Is The Themed Decor Trend Officially On Its Way Out?

Lately, home design trends seem to be getting more creative and specific, with phrases like coastal grandmother decor or moody martini aesthetic, representing popular design concepts. While social media gives us a great outlet to share and discover new inspiration, it also makes it easy to get carried away with incorporating popular trends, and veering into themed decor territory. Our idea of themed design may be solely associated with extravagant Bat-Mitzvahs, children's bedrooms, and of course the Extreme Makeover Home Edition grand reveals, which always took a theme to the next level. However, there are many homes that still hold their themed rooms near and dear, even if the future of this design approach is uncertain. In fact, designers believe this trend may be on its way out, as overusing a theme throughout your decor can leave it looking dated.

When it comes to decorating, there can sometimes be a fine line between trendy and tacky. Getting too eager to incorporate a certain trend to the point where it becomes a loud theme, tends to take things too far and ends up looking harsh. Although many designers may lean away from themed decor, there are thoughtful ways to explore a theme without it looking outdated.

While going all out with a decor theme may seem like a great way to express your tastes, the reality is that it can be quite limiting to your design. Themes can range in emphasis, but they're overall defined as a visual design that is used to reflect a certain idea or inspiration point. These reference points can be anything from a specific color, pop culture reference, location, era, or even animal print. There's nothing wrong with using something to inspire your design, but the more intensely you abide by your theme, the tackier it can look. Designers note that more defined themes like Italian or nautical decor can feel dated, but lightly referencing a theme with a few loosely-inspired elements will feel more stylish. In most cases, it's best to design your room based on a concept instead of a theme for a timeless look — this gives you more flexibility to give your space its own unique character, rather than just trying to mirror one.

Modern design tastes have seemingly outgrown the excessive implementation of a theme, as trending styles lean away from strictness and uniformity to create room for more flow and personality. If you aim to make every element of a room reflect a theme, it leaves things feeling one-dimensional. Take an all-white theme for example — this takes minimalism to an extreme, making things feel stark and cold, missing the layers of personal touches and contrasting elements that make a home come alive.

There are ways to incorporate a theme without going overboard and risking an out-of-style future. Recently, we've seen previously deemed outdated trends make a comeback by using modern design approaches to make them feel relevant. There's been talk about '90s kitchen decor trends coming back in style, and these spaces were known for taking a very specific theme like fat chefs or barn roosters and running with it. It's best to avoid these literal themes as anything but one of many layers to your design, and aim to incorporate hinted elements like color, texture, and objects that loosely align with your theme (among others). Overwhelming your space with a theme won't age nicely, so designers recommend sprinkling in a few themed accents you can switch up moving forward, to keep the design feeling fresh.

If you have a great theme in mind, try to expand the concept into a more flexible realm of inspiration. For example, you may want to commit to a bold theme like the viral circus tent decor trend, but in order to make it timeless you'll need to widen the scope. Draw inspiration from the fun and expressive energy, colorful contrasts, and sophisticated vintage appeal. You can add circus-striped accents sparingly, but not every element of the space should feel clearly connected to the theme. A theme that defines your decor will also date it, but one that softly inspires your choices can embrace and evolve with a stylish look.