Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not the matchy matchy (though that is also a passe look these days). I think of pottery barn as the look that everyone tried to stuff their bland mcmansions with in the early 2000s to give an air of "fanciness" in a home that was otherwise devoid of any character .... And homes that needed tons of big furniture to try and fill the big rooms. Brown leather everything, big brown couches, apothecary tables, dark wood stuff. Lots of browns, sage green, beige, deep red. Lots of candles, vases, and other junk that was clearly picked up at PB and not the antique market. Crate and barrel was channeling that look a lot in the early 2000s also, though a bit more modern take on it.

Differences today: lighter wall colors. Blue/brown undertones in your color scheme rather than green/brown. Wood finishes today are walnuts, washed out grey, teaks and other medium woods, instead of darker browns with that "painted on" look. Much tighter lines on sofas today (i.e. lots of sofas with button back instead of big pillows and turned arms). More metals in furniture right now. Midcentury is huge, instead of say, the asian or tuscan look we saw in the 2000s.

Pretty much everything described in your second paragraph is currently being sold at Pottery Barn.

It may be being "sold" at Pottery Barn, but it is certainly not the look Pottery Barn is selling. Case in point. I challenge you to visit just the home pages of:

www.potterybarn.com

and

www.roomandboard.com

And tell me with a straight face that Pottery Barn's look includes lighter colors, midcentury styling, blue undertones and light colored woods.

Yes, I can say it with a straight face. Go from the home page which is selling fall and holiday décor to the furniture page. Plenty of blue undertones and light wood.

Here's the link to the furniture page: http://www.potterybarn.com/shop/furniture-upholstery/?cm_type=gnav

You may be able to find some examples of blue undertones, but everything they are selling is heavy wood on that page. Heavy dark wood and leather. Look - there's not even a PB in DC-proper anymore, because the only people shopping there are 45-65 year old suburban moms who didn't realize this trend died (and periodically you'll see a 30 year old couple in there, who are clearly shopping for stuff for their first house - and don't know anything about furniture other than what they see at their mom's house).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not the matchy matchy (though that is also a passe look these days). I think of pottery barn as the look that everyone tried to stuff their bland mcmansions with in the early 2000s to give an air of "fanciness" in a home that was otherwise devoid of any character .... And homes that needed tons of big furniture to try and fill the big rooms. Brown leather everything, big brown couches, apothecary tables, dark wood stuff. Lots of browns, sage green, beige, deep red. Lots of candles, vases, and other junk that was clearly picked up at PB and not the antique market. Crate and barrel was channeling that look a lot in the early 2000s also, though a bit more modern take on it.

Differences today: lighter wall colors. Blue/brown undertones in your color scheme rather than green/brown. Wood finishes today are walnuts, washed out grey, teaks and other medium woods, instead of darker browns with that "painted on" look. Much tighter lines on sofas today (i.e. lots of sofas with button back instead of big pillows and turned arms). More metals in furniture right now. Midcentury is huge, instead of say, the asian or tuscan look we saw in the 2000s.

Pretty much everything described in your second paragraph is currently being sold at Pottery Barn.

It may be being "sold" at Pottery Barn, but it is certainly not the look Pottery Barn is selling. Case in point. I challenge you to visit just the home pages of:

www.potterybarn.com

and

www.roomandboard.com

And tell me with a straight face that Pottery Barn's look includes lighter colors, midcentury styling, blue undertones and light colored woods.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you li e in a lift or. Mid century home, mid century furnishings look horribly out of place. I find Room and Board which is modern life to be bland.[/quotshould have been. "Live in a lift"

I live in a 1850 rowhouse and it is channeling some midcentury (among other current design trends). My mother lives in an updated 1980s suburban ranch, and it's channeling modernism with some midcentury thrown in. I used to live in a beach condo, and it was channeling modern with midcentury pieces thrown in. I also used to live in a 1920 Spanish style home in Florida, and the midcentury worked there too. I have a good eye for design - when done correctly, this look works well almost anywhere.

Frankly, the PB look also looked nice almost anywhere back in 2004. I liked it then. But just like my fashion style has naturally evolved and moved on past what I was wearing in 2001 (skinny blank pants! capris! chunky wedge shoes! red and black everything!) so has home design. Yes, I still have some classics in my closet from back then, just like I still have some classics in my house that stay forever. But the overall look has moved past that look.