Is Monogrammed Home Decor Going Out Of Style?

Monogrammed home decor has been around for a long time and can actually be traced back to 350 B.C. when those in power used their monogram as their signature, explains So and Sew Boutique. If this is your first time hearing about it, this type of interior design is characterized by home decor items adorned with your monogram, such as pillow covers, decorative towels, and even bedsheets. Monogrammed decor is very common among sorority members looking to stylize their college dorm and newlyweds decorating their first home.

Even more so, monogrammed home decor is extremely popular in the South, which stems from the idea of Southern Hospitality, The Southern Rose explains. Many homeowners in the South will have personalized home items for their guests as a way to make them feel welcomed, in hopes they visit again. The question is, is monogrammed home decor going out of style for everyone else? It's been around for more than 2,000 years, but is its reign finally coming to an end?

The pros and cons of monogrammed decor

While monogrammed decor is wildly popular amongst newlywed couples, there's really no reason for this, other than the couple is excited to be married and have their own home,  don't be surprised if you find yourself eating off of a plate with the couple's wedding date etched into it. To a couple, a set of monogrammed towels says, we're married, and we live here — after all, the sole purpose of monogramming an object is to identify who owns it, states American Stationery

While that sort of decor can be cute, there is a fine line between cute and tacky, and it must be tread very carefully. There is such a thing as too much monogram, and when you rely on using only decorated initials to style your home, you're bound to run into that problem. Instead of walking into your home, your guests will think they've walked into a shrine of you (yuck). Luckily, there are ways you can save yourself from this homeowner faux pas.

What do to instead

If you love the idea of monogrammed home decor, but you don't want to step over the line into the tacky zone, GM Lifestyle suggests a few rules to keep in mind — the most crucial being that less is always more. For a more discrete look, instead of plastering all of your initials on every surface in your home, opt for a single initial instead. You could also choose words or phrases instead of initials, for instance, using Smith instead of just S.

Once you have decided on the style of monogramming you want, Forbes recommends placing your monogram somewhere unexpected. For example, discreetly etching it into the mantle on your fireplace, or having it engraved into a piece of vintage furniture. This way, you can still let people know it's your home, but you don't need to constantly remind them every time they enter a room.