Interior design trends

The hole in the ceiling over the dining room table finally got to me this week. Its been there ever since we removed the glorious 70's chandelier that came with the house, when we first painted the ceiling.. ~July? Purchasing a new one was a real challenge because picking out anything is a challenge for me, and it only gets worse if I involve August.

The trouble is that there are 10,000,000 choices available to me via the Internet. In all shapes, sizes and colors. Early on I noted that oil-rubbed bronze (read: brown) was the most prevalent and the most popular. So I got to wondering what the deal was.. And finally it occurred to me: you need oil-rubbed bronze fixtures to complete your Tuscan/French Country/Old World style, and that's what's all the rage these days. I won't lie: I like the look myself. However, it is not the style we are going for in our house. I think it would be a little at-odds with the original 70's split-level intent of the place.

Anyway in my meager understanding of interior design and popular fashion, I began to wonder something about this trend. In 20 years, will we be laughing at those ugly brown fixtures and hardware? The big chunky "hand-carved" vent hoods? The use of different materials for cabinets and countertops? I suspect so... "Ah ha ha that's so 2000's..."

Case in point: the picture to the left. I believe those oak-trimmed melamine cabinets were called "euro-style" in the 80s. And the lighting, well there are no words for that. See I can talk bad about the 80s for several reasons. One, I was born in the 80s. And two, I actually do own pickled furniture as well as pastel-colored poufy window valences.

So, what light fixture did I chose? Well, not oil-rubbed bronze. It matches nothing in our house. Not pewter/nickel/brushed chrome. Just not feelin' it either. The final selection is black. Classic right? Maybe it won't be laughed at in 10 short years... maybe it will...