5 Interior Design Trends That Need To Go

I originally wrote this for St Louis Magazine about a year ago. Yeah... these all still apply in 2013...

Remember the halcyon days of what really only seems like five minutes ago? When bold geometric patterns started popping up everywhere? Modern kitsch started getting hot? You saw a chevron emblazoned rug for the first time and swooned? ("I HAVE to get one!") Yeah, those days are gone now. Mostly.
I'm kind of one of those people that viciously turns on any trend as soon as it gets popular though, so keep that in mind. Here are 5 of them that are either on their way out or need to be mercy killed. Quickly.


Keep Calm and Carry On

Ok. So I’m guilty of owning one of these things too. And they were cool and edgy at first. Until the hordes of funny(?) knockoffs started to flood in. Now we’ll have to just Keep Calm and Let It Go.

2.      Espresso colored wood

...And dark woods in general. Nothing makes a room look like it was designed 15 years ago like heavy, dark espresso, veneered furniture. Good riddance. 

3.      Chevrons

I know, I’m sad too. The worst thing that can happen to a great design trend is for it to be too successful. I love the bold chevron look and would festoon every surface in my house with them, but I think it’s gotten too popular. It’s still permissible in small doses with a prescription from your interior designer. I estimate that approximately 45% of the home furnishings section of T.J. Maxx is something with a chevron on it. Set it down and walk away...

  

4.      Jonathan Adler Knockoffs

I love Jonathan Adler, and his kitschy-glam style was really a breath of fresh air a few years back. But fresh Adler designs begat bad Adler inspired copies from virtually every mass market retailer. I’m looking at you Target. Even Jonathan Adler himself has moved on. Kind of.

5.      Zebra Prints

Animal prints in general have seen a huge revival in designer circles lately, and a lot of them are fun and fresh (I still want my crocodile wallpaper, and I can't ever find a good cheetah print). Not so much when it comes to zebra. Mostly, I think, because they are usually done so stylistically that they barely look like the animal that they’re imitating.