The Decorating Move From Grandma’s House We Hope Never Comes Back

Over the years, we’ve learned many timeless decorating lessons from our grandmothers: Fresh flowers are an essential; color is forever a good idea; and you can always find room for a cheeky needlepoint pillow. But while we’ve taken plenty of notes from our family matriarchs on trends worth repeating, there’s a short list of their ideas that we’d rather leave behind. Here’s the one decorating move from Grandma’s house we hope never comes back: the no-touch, special-occasion-only room.

The Old-School Decorating Move We’re Ditching

I have fond memories of weekends spent with my cousins at my grandparents’ home. We more or less had free rein over the house, allowed to fish fudge pops out the freezer and dig through dresser drawers and the jewelry box. But there was one area we knew was entirely off-limits, unless it was Christmas or a special occasion: The formal dining and living rooms. 

Marked by the change in flooring, where a sea of terracotta-colored tiles gave way to plush white carpet, these spaces were decidedly no-touch zones. In the living room, the sofa pillows stood perfectly upright, and there was nary a water ring on any of the polished furniture. And while the wooden chairs in the breakfast nook were lovingly worn-in, the uprights in the dining room hardly encouraged lingering. Everything felt so delicate and stately that even when we were invited into these formal spaces, we never felt like they were places we could truly kick back and relax. 

Why We’re Leaving This Decorating Trend In The Past

I have a great appreciation for formal rooms (especially as my own home has just one living area, and it’s the sole witness of daily wear-and-tear), but I’m not so keen on the old-fashioned, special-occasion-only approach to decorating. 

Much like the throwback trend of covering your nicest furniture in glorified plastic wrap, this idea that certain rooms should be “saved” for a handful of moments throughout the year feels like a far cry from the hospitality that our grandmothers were gifted at displaying in so many ways. 

Designating the formal rooms as off-limits is much like storing the fine china out of sight and out of use. Why have them if you’re not going to enjoy them? Our homes are meant to be lived in, with family dinners that conclude with sticky little fingerprints all over the table and holiday get-togethers that inevitably see a spilled glass of wine on the rug.

After all, it’s not my grandparents’ perfectly primped parlor that I remember most. When I think about their house, what first comes to mind is the wood-paneled den, where my grandfather would settle into his nubby old recliner and tell me bedtime stories—an occasion that was far more common than our Christmas celebrations in the formal living room, and even more memorable.