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
