What current "looks" are going to date badly?

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I'm starting a house refurb next year and collecting various ideas for decor.

I'm conscious that I tend to be quite influenced by what's around at the moment... 5 years ago I probably would have chosen a house all in white and shades of grey, and a painted in frame kitchen, now I'm liking darker colours and handleless kitchens... I think I may be a recipe for a house that dates quite badly .

Please help me avoid that. What do you think is currently ubiquitous/on trend but will look all wrong in a few years' time?

Conversely what's going to stand the test of time?

It's for a Victorian house in London if that matters...

If I stuck with the time period of my house the kitchen would be a titchy scullery of varying bits of furniture with a cast iron range and the loo would be in the garden

I wouldn't worry too much about wall colours and tiles - they are easily changeable and not too expensive. Worry instead about entire kitchens and flooring.

Design classics don't date-

Metro tiles are classic
Travertine bathrooms- dated

High gloss kitchens- dated
Solid wood kitchens in painted neutrals- classic

High back all leather dining room chairs in brown, white or back- dated
G- plan wooden chairs, farmhouse pine crafts chairs- classics

No one style is a classic I think it's more about the provenance, the quality of the design and materials used.

So I googled subway tiles and it just seems they are... rectangular tiles.

I may be missing something.

Anything 'fashionable' will date. That's the point though isn't it?

What will date, and badly,
granite work tops, laminate floors, light fittings made of jam jars, fake industrial.

I did not know metro tiles were in! I love them, didn't know they were available, and don't care if they date.

I had metro tiles put up in my flat in 1995, they've been around for a looong time.

Grey paint though has to go soon I reckon.

I take the point about some things becoming dated quickly but laminate floors and granite worktops must have been in for twenty years. If I get that long out of something I'm happy to rip it out and change it.

I think colours go in and out of fashion quickly so stick to accessories only if you want the latest colour. I notice green, teal and mustard yellow in a lot of homes at the moment (I am online every day looking to buy) and yes feature walls as in flowery wallpaper have definitely been and gone.

Metro tiles are a classic, and yet they'll still definitely date.

If you want to keep your house as ageless as possible, choose a solid wood kitchen in a light wood. Aspects of it will undoubtedly date but it won't date as quickly as a white gloss kitchen for example.

Real wood floors, herringbone or not, will always be a positive.

Feature walls looked dated 10 years ago.

I think plantation shutters will date. Everybody in London seems to have them and the moment something is ubiquitous everyone needs to move on.
I half wonder whether the fashion for knocking down walls will disappear too (i.e. Making Victorian houses open plan). Don't know.

Just choose what you like and what works for you

Yep.

Go for neutral-ish kitchens, floors and bathrooms. And then go wild with whatever wall colours, furniture, soft furnishings etc.

It would be dull trying to keep everything looking classic when what you really crave is flamingo wallpaper.

Anything excessively quirky or industrial.

The copper trend came on so fast and furious that it's almost certainly extinguished itself by now?

Carrara marble is timeless and ageing very well, IMO - I had a Carrara worktop put in my gray kitchen almost 10 years ago and I still love it.

I agree parquet wood floors won't ever date, I'd say the same for de gournay wallpaper.

I love De Gournay wallpaper. But wowzers, that stuff costs £££££££££££££

I love De Gournay wallpaper. But wowzers, that stuff costs £££££££££££££

You ain't lying lady.

I think a white bathroom is always classic, with silver fittings
Laminate/wood flooring usually looks classy too

I think wood burning stoves are a very 2000/2010's fashion that are coming to an end and in 10-20 years time will be very dated a bit like concrete brick fire places are very 1970s. They will be the 21st century equivalent of this

Do what you like. Don't worry about fashion or trends.

You can guarantee when you come to sell buyers will have different taste.

I painted my bedroom grey in 1996. Very suprised to find it's now a thing.

I agree though, stick to classic. Wood kitchens, neutral paint, tiles and bathroom suites.

Sounds boring but you can always personalise with bright rugs and furnishings. Individual bedrooms can be a different colour paint, easily repainted.

As for feature walls. I can't stand them. I am buying at the moment and every single sodding house has feature walls in every room. All the same patterns too, grey and teal flowers, green and pink flowers, red, and primary stripes. I swear only four wallpaper pattern exist. Boring, unimaginative, and really dated. And i'm really put off as a buyer as stripping wallpaper, sorting any damage underneath, and probably having to reskim before painting every room is an utter pita. I'd rather deal with fluorescent pink paint!

I've had a grey bedroom for about 13 years now. While it doesn't feel dated to me (I think it feels moody and grown up), I think I'll try something else for my next bedroom.

Everything dates doesn't it?

We're doing a major refurb so just going for what we like and sod everything else.

Kitchen is off white for the base and wall units, huge pantry unit is dark blue and the island is red. Range cooker in inglenook is same dark blue as the pantry unit and then the tiles for the splash back are Mexican wall tiles from milagros which pick out the blue and the red to tie it all together. Maybe a bit crazy but I don't care.

We've moved an original fire place and slate surround from an upstairs bedroom into the living room. Someone said teal will date, don't care. Looks fab with slate grey. Column radiators in a slate grey type colour too,dark wood floor and then an amazing rug from a liberty print carpet and the walls will be strong, dark teal. That room will have shutters of some sort too as has a big bay window that is street facing.if plantation shutters are going to date badly what do people suggest as something to give some privacy but also let light in? Previous owner was in her 90s and while net curtains may have suited her they are not quite me!

I think plantation shutters work well for places like London. I can't help but look into someone's sitting room as I walk past but I can certainly see it would be very annoying for the occupants. Other than nets or blinds, shutters are the only other option.

I think plantation shutters work well for places like London. I can't help but look into someone's sitting room as I walk past but I can certainly see it would be very annoying for the occupants. Other than nets or blinds, shutters are the only other option.

Most of the smart London homes I see use privacy film to deal with this (or a console table with large, twin vases/topiaries).

Open plan is already over... it's now broken plan.

How on earth are granite worktops gong to date?? Granite has been 'in' for like, over 20 years!

Same for laminate - now the good quality laminate looks pretty much as good as wood I can't see that going out.

Plantation shutters aren't going to go 'out' unless a more classy "stop looking in my fucking front room" solution is invented.

Our house is proper kooky and definitely not to everyone's taste. But similar to a PP above, our rule is 'keep the crazy removable'. So the flooring, tiles, kitchen etc and most of the walls are neutral. The crazy is everything else. We could get it back to a beige paradise in no time if we were selling although it would be soul destroying

I half wonder whether the fashion for knocking down walls will disappear too (i.e. Making Victorian houses open plan). Don't know.

Literally every Victorian terrace I looked at to buy I was like "need to get this wall back up here". I bleeding HATE 'through sitting rooms'.