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Is there anyone left who lives in a house that doesn't have a colour scheme, style, aesthetic or what have you?

143 replies

MrsToadofToadHall · 16/06/2020 07:52

Just musing as I scroll through social media...

Most people I know seem to have houses where there's a distinct theme - one colour/style of furniture per room, curtains that match sofas, some of it is to my taste and some isn't, but either way you can tell at a glance what they are trying to do, be it grey chrome or white minimalism or rainbow or whatever.

When I was a kid, I don't remember people's houses running along one particular theme the way they do now, obviously you'd have a few trends pop up, but I don't remember things being so matchy matchy, except perhaps for my aunt's house, where she had a "special" sitting room for the adults, all done in terracotta and pine. Mostly though it seemed to be a case of, I like this picture, I'll put it on the wall. MIL has given me a pot plant, I'll shove in that corner. Those curtains would do for the bedroom. That's a nice colourful hard-wearing rug, it'll go in the hall. I don't think there was quite as much emphasis on everything tying in so exactly to everything else. My house is a bit like this now - all the walls are white, because we had to redecorate when we bought it and I was sick of rental magnolia, the curtains in every room are different patterns because my granny got a seamstress friend to run some up for us as a housewarming present, our bedroom furniture is a complete mishmash of nothing matching, that sort of thing. I love our house and I'm not complaining, but I don't think you'd walk in and be able to pinpoint any particular style or trend.

I know people from quite a range of backgrounds and incomes, so it's not something that seems particular to any group, just that homes in general seem to be more styled/pulled together/matchy these days.

Is it because of social media? Because it's easier to get bits and pieces in places like B&M? Though there's always been home stores

OP posts:
SoupDragon · 16/06/2020 15:58

I think if you're scrolling through a visual medium like Instagram or Pinterest you're bound to come across very "done" interiors because that's sort of the point.

It's all over Rightmove too though and I have seen people selling loads of furnishings because they are changing their theme.

Each to their own but I don't understand it. I'm sure they wouldn't understand my way either :)

BatleyTownswomensGuild · 16/06/2020 16:02

Our design scheme is "fucking chaotic"

The80sweregreat · 16/06/2020 16:30

Our new extended kitchen has a pine unit amongst the Grey! Someone remarked ' are you going to paint that '? Things don't always have to match do they? 😂

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Poetryinaction · 16/06/2020 16:31

We have white walls, mismatching furniture, and original artwork. I'm not keen on colour schemes but seem to go for natural wood and teal a lot.

Devlesko · 16/06/2020 16:32

We colour coordinate but not like you see in shop displays, or magazines/ websites.
It's not designed or themed in any way and shock horror we have carpets throughout except bathroom and toilets.
Can't be doing with the expense and find colour schemes that are fashionable so boring and mainstream.

Nosuchluck · 16/06/2020 16:35

Mine is all matching, even the cat matches the colour scheme!

Newname12 · 16/06/2020 16:52

Mine is very much “things I like” rather than bought to fit a scheme.

When I was house hunting I was pretty shocked that many, many of the houses had exactly the same decor scheme. There’d be a living room with a feature wall in brown and duck egg, then other rooms would also have feature rooms. One green with red flowers, the box room would be stripes....

Like they’d all gone to b&q and picked the same rolls of wallpaper.

trends are fairly destinctive though. In the 70’s And 80’s it was cream with shiny stripes and an pattern between each stripe, or woodchip. in the 80’s and 90’s it was the obsession with borders- either stripy wallpaper half way up the wall, border, then floral wallpaper on top, or the border about a foot from the ceiling or at the top. Usually in teracotta.

Give me paint anyday.

SoupDragon · 16/06/2020 16:56

@Nosuchluck

Mine is all matching, even the cat matches the colour scheme!
Now that is commitment! 😂
singingsoprano · 16/06/2020 17:01

It's only in the last 2 years (after having lived in the house for nearly 30 years) that we have a theme. Most walls are a shade of mauve, with the odd pale grey wall downstairs. The bedrooms are lavender and grey and the bathrooms are also light grey. People comment that it's a very calm palette, which is what I was hoping for. We like it and are not bothered if it's 'fashionable' or not.

Dinosauratemydaffodils · 16/06/2020 17:09

We live in a Victorian house last decorated by it's previous owners in the 60s/70s (apart from the kitchen which we did). We have lots of miss matching stuff, furniture we inherited next to modern pieces. Books everywhere. We've covered most of the wallpaper in pictures and photographs and children's art work. My mum, grandmother and great grandmother were very into crocheting so every sofa has a crocheted blanket over it but that's about as far as "themed " as we've got.

We do intend decorating at some point but because the light is very different over the different floors, it won't be themed as such.

rosiethehen · 16/06/2020 17:22

We don't have matching stuff. I love pictures and wall hangings made from fabric and we have lots of books, artifacts, persian rugs and colourful throws all over. I don't like the 'put together' look and grey just makes me depressed.

Luzina · 16/06/2020 17:36

My house is still full of gross textured wallpaper from moving in 3 yrs ago

dayswithaY · 16/06/2020 17:52

@HasaDigaEebowai that's brilliant, is it wrong that I quite like it?

FrugiFan · 16/06/2020 17:55

I just live in a normal house. The hallway, dining room and playroom have the same paint because we had some left over.

JeffVaderneedsatray · 16/06/2020 18:09

If I had to name the theme in our house it would be 'married to a man who doesn't understand why I detest the 1970s brown floral carpet bceause it is a perfectly functional carpet'

We bought this house 20 years ago. The previous owners had had it from new. They did a lot of DIY. he was supposedly a builder but seemed not to have owned either a spirit level or a plumb line. When we moved in we joked that you could put a can of bean in a cupboard at one end of the kitchen and take them out at the other because the wall units were so squint.
Every room had (still has) awful vinyl wallpaper with geometric patterns and is hung on the huff. If we strip the wall paper it takes off all the plaster and because it is vinyl it just sucks in all the paint when we attempt to paint over it.

I don't love this house and it shows. When we were house hunting my dream house didn't score highly enough in the 'having a garage big enough for my petrol head husband' category although it scored highly in the 'Jeff loves the house muchly category' so we got this one ad I don't love it so I haven't fought hard enough for redecoration.

Mostly our theme is clutter because we are all hoarders and I have a serious yarn and fabric habit.

MulticolourMophead · 16/06/2020 18:19

When we were house hunting my dream house didn't score highly enough in the 'having a garage big enough for my petrol head husband' category although it scored highly in the 'Jeff loves the house muchly category' so we got this one ad I don't love it so I haven't fought hard enough for redecoration.

Bad choice on his part. After all, you spend far more time in the house than the garage. And your surroundings do have a big impact on your mental wellbeing.

Midrangecolours · 16/06/2020 20:24

We've got beams everywhere in a 17th century cottage so don't need to go too mad with the decorating. Tried darker colours but just looked so old fashioned and poky so now have white walls in-between the beams. Very neutral carpet, I red sofa, I grey and 1 white sofa. Painted a couple of bookcases very very light grey but have some darker wooden tables and little medieval type stools by the fireplaces too. Sparkly Next stuff would just look all types of wrong.

joystir59 · 16/06/2020 20:32

We don't have any themes or colour schemes but I love our house

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