Home - Garden
Fixer To Fabulous
Stars Say To Ditch These Outdated
Home Trends
By MARCO ROSSI
Open Floorplans
Open floorplans have been popular since the 1990s, but HGTV’s Jenny Marrs is over them and wishes a return to "more cozy spaces that were defined better."
Jenny doesn't seem to be alone in her opinion: Per a 2023 survey by Rocket Homes, 48.8% of respondents prefer to have walls. Open concepts no longer have overwhelming approval.
Gray
Dave and Jenny Marrs say that oversaturating a house in gray now feels passé. Originally favored to create minimalist spaces, gray seems less contemporary and uninspired now.
Designers and amateur decorators are instead choosing warm neutrals like beige. People want their abodes to feel less like a modern showroom and more like a lived-in home.
Tray Ceilings
A staple of the late 1990s and early 2000s was tray ceilings, which the Marrses say should now be avoided at all costs because they make a house look outdated.
If you don’t want to drywall over a tray ceiling, first paint it a creamy white and then place molding along the cornice so that the walls seem taller and the tray shallower.
Cultured Marble
Made from natural marble dust and resins, this marble is a quarter of the price but doesn’t always mimic authentic marble well and can appear plasticky, per Jenny.
Cultured marble also stains and scratches quite easily. Instead, quartz mimics the veining of natural stone but is more resistant to damage, lasts longer, and looks more modern.
Dining Rooms
The Marrses are fans of breaking with convention and converting an unused formal dining room into something a little more useful, such as an office or even a home gym.
"Do what works for you," Dave says. More and more people want their rooms to perform multiple functions, especially when considering interest rates and the rising costs of homes.