Trend watch: What’s not hot in 2020
COMMENTARY and fall of what’s hot and not is mostly Madison Avenue marketing getting us to buy new stuff. Classic design with timeless appeal, not the trend du jour, is what you want in your home — and closet for that matter.
Ha! If only I were that disciplined. The truth is, in January, when trend spotters put out their annual lists of what’s hot and what’s not, I guiltily gobble up the reports like good gossip, the way I slyly scan the tabloid headlines in the grocery store checkout. (Brad and Jen again, really?)
So after reviewing several 2020 lists, which I’m,
required to do as a professional, I pulled out half a dozen looks ready to go the way of the floppy disk. Here’s my what’s not-hot list, along with what designers suggest you try instead, followed by my humble opinion (MHO).
Like most novelties, this one didn’t stick. The metal’s pink undertones limit how and where you can use it, say Living Spaces experts. Plus, if you get a rose-gold faucet and a rose-gold light fixture from different makers, the finishes likely won’t match, South added.
Try instead: “People are swinging back to chrome,” South said. “Chrome used to be the finish you put in the children’s bath, but consumers have learned that chrome (because of its chromium plating) is easy to clean, impervious to most household chemicals and surprisingly durable. Plus, chrome always matches.
MHO: What in your home do you handle more than your faucets? This is no place for precious, persnickety, thin-skinned metallic finishes. Hands down, or on, chrome gets my vote.
After a long ride, gray is finally fading. In a recent survey, Fixr found that 80 percent of designers said gray was either completely over or waning. According to Elle Décor, restrained, monochromatic gray-ongray interiors are passé. However, South adds, the lag between what designers say and what homeowners