What's good for the fashion runway is good for the family room. At least that's what homestyle merchants want us to think. And they're probably right. Fashion trends have always trickled into furniture and home decor, but in today's hyper-linked world, it happens at warp speed.
The latest example was an e-release with the headline: "Make Your Home as Fashionable as Your Closet." (The product being pitched was two-tone slipcovers that echo the color-block trend that's been showing up on runway models, celebrities and fashionable civilians.)
My home is far from fashionable. Mostly I settle for picked up and somewhat clean. My closet isn't all that fashionable either. And I don't think I want my home taking fashion cues from what's lurking there. There's way too much black, for one thing. And far too many platform shoes. How would I translate that style in my family room -- put the furniture up on blocks?
Fashion is fun, but its fads are fleeting. Most of us can't afford to switch up our decor, beyond a throw pillow or two, every time style turns another corner. But if we think fashion doesn't influence what we like, we're kidding ourselves.
Now that turquoise has been declared the color of 2010, by Pantone, few of us rushed out to buy new turquoise furniture. (My upholstery is still sporting the colors of '93, and probably will be for, oh, another decade or so.) But those turquoise throw pillows are going to look awfully fresh and enticing when we spot them at Home Goods or Pier 1.
With dollars tight these days, and no prospect of buying new furniture, maybe a trendy new sofa outfit is just the ticket to lift winter-weary spirits. (The color-block slipcovers are available at www.surefit.com)
Or, for a smaller wardrobe pick-me-up, how about some hot new threads for a favorite lamp? Stretchable lampshade slipcovers, in florals, geometric patterns and animal prints, are available at www.frockZ.com
What will you do to make your home more fashion-forward this spring? Or does your decor defy fashion?
