Alternatives to the ubiquitous

Someone once asked me the question with puzzled disgust, "Why do you always have to be different?" I do have a contrarian streak that compels me to zag when zigging seems to be the thing to do.

I came up with a few trendy items that have been around for a bit and an alternative for us zag types.

Cute but everywhere. Instead of this...

THIS

Not another Beni!

I like this neutral alternative with a geometric pattern from Stark.

Truth be told, I almost bought one of these last week and I don't hate them.

Here is my alternative gold metal accent piece, also from Target.

What have I left out? Many things I am sure but I have canvases calling me.

3 trends that aren't trendy

I try really hard to steer clear of trendy things. There are a few things that I am seeing more and more that appear to be trendy yet have always been around.

I am not speaking of fashion that have "come back" like mid-century modern. Iconic or not there was a period where it was pretty uncool to be sporting a Broyhill Brasilia piece.

The ubiquitous blue and white porcelain is the first non-trendy trend that comes to mind. It really works in so many decorating styles and has been around (in the West) for hundreds of years.

It was never really out.

Equestrian themed fashion is easier to find lately but the hunt country interior has really never left.

Bunny Williams

The traditional and masculine style is one of my favorite.

The third trend that isn't, is Chinoiserie. It may seem redundant but the blue and white porcelain is sometimes just blue and white without a Chinois theme.

We certainly see a lot of this stylized Eastern look but it is a historically significant style that has never been gauche.

Mary McDonald

 

As I was hunting for photos for this post, it became apparent that all three popular and classic looks work well together.

 

Diamond Barrata Interiors

 

Fashionable semantics

Februaury 2009 World of Interiors

Let's define trendy. Trendy, in my mind, means something on the new side of fashionable. Something hot but not in every home catalog.

 In the photo above, furry floors aside, I see nothing trendy but it strikes me as very fashionable.

This disparate mix of the untrendy, somehow as a group becomes the trend.

my house

My family room has some uber-trendy items like the laquered tray but the mid-century Brno chairs with the Eastlake dresser are an odd pairing, just the way I like it.

I took this photo after a small coup of a conversation with my 16 year-old daughter. She is finally coming to the conclusion that its more interesting to be original in decorating than choose matching sets, which she has always done.

This fine line between mainstream, trendy and fashionable and the individual perceptions of where they lie have been on my mind lately.

Sure, its fashionable to mix up pieces of different eras and quality but hasn't a touch of eccentricity always been chic?

Once a group of tastemakers decide that something is fashionable, isn't it too late?

How unfashionable do you have to be to be fashionable?

When its at Walmart its over

I am not telling you anything you didn't already know but I have been surprised at the speed which things jump from a stylish, thought provoking magazine spread or Pinterest to the shelves of Walmart and other big boxes.

Case in point, these chevron bins that I picked up at the big W for Lego storage.

I expected to see chevron and trellis style prints by now but the speed at which other trendy bits and baubles have appeared is alarming enough to want to avoid them like the plague.

I try to keep trends to a minimum anyway but sometimes I just really like something.

Seeing knock off Hicks pendants and fake Chiang Mai at Target is a nightmare that I have. They may be classics but they are majorly trendy too.

Where do you draw the line?

Have a great holiday weekend!

3 trendy classics that I will never tire of...

How can something be a "trendy classic"? Well, I simply mean that there are classics that happen to be getting a lot of attention right now. I won't tire of them and keep buying them.

The first on my list is Oriental rugs.

Since I was very little I loved them, imaging romantic flying adventures on them and the inside of a genie's bottle filled with layers of the carpets.

I inherited a small Persian and have been slowly collecting my own.

I just bought this one on eBay and I am anxiously awaiting its arrival.

The second thing on my list is blue and white porcelain.

I have much of my great-grandmother's collection and I have been adding to it with antiques and new pieces as I find them.

My latest and yet to be delivered eBay buy

A recent auction find

Trumpet vases from The Pink Pagoda

I am not new to loving this color palette. In my first house everything in my kitchen had to be blue or white or blue and white!

The third on my list will be no surprise. It is abstract art. But not just what I paint.

A small mixed media that I bought for my living room

Linda Monfort

This abstract by Linda Monfort was my very first Etsy purchase and inspired my painting "Into elan" which hangs in my daughter's room and is not for sale.

"Into elan"

She likes to touch it because "The good dreams are in there"

I will not tire of this...ever!

Do you have anything to add to my list?

Blowing up a classic

Bombe chests are the ultimate in girly, French classic looks. I love them as an alternative to a bar.

my own Bombe that has been moved and restyled

I love them styled with modern art on the wall to balance out the sweetness. My own Bombe chest has just that, a vignette with modern art.

There have always been less ornate versions available and in the last few years I have seen even more pared down, modern versions.

Trendy takes on the style are everywhere too.

Would you go for an original, replete with ormulu trim or a more modern, perhaps trendy version of these?

Memory lane

This weekend I spent an hour or two flipping through the jumble named "old photo" on my computer. They were organized before I got a new laptop and now baby pictures, first days of school, relatives and inspiration files are one. I looked at my inspiration photos and was amazed at just how much my taste has changed in the last 2 1/2 years.

I think they call that fickle.

Here is a random assortment of shots that I may or may not still like.

this one makes me want to gouge my eyes out especially with that rug that needs to be fixed

I still want to sleep here

Are there looks that you loved a few years ago that you just can't stand anymore?

Shaken not stirred

In a few weeks some good friends from Pennsylvania will be visiting. This will be their first visit to our house in Virginia and we are all excited.
I have been trying to get a few odds and ends together before their arrival. My deck needed a serious "zhush" so that they have a comfortable place to smoke. It will be a rather grown-up sort of weekend so I am glad to have my older kids to care for the little one while we behave badly.

Just to get in the mood I am showing a round-up of bar carts from my Pinterest board Bar Carts.

First is my own set up that will need a little thoughtful stocking.

There are some fabulous carts here.

This is probably my favorite

Which one is your favorite? Do you have a bar cart?