COLUMN: Staying trendy while decorating with things you love.

  • Melissa Herrera (COLUMN)
  • September 24, 2012
  • 334
                        
COLUMN SUMMARY: DO YOU PERUSE EVERY DECORATING MAGAZINE KNOWN TO MANKIND? DO YOU RUN OUT AND BUY THINGS JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE IN STYLE? READ ON TO FIND OUT WHY YOU SHOULD TAKE A BREAK FROM THAT AND USE ONLY WHAT YOU LOVE. Are you trendy? Do you ride the wild wave when it comes to décor, paint your bathroom black, or install all new stainless steel appliances? I will admit that I’m a wishy-washy trendy person. If I can find it at a thrift store or on clearance in the home section of any department store, then I’ll buy it. Right now my fetish is silver owls. Now mind you, I don’t own one. But, every time I see one sitting on a shelf somewhere it beckons me. “Missy, buy me. Take me home and set me on your TV stand where I will glare so brightly that you won’t be able to concentrate on your favorite shows.” There I said it. My owl fetish is out in the open. If you’ve been anywhere near home trends in the last ten years you will know that stainless steel appliances are in. They are it. They are the end all be all of any trendy home renovation. If you watch any show on HGTV it will inevitably end with the purchase of incredibly expensive silver appliances. It doesn’t matter that the re-do was supposed to be budget-minded and under five thousand dollars. Three-quarters of that amount MUST be spent on stainless steel – even the toaster. When we had our house fire back in 2007, I wanted stainless steel appliances so bad I could taste it. We had to renovate our kitchen because the fire had burned a hole right through its ceiling. My husband spent vast amounts of time making our kitchen perfect. He installed the cabinetry, put in a new wood ceiling, and built me an island to my specifications. When it came time to buy the appliances I was ecstatic. I hopped in the car and made my way to a large store known for great appliances. I made my way through aisle after aisle of shiny refrigerators and gleaming stoves. Even though I had done my research, the sticker price was still a shock. What did I come home with? A marked-down stainless steel microwave and a faux stainless steel refrigerator and dishwasher. We were able to clean up our only three year old black stove into like-new condition. Why did I choose the fake steel? Because the real deal was enough to start my kid out on her first year of college. The fridge was installed the microwave put in over the stove, the dishwasher hooked up and the kitchen was complete – and beautiful. I had the look I had coveted for a fraction of the cost. I have to admit that I did end up buying a stainless steel toaster. I never said I was perfect. What’s put me on this stainless steel track today? I recently read an article in The Wall Street Journal http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444301704577631443243649090.html that predicts that the trend of stainless steel is nearly over. It created a huge ripple in the blogosphere and had all the experts in a tizzy. I’m not sweating a single drop because I didn’t spend ten thousand dollars outfitting my kitchen with real steel. I can only hope that avocado appliances don’t make a resurrection. My opinion of home decorating is this: It’s all in what you love. If I see a picture hanging in a thrift shop that beckons to me then I will buy it. I don’t really care if someone sticks their nose in the air when they find out where I purchased it. I have a beautiful picture hanging in my living room of abstract sunflowers. The picture is framed beautifully, and I’ve had many a person stand there and gaze at it and ask me where I got it. My answer? Goodwill – you just never know what you’ll find there. I paid seven dollars for it and it was one of the first things I hung in my newly refinished house after the fire. I am not an obnoxious decorator. I peruse places and things with an eye to what pleases me. I think this a good and frugal way to live. If we only buy what’s trendy and spend a fortune in the process, we’re missing out on what we truly love. I might appreciate someone else’s home for what is in it, but I’m not going to run out and shop where they do so I can be a copycat. My home is where I live and unwind, not where I go to be like everyone else. Above all else be unique, search out what you love, and when you find things that appeal to you in unlikely places snatch them up. A banged-up castoff might turn into your favorite thing in the house – all for pennies. I’m going to make a bagel now in my stainless steel toaster. The forty dollars I spent on it gave me the look I wanted, but never makes me feel guilty as I use it every single day.


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