3 Design Trends I Will Not Use Again
I feel like every house dictates design choices based on era of home, layout, overall style and current trends. Our 1860 farmhouse was a perfect example of this. There are three design trends that I chose at our hillside farmhouse that I will not choose to use again,
one of which was the most loved and talked about design choice in our house.
lets dive into why
Brick floors
*gasp* I would not choose to do brick floors again.
I was very torn with flooring in our farmhouse kitchen because it was surrounded by beautiful original wood floors. I chose to keep wood cabinet bases, and brighten the space with white upper cabinets. I loved the two tone cabinet trend, and I wanted to pay some tribute to the wood cabinet kitchen as it was. After designing our kitchen, it was difficult to find a timeless floor to play off of the wood cabinets AND tie into the rest of the house.
We decided to use Old Mill Brick which is real brick that has a thin depth more similar to tile. Brian laid the brick in a herringbone pattern with a double sailor border, and it sure was a show stopper. We fooled many people who thought it was original to the home, which was my hope in choosing this design trend. Our kitchen floors were probably the most commented design choice in our house that everyone loved.
So why would I not choose it again?
It was hard to clean. It was so difficult to get the mortar clean, and it was even difficult to vacuum because dust and dirt would collect in the deep joints. I found myself steam mopping the brick, which would clean the brick surface, but leave the mortared joints untouched. The kitchen is a very high traffic area and large area to have such a difficult floor to clean. So its a no for me to choose again.
brick floors
beautiful, but difficult to clean.
Matte paint on trim/doors
Imperfection comes with the territory of an old farmhouse, and higher gloss paint can highlight these imperfections. I chose to use matte sheen paint on our doors, trim, walls, ceilings for this reason, and although it did help to not bring as much attention to the imperfections, it was also very difficult to clean. Doors especially are a high touched surface in your home, and after time they started to show finger prints and marks that I was unable to clean off. Choosing a satin or semi gloss paint sheen will make them easier to wipe clean.
matte paint
hides imperfections, but difficult to clean.
Mosaic Tile Floors
I chose to use mosaic tile in both bathrooms at our farmhouse because many options are timeless. I chose this beautiful basket weave marble tile that I love, but there are a few reasons why I would not choose it again.
Cost: it is rather costly compared to some other tile options.
Difficult installation: it is more difficult to lay and grout the small tiles (you can see some of the imperfections in the photo below)
Cleanability: small mosaic tiles mean more grout, which is difficult in a high traffic area like a bathroom floor.
Mosaic tiles are beautiful, but may be better suited for a wall or as a small accent to a space.
mosaic tile
timeless, but costly, difficult to install, and hard to keep clean.
Overall, homes are meant to be lived in. Design trends may be beautiful, but not practical.
Are there any design trends in your home that you would not choose to do again?
