trendz you hate part 2..
Friday, September 17, 2010 at 10:18AM let me first say thank you for contributing to this little science experiment. and for (the majority of you) taking it lightly.
this isn't meant to crush dreams.
love what you love and the rest of us can fuck off..
and i think now is a good time perhaps to address some of my newer readers..
hi!
i cuss a lot.
if you don't like it, fuck off.
this isn't sunday school.
this is my house and you all are my guests.
and no, my cussing isn't a trend. if that's possible.
i really do cuss.
everyday.
see "MFAMB you say fuck a lot"..
i also talk about poop and farting, frequently.
i don't sugar coat things. i tell it like it is.
and when i am wrong about something i try to make it right.
see here.
so..
welcome to my favorite and my best.
let's get started...
white kitchens and white subway tile:
ok. this isn't a trend. this shit is classic.
i mean what are your options?
cherry? barf.
my feeling is that white is never a trend.
so long as you keep the lines modern in a white kitchen it will always be timeless.
and subway tile is waaaaaay better than most of the other options i have seen.
i think this "classic" is a great canvas for you to work the real trendz into and then be done with them when
they show up on this blog everywhere.
slipcovers:
this isn't a trend!
this is a fucking necessity of life!!!
if you have kids or pets
then these are a lifesaver..
(double offender- slipcovers IN a white kitchen)
there are rules though!
1. they must be tailored to the specific piece of furniture they are covering.
none of this shit:
2. they must be goodlooking. see above.
3. loosefit slipcovers are best left to the european chateaux/countryhouses where nothing ever looks bad.
lanterns:
i am on the fence here.
sometimes, like the above photo, people just use them all wrong!!
but in general i think they can be really cool.
greek key:
still rocks my box.
in small doses though people.
hermes boxes as decor:
yeah. sometimes i think...ooooh look how pretty that orange looks in that spot!! (see above)
and then i go...but could we get any more pretentious here?? (see above above)
belgian style/industrial cart coffee tables:
i'm gonna have to agree on the cart tables...
they have become synonymous with belgian style , plus they're at pottery barn!!!
but belgian style itself has evolved slightly..
i'll take the modern, sparse approach to belgian style:
chances are if you're a neutral girl/gay you still love this look when done well.
plates on the wall:
gonna have to agree.
i'm over these.
as i raise my hand in offense.
yep.
mfamb has plates on the wall, plates on the wall...lookin like a fool with her plates on the wall..
trying to find replacement art as we speak.
i can assure you it won't be anything like this:
this:
this:
or this:
o to the motherfucking ver.
(don't take it personally. i don't give a fuck what you hang on your walls!)
eames shell chair:
i know it's a classic but i'm sick of looking at it too.
every hip, skona hem flea market chic loving blog features them
it's become a signature chair to own if you love this style.
it's like the one splurge item in a house where everything else is from ikea.
fabric covered rocks:
i can't believe i wasted 5 minutes finding examples of this bullshit.
you'd better be glad they're covered in fabric when i throw them at your face for ever making, buying or featuring them on your blog/magazine with the words swoon or j'adore attached.
taxidermy:
this is a trend if ever there was a trend.
this whole look is so affected i can't even look at it without wanting to sword myself.
unless you are old and crazy with your taxidermy pet there is really no excuse for this poser behavior.
seashells:
ya know, i don't mind them here and there..
and i know the rule of thumb is only in a house near the beach..
but even then it can suck if they are everywhere.
if you have a collection of them display them like a. wentworth above.
the rest of the decor in that room is based around that seashell collection above..
this, however, is a no:
(triple offender, burlap, shells and slipcovers!)
candles in the fireplace:
in the case above i think it looks kinda pretty.
in the case below i think it sucks ass:
but i am pretty sure this is due to the fact the everything about the second picture is ugly.
specifically one of my personal not favorites- sticks in a vase.
sticks in a vase, sticks in a vase...lookin' like a fool with yer sticks in a vase.
Reader Comments (90)
Jenny, this post rocks my box.
I actually did a post called "plates on the wall" and felt like a tool singing that little ditty, but still laughed at myself and didn't care.
I'm keeping mine. They aren't "shabby shit" and are classic. And since it's my house...right?
have a cool Sat & Sun.
Your blog brightens my day every time I read it. Thanks for all the pretty (and non-pretty) to look at.
And I notice your list of things we hate doesn't yet include one of my favorites -- the giant ottoman with the tray full of clutter perched on top.
Thanks for sticking up for my subway tile! I just put beveled edge subway in my shower and I was pissed that people were hatin. Tell me where you can find something as good for that cheap. And white is never wrong! I also love carrara marble, that shit is clean and beautiful and is the perfect background for anything my heart could desire. I dare you to show me something as good! I will also never give up my gallery wall, although I prefer to mix things other than pictures in with mine and call them an "art wall" cuz I'm awesome...
Great post!
In love with this post and site!! I agree with all of it, though I have a pretty large piece of taxidermy coming my way pretty soon. Many years ago my mom shot a 60 pound BEAVER and had it stuffed. I cannot wait to display this on my mantel one day and there will be no shame because comedy is a little more important to me than style. Who else can have their mom's beaver on their mantel?? WHAT??
i'm a little late to this party, but i HATE HATE HATE "karate-chopped" pillows!!! HATE!!! designers and decorators talk about rooms looking like they've come together over time naturally and aren't forced, and then they put big, unnatural looking dents in the tops of all the pillows ... and i HATE this!!! i've always HATED it! and everyone does it. it screams "i'm a fussy decorator who does not appreciate the natural form of a pillow." i just don't get it ... and i HATE the look. if we stop doing anything, please let it be this. let's all try just tossing our toss pillows onto the sofa and let them land where and how they may.
oh my god ... i feel SO MUCH better!! seriously. i've wanted to say this for so long!!
and totally agree with you on the white kitchen. you can't get much more classic than a white kitchen.
Your blog is so awesome! I love it! And the songs... Sticks in a vase...Sticks in a vase...la la la...I will be singing it all day. It is my new favorite song!
Love white kitchens no matter what. "sticks in a vase" had me cracking up. per usual.
"i can't even look at it without wanting to sword myself"
sitting at my desk laughing hysterically at this -- you are amazing, so thankful for you and your blogs!
Thank you for the triple whammy, burlap, shells and slipcovers. I cringe.
thanks for standing by "WHITE"!!!!. you made such a good point, it's NOT a trend, it's classic and will never go out of style. we own another home that i decorated COMPLETELY opposite of our beach house now- dark cabinets, back granite counters, NO slipcovers, paint on every single wall etc. I cringe just thinking about it and HATE the way I decorated that house. If I could I would make everything white from the kitchen to the walls all over again. I know from EXPERIENCE and have lived in BOTH, so I can give an unbiased opinion. I will second you in saying that white is the most classic color out there, and I can assure you that 20 years from now, I will still love my house!!!!!
I was truly madly deeply saddened by the entire Kevin Sharkey spread. The Hermes boxes. Keeping ping pong score with the Chanel lipstick. The actors hired to pose as friends (I kid, I think). Alexis (who I think I dont hate but I'm not sure). It was all so forced and well, sad. It made me sad. Nice apartment tho!
Hilarity.
Wait - now you're hating on beach photos?
Fuck off.
The ocean is what I like to look at - nature's not a trend. And Massimo Vitali pics rock. I have one and will continue to love it.
So stick that up your dusty candle mantle :)
Amber, good thing I wasn't eating or drinking anything when I read your comment. As it is, I nearly busted a vein in my head trying to hold my laughter in here at work. If anyone deserves to have a taxidermied item on their mantel, it's you.
"you'd better be glad they're covered in fabric when i throw them at your face" -- love this line, hate knitted rocks, and couldn't agree with you more.
shauna: not ocean photos miss, umbrellas on beaches. thank you.
over done. in just about every blog and magazine on the planet. lost it's charm to me.
if it's your own personal fucking photo that's obviously NOT what i am talking about!
amber- stuffed beaver=hilarious exception.
I'm going to be singing the "Plates on the Wall" ALL damn day now. Shit.
Love this series of posts! I am an interior design blog addict, and I see it all. It's so funny though, before I read your rant I would see rooms like this and just think to myself, 'It's a little boring', but not know exactly why. It felt like Deja Vu... I know there is a reason I dislike it... i just can't pinpoint why. Your blog has enlightened me! I think as designers we get inundated with all these very trendy design elements, and some people do not use them sparingly. I think that's the key, none of these elements on their own is that horrendous, but like the apartment in my above link, when paired together it seems unnatural and forced. Really, is it really your style to have: chevron, sticks in a vase, TWO sunburst mirrors, subway signs, and that annoying grouping of photos? Couldn't you just pick one trendy idea and use your own originality for the rest?
Ok, that's my rant, btw, I agree subway tile and white, when used correctly is still a classic in my book!
So glad to see someone finally joined me in my hatred of karate-chopped pillows. I was beginning to wonder if I had just made it all up. Maybe Troy and I should be BFF.
that posed squirrel taxidermy cracks me up.
If having a dead, stuffed animal in my house didn't freak me out so much, I would definitely want that in a little vignette in my house.
Fuck to the Yes. Excellent post. Agree 100% Especially regarding the faux trophies. Just cuz you can buy a white porcelain elk at target for 19.99 doesn't mean you should be allowed to display it. That being said, I am willing to start a letter writing campaign to Domino insisting that Amber's stuffed beaver be featured heavily in their next issue.
So this is where your "scientific experiment" gets an F. Your readers bascially just ranted about EVERY SINGLE design style across the board. You should have stopped with Part 1. Now you are just dipping into stuff that are not trends, but rather classic and timeless looks. I have a feeling that the people who are supporting your "part 2 list" are those that were OFFENDED by the "part 1" list. In other words it's become a Trendy vs. Classic tennis match. Classic cannot be trendy because trendy comes and goes, and classic stays forever. So the folks who are acting like white is a "trend" obviously do not know the definition of the word. For the folks out there that think white kitchens, white slipcovers, and lanters are a "trend"...Let's just see who will "win" down the road. I have a feeling you are going to regret your domino filled room in a few months, while the "white kitchen" folks will practically die happy in their white kitchens. All I'm really trying to say here is that if this whole discussion started with the topic being "TRENDS", then why the hell are folks bring classic timeless stuff into the equation?
I loved this post, best MFAMB post ever. Another commenter pointed out that you didn't mention the karate chopped pillow. I happen to love that look - but that's just me. Any way, you speak the truth girl - keep it up!
Is *no one* sick of the Man Cave??? If I hear some guy on House Hunters say one more time that he's looking for a man cave, I'm gonna break my TV. Okay, no I won't because I like my TV and that phrase *will* be uttered 58 dozen times in the next episode, so I might as well calm down.
I haven't read all the comments from today (I teach second grade people, can't be blogging all day), but I agree with MFAB that we should separate trendy from classic elements that resurface from time to time. White, subway tile, slipcovers, Eames chairs (yes, even those!) wax and wane, becoming more popular at times, but they aren't a trend.
Like names. Some names are popular *and* trendy (Madison, Ava, Aidan, Jayden/Caden/Brayden) but other names are popular and *classic* (Emma, Katherine, Jacob, Matthew etc.) Just because something is popular doesn't make it trendy.
After the "Keep Calm and Carry On" trend goes away (can't happen quickly enough), we'll never see it again. But Greek key, linen, graphic prints, neutral paint colors will reinvent themselves in the design arena to fit the times.
My question is this: because of blogs and online magazines, there are some of us who see trends repeatedly before they ever make their way into catalogs and Walmart. It's impossible to be ahead of the trends ALL THE TIME.
How do you strike a balance?
Kids are back from lunch. Gotta take the little munchkins to recess! Yep. That's a 15 minute lunch for ya.
That Eames toilet seat says it all!