What’s hot, what’s not in home decor and lifestyles for 2009-Posted by InsideOut staff, The Times-Picayune
On the threshold of a new year, we pause to take stock of things out and things in for 2009.
Here, culled from national trend reports, hours of Googling, a flood of year-end press releases, the expertise that stems from covering home appliances and lawn maintenance, and one long pizza lunch, is our list of what’s hot and what’s not, at home and abroad.
So read on to reset your fashion odometers, with a resolution to dive into au-courant 21st-century living.
Celebrities who do rebuilding | Celebrities who do rehab
Wall murals | Photo galleries
Purple, purple, purple | Shades of beige
Solar panels | Coal-burning power plants
Vertical gardens | Horizontal gardens
Fiber cement siding | Vinyl siding
Green building | Carbon-guzzling building
Renewable resources | Disposable products
Home and community gardening | Imported produce
Edible gardens | English gardens
On-demand water heaters | Whole-house water heaters
Personal and eclectic decor | Matchy decor
Platinum, dark silver, rose golds and copper | Oil-rubbed bronze
Fixed-rate mortgages | Adjustable-rate mortgages
Stabilized home prices | Inflated home prices
Bare surfaces | Clutter
Imports from Turkey or Russia | Imports from China
“Yes, we can!” | “I’m the decider”
Rain gardens | Irrigation systems
Infill construction | Suburban sprawl
Plumbers who come the next day | Plumbers who put you on a three-month wait list
Native plants | Exotic hybrids
Handmade | Machine made
Steam appliances | Electric appliances
Cultured stone | Granite
Digital cameras | Crime cameras
Organic cleaners | Chemical cleansers
Fabric walls | Papered walls
Cold, hard cash | Refrigerated cash
Multi-functional rooms | Single-use rooms
Outdoor showers | Hot tubs
Smaller building footprints | McMansions
Kitchen islands | Kitchen pass-throughs
Appliance cupboards | Countertop appliances
Dark stains for cabinets | Light stains for cabinets
Casual comfort | Formal elegance
Hollywood glamour decor | Manhattan loft decor
Vintage furnishings | Furnishings you assemble with an Allen wrench
Natural-fiber upholstery and sisal floor coverings | Satin upholstery and Flokati rugs
Low- or no-VOC paints | Paints that make your head spin
Simple pleasures | Extravagant living
Walkable neighborhoods | Long car commutes
Contemporary patchwork quilts | Floral bedspreads
Outdoor furniture with an indoor look | Indoor furniture with an outdoor look
GIY (grow it yourself) | DIY (do it yourself)
Katrina cottages in Mississippi | Katrina cottages in Louisiana
Main Street | Wall Street
Shopping local bargains | Expensive overnight shipping
Low gas prices | High gas prices
Source: The Times-Picayune (www.nola.com)
