5 “Tired” Decor Trends I’m Still Not Over

In my years of writing about design, I’ve seen a lot of trends come and go. Some things, like bold chevrons and mason jar mania, I don’t miss at all. But there are some trends that I confess, I still hold onto, even if others find them outdated or overplayed. After all, home decor is about finding what YOU love, right?

Here are five really old trends that I’m still not tired of. What do you think? Do you still love these looks? What other “out” trends do you treasure?

My initial feelings about Beni Ourain rugs are recorded in Evernote, which is basically my auxiliary brain. Underneath a photo of one in a living room, I wrote: “Need this rug.” That was in 2011. Seven years later, Beni Ourain rugs have reached (and maybe even passed) peak saturation. There are knockoff versions available at pretty much every big-box retailer. I read your comments, and I know a lot of you are fatigued with them. But you know what? I’m not. They still have a great graphic look with just a touch of movement — and they’re a great way to add texture without going crazy.

Phillipe Stark’s Louis Ghost Chair, which was introduced in 2002, kicked off a sort of mania for acrylic furniture. It seemed modern and somehow still fancy at the same time, and it was perfect for small spaces since you could literally see through it. Sixteen years later, the craze has died down a bit, but I’ll admit to still loving lucite furniture in all its many forms (and long as we’re not talking say, a whole room of it). It brings a touch of the unexpected to a space, and is still a lovely, minimal option for smaller homes.

For a while there, draping a sheepskin rug casually over a molded plywood or wire chair was so prevalent that it was even mocked on F&@# Your Noguchi Coffee Table, the definitive site for skewering home decor tropes. This trend is a favorite target of commenters as well, who usually say something along the lines of, “Why didn’t you just buy a more comfortable chair?” But I, for one, do not hate the sheepskins. First, they’re super cozy; and second, I happen to be a big fan of Bertoia chairs — just not their waffle-butt effect. If you can have a chair that looks good and also feels good simply by draping a sheepskin over it, I say go for it. It’s the best of both worlds.

You can write on the wall! And that’s totally ok! At one point about five or six years ago, chalkboard paint was HUGE. People covered basically everything in it: walls, doors, even things like piggy banks, that were barely big enough to write on at all. And then it became overplayed, I guess, because you don’t see nearly as many chalkboard walls anymore, but I still love them.But I still love them. The ability to write memos on the wall, and change up your space whenever you so please, is just so appealing—even if it’s no longer all over Pinterest.

Organizing books by color, besides being a trend that’s been around for some time, has also always been controversial. There are those of you (I’ve read your comments) who apparently think that organizing your books by the hue of their spines is akin to admitting you’re illiterate and haven’t read them at all. Whatever. I don’t care that this “trend” is five years old; and I don’t care that some grouches on the internet think that people who color-coordinate books don’t deserve to have books at all. I often have a much easier time finding a book by the color of its spine than by the author. And besides that, organizing your books by color is PRETTY. Pretty things make people happy. And making people happier with their homes is what this whole thing is about.

This post originally ran on Apartment Therapy. See it there: 5 “Tired” Decor Trends I’m Still Not Tired Of