Do you get rid of things because they are old-fashioned?

Old- fashioned or retro or even antique?

We had a dark green feature wall in the 1960s.

kittlester we had Tapley furniture in the dining room in the 1960s - it has travelled around with us and did get a bit bashed unfortunately so it's been relegated to the study.
I just looked it up - unbashed it would be worth quite a bit!

I tend to recycle lots of stuff by moving it around the house, repainting, staining, whatever. My TV unit is an old pine 2 door cabinet that I took the doors off, removed a shelf and painted white. It was exactly the right size for the corner. An old mirror that used to have a flowery border I painted a bronze colour with a gold trim and have in the bedroom. I sprayed some gold coloured lamps with a chrome finish and they're on bedside tables with different shades. The bedside tables are two corner tables from the sitting room that I restained. If I really can't use it I freecycle it.

I must put a note on mine for the DC - do not put this retro furniture in the skip when you clear our house!

Sell or upcycle

nanna8

Hang on to things long enough and they often become antiques - leave them to the children to profit from hehe. I agree, things were made with more care back in the day. Especially wooden things, furniture etc. I’ve got an ancient copper kettle, I love it but don’t use it now but it looks good in the fireplace. Got to clean it now and then, that’s the problem.

give it a really good polish, wash it in saoapy water to get all the reside off and then wonce its completely dry, apply this stuff really meanly and then gently buff to a shine. It puts a thin inert sealer coat on the metal and drastically cuts down on the need to polish. less polishing means less metal loss too and less wear to hallmarks, engraved decoration and makers marks. It can be used on any smooth(ish) metal, including precious metals but its not needed on course on gold or silver. Its not cheap but goes a really long way, once you have a can you will need to put it in your will for your descendants to use! www.amazon.co.uk/Renaissance-Micro-Crystalline-Wax-200/dp/B0015F2GEM/ref=asc_df_B0015F2GEM/?hvlocphy=1007089&linkCode=df0&hvptwo&psc=1&hvnetw=g&hvadid=255632325480&hvpone&hvlocint&hvpos&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl&hvqmt&tag=gransnetforum-21&hvtargid=pla-420904722132&hvrand=14645711796941689789

Sell or upcycle

Or put it in storage for a few decades and it will be worth a packet

There is nothing in the slightest bit stylish about my house.

In our younger days we couldn't afford to furnish to a contemporary style and now I really don't care.

We begged borrowed and stole from relatives then, and now we have inherited (not particularly valuable) stuff from deceased parents. If I don't like a piece I won't give it house room.

But I do like a bit of a colour scheme to pull it all together.

Emerald feature wall sounds disgusting!

M0nica

kittylester nothing would have persuded us to buy Ercol when we got married, dated and smacked of old people.

I am now delighted with my Ercol dining suite, so trendy, so modern!!!!!!!

Fortunately we inherited a complete Ercol dining suite, including table for 8, chairs, side board buffet, wall shelves, trolley and buffet. All bought originally in 1960s.
We love it, when we set up home Ercol was pushing their pine range. We had the table and chairs, deeply unpopular when we got rid of it.

I tend to like antiques and classic designs, real wood etc. We do have a lot of 2nd hand furniture which we like to restore. There seems to be a gap between antique/ classic designs and modern/current designs. In that gap sits a lot of the eighties styles imo. It looks so dated now. But, I also dislike the modern very minimalist look. I like my home to look comfy and for guests not to worry about damaging things etc.

Would I get rid of things for that reason? Probably. I would take them to a charity shop but it doesn't happen often.

Emerald feature wall sounds disgusting!

We changed ours, probably to orange and brown swirly wallpaper! Only on the recess walls.

When we moved house they had some brown textured stuff (not paper) stuck on the fireplace wall. It was the first thing we changed.

We just have what we like now, plain and boring.

I love old fashioned. We live in a large property that is about 120 years old. When we moved in we spent ages ripping out modern changes that had been done over the years. The magnificent staircases had their spindles enclosed in MDF, who on earth would do such a thing! The fireplaces had been closed off , again with some sort of MDF. The living room and dining room had been knocked into one room. Why? All the beautiful features on the internal doors had also been covered up but are now resplendent in their original glory.

Picture rails and corniches had been removed by previous occupants but to our relief we found them undamaged in the basement.

As for decor we live how we want to live. I have no interest in it being fashionable. It's just how we want it to be. And it's cluttered. Terribly cluttered. We occasionally mentioned the shocking time the children will have when they come to empty it once we've kicked the bucket, but they don't seem to mind.

The grandchildren love it. They never know what they might find when we go on a rooting expedition

I am not a follow of fashion in either furniture or clothes. I keep what I like and what is still useful. If not then it goes, as simple as that.

Zoejory sounds like our last house. Large late Victorian semi. Staircase boxed in, all the doors had sheets of hardboard on them. A large, and presumably, lovely marble fireplace was removed from the living room and replaced by a 1960s tiled fireplace, marginally btter than the 1950s 6 inch beige tile monstrosity we had had in a previous house.

We know the living room fireplace was marble and lovely because we still had its twin in the dining room.

We now live in 550 year old listed building, renovated and restored in the 1960s, the nadir for old house restoration, but our predecessor was thoughtful and careful. One or two things we wouldn't do now, cement based plaster and all the old floors replaced by a concrete slab, but otherwise pretty good. It is the perfect Christmas house and we celebrate in our 15th century house, full of 19th century furniture in a suitably Dickensian fashion.

i have never been one for having "in" things, my house has plain cream walls that need decorating, pictures all over the walls and no lamps, clothes wise i still have a skirt that i got married in back in the early 90s and now still wear it for funerals....it's not black but a lovely grey and black pattern, i have loads of clothes more than 20 years old and still probably dress older that my age group (50s). the only time i replace anything in the house is because it is not working, my couch was 2nd hand when i got it 10 years ago....lol

We bought our house with existing curtains which were mainly beautiful chintz obviously bought in the 1980's and absolutely gorgeous. I still have most of them, not necessarily in the same rooms and I have added to them in a similar style. The house was built as stables to the "big" house in 1899 and over the years it has undergone many changes but essentially it's a spacious comfortable country home with stone floors, some huge round windows and still has part of the original stable block with it's brass ornate fittings. Most of our furniture is Victorian or older except for a few bespoke pieces, tbh most modern furniture would look lost, the house needs big solid pieces. It's not fashionable but I honestly don't care, I love it and that is all that matters.

No, because we don’t really have any old fashioned furniture. We both like a minimalist look with very clean lines, no ornaments. We do change pictures on the walls occasionally, previous ones are stored in the loft, then come out again later.
This ‘style’ also reduces dusting, I’ll pinch Urms #lazygran tag!

It depends what items you have - if it’s stuff you bought in Argos it will have a different level of desirability than something bought in Heals back in the day. I love mid century furniture and would much prefer to buy the original pieces . I have a 1960s/70s Ercol studio couch, coffee table and pebble nest of tables.I have string shelving which was designed in 1949 and still looks contemporary. I also have a Danish teak dining table and Danish sofa, both originating from the 60s. Anything I’ve got rid of I’ve handed down to a family member or Ebayed. GPlan, Tapley, Nathan are all very sellable so if you’ve any of them and don’t like them you can sell them on, but they are examples of good design and are usually much better made than new furniture which has been knocked together in China. If you’ve fallen out of love with your lamps-do some research and find ones that fit your decor and pass the old ones on.

Some of my stuff is not only old fashioned but also neither useful nor valuable . For instance I have my late mother in law's old bureau that she got from her mother ,my late ex-husbands gran whom he loved very much. I painted it dove grey and marina green. I am short of space but the bureau is an old friend.
I also get daily use from a wooden chair with the back struts sawn off, so it's now a strong stool ,that I got from an auction more than thirty years ago. I painted it white and I enjoy the bits of its chassis where the paint has been worn off by my feet over the years. I put my feet up on it always when I watch TV.

Gagajo Plenty of green and black in the magz so you're a bit late if you want to be in the style vanguard.

CanadianGran everything comes around and goes around. I've even seen standard lamps like my GM had (and I'm 74) in magazines with floral shades with lots of fringing or braid. I didn't like them when I was young and I don't like them now.
If you don't like the shades, change them. If you don't like the bases get rid of them.

kittylester

Do none of you have opinionated daughters? We have 3, 2 of whom have no compunction about telling us when something has had it's day - thankfully not us yet!!! It keeps us on our toes!!

I have two of those as well kittylester strange though as when they left home I had to nail things down to stop them disappearing.

I only replace things when I'm fed up with them or I change the colour scheme
( infrequently)

If you like your brass lamps, keep them I'm sure you can get some shades made to match your new sofa if necessary

My house is a proper mix of 'stuff' to be honest

hehe at opinionated children. One of mine came back from university to say he thought it would be MUCH better if I had a corner sofa in the lounge. I said he could have a corner sofa in his lounge when he moves out

I welcome the opinions of my sons and DIL where house furnishings and decoration are concerned. I usually agree with their suggestions and do update things are are dated, but not always. If I am really fond of something I will keep it, whether trendy or not!

OP, it sounds as if you were happy with your lamps until you looked on line. Fashion is a very fickle thing and might have changed again in the bat of an eyelid. Maybe there is nothing wrong with your original idea of just changing the shades!

Not so much about being ahead Dinahmo, more about being me, rather than a clone.

I only keep things in my house that I really like, regardless of fashions, that said I don’t think I own anything that is termed as old fashioned! I don’t have opinionated AC , although my eldest doesn’t like my taste and I’m not keen on hers, she loves retro I really don’t ?? you could just change the shades Op,

Having a look around magazines and on line for inspiration, I think I will keep the lamps, but get the much needed new shades in a different shape. The lamp bases are very close to the photo attached. Most importantly, I will get rid of the doilies underneath! haha, who still has crochet lace doilies?

I think I have been a bit complacent in my decor. My home is comfortable, and I don't keep up with trendy decor, but at the same time it is looking a bit frumpy and some things could use an update. Having a new couch and chair on order has opened my eyes to the rest of the room. I don't mind older things as long as they are in good shape.

Someone mentioned here that there is a line between retro and out-of date. 60's furniture is cool, but 80's is just old.