How long do you keep things in a room the same, especially the fabrics?
Well, mostly the same. I think we all do some tweaking here and there all the time, but for the most part, do you keep your space the same for many years? I do know that fabrics can date a room. Many times, you can walk in someone’s home and make a mental note of exactly when they did that particular room, based on the fabrics. Can’t you?
I think for me I would say at least 7-10 years, I will keep my fabrics and most of the bones of the room the same. Maybe changing out some accessories here and there, but I try to be content and satisfied for several years before I go changing out the major things in a room. 
(from Charles Faudree)
I’ve learned that for the most part, keeping sofas a neutral fabric and color is the best for me. That’s a tried and true thing that I’ve stuck with over the last 20 years or so. Chairs can be something in a print, but even those can be iffy when you want to change out a look in your room.
I love the above pic from Charles Faudree. He’s the king of toile and traditional design, with beautiful toiles and checks mixed so perfectly. I fell in love with toile almost 10 years ago and still have that fabric in my house in the dining room and guest room. But, as much as I still love toile, it’s not what floats my boat right this minute.
Isn’t it funny how we can change our minds about what we love when trends and fabrics change?
Like this for instance. I’m going to swallow my pride and show you my old house, back in 1986. I was so proud to have a house of my very own to do what I wanted with it. And this is what I did. Some of you were just babies back then. Me? I was a single girl out to decorate her first place. 
Isn’t it lovely?  No, not the hair. And don’t laugh. You know you had hair like this too. :)I could definitely rock the big hair.
This beautiful shade of seafoam green was so in back then. In fact, do you see a comeback in the making? It’s not so different than some of those blue/green shades we are all loving now.
Of course, then we were pairing it with mauve (yep, I did mauve carpet, what was I thinking?) and I even threw in gray for some contemporary flair. My mother was sewing for me back then too and made the curtains and that window seat cushion. I thought it was SO pretty.
Then, sometime around the early 90’s, this dark and moody hunter green was everywhere. Hunter green and burgandy. I bet you had some of this too, right?  It was dark and cave like, but then I moved on to my red stage. 
I can’t put my hands on my old house pics, but I had a red very similar to this one in my dining room and I painted the whole living room with it and had new window treatments made for it too with a yellow/gold background (again, my mom sewed for me).
Don’t you feel like you are constantly growing when it comes to decorating? I sure do!
When we moved in this house, I didn’t change out many of my fabrics at all and it’s been almost 5 years that we have lived here. Many of those fabrics go way back from there. The only room I started over with was our master bedroom and bath.
So, I’m chomping at the bit to do a little freshening in my kitchen. I have loved, loved my red bunny fabric for a very long time now. My mom did such a great job on that window treatment and I said to myself that I would keep it until something else started to grab me. This window treatment is almost 9 years old now. It is still very charming and I certainly don’t dislike it, but some other fabrics have grabbed my attention. 
And this fabric that I found earlier this year at Old Time Pottery has been calling my name. You may remember I used it for pillows on my porch, but I have plenty left to do a window treatment with. I won’t even have to change the green paint in there, but these fabrics will freshen it up. Even though these colors are brighter than what I have elsewhere, I’m going for it. 🙂
Those 2 sample fabrics with it are from Tonic Living, a new site my friend, Kate, shared recently. I clicked over there and LOVED all the fabrics and the best part, they are so reasonably priced. They even offered a 10% discount on orders, with the coupon code, TONICLIVING, which I intend to use.
I’m pretty sure this pretty golden yellow lattice fabric will go on my chair seats. And I’m hoping that stripe is still available as I don’t see it on the website now.  I’m not sure yet what type of window treatment I’ll do, but I think it will be simple. You will definitely stay in the loop when I do figure it out! 
I admit, I’m a fabric junkie. My mother used to drag us in the fabric stores when we were growing up, so maybe that has something to do with it. But, when I see a fresh new fabric out there that catches my eye, it begs me to bring it home with me. I’m about a 7-10 year girl with my fabrics.
So, tell me!
How long do you keep your fabrics? Many years like I do or do you tend to change them more often or less often!
And what is it that gets the itch going for change? Is it fabric or a particular color?
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The giveaway winner for the Downlite pillow is #144, Patty Hibble. Congrats Patty, email me with your mailing address and I’ll get you connected.
Since I do use neutrals with my furniture, so I change out my curtains, pillows with the seasons Spring/Summer and then Fall/Winter
I had a Ralph Lauren inspired master bedroom, at the farm. Hunter green with burgundy…hunt scene prints…the whole nine yards. The great room dining room was Williamsburg Blue and mauve…yes it was…and wallpaper all over the place!;-)
I tend to change things up every 6 or 7 years. That’s why I am in the midst of making some changes this year. It has been 7 years since we built our house. I cannot believe it’s been 7 years. I still like our paisley sofa, but I am wanting changes in chairs. Been lookin’, no decisions yet. I’ve changed the paint colors in the living room, dining room, powder room and the master suite. Still hanging onto Laura Ashley Gold 3 in the kitchen area…everytime I think about painting, I get cold feet, because I can’t make up my mind. I usually have no problem with choosing colors, but that area of the house is a whole ‘nuther story!
Can’t wait to see your new look!
I redecorate major things every year like furniture little things 2-6 months. Paint doesn’t change much because I hate painting walls. I’m also 17 (1993) so no ugly christmas colors like hunter green. The most dated thing in my room is a ’30’s chair reupolstered in the’80’s uith leopard print and the uglyest roses you have ever seen.
Also my mom had that hair and outfit in the 80’s too.
I get attached to my fabrics too, but I have been thinking of my kitchen and it needs an update. Den too. I took down the living room dining room curtains and just have the white plantation shutters for now. Looks clean and crisp. I need a Cutting Corners fix, great fabrics at terrific prices.
I probalby change things around every couple of years. In fact I am just in the process of updating a “red room” which has been this way for about ten years. Time to go lighter and brighter.
By the way, I bet we are close to the same age, Seafoam green and mauve were so in when we had our first house, and your hair, well let’s just say I’ve been there done that or something pretty close. Texas big hair girl myself!
I loved my big hair back then too! And the mauve carpet and I also had a lot of peach and seafoam green in my house! I am so ready for a change in our house now. It’s been almost 10 years and it’s time. I have a Decorator/Stager coming to my house tomorrow to help me with a new color scheme and some furniture placement. We will probably be moving in a couple of years so whatever we do we will do it with re-sale in mind. Probably more neutral. Great post today!!
Your hair is not that bad – I’ve seen a lot worse from that era!! Me redecorate? Only as needed….thankfully I have a son who loves to paint and change colors. Now getting him here is another story! 🙂
Oh Rhoda…I had to laugh as I had some of the SAME patterns and colors that you shared!!!Like you, I cannot afford to change sofas often so I try to change things up with pillows and accessories. Last time I bought a sofa, about six yrs ago now, I went for a print as I am just not much of a neutral person and I have enjoyed it. But you are right that if you go neutral you have more decorating choices. Loved your Big Hair…it looked great on you!
Too often, I’m afraid!
Love the hair, and yes I had big hair too back then. I thought I looked pretty spiffy actually!
Sue
xo
We bought our first house in 1986 and it was all about the blue and mauve, seafoam and peach….oh my! By the mid 1990’s when we moved, the whole thing had been redecorated in gold, cranberry red, hunter green and navy. This house was done in much of the same palette, with more yellow/gold and lots ‘o wallpaper and lots ‘o fabric! Just this year, I’ve knocked everything back and gone mostly neutral with paint (no more wallpaper) and lots of solids and stripes for fabrics. I really didn’t want to go with the whole blue/brown theme that is so trendy, but I did end up with some of that color in my den (along with bronze…which I love!) So, I’d say about every 8-10 years, I flip the whole decor over a period of two years in transition. Right now there is still a lot of gold paint that needs to be covered up, but I’m getting there. And one thing I always wanted to do and now am glad I never did is the red dining room. I had a lot of red in this house, but only put it on the wall in the laundry room. LOVE the new fabrics you’ve chosen!
Thanks for sharing! I went through about the same color history at my house. Remember mauve and country blue? I also used seafoam green and hunter green a lot! I seemed to miss the red walls.
I like your ideas for new kitchen fabric. I too love fabric and it really does update a room.
It’s funny how I can love a room and then one day look at it and realize it needs an update.
Haha! I was sporting the big hair in my wedding photos! LOL! So, I definitely will not laugh at you, only with you! I probably change out much like you every 7 to 10 years on major furniture pieces. However, I like using fabrics on pillows and window treatments that get changed more frequently.
I have about 8 yards of fabric that I bought this summer. I love, love, it.
However, it is brighter than what I am used to and I frankly am a bit scared to recover the chair. I keep telling myself it is only a chair and a chair can be a bit loud…..right????? :-/ I definitely am tired of the boring pattern that is on it now!
I had to laugh Rhoda,not at your hair because mine looked just like yours but the colors. I thought I was having 80’s flash back to my house. I did those same dark colors and loved them so~ Funny how we can change with the times and think we are always going in a better direction. I do wonder if I will look back in 5 years and dread my gray cabinets and gray/blue walls. I think decorating is like living..you learn as you go. It’s been fun learning along side of you my friend. I bet the best is yet to come 🙂 Susie~
I tend to keep things for some time. I do not jump on the current trend bandwagon. I am much more traditional and use alot of antique pieces. I do love fabric tho! I think my rooms tend to evolve, if that makes sense. Instead of a big change, small changes along the way. We use somewhat the same colors throughout the house – I like things to flow that way and pieces to be interchangeable in rooms. So I guess my answer is that I’m not one who changes things out that often.
tina
Oh, yeah, girl, I remember all these stages! I was so in to country blue and rust, with the occasional pairing of country blue and mauve. And then I moved on hunter green, and then to jewel tones in a huge way. Yep.
I tend to be like you with my fabrics. I don’t tend to itch to change something every year, but after 7 years or so, I find myself wanting to freshen things up a bit. If there’s something I really, really love, though, I may be content to keep it for longer.
I’ve had a red dining room for a long, long time. I first painted my dining room red back in 1991, when I was considered pretty crazy for doing it. The red has morphed over the years and is now almost a brown color. Now I’m itching to do something different, but the problem is that I still can’t decide what to do! The dining room is the one room where I want a darker color and a bit of drama. I’m considering chocolate brown or a deep peacock blue. Maybe one of these days I’ll make up my mind!
I haven’t stayed in a place long enough to keep my fabrics! 3-4 yrs ago we lived in TN and I liked how I had things, but moved. In PR, we had no curtains/fabrics. We didn’t plan on staying long. Now, we have the curtains that were left from the previous home owners (it works well). I’ve bought rugs, though for the rooms (have hardwood floors) and now pillows. We’ll see how long I’ll keep them for 🙂
When I got married in 1991, my living room colours were blue and dusty rose. My kitchen was blue with “goose” accessories that were so popular then. I moved on to the dark green and burgundy when we built our first house in 1996. For our second house I chose a lot of dark colours like greens and beiges. Now I am finding that my tastes are changing again. Now I am liking the lighter, beachy feel. I’d like to make some changes but I have a lot of dark wood furniture and fabrics. My couch is dark green, still in great shape, but doesn’t fit the lighter feeling I’d like to have in my house. The frugal part of me doesn’t want to get rid of perfectly good couch because I am tired of it 🙂
I definitely move furniture around seasonally. After living in the house seven years I finally did an update on fabrics this weekend. It feels so good to start autumn with a new look.