When I was a child, I found a small book my mother had on Early American houses. REAL Early American houses and their historic furnishings! This was the beginning of a decade of America's love with Ethan Allen Early American pieces done in mable, and tons of Cape Cod houses that had huge pictures windows (their designers never having seen a true Cape in New England in their lives!). I wanted pine and a canopy bed. I got a pine bed and double dresser but they came from the local "railroad salvage" store (local headquarters of the Santa Fe railroad in town). Yes, even at age 10, I was disappointed.

When I got to college, I discovered "shelter" magazines and fell in love with french-styled rooms with fabric covered walls and tented ceilings. I longed for such! I did get a "french wrought iron daybed" - in fact, it was an antique french child's hotel bed. I could never afford the number and kind of pillows to make it even remotely comfortable to sit on it, but I loved it. It later became DD's bed when she climbed out of there crib at 17 months and was too little for a regular bed - it held a crib bed perfectly. Later, it provided a home for her gazillion stuffed animals. Then it went to the basemen, dismantled. I had SIL put it together about 12 years ago, and it's perfect as a place for my dogs to sit when I'm on the computer/ironing/doing laundry.

I moved on from my "french" phase, and then wanted what I guess could best be called "good taste, upper class traditional". I had the taste, but not the upper class income so lots of make-do and being clever. I was quite good at "making a silk purse out of a sows ear"!

By the time I moved to LA in 1981, I was falling in love with anything Mario Buatta did and the entire English Country House look. I embraced it all and had a lot of bows behind pictures. By then, I had the money for some very nice English antiques and some very good chintz.

The bows have been gone now for about 15 years, except the one above DD's portrait in my LR, over my sofa. It just belongs there and looks so pretty. The others are gone, except for a couple of small ones over pictures flanking the huge chinoiserie gilt mirror over my dressing table. I still have a few valances, but I no longer have a workroom I trust to do elaborate valances, plus I've had to make my peace with the fact that my house is NOT in the UK, nor is it an English cottege or a grand Georgian manor house - it's a 1948 higher end subdivision custom built 1 1/2 story house, and the first floor has 8 ft ceilings (made them 9' on the 2nd floor when we added a full dormer).

The biggest change for me has been in my kitchen. I loved a "country" look in my St Louis kitchen, and even a bit of it in LA - stuffed real chicken sitting on a "nest" in a basket on the counter. Who knew that cheap Chinese crappola (thank you Sophie!) taxidermy was prone to getting LICE! Yikes!!!! Couldn't get that sucker out of my kitchen fast enough! My first KY house's kitchen was a bit more chic, but I still liked old pitchers with utensils in them on the countertops. It was more "English country" than "US country". Next, it became more neutral and sleek, but I got color with a couple of nice oriental rugs - still had quite a bit of stuff on my countertops. As of 2 years ago, it's now very traditional (painted Shaker cabinets), but quite calm and neutral (Repose Gray), and pretty sleek. Pull-out for all my utensils, bare hardwood floors, peaceful.

I can say that there have been no mistakes, either expensive or cheap. My taste has been consistent enough to avoid that. In the 1950's, I detested the mid-century modern house my parent's closest friends built. It had Herman Miller colorful fiberglass chairs, an Eames chair, and a sofa that was uncomfortable. Today, I would appreciate it for what it was, and I love the Eames chair - have promised DGS1 one for college graduation present.

What I've come to realize is that I love GOOD DESIGN. It doesn't matter what era or country's style it is - if the design is good, it's attractive, even if I might not chose to live in it. I've also discovered that good design can be very flexible and it "plays well with others" that have good design themselves.

Only my taste in architecture has really changed, because now I appreciate and understand modernism. My design taste is eclectic, but I would also call it "appropriate" for lack of a better word, because I like the primary furniture style to work with the house. What I am doing in this house is not exactly what I would do in a Tudor revival.

Anglo, your story about the stuffed chicken is too funny : ) .

I grew up (and its still my mum's home) in an old, used to be mostly true to period, Victorian house. Original fireplaces, original wooden beams etc etc even original dingy tiny old kitchen!

Through the year's of growing up there I longed for the sleek and modern houses/walls/ceilings and especially kitchens I saw on tv and in friends houses.

In my teens my mum had a big renovation and got a sleek and modern (and bigger) kitchen. Pulled out the fireplaces and fixed the walls. The ceiling beams were left up and painted over.

At that time I jumped for joy. Yay our house was getting with the times and I'd no longer be ashamed to bring friends over to our "old" house.

Jump to now and I could shed actual tears over the original features that were ruined in my childhood home. I think back now and fondly remember all the super antique/vintage pieces of furniture my dad would buy (vintage was his love) to furnish the house. How I used to be SO embarassed when he came home with another piece of "junk".... And what I wouldn't give up now to have the same pieces of "junk".

Life has taught me they were not junk. And my interests have evolved enough to appreciate the beauty of 'old'.

Hu200

I've also learned that the colours I favour in my outfits, or hair or just my general favourite colours, don't have to be on my home walls! Or decor. Or rug.

I can have favourite colours and they can remain favourites; whilst I paint the walls a colour I'd never refer to as a favourite of even as a like... But I can do it because it works.

So I'm trying to say I've learnt what colours I like in general (or don't like) doesn't have to be represented on the walls/decor.

Hu200

I do traditional so oddly my tastes haven't changed much because I think traditional is classic. The things I liked 10 or 15 or 20 years ago are still the things I like today, but with a more current interpretation. I like dark neutral colors. I like rich textures. I like some glam and some crystal bling. I like mirror. I like symmetry. I like drama in a space. I think probably what has changed is that my tastes and my style have grown as I've grown, and I think my style has refined and matured as I have and hopefully is more sophisticated than when I was younger.

Hmmm does our taste change or does the amount of discretionary spending at our disposal change? My present home certainly looks different than the first one, but our income is different so we can afford more of what we love?

My taste has been very consistent through the years. I like antique or accurately made reproduction furniture from the American Colonial or British Georgian or Queen Anne periods. Like Windsor chairs, rustic cherry or pine woods, French polish cherry, tea tables, tavern tables, double pedestal dining tables, drop-leaf and gateleg tables. I've always liked Jacobean and Tree-of-Life prints, toile de Jouy, blue and white Chinoiserie, plaids, large scale checks, and any fabric or wallpaper with a hand-printed look. I've always been drawn to a blue and red palette with touches of green.

Some of my favorite designers are Rita Konig, Mark D. Sykes, Penny Morrison, Sarah Bartholomew, and the old stand-bys Bunny Williams, Dan Carithers, Charlotte Moss, and Charles Faudree (RIP). The classic architect Gil Schaefer can do no wrong in my book.

As long as it's quality furniture and fabric, I never feel like it's out of date.

For many clients , I know it's a bit like food. If you only would go to restaurants that served burgers when you were twenty, and there was no end to the number of those you could consume with fries of course? A few decades later, you realize you love to eat most everything! Just a whole lot less of the everything. And you realize you haven't had a burger in 18 months.........

Thus you realize you can like a lot of styles, as long as they are well done, edited, finer. You realize you've acquired the patience to wait for the right thing, and no longer stress over a little empty wall, a room waiting for just the right rug. Add to that , you have learned to simply say NO. No to excess, no to granny who wants to gift you with something you don't love......and no to the idea your home must mirror that of a good friend, or whatever graced the page of the latest shelter magazine. You grow up, and so does your home, even when it means your home got younger, lighter, leaner. That is the beauty of growing up.

I love this topic!

Ultimately my style is still the same. Traditional. There have been flashes of the 1980s French Country, or a peek of Craftsmans style or wisk of Modern and dashes of Victorian... But when it comes to my kitchen I love the timeless white kitchen with little changes to match the current style. The movie and tv kitchen sets are what influenced me the most. THe rest of my house is traditional with a hint toward transitional or modern.

The Big Chill Movie set is sooo much like my kitchen now..

Practical Magic

love those dark floors

Modern Family ... Love the art in the kitchen with lots of white..

Love the white

Diana, your post made me realize what a useful exercise answering this question -- in addition to favorite furniture, fabrics, designers, even palette (and whether one can spell it correctly!) -- would be for someone looking for an ID.

You realize you've acquired the patience to wait for the right thing, and no longer stress over a little empty wall, a room waiting for just the right rug ... and no to the idea your home must mirror that of a good friend, or whatever graced the page of the latest shelter magazine.

Jan, this is very true. Though there are a lot of people who never learn this no matter how much growing up they do! I think reinforcing these lessons is some of the most important work that the professionals and talented amateurs do on here. These are the tools you can use no matter what your taste or style is.

I’m glad I’m not the only person who’s aesthetic has changed dramatically lol. Some of my older phases I’ll be happy to repress & deny their ever having occurred, but some I’ll never be able to let go of 100%. For example, no matter how far I may swing towards modern decor in the future (hopefully not too far..), I’ll always appreciate bamboo shades & mango wood. *To be fair though, this is mostly because these tend to be the easiest components to blend with other pieces and styles*

I‘m noticing a trend of being initially put off by modern design & then warming up to it over time. I wonder why that is?

Corinne it may be because it has never really been as popular as it is now. I would hazard to guess it also one of the most popular styles with young people. When old people and seeing it everywhere at the moment chances are it may change in some way in the near future. I blame Mad Men for the start of the craze. Haha

For example, no matter how far I may swing towards modern decor in the future (hopefully not too far..), I’ll always appreciate bamboo shades & mango wood.

That's the universality/magic of bamboo shades : ) . And mango wood has a special warmth, whether it's in a table or a bowl.

My style has always been traditional, though more recently I've come to appreciate modernism a lot more. Still wouldn't want to live in a modern house, though.

When I was a kid I was super into gothic and gothic revival styles. Now I'm very much into Victorian architecture and design, namely Eastlake stuff. Then my husband and I bought a Victorian house that's largely in its original state, and that was basically like pouring gasoline on the flame of my Victorian fancying.

My traditional bent comes from growing up in a traditional style house full of family heirloom furniture, some of which has been in the family for over a century. The concept of furniture being design statements as transient and disposable as seasonal fashion is utterly foreign to me. With my family, it's the furniture (and sometimes the house itself) that dictates the style. I think I'm the only member of my milennial generation who's really friggin' excited to inherit my great great grandmother's dining room set and make the dining room work with it - already mostly there with the fireplace, coffered ceiling, and dentil molding.

I've been pretty consistent, I think, in my love for #1 shaker farmhouse (ie, simple, clean lines), #2 1920-1930s era homes, and #3 19th century victorians . I didn't try to shoehorn farmhouse style into my 1929 "Spanish" stucco though.

I have always also found items from places like Pier One that seem to fit in (like the matchstick blinds on my stucco's kitchen windows) I have found that I tend to keep my base furnishings (sofa, chairs, lamps) pretty traditional yet I am eclectic in single items like the china cabinet, desk, bedroom set, end tables (some of which are hand-me-downs) and so forth.

ETA I have changed in one big way, though; when younger I really thought most mid century to modern architecture was really ugly. I still think a heck of a whole lot of it is, but I now appreciate the balance and beauty of FL Wright inspired design, when it is done well.

My style has been all over the place. Now I go for simple, lots of color, easy to dust, and most importantly, full of sun and light.

Well..the more I live the more I love. I agree with Jan..and others.

You're exposed to new things, you learn about something, you travel somewhere, you move-in or away even-you start appreciating it..or looking at it differently..you find new layers, new depth..you start understanding things in a context..

Main things never changed..always eclectic I'd say..working with a house is paramount as they all are so different ..I drag with me things that connect me to places and people(books,art, things found on travels).. have an obsession with flora and fauna-that started in my childhood, and never went away..(I suspect I compensate over my inability to work in a related field-was my dream when a kid..then we started Organic Chemistry..)))

preference for soft lines..muddier, warmer colors..I love too many colors though , so my dream exercise would be trying playing with dark and light, achromatic mostly space..but I highly suspect I'd fail..

With art-I started appreciating modern art more..photography..not that I buy it-but I definitely stop and stare..I started being heavily into portraits-I was afraid of them before, and if I had any they were pretty abstract..now we've quite a lot..family finds some unsettling..

I always loved things that were cute one might say.."cute" moved to "weird"..on some invisible scale..

In short, I'm less afraid

and I developed strange liking to vessels..))

I collect netsuke, very very slowly..only animals..now, I'm also into teapots

Netsuke are very expensive

Teapots, I can afford, but they take much more space))

So I can't fully indulge myself

With netsuke, because they are expensive, With teapots, because I've nowhere to display them in a way I'd like to.. And with portraits, because my family doesn't fully share my growing obsession..

Yes, I also have to have negative space. As much as I like art..

That's a challenge.

and I have a strange aversion to full symmetry. I appreciate it, and obviously it can be very important when comes to architecture, but in terms of decor, something has to be off for me..not aligned..messed up..odd numbers..never repeating throw pillows. (I love throw pilows and throws. A bit too much. I use them all too. I'm always cold. lol)

So. Some things changed..evolved..found expression..

core stuff is pretty consistent though..

We didn't have books or magazines on decor and design when I was a girl

I started reading them much later.

It's not that I wasn't interested-I always loved galleries etc. Homes were very interesting to me. Always. We moved a lot though. More than I wanted. You try to make every place your home, because it's the smartest thing to do, or so I was taught, and I learned it myself to be true. When you don't try, on purpose, it becomes worse. But uncertainty takes its toll.

The main push in my growing interest, I believe, came though from observing people's behavior in different settings..

I listened to series of lectures about that. My interest peaked..I started noticing, more and more..

then it so happenned that I moved, yet again, and had to start afresh, once again

So then, also because I found it calming I suppose, I started reading-more and more, starting from decor advice and then going to deeper level-styles, architecture, historical and geographical contexts, a bit of art history, colors...

I've quite a collection already. Which also takes a lot of space. I dont buy them all, or don't keep them all, yet it's still growing..even though I became much more selective

That post was supposed to be three times shorter. sorry..

In the college dorm: We gots no money, so no opinion, we just get by. (I did try making curtains one year for my dorm window, but having absolutely no clue about fabric, I ended up with some hideous stretchy stuff. The curtains were thankfully ditched (by me) at the end of that school year. Hey. I tried... !

My mid-80's to 1991 condo: Popcorn ceilings, which I hated even then, but the condo was affordable. Big reno: removing wallpaper in the one and only bathroom. This gave me a lifelong aversion to wallpaper. I spent most of the décor efforts my first few years there growing flowers, herbs and veggies in my small front yard, until the Neighbor from Hades moved in above. I knew he'd trash the place, so I stopped maintaining it. I also had the theory that a bedroom was simply for sleeping, so I took the smaller of the two bedrooms, reserving the larger as a workshop area... not realizing that this turned out to be a great idea when the Neighbor from Hades upstairs decided that turning his TV to top volume in HIS bedroom every night would play havoc on me. I was under the other room... still not fun, but it was better than if I'd taken the usual Master Bedroom location for sleeping.

I escaped to a ranch in 1991. NO NEARBY NEIGHBORS! NO PUTATIVE COKE DEALERS!

I was still highly budget minded, and my furniture was tag sale, grandparent leftovers, and similar. The public rooms were painted white when I moved in, and except for the kitchen, I left them that way. Bedrooms and baths were grey, and I changed out that depressive feature to various pastels ASAP. Kitchen went "Country White and Blue" for several years, then "Tequila Sunrise" for the last several. Beyond that, I kept thinking... Price. I kept thinking... I wanna MOVE.

Up here in my new home, I'm finally stretching my own interests. I do like some of the older "brown" furniture, and am keeping those items I DO like and am divesting myself of the rest. My home is log, from a kit I could modify prior to building, and the kitchen especially reflects modification to a seriously positive degree. I'm not really a standard pastel person after all -- I used SW's Global Spice color scheme to build my colors around, here. Not going these days for basic pastels.

I'm spreading my wings, and have truly enjoyed picking out colors, tiles, and wood flooring. I am totally in love with my (ahem, die!!!) accent wall!

Since I have no interest in gold-inlayed whatsits, or many other do-dads, I am now happy to live in a home that reflects how I want to live, and will do most or at least many of the décor elements I love.

I was just thinking about how my style has changed a ton in the last two decades. I used to obsess over having every nook and cranny decorated (think Hobby Lobby and Home Goods threw up in my house). I couldn't wait to afford the next "piece" to fill up all the space. Now, at turning 40, I can afford it but no longer want it. I just want something easy to clean, easy to take care, not cluttered, but looks nice. I'm even coming to appreciate MCM/ranch architecture and a "less is more" decorating style.

Here is an example of my "inspiration" for my LR from Mario Buatta, 34 years ago.

And here is my LR.

Easy to see what inspired me. It would never have occurred to me that I could put furniture in front of the bookcases as there are cabinets below. Duh! Just put stuff in them that one wants to keep but does not need easy access to! My LR would have been very hard to place furniture in if I hadn't seen this photo. It's not wide enough to have a sofa facing the fireplace, the previous owners had the sofa on the wall with two windows, covering half of each window (not a good look!). But a sofa on this wall with nothing next to it on the bookcase end or in front of them, would not have been welcoming and would have been awkward.

Over the past 34 years, the color of the walls has changed - I had dragged them in a light coral when we moved in. It was lovely at night, but heinous in the daytime with the east light. Bought this Nina Campbell wallpaper in London while visiting DD spent a year in boarding school in the UK. Love it as much today as I did when I bought it in 1991!!! Sofa has changed - old fabric got clawed on one arm by cats, and had faded. Restyled it (posted 2nd picture at xmas to show the style of the sofa - it has a "laid-back, rolled arm" - very English and very elegant. I recovered it in a linen/cotton velvet and added the deep bullion trim at the bottom.

A Pembroke table has always been at the end of the sofa. Until about 13 years ago, it was always a 1940's one my parents had. It was mahogany and was fine except it had those awful metal folding hinges under the table wings - very ugly when sitting next to the fireplace and staring straight at them. So, I found this lovely early 19th century one - much nicer. The simple x-style bench was one I found at a local antique mall. The legs were in terrible shape so I painted them black (matte) and picked out the details in a matte gold. It had its original needlepoint cover but it finally fell apart and I put this fabric on it.

The club chair has always been covered in same material as the curtains - I'm on my 2nd set - got this print nearly 13 years ago. It's Lee Jofa's famous "Hollyhock" in linen - been a favorite of mine for nearly 40 years.

Two other chairs in this room have changed. I used to have a Martha Washington chair across the doorway from the print chair - re-covered twice due to cat damage. When I redid the library 18 years ago, it got moved into that room and yet another cover. A small-scale wing chair is now in the LR, slipcovered with a scalloped edge.

The same material is used on another full-size, more "blocky" wing chair next to the fireplace - you can use see the corner of it. It has a skirt that shows some leg but it's scallops are at the corners only. This was some cheap Waverly fabric ($14.99@ yd) that I finally found that worked in this room! The chair at the fireplace replaces a club chair with loose back cushion that was slipcovered in a cream matellasse fabric with matching ottoman. It looked a bit too "bedroomy" when the sofa was covered in velvet, so it ended up in DD's old room upstairs. Both these wing chairs had been my mothers and after she died, went to our Maine apt with some lovely slipcovers for 10 years.

So the room has "evolved", not really changed. I had a dhurrie rug in her until my my mother died. Never dreamed this rug of her (taupe background) would work in a room with yellow walls! it was a dept store hand knotted, made-in-India rug that my parents bought in Springfield, MO at Herrs Dept store (long gone). I was astounded that it worked so well in the room - all the colors are in it. Would I have bought this rug? Probably not, but I'd get little if I sold it and can't afford a $25,000 antique oriental for this room. It really works quite well!

The best rooms are the ones that DO evolve over the years! When a room is all done at the same time, there is a contrived - "staged" - quality to it. Think hotel lobby/country club lounge - all re-done at the same time, but neither truly lived in. A house should be "lived-in" and reflect it's owners on evolution. I was 41 when we bought this house; I'm now 75. I've aged (wouldn't evolved sound SO much better?) and changed in some ways, but am fundamentally the same person I was then. The same should be what happens to a house.

Of course, when one moves every 5-7 years, and buys all new furniture for their new house and wants a "new look", this never happens. I always wonder if they have changed that much, too? New husband? New family? Hmmm.....

Rooms to go matching furniture mixed with hand me downs and cheap decor, to Better quality, neutral pallet. Now still evolving, but leaning more minimal and modern. Starting over in a new (older) home, so a work in progress for now!

Home: before and after · More Info

Home: before and after · More Info

My Home Pics · More Info

My Home Pics · More Info

My taste in home decor has simplified. I like many different styles but now accept that I can admire things without actually owning them. Definitely less is more. What hasn't changed -- at all -- are my color preferences. I am drawn to the same warm neutrals and autumn colors I've loved since high school.

My style has for many years now been English country house, my much more modest version of it of course, colored by my love of animals, paintings and antique Chinese porcelain, and a great affinity for that combination of grandeur and comfort that no one can pull off as effortlessly as the English. Comfort is paramount but I need the stimulus of color and beauty around me to feel grounded. There are books in almost every room, and tons of paintings and porcelain. I don't know anyone who decorates in this style in real life, and it for sure is not everyone's cup of tea, but it feels absolutely right for me. I've tried to cultivate a more eclectic and edgy style because I admire that in other people's rooms, but it's obviously not me because I always return to that same baseline of comfort and beauty combined that characterizes the style that spells home for me.

my style hasn’t changed too much, when i was really young i alternated between coveting fancy, stuffy furnishings, maybe i was interested in historical decor, and ‘modern’ (50s/60s/70s stuff) i grew up with a lot of antiques, and had grandparents who were interior decorators, the furniture in my home is a mix of heirlooms and kitsch, never felt super compelled to keep up with trends but then neither did i have a budget to do so, i just embraced what was made available to me be that a deco men’s wardrobe or a bookshelf my hubby made out of turn of the century trim we had salvaged, i did abandon my grocery store goose print plates a long time ago (from the 80’s or 90s)

God....... Decades ago I used to use my own place like a darn laboratory. But when you do it all day, every day for the others paying you.........................?

One day you look around and realize you became the shoemakers kid? Coupled with every great "find" you find for yourself, gets hauled out to go live happily in someone else"s home. But ask me about sheets. I AM the sheet expert lol. I'm a damn GOLDILOCKS of sheets....pillows, duvet fill in down, feather beds.....just ask.

From wallpaper to NO wallpaper...EVER again.

From lots of DECORATIVE items to only things that are MEANINGFUL or FUNCTIONAL.

From MATCHING rooms to BLENDING together the things we LOVE.

From OVERLY decorated to SIMPLE and uncluttered.

P.S. JAN aka GOLDILOCKS...I need some good- to- luxury quality, crisp feeling, cool sheets that wash well. Any brand suggestions?

Thank you for such a wonderful topic! And no smarmy remarks about....How could you like that??

My tastes have been basically the same. Just some tweaking here and there.

Traditional -----------> refined traditional. I love my living room and dining room!! Peach is coming back!

Casual -------------> refined/defined casual. Non kitschy beach theme in the family room.

Feelings evoked by each room and their totally different decorating styles!!!

I KNOW each room should match....NOT!! How boring! Each of my rooms are decorated totally different and I would not have it any other way.

Boxerpal's kitchens made me smile. I have the kitchen I have been longing for and every day I walk into my kitchen and it takes my breath away!!

Anglophilia's LR made me swoon!! And yet, I have a bounce house that I set up in the living room for the grand kids....after pushing all the furniture back out of the way!!

Jan's advice about purging made me go thru and get rid of a lot of "stuff" and is making me rethink about who is going to take all this stuff when the time comes??? And do I really need all this "stuff"???

Redoredone's list could be my list. It is what I have been doing for several years!!

I actually like blank walls!! Calming.

I suppose I have become less and less influenced by what is in style. Which was never all that much. I get up watching This Old House and New Yankee Workshop with Dad. And shopping Chesaning with him back when it was an antique Mecca. So, quality was always a prime consideration. I like things a little refined, but not stuffy. And now with children on the Autism spectrum... Hardy, as well. Like einportlandor, what hasn't much changed is color preference. I still gravitate to soft blues and greens. Often with highlights of red or navy. And I make a greater effort now to consider how we live in the house, not just how it looks.

I also think our access to decor has become so available. Here on houzz, we are constantly introduced to many different designs and it has opened new doors for us. I have always lived In Massachusetts, where homes are typically traditional, be they Colonials, Capes, Greek Revival, Victorian. We would be hard put to find a Craftsman or a Modern house. So, that’s what we saw…braided rugs, Persians, hardwood floors, mahogany and cherry furniture, wallpaper, etc and that’s the way we decorated. I was familiar with brands like Henredon, Kittinger, Baker, etc. I would never have walked into Roche-Bobois or Design Within Reach to look around.

Now I am fascinated with true modern. I like the clean, sleek lines and sophisticated simplicity. Something I will give a try in my next life.

I also think our access to decor has become so available. Here on houzz, we are constantly introduced to many different designs and it has opened new doors for us.

I think for designers and others who follow design, that's true, but I think for most people who don't think beyond what they see on HGTV or Pinterest, the small stores that started as one-offs or small local chains but then became national chains (Crate + Barrel, Pottery Barn, Williams-Sonoma), and then steady march across the North American by all these chains (including West Elm, Z Gallerie, Restoration Home, HomeSense, etc.) have led to an increasing homogenization of what's available and also what people want.

Add in HGTV and Pinterest, and you have a lot of lemmings who all want the same thing. For example, chevron, Sea Salt, and modern farmhouse style.

And too, I think previously there was also better quality available at lower price points.

Corinne, thanks for starting this thread : ) . Lots of fun and also lots to think about!

My design style hasn't changed much since our first home. I would never have white furniture with white carpet again but that's a 3 kids and multiple dogs learning curve. I still appreciate straight lines, tons of natural light, and nothing ornate. I've gotten lazy through the years and have eliminated most table top decor (except of course Halloween and Christmas). When someone is visiting and admires something I typically give it to them. Let them appreciate it and clean it in their home :)

Ha! Yes. . No to "tablescapes.". They are Tokyo and my youngest is Godzilla.

I suppose I also feel like things don't have to match, anymore. I can work things together into a coherent whole without it needing to be from a "set". I think some of that comes from integrating vintage items with new.

I find that I am still drawn to the same warm, earth-tone color palette after some 40 years of designing my own spaces. I have always loved the visual calm of symmetry and still do. My design asthetic has shifted slightly from traditional to a bit more transitional. I also appreciate a 'less is more' approach now. As someone posted upthread, I am comfortable embracing negative space. Ironic isn't it...now that I can afford more stuff, I want less!

Ha, melinda, great observation! Regarding your color preferences, it may be more difficult to find anything in an earth-tone palette, but it can be done. I say stick to your guns, the blue/gray overload will change eventually!

Generally, my taste has been pretty consistent (tragic, but still consistent) with two notable exceptions. First, I care less what others think. I used to ocassionally get caught up in wanting others to like my house, so I embraced a few trends I otherwise would have skipped. Now, I spend zero energy thinking about what others think. Second, I care more about comfort and ease than appearance. For example, I used to hate big, fluffy Jabba the Hutt style recliners. Now, their comfort level means has won me over. Additionally, I used to favor beautiful tile shower surfaces. Now, my dream bathroom is easy to clean solid surface.

Now that I am considered to be "elderly", my favorite style is easy to clean, simple and uncluttered, and spare and utilizing what ever I have instead of buying anything else, ever.

I don't feel compelled to recreate any "style". This is just life-----lifestyle. I could not care any less about conforming to anybody's ideal of anything. I am surrounded by the things of my life, photos of my grand kids, some small personal tidbits, etc.--- but only those that retain some real meaning, not the junk and inconsequential clutter.

Also, I am not interested in status stuff or trying to make someone believe that my suburban tract house is a modern farmhouse or transported from some Mediterranean villa.

Now get off my lawn!!!!!

Yep, Diane, you're right. I must say that a number of years ago, in an effort to get out of my box a bit, I painted my entry hall a blue-grey color. It was a lovely color but just not me. I have given it several years to grow on me, but alas and alac, I will be repainting soon.

Oh, if talking about colors, another place that I have been very consistent -- Navajo White. I have used a Navajo White somewhere in nearly every house I've owned, although from different brands and so they are different colors (my current is Behr, which is a yellowish, previous was Glidden, which was more green, used another brand in a bath which was a pinkish). I think what they all have in common is they are somewhat muted, complex shades. That must be what I liked about Martha Stewart paint colors also.

My taste hasn't change in certain ways over the years. I am (and have been) in favor of clean lines, symmetry, simplicity, and plans that function seamlessly. I very much favor contemporary design, including but not limited to the Modern Style.

what has change over the years is the materials and paletts that I use, (one can only do
so much stainless, polished chrome, white shaker, absolute granite, and subway tile for so long) As new, exiting, environmentally friendly, more efficient and diverse materials surface, we as designers have the responsibility to embrace and incorporate such innovations in new projects, at the same time appreciating and incorporating skilled manual labor and old traditions of building that do not collide with the same idea.

Green is still my favorite color and always will be. I still like the same colors I put in my coloring books as a kid. Color is important to me and always will be.

I grew up with "mid century modern" but we called it "post-war tract homes".

So I dont like any of that.

I still favor traditional styles and a certain amount of "layering" (that does not feel like clutter to me). If a room is very minimal I feel like I have to immediately put a sweater on.

However I have changed a little...

I have stopped feeling like I have to decorate every wall and every table.

I have stopped putting green everywhere.

^ I know what you mean about wanting to put a sweater on. That’s a good way to describe the cold, sterile feeling.

To me, it looks very doctor’s officey

JAN MOYER, I smiled at your GOLDILOCKS of sheets comment. Do you have a favorite brand of sheets that you can recommend? I like a crisp cool feeling sheet that washes well and I could sure use some expert advice. Thanks!

I am another one whose taste has not changed, at all. I have spent the past few days since this query was put up wondering if I was being honest with myself. Surely something has changed over the years, but it hasn't. My horizons may have broadened, I may have seen more things, but the style I like is capacious and has always accommodated that kind of eclecticism. I have not pared down my aesthetic as many have. I was brought up in a family with very strict feelings about overcrowding surfaces and the need for space around beloved objects- my grandmother was more sparse than my mother, but neither could abide jumbles of things.

I still have the art I bought as a young teenager at small exhibit at Rizzoli in NYC. I was very proud of my purchase. I love him as much now as I did then, maybe more for all the time he and I (it's a small portrait) have spent together.

There are fashion items that enter my house and then leave eventually, I suppose. I had some very pastel/Miami Vice colored cereal bowls from Williams-Sonoma in grad school. I would not have those today- they are very late 80s early 90s and not in a Memphis kind of way. I could imagine picking something like those up again, but according to today's whims, like the ubiquitous bamboo handled cutlery I see on everyone's IG (turns out that flatware costs way more than I would spend on a fashion item, for me, but if it were cheaper, I might have gotten some.)

like the ubiquitous bamboo handled cutlery I see on everyone's IG (turns out that flatware costs way more than I would spend on a fashion item, for me, but if it were cheaper, I might have gotten some.)

Ha, Rita! I have some -- I picked them up in the US about 10 years ago, I think at a TJ Maxx, or maybe even Gumps*. They're the Cambridge Silversmiths version with resin handles, nowhere near as nice as the Juliska or French ones, but then they're $30 for a set for 4 and I think they're pretty and fun. I like them for meals on the porch. I would have preferred the dark brown ones but they weren't available.

Back then I hadn't seen them anywhere else but liked them right away because I've always had a thing for faux bamboo.

* RIP : (

Thank you, beckysharp! That is great to know. I am looking them up right now (well, clicking on your link and buying). They are so fun. Thank you!

As for Gump's ... sigh ...

I checked just a bit earlier and they're on sale for I think a wee bit less at Horchow's,

https://www.horchow.com/search.jsp?N=0&Ntt=cambridge%20bamboo

not to be an enabler at all lol