can locate light colored slabs else be marble looking quartz. Butcher block in pantry for sure.

Arches: No more; arches are definitely out.

Automation: Definitely, as an engineer it would not be unusual to find extensive implementaion of technology and automation in our homes

Colors: Nothing unusal but I love high contrast. Our last two homes had magnolia walls with light and dark flooring; this one will have a very light grey throughout which will work fine with dark flooring. Exterior is basically black and white.

Formal rooms: This will be the first home I'll build or live in without formal living and dining rooms; don't know what we'll do with our beautiful dining, living room furniture and paintings, having no place in the new home. I always imagined the wide foyer walls be donned with our family history photos and paintings but DW says 'NO'; TBD

Garage/shop/media rooms: I'm always building something or listening/watching something 'really loud'. Though we had a large basement in our previous home, the ceilings/floors just could not handle the noise I made and the subs shook the whole home; late night movies/music had to be in night mode which is not fun. This home isolates media/bar/gym/garages from the master and other living areas giving me the freedom of making noise without disturbing others.

The jump in the size of pantries over the past 20 years coincided with shopping in bulk quantities at Costco/similar warehouse stores. There is a practical reason driving the change similar to how shopping changed when some of us were kids as grocery stores changed from mom/pop to corporate owned. Warehouse stores are a trend but I think they are here to stay for awhile so not a fad that will pass quickly.

Likewise I think the large laundry rooms are being driven to a small degree by open concept plans where people want to move ugly stuff out of the public kitchen into a more private laundry room. Also, I think most of us would agree we have more "stuff" in our homes today than we did when we were kids so need a place to try to organize it attempts at being minimalists have not been successful.

Stan, You are so correct about pantries. I'm guilty of not being a minimalist. The new generation tends to be minimalists, more so driven by technology, smaller homes, change and desire to have the latest.

We'll see how minimalist some of the new generation is once they are in their 40s/50s with teenagers and 30 years of adult life behind them. Life happens despite our best intentions. It's common for the younger generation to vow to be different than our parents but years later we've become our parents! Please note that we are talking about trends so yes there is some generalization. Some individuals will always be different.

Funny- we're the most minimalist that we've ever been, now that the nest is empty. We stored all of our stuff in the barn while we furnished the new house, and stopped when we were satisfied. There's a lot less stuff, a LOT less. Now, to do something about all of that stuff in the barn...

(wouldn't call the desire to have the latest anything even remotely minimalist..

StanZ..

in our last house, the pantry was tiny relative to the size of the house. I used to try to figure out how to put in a bigger one until I realized I never even filled it up! Mentally, I just knew I should have a good sized pantry but I barely buy any dry goods. In our new kitchen, we won't have any pantry. I will miss just going into one space and taking inventory of everything I own, but I'll also like having my goods in cabinets closer to where I'll use them. Now, I would love to have a laundry room 3x the size of what we're doing!

Building for the Cats, when our builder asked us what we wanted in the new home, he just assumed I wanted a laundry room and a pantry. When I told him a pantry was just a small closet and I was fine with a laundry closet, he looked at me like I had 3 heads.

Then when his draftsman drew up the first plans, (which looked nothing like what we had discussed), sure enough there was a big laundry room and a walk in pantry. (It went downhill from there with the draftsman. LOL)

A trend I really wanted to use: barn doors on two closets. They'd work fine in log homes. I loathe pocket doors after having noted folks who had to rip out sheetrock to repair them.

Because the electrician plumbed in the electric in spots not advantageous for either barn or pocket doors (during the period I couldn't drive to my site due to broken ankle), I've had to punt. I'm not sure of the style of door I'm now having to go with is called, but it will work. I won't be as happy, but it will work.

It appears that oil rubbed bronze was trendy when I started the building process, and not so much now, but hey, ORB goes nicely with log construction, so piffle on trends. *I* like it!

It is interesting to read how everybody tries to adjust their homes to how the live and what they plan to do. I just thought of one more thing that is written down as a good design principle that was not important to me. Reducing walking distances in work areas. When I am at home I tend to not walk much. Building a house with a built-in feature that increases walking was a conscious decision. Unorthodox but makes sense to me in what I am trying to accomplish.

The current fad of the color gray....yuck! It's very sterile and cold, reminds me of what I envision a prison would look like. Another fad that I think already looks very dated is a vessel sink (not to mention, gaudy).

Current fads we will not be going with:

Open floor plan. I just don't like them. I am not a fan of the entire living areas being in one big space. I don't want to be looking at dishes in the kitchen sink while I'm trying to relax in the family room.

Big bathrooms. I don't get a big bathroom. It's not a place I want or need to relax, not to mention cleaning bathrooms is a terrible chore in my opinion. I want as little surface area in that room to clean as possible.

Fads we will go with:

Wood floors throughout. Although, I'm not sure how much of a fad this is. Wood floors have been in houses since the colonial era.I'm thinking of going with wide planked white pine. I really like how pine ages with such character.

Quartz counter tops. I'm choosing quartz due to durability and very little maintenance. I'm going to chose a style that resembles soapstone.

The color gray. I love warm grays in all shades.

Beadboard, board & batten, or other styles of wainscoting. I just really like how it looks and it's easy enough for us to install and give some interest to a room.