Modern Country: A Style Evolution

There's nothing like looking at old photos of yourself to remind you, that you never want your hair to look like it did in 1980, at least mine ; ))

And walking down a photographic memory lane on a blog can be torture or telling.

Recently some of my favorite bloggers have shown some really great "before and after"

houses showing how quickly trends can end.  

Check out Joni's @CDT

It is pretty clear that most design trends have a shelf life of about 5 to 6 years.  Some last a bit longer.

Take subway tile and Carrera marble for instance....still looks pretty great  right? 

But when we see brown granite or beige marble

 it just looks really tired.

I recently posted this room on my Instagram and many commented how much they liked this room.

I do too and the only thing I would probably do different here is the head board. 

More on that later!

So let's take a peek at some photos and see if the"look I loved" just 7 years ago can still hold up today. 

Is it all out of style already? 

Do I still love it?  

And more importantly would I do any of this again today 

or would I do something completely different?

I have embraced a relaxed, collected, somewhat modern country look in almost all of my homes.  

The truth is, I really love elements of this look, just not the whole package anymore.

In the photo above I was collecting Roseville pottery.  I sold the hutch (bummer) and most of the pottery.  I don't collect the pottery anymore but I would probably buy that hutch again for sure!

The appeal of well loved painted pieces never seems to fade.

photo: John Ellis   styling: Sunday Hendrickson

This kitchen was re-worked in 2008 and photographed a few times for some magazines. 

 I showed it a lot on this blog because it was very bright and fun to style with the open shelves.

 Open shelving is still going strong and here to stay for a while, don't you think?

I added the big oversized pendants but today I'm not sure.  Still current? 

Today I would probably use a large clear pendant and use accents of brass.

Ok.... so I think I count 4 vintage signs all relating to eggs...which I wouldn't do again 

and way to many green collectibles. 

 By the way, all of the stuff in this photo I owned!

This is another view.  This looks more current to me. 

I love the black honed granite and the cool parsons table from Room and Board

All of the modern black details work together: 

the stone, the table base, the frame around the art, the small floor lamp and the iron drapery rods.

Sunday Hendrickson styled this cupboard with the Roseville and some wicker pieces 

but I used it for dish storage.  

I really do love this photo but...

it's very country and not so modern

This huge armoire housed a microwave and bar fridge 

but the stacks of firkins are the icing.

I don't collect them and most have sold. 

Would they have an appeal in a modern room today?

Cupboard...?

Firkins ....?

I feel like the original green paint is just too much for me 

so I doubt I would buy this again. 

 The room above is circa 1998.  A little beach house.

 I like this room.  White slipcovers, a little Ralph Lauren fabric and some warm leather.  

Mostly I like the simplicity of it and that it's not over done.

Not trendy but not really all that dated

 How about framed botanicals?  

21 here in this collection.  

Perfect for this room but I don't collect them anymore, however 

they probably won't really ever look dated because they are so unique.
What I find interesting is that today often art is chosen because of color and not for the love of the medium or artist. 

same room professionally styled and photographed

I do like the slips on the chairs and the Asian side board

 This is an interesting mix.  The lamps are crated jugs which I repurposed into lights.  

And the art is a reproduction by modernist Franz Klein 

I could do this again.  

 Ok....now we've hit the mother load.  My dreaded grain sack hoarding.

Seriously I put sacks and ticking on anything that didn't wear shoes.

Which means I never sewed a dress for myself out of a grain sack but I probably thought about it!

This chair is fun.  I think the fabric is used in a way that still feels current.

Here they are again

Photo: Victoria Pearson Styling: Heather Bullard

This room feels modern to me.  

Today I would add a very minimal floor lamp to the mix and use a different rug.

This combo of fabric just screams old school country. 

 It's pretty but feels almost heavy.

Need I say more?  Totally out of control with the grain sacks !

Are we sick of it yet?

Apparently I'm not because 

I did my last grain sack project on these chairs about 6 months ago!

  I think this is the end...these sacks were all patched and faded and are more subtle
 so they seem more current

OK....Moving right along

 This was a fun room with a mix of styles but my question here is the rug!?

I know you're gonna scream and throw tomatoes but I just don't like the animal patterned rugs anymore.

 I'm also not crazy about the tiger/cheetah/gazelle fabric either....which is why I'm only showing photos of my rooms so I can criticize myself all day long.

It's not that this is bad, the rug just looks dated to me and out of place.

 The "animal" fabric on the pillows is Barclay Buttera

A bit more subtle but I would not choose this again for this room.

I decorated this room in 2008 and I still like the lime green velvet.

Here is another version styled by Sunday

I like this a lot but today I would add a patterned Indigo rug 

or something bright and overdyed.

The coffee table is still a favorite but something with glass and brass would look great in here today

 How about signs?

This one was a favorite of mine but I don't use them at all now.

 When I go to Homegoods or similar stores there are reproductions everywhere.

For me, it takes all the uniqueness out of the "folk art as art" concept.
I feel the same way about chalkboards...fun idea but the over saturation is downright painful

In this room I would change out all of the art, pillows, lighting and the rug.  The coffee table is antique wicker but again clear glass or something more minimal would be wonderful.

I was obviously really into buckets too.  

buckets as lamps 

buckets as planters

buckets as props

I love buckets....just not as much ;) and haven't purchased one in years.

 And lets not forget industrial.

  This is a great laundry space and the little hits of industrial metal are still current.
The shelves are really modern and the work sink is really fun.
 I would use all these elements again today.

On to lighting....

 for what ever reason I felt compelled to re-envision

just about every light fixture I purchased, apparently to make it more unique

New shades, new paint, you name it!  

But recently, I have rediscovered the beauty of  simple and modern country

and do not feel the need to tweet what is already a pretty great thing.

It's the over saturation that seems dated.  

As I said..I love all of the elements, just not all at the same time!

My style has evolved from this

to this

So...lets just say my modern country style has leaned out or perhaps matured.

I am a devotee of modern country in a

maybe, not exactly, definitely, should I?, 90%, 10 %, just the right way

sort of a way