To get the rage about home decor trends...

[catpoooffender]

I've just moved house and have been looking online for style inspiration. But I'm just getting so tired of seeing the same thing everywhere. It's not that it doesn't look good, it's just that it's done to death.

Typically you will have a grey room, with throws artfully draped over the arm of the sofa. The furniture will be all white. There will be a floor lamp, probably tripod style. Candles will adorn the shelves, along with multiple house plants. On the pouffe, there will be a pretty tray, with two more of the following: a candle, a small vase, a book, some pretty cups. Hanging on the wall or on a shelf somewhere will be a framed print of some inspirational saying - possibly 'she said she could, so she did' or just a single word, like 'family' or 'love' or 'home'. Other artwork or mirrors will be placed on shelves and will lean against the wall, rather than being flat against them.

I'm not knocking any of this. I just yearn for something different.

@WhatamessIgotinto

I'm not a fan of grey decor, but there's such a lot of snobbery about it on this thread. People like different things and it's fine. Looking down your nose at people because they happen to like a 'trend' while making out your home is a hub of tasteful decor, brimming with eclectic one-off pieces sourced from countries around the globe and worthy of a home-style magazine is a bit ridiculous.

Oh yes. All MNers have had a vaccine which makes them totally immune to Trends, apart from the seers of Property and DIY who tried all of them ten / twenty years ago and like to tell us all about it because it's terribly dated now.

It reminds me of the cerulean sweater scene from The Devil Wears Prada.

I’m decorating a room now which will be all white with grey accessories, it’s what has been requested. It’s calming and not offensive so not an issue. Prefer it to a lot of dark colours and tbh easy to change grey accessories

I've fallen in love with wallpaper lately. I've always loved William Morris and Arts & Crafts, but over the last few months I've decided I'm having Willow (the green one) in the bedroom. It's pretty and fresh but restful at the same time.

I'm not sure about going full on William Morris in the living room though. It's not very big (approx 16' x 12') and I think it might be a bit overpowering. Plus we have lots of pictures, so not a huge amount of wall showing and they would add to the general busyness. So now I'm thinking blue Strawberry Thief curtains and plain blue walls.

I love Charles Voysey wallpapers and fabrics too, but my God, the prices ....

@Zhampagne that's a very good analogy!

The reality is that most folk pick up a lamp or a throw at The Range or B & M at some point. Oh the deprivation! 🤣

Instagram has a lot to answer for here. The account I follow all have:

A side return kitchen extension with dark blue cupboards
A round mirror above a Victorian fireplace
Parquet floors
Really dark patio glass doors
Lots of houseplants
A bouquet of flowers, set diagonally across a sink
A Persian carpet

Sounds lovely and it is but it's all been repeated over and over and over again

I've always gone for white or cream walls covered with paintings and shelves and books and Things that people can look at or handle. I love deep vividly coloured sofas that you can sink into. Having said that, a couple of my neighbours have embraced the grey and whilst it's not what I would pick they have made beautiful rooms out of it.

I've gone from coloured.walls to neutrals and then use accessories to provide whatever colour I fancy at the time. Into cream, taupe and raspberry, sea mist, teal and white, cream and mulberry at the moment. Artwork from Wish to pull in the colours and neutral floors.

[quote sunshinesupermum]sycamorecottage pasta bowls work quite well as shallow cereal bowls. This pattern comes in 'proper' cereal bowls too lol

www.portmeirion.co.uk/portmeirion-crazy-daisy-pasta-bowl-set-of-4[/quote]
I like those, thank you! Probably a bit on the big side for regular cereal bowls though (we already have some plain white pasta bowls) but the right shape.

I feel your pain @sycamorecottage

A few years back we replaced our dishes. I insisted on stuff that would reasonably stack in a cupboard or dishwasher. We bought William Edwards china. It’s been great. Nice stuff, made in England and dishwasher safe.

www.williamedwardshome.co.uk/?cookies_accepted=Y

Well my front room is grey, with a few throws draped over the arms of my grey sofa. Photo shelves with mismatched frames, several houseplants AND an abundance of candles.

I have a white hallway with a grey carpet.

And to top it off, I have monochrome in my bedroom.

What a peasant I am. Although perhaps I get some MN points for not having crushed velvet?

Tunnocks34

I think you missed the point. It’s fine to like gray. What’s no t ok is for every shop to sell gray as if the whole universe wants the same as we all follow like sheep.

Some of us like colour, I’d love a purple sofa, the only chance to get on is if purple becomes fashionable. Look at all the grey and black sofa’s! Previously it was all brown leather.

It’s as If they don’t want my money!

One of the favourite rooms in our house is the downstairs loo. We have recently done it up. The floors are tiled with a nine different tile pattern in black and white. The wall is tiled to half height with white metro tiles and then the rest of the walls and ceiling are painted a rich navy. Coupled with gold accessories, I love it. Despite having a dark colour in a small room it feels so much bigger and looks decadent. For this room the whole look developed around my need to have a gold hexagonal mirror, I then wanted a colour to go with it and then tiles etc.

I am not a fan of the scandi style or minimalism, I think it looks boring and can't imagine how it works practically with young children. I agree with the poster who said live with white walls in a house for a while and then see how you use a room before you decorate. One of the things I love about my house is that it gets a lot of light so I do have white walls here and there but am trying to introduce colour where I can ( doesn't help that dh thinks beige is colourful even).

We are now trying to work on our utility room and I am trying to add colour, the room is narrow but long and gets a lot of light.

I would have a good think about what your own style is and then go from there, whether you use pinterest or instagram. If you have a specific item of furniture or colour in mind build your room around it.

I'm not sure I get turning to Pinterest to decorate your home, surely you know what you like, the period of your house, any features you want to make the most of. I use Pinterest to collect things I like that I've seen so I don't forget where I saw them.

@catpoooffender have you tried Instagram instead?

YANBU, I find the endless grey a bit dull after a while. I like colour and variety. Also, you'd have to be uber careful not to stain anything!

I’d love a purple sofa

Just ordered 3 (2 proper purple, one lilac) - DFS had a few options surprisingly as did sofology.

Very few people have the natural artistic ability and flare for design/colours to decorate a house beautifully and individually. The look you describe is bought new from a shop, and as furniture/accessories are so much cheaper now everyone can have the ‘look’. I’m always really surprised that people don’t have more old hand me downs or second hand stuff. I’ve got a few inherited items and things I’ve bought over the years that I love that I will be basing my decor around when we move in a few months times. I’m sure a few trends will be creeping in though, I love the mid century look (In small doses here and there).

I had to laugh OP your right! I suppose grey is popular and I must confess I have quite a few grey rooms in my house!

@BluebellsGreenbells there are LOADS of purple sofas around. We bought one about a year ago. You can get just about any colour sofa!

OP What you are actually describing is chavvy and not at all stylish or what designers would suggest.

I love a look through Pinterest. My living room has the two short walls with grey brick wallpaper which has a wee touch of sparkle and the other two are pale grey. Brass and black free standing lights That are a bit steampunk esque and mango wood furniture which has slats which have been painted in different colours.

My dining room has retro style wallpaper on 2 walls that has green, purple and grey oblong shapes on it, 2 grey walls (we had to finish off the tin from the living room 😆) and the light is my favourite part. It’s 8 strands each with a vintage style bulb and each strand is a different rainbow colour. We’ve a white Scandinavia table and 6 Eiffel style chairs that match the colours on the light.

We’re just away to do the hallway and stairs and I think we’re doing diagonal black and white stripes up one bit of the wall and the rest in teal, orange and white. That’s the plan so far anyway. We don’t really do plain

Oh and our bedroom is sapphire salute on all 4 walls. With a picture rail and above the picture rail is white. With a brass bed and oak furniture.

Hanging on the wall or on a shelf somewhere will be a framed print of some inspirational saying - possibly 'she said she could, so she did' or just a single word, like 'family' or 'love' or 'home'
Well they do say that Covid makes you lose your sense of taste...

You've just described my sil's house, I swear she hasn't an original thought in her head. Every room is a copy from pinterest etc. The garden is the same, the oil tank has spots painted and theres even a painted bike with a basket of flowers, everything copied from elsewhere

OP just buy stuff you like and love! It isn’t that hard.