Predictions on Style Trends that Come and Go

[Andrew Joiner]

With Julie's thread http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?224886-Why-Is-Oak-quot-Dated-quot

I got to thinking: Why do style trends change so fast? Why do some things"come back in style"?
Are some styles/designs timeless?

As a teenager I NEVER would've predicted that sagging pants with underwear exposed would be cool!

I predict there will be tremendous demand for tattoo removal in a few years.
It's expensive to "update" kitchens and baths, but at least it can be done painlessly.

What's your style predictions?

[Bill Huber]

Well around here in the Dallas / Fort Worth area all the shopping centers are going to an open concept. The older malls that were closed type are getting shut down and going away.

What I see in the future is someone will come up with the great idea to close in the malls and then it will start all over.

[Pat Barry]

Probably not gonna get a lot of good new style advice from a bunch of old woodworkers but I can only hope the style of saggy pants, overpowered car stereo's, TV programs that focus on scandal, reality TV shows such as Redneck house party or whatever its called, and the like go away soon. One thing coming, like it or not, is self driving cars http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/196384-google-unveils-its-first-built-from-scratch-self-driving-car

[ken masoumi]

I predict the "distressed or vintage look" is here to stay.

[Mark Bolton]

I don't know that I would want to live in a world of "timeless" design style. It sounds like a recipe for stagnation and a lack of innovation or complacency.

Im a creative type and I know others prefer a more static world with no change, predictability, and so on. Not me. I love change and innovation. I like it across the board not where it suits me.

[Frederick Skelly]

I predict that ladies "bloomers" will soon be back in style. :) Except that this time around, they'll be worn as outer garments instead of - well, bloomers.

I predict that several female celebrity loonies (names witheld to comply with TOS) will be the driving force behind this amazing new fashion trend. (The phrase "Has more money than brains" comes to mind.)

A tattoo removal shop DOES look like a great investment, soon.

Fred

[Kevin Bourque]

I predict that in the future the prevailing trend will be of men wearing makeup and womans clothing, talking effeminately, getting manicures and pedicures, they'll stop playing sports altogether and eventually the differences between men and women will be difficult to determine.

[Mel Fulks]

People are getting so fat that I predict that Richard Simmons will no longer visit people and encourage them to "just try to
wiggle your fingers one more time" ....if they only weigh 600 lbs.

[Justin Ludwig]

Did you know mullets are coming back in style? That's right... Mullets. The Justin Bieber hair is being replaced with mullets. I shall continue to be a people watcher. My entertainment is cheap.

[Jim Becker]

Style trends are generally generated by the marketing folks, not the public, although the latter certainly participates. Why? Because if they didn't encourage "change", there would be nothing sold. ;)

[Rick Potter]

Obviously some have not heard of the Dr. Tatoff chain (franchise?). In some areas where I worked as a fireman, we ran into a lot of young tattooed and siliconized young ladies. I used to try to picture what they would look like when they were in a rest home. Interesting visual.

About style, I suspect cheap junk is here to stay as long as incomes stay depressed. On the other hand I predict it will continue to make sense to homeowners of a Tudor style home to furnish in a more traditional style, as well as 'modern, or 'contemporary' home owners furnishing in a more avant gard style. Dare I say that 'Craftsman style' homes are still usually done in darker oak interior trims?

As before mentioned, good craftsmanship will remain treasured by those who can afford it, and well done wooden cabinetry, though perhaps not 'in' style, will never be completely 'out' of style.

[Mike Cutler]

I suspect that the IKEA grade cabinets, mentioned in Julie's thread, that are so much in demand, will go out of style. "Junk is Junk", no matter what pastel shade you paint it.

We all have to agree to one thing though.
The colors Avocado Green and Harvest Gold can never, ever, be allowed to come back into style. Add Burnt Copper to that list also.

[Brian Elfert]

A big part of the reason Ikea is successful is because a lot of people don't want to buy a really good piece of furniture and keep it for 50+ years like previous generations did. A lot of people will replace furniture every five or ten years as styles change.

I'm in the camp of buy/build good solid furniture and keep it forever. I have a solid wood bedroom set that will probably outlast me.

[Jim Matthews]

Much smaller houses.

[Perry Holbrook]

I hope Made in America continues to grow in popularity.

[Jim Becker]

I suspect that the IKEA grade cabinets, mentioned in Julie's thread, that are so much in demand, will go out of style. "Junk is Junk", no matter what pastel shade you paint it.

Honestly, I originally though this about their cabinets, but changed my mind when I was doing our addition in 2008 and needed a solution for our new second floor laundry room that was expedient and functional. While I'm not overjoyed with the grain matching (or "not matching") on the doors and drawer fronts, the all-metal Blum drawers, Blum soft-close door hardware and the carcasses of their kitchen system are pretty well made, operate quietly and smoothly and were designed with precision. They are certainly nothing like the cheaper end of their furniture products which just don't cut the mustard. Yea, my custom cabinets elsewhere are much nicer, but I don't regret the purchase in any way after years of use.

[Andrew Joiner]

I predict the "distressed or vintage look" is here to stay.

I look more distressed and vintage every year. However the things I design and make are contemporary.

[Kent A Bathurst]

I look more distressed and vintage every year.

Me, too.

But there is no way I am giving up my collection of narrow ties.

Nor the wide ties.

Nor the "contemporary art" ties.

Nor the "art deco" ties.

Nor the "Hippie / Shaft-era" ties.

40+ years of ties in the collection........that pretty much covers the entire fashion cycle - something is always in vogue.

[Art Mann]

There was a thread a few days ago about oak cabinets going out of style. It is true. Nobody wants oak any more. Now, Hickory, is all the rage. I predict that it will quickly be reclassified as "dated" because it is so distinctive and recognizable. When people say they are looking for "stylish", it seems to me like they are looking for anything that looks different from the last "timeless" trend.

[Duane Meadows]

Personally, I was never one to follow what is in "style". If I like it I like it. If my wife likes it too, so much the better. That's why we just put in new red oak kitchen cabinets with Minwax natural "stain"! Yes they have cathedral doors! Neither of us like dark colored cabinetry. Both of us prefer natural wood finishes to painted. Won't even talk about particle board/MDF.

Yes, I built the cabinet myself. Not counting my time,(I'm retired.) I have less in them than I would have going to Ikea. They are custom to our needs, have quality Blum hardware.

The cabinets that were in the kitchen were probably original to the house(1954). These will last that long unless the new owner changes them, but we will likely never do it ourselves! We never gave any consideration to whether or not they are "in style", it is what we both wanted. Even at that the main reason we remodeled the kitchen was the lack of cabinet and counter space, more than style. Oh, also because of drawers that we miserable to open. Ball bearing self close drawer slides was a good enough reason all by itself:)

We'll take functional over trendy any day.

[Brian Elfert]

I can't stand hickory cabinets, at least not the cheap ones. The doors look like crap because none of the wood comes even close to matching.

I'm not sure I could even build cabinets for what I paid for my kitchen cabinets. I don't have a jointer or planer so I pretty much have to buy S4S wood. I would probably end up buying doors so that adds to the cost. I looked at a cheaply made Oak cabinet at Menards the other day and figured I couldn't even buy the materials for what it cost. The cabinet was made in the USA so they didn't benefit from lower costs in China.

[Moses Yoder]

I don't really care about style. I don't follow it and don't know what the latest style is. There really is no way I could care less about style. I buy and use what I like, and my likes change very slowly. I predict this attitude to become in vogue in the next twenty years.

[Mike Cutler]

Honestly, I originally though this about their cabinets, but changed my mind when I was doing our addition in 2008 and needed a solution for our new second floor laundry room that was expedient and functional. While I'm not overjoyed with the grain matching (or "not matching") on the doors and drawer fronts, the all-metal Blum drawers, Blum soft-close door hardware and the carcasses of their kitchen system are pretty well made, operate quietly and smoothly and were designed with precision. They are certainly nothing like the cheaper end of their furniture products which just don't cut the mustard. Yea, my custom cabinets elsewhere are much nicer, but I don't regret the purchase in any way after years of use.

Jim

They must have varying levels of quality across their line. The ones I saw, removed for a friend, were just awful, really bad. I could hold a double up with one hand easily. They were replaced because the bottom had come out of one. Thankfully for them, it was the cabinet that had dry foods, and not expensive dishes.
I'm sure that your experience with woodworking skewed your selection.

[Larry Edgerton]

Much smaller houses.

I think we will see this out of necessity. The cost of building materials has gone crazy in the last ten years. I have $140 sq ft in my own house just in materials, and I still have a few things to do, and there is almost no labor in that number. Financing has tightened up, don't see that changing any time soon.


I hope it goes that way. I have given customers a copy of Sarah Susanka's "The not so big house" to read for years if they are in the planning stages, but most just go big.