I thought it would be fun to capture the top-10 design trends of 2011 — while the year is still fresh in our minds. We can also ask, “In 50 years, which will be keepers — and which… maybe not so much?”
The thing is, I spend so much time in retro-world that I don’t have the greatest sense of what has been “in” all year. My main connection to the “real world” is the New York Times Home & Garden every Thursday, and I go over to Apartment Therapy to see what they are up to, now and again. I also still get some catalogs, although they have mostly given up on me. So I need your help building a list, which we can then refine to the top-10:
I have a few suggestions to help get started — please add your own!:
- Greige Nation. Dark grey and greige everywhere, including laminates named after clammy death. Restoration Hardware gets the prize for interiors that look like they were designed by and for vampires. Although I think their prices and products are aimed at the 1%, not the 99%, dark grey and washed-out coordinates do seem to be everywhere at all price points. Accent colors: Plum and yellow.
- Edison bulbs
- Pendant lights made out of any possible piece of junk, errr, I mean, vintage treasure. “Put a Bulb In It!“
- Huge chandeliers made out of any possible piece of junk, errr, I mean, vintage treasure. Even more so: Layered chandeliers. That is: A big something (usually with vintage reference) on the outside, a chandelier on the inside. E.g.: Birdcage outside, three-arm chandelier inside… and big drum shades over capiz shells.
- Dark kitchen cabinets. Espresso. Kona.
- Big zig zag prints, on pillows in particular. There was that whole Missoni-mania at Target thing.
- Perhaps, though, silhouetted leaf prints on pillows were even more common?
- Mid century modern mania. Blogs go Craigslist crazy. Ebay prices officially go too high. Many Unhappy Hipsters are hatched. Saarinen tulip tables and chairs peaked. Like out of nowhere, 28 places to buy a mid century modern sofa. Note: Five years ago, there was NO PLACE to buy a mcm sofa.
- Relatedly: The wisdom of restoring mid century homes, even the modest ones — came solidly into the mainstream… Not only was there significant coverage about this blog in places like the New York Times… there were lots of other stories in mainstream media about such renovations… and, hey, even pink bathrooms got *some* respect on tv home decorating shows.
- Relatedly: Vintage and DIY. 2011 was an economically disturbing and depressing year — we pinched pennies and instead, bought used, raided grandma’s attic, fixed things up ourselves, and made due. Gosh, that part of the Great Recession (GR) has been fun.
- Glass tile backsplashes. I think we’d see more glass tile showers but for the GR.
- Ridiculously expensive “green” houses are still being put out there as if there were such a thing.
What else? Also, were there any interior design ideas, including those driven by technology breakthroughs, that were really *new*? And, any other big trends in kitchens or bathrooms? I’m thinking that most of 2011’s trends are “cosmetic” — surface treatments. Everyone is broke or sitting on their dough…
What do you think, readers?
What were the big design trends in 2011?
Let’s build a list, then we narrow it down to 10 with a vote. Fun!
Catherine says
I’m about 2 years late to this conversation, but I just nodded my way through this entire page- both the article and the comments. Well said! My husband and I are in the process of purchasing a 1940s home to restore, and I am SO happy to have stumbled upon this. We are looking forward to restoring the home (our first and hopefully only restoration), and I appreciate all of this input!
JKM says
Interior trends I’m sick of seeing:
Granite countertops
Tumbled marble backsplashes (or anything, for that matter)
Vessel sinks
Showers with more electronic components than my car’s dashboard
Master bedrooms/baths referred to as “retreats/spas”
Home theaters
Overblown “Impress the delivery man” two-story entrance foyers
Anything “Old World” – from antiqued wall finishes to hand scraped wood floors to rusty iron fixtures
Exterior trend I’m sick of: Tall houses with lots of pointy gables, arched windows and a front porch topped with a two-story high arch. Blech.
Good design never goes out of style. Pretense and showiness wear thin. My two cents worth!
Peggy Miniard says
I really enjoyed reading about the “snout” houses…I have felt that way for a long time! I always think big, pretentious, cookie cutter when I see them, now, I will be thinking “snout” house. how appropriate!
I have noticed:
Granite counter tops
stainless steel appliances
stone floors in neutral colors
neutral walls with a “feature” wall in red or some other color
two toned walls seperated by chair railing for those trying to add “character”
french doors replacing sliders. 🙁
Here in Aiken SC its all of the above in 1940’s-50’s homes plus they are painting the brick and adding seamed metal roofs. (I love metal roofs on cute little ranchers but painting brick just seems so wrong) oh….and lastly, they take away the iron work posts and add big colonial columns.
I intend to refinish mine and someone told me they “dated” my house…and I needed to put a pitch on my “flat” car port roof. lol I will be replacing some bad wood,,,but its staying flat…and…I’m keeping the iron!!! Lets celebrate the iron work!!!
annabel says
Every hipster interior has the quintessential antlers/taxidermy collection, and the globe/vintage map collection.
cara says
definitely echo commenters that mentioned the birds/ botanical themes and the feed sacks and burlap for upholstery. i dont know if it’s been mentioned, but i keep wondering with “distressed” furniture will be out of style. i also see a lot of upholstered headboards – easy for the diy-er, mismatched dining room chairs, fabric/rugs with writing, chairs with numbers on them (?) mercury glass, ombre, ikat and suzani fabrics. trends that i am personally ok with sticking around are the peacock inspired designs especially the colors and the bright juicy colors like coral and turquoise.
i also love reupholstering an old piece of furniture in a modern fabric. that is the intended purpose of reupholstery. i think we forget that with the disposable furniture we have today. as an upholsterer, that is a trend that can stay!
Kerry says
And what is with the owls? Every design blog seems to be featuring fabrics with owls on them, wrapping paper with owls, owl-shaped vases and bookends… This trend has me totally confused.
lynda davis says
How about arabesque tiles and carrara marble counters? A countertop company in San Francisco announced that last month, for the first time, they installed more carrara marble counters than granite. Full spectrum paints are becoming more main stream–Benjamin Moore is rolling their Color Stories full spectrum paints out this month. The arabesque shaped tiles have a very retro feel. I have seen them used in both kitchens and baths.
Trina says
Up until about the 80’s, owning a home was the American Dream. (Now we act as if it is our right.) We bought homes then for shelter, a place to live and raise our families. We allowed ourselves to personalize our homes to express who we were. The goal was to someday have a mortgage burning party. That was something to look forward too!
In the 80’s, homes became an investment. Families no longer looked at a home as a place to see our children grow up, but a place to live “for now” until we could sell it for a profit, take the equity, and buy a bigger, better house. Most children today live in several homes before they move out on their own. Not our parents. It was the family home place.
When our houses turned from being a “home place” to being an “investment”, design and decorating demands changed. Now it is all about the re-sell value. Gone were the days of letting our freak flag fly and decorating our homes to our taste, needs and lifestyle. Everything became planned to meet the taste palettes of the masses.
So basically, we now build our homes for someone else!
As for the trends of today…
Pot fillers built in at the stove.
That, almost, shag looking carpet.
Outdoor kitchens.
Heated floors.
And Showers with enough sprayers to wash your car.
Sara in WA says
wow; well said. Can I quote you in an upcoming talk?
Ally Cat says
It’s so funny how design works in cycles, because many things harken back to houses from the 70’s. Cork, radiant-heat floors, ….shag carpets. And not only 1970’s ideas, but the idea that one’s home is one’s vacation home, thus the outdoor kitchen obsession! It’s almost like saying, “our home is a retreat, so no vacation is needed”, but after all that money is spent, one still wants a vacation.
As much as I distain fad for fad’s sake, we shouldn’t give the design-hacks of today too much credit! They didn’t invent home bars with smoked mirror tiles, they just assume that all of us are too young to remember the first go-round of these ideas. Just as hem-lines rise and fall, house fashion changes too. One thing I would love to see that I knew as a kid in the A-frame mountain houses of NC, are conversation pits around a free standing metal fireplaces! Talk about cosy…the 70’s interpretation of old Swiss Chalets was priceless. Now, they’ve torn many down to build Georgian revivals on every lake and mountainside…sad.
Hey, although this is off topic–I propose we have a “Save the Mid-Mod-Motor Court”, you won’t find those family run places easily, but they are still out there!
Trina says
Sara in WA – I would be honored! Thanks.
Victoria says
Wow — I’ve been saying that for years! That people buy homes as a commodity, not as a place you LIVE. My kitchen has the original pink appliances, new VCT flooring that I have to (gasp) polish, flying saucer light fixture and the living room has no built in lighting, and original everything. I LIVE here, and I want it that way. If I ever decide to sell it, I’ll sell it to someone else who likes it too, or slap hideous off white paint on everything for $500. Cheap at the price to be in a place I really want to be in. Life is too short to live in an investment.
Brian T says
Someone mentioned relief at finding a real estate agent who understood that they wouldn’t consider a house with stainless steel in the kitchen. For me, the deal breaker was snout houses (houses where 1/3 or more of the front facade is the vast expanse of garage door). My partner and I refuse to live in a snout house — they look imbalanced and antisocial to me. Eliminating them cut out about 90% of the inventory on the real estate listings, including a couple of entire neighborhoods built in the last 10 years. (One such neighborhood has about 200 interchangeable snout houses for sale in a one-mile-square area — if you want a house that’ll be a pleasure to resell, buy something special to begin with.)
Snout houses have been getting prevalent for too long to be a hot trend of 2011, but it saddens me to think that they’re now the norm. I’ve seen houses with as many as THREE garage bays on the front. And others where the garage is 75% of the facade and the “front” door is set in sideways where you can’t find it.
Part of the allure of the snout for the developer is that, when you don’t run the driveway up the side for a side- or rear-entrance garage, you can make the lots narrower and jam more houses into a development — but that leaves less room for trees and results in what I call “Grey Poupon houses” because you can lean out your dining room window and ask the neighbor “Pardon me …”
Other items: When I gutted the bathroom in my old circa-1900 house, the remodeler was pushing a vessel sink, and I said, “People will look at it and say ‘This bathroom must have been done within 5 years of 2007.'” He chuckled and agreed.
“Live laugh love” is already stale.
Stainless steel, however, is a timeless and versatile material, and I don’t see it ever going away. It’s the other perennial besides white enamel.
Jeanne says
I soooooo agree about those houses with the garages taking up most of the front. They stick the house behind the garage so the whole thing fits on a smaller lot. Not for me, no thank you.
ClaudiaD says
I agree with you 100% on the snout houses. I hate them – it’s like buying a garage with a house attached, instead of the other way around.
cristina says
This has been a fascinating thread! Does anyone else agree that there maybe something here that only the wonderful Retrorenovation can possibly begin to address — what advice would you give to someone if you ALREADY live in a house that has an open plan, or granite/steel in the kitchen — sounds like folks hate these the most, and these, short of spending lots or even moving, are the hardest to change. How do you overcome that? I know Pam’s fans are not snobs, so I am sure there must be plenty of ideas out there to share. . . Can’t wait to see what we collectively come up with!
Ally Cat says
Good point ! It takes creativity to deal with the probs. that the modern housing world throws at you, and there are plenty of good people living in badly designed houses. Give ’em hope! I saw on this site room dividers with different shaped openings, yet I can’t recall the company name, help anyone?
pam kueber says
Crestview Doors: https://retrorenovation.com/2011/09/14/breaking-news-crestview-doors-introduces-6-decorative-midcentury-style-wall-screens-room-dividers/