The Once-Popular Furniture Style That's Dating Your Entire Home

Trends in home decor aesthetics come and go, but sometimes it's the individual pieces in your decor that cycle in and out of fashion. So, a stylized home in any aesthetic can be timeless, but specific elements, especially ones that were trends in their own right, may eventually look outdated. If your interior design style favors luxurious and glamorous furniture, you might have once-trendy mirrored furniture throughout your home. Mirrors are a main element of glam home decor, but their effect varies based on how you implement them. While reflective furniture looked chic in its day, you may find that it is now having a negative effect on your home's overall aesthetic, making your space look dated or even cold or tacky. It can often make a space feel cluttered, especially if you have several reflective surfaces in one room, and limit your design options.

Mirrored glass furniture brings a lot of shine to a space, but it has some problems that can make it less stylish. First, it can be tough to keep clean, especially if you have kids who love to press their fingers on the furniture. If the shiny furniture surface looks dirty or streaky, it takes away from the sparkling glamour that it's known to offer. Even if you know the mistakes people make when cleaning their mirrors and avoid them, your reflective glass furniture may still have some issues. Mirrored tabletops can be quite fragile, and chipped edges will definitely take away from the luxurious and elegant look the furniture typically aims to achieve. Smudges, dust, and chips can all bring down your home's style.

Mirrors help you achieve a luxurious look in a glamorous home, but the way you incorporate them into the design makes a big difference in the overall effect, especially when you experiment with unexpected places for mirrors that will elevate your space. Reflective furniture gives you the benefits of mirrors while also making the furniture a focal point. They bounce around light, making a space feel bigger and brighter. However, their fragile and easily dirtied surfaces make them less functional than wall mirrors styled with non-mirrored furniture. Plus, it is easy to go overboard with reflective surfaces, and too many can be overwhelming or visually clutter your space. When styling mirrors, it is important not to overdo it.

If your mirrored furniture is making your home feel outdated, it may be time to make some changes. Start by looking over your space and making sure you are not overdoing it with these bold pieces. If there are multiple mirrored pieces in one room, consider dispersing them to different rooms in your home or removing some entirely. When placing mirrored furniture, make sure it receives natural light that it can reflect around the room and that, if possible, it is placed in an area where it is unlikely to get damaged. 

The first option when determining what to do with mirrored furniture that feels outdated is to sell or donate some of the reflective items. Then, you can purchase new pieces that fit your aesthetic but are less dramatic or trendy. Make sure you still have a good mirror on the wall, particularly one with an ornate frame that adds some glamour back into the room. 

Alternatively, you can get crafty and refresh the mirrored furniture to tone down the negative aspects. Covering the reflective surfaces with paint, fabric, or other materials can completely change the piece and make it a better fit for your changing tastes. Glass paint, acrylic enamel paint, and regular acrylic paint are all effective for use on glass surfaces. To keep some reflection while updating your furniture, you can choose to leave part of the item, like the tabletop surface glass, while painting the rest of the piece in a color of your choice. When choosing paint colors, consider the best color palette for a glam home decor aesthetic. Opulent fabrics like velvet and silk can maintain the glam style while making it more inviting than the cold look of a sharply mirrored surface.

Of course, mirrored furniture is always a great choice for your home if it is a style you love. Trends have a tendency to cycle back into fashion eventually, so what seems a bit dated now may eventually become chic again. No matter what you choose to do, learn how to keep your furniture from looking outdated to ensure that your home is always stylish.