Trends That Transcend
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I've been rewatching old HGTV Trading Spaces reels lately (don't ask, it's a rabbit hole that you may or may have not also fallen into). And I need answers. Who greenlit these choices? Hay on the wall? Fabric stapled directly onto the floor? Rooms that felt like you’d been chloroformed and dropped into a themed restaurant? None of that is coming back. And I can say that with absolutely certainty. You know how I know?
Because those weren't timeless—they were TV stunts dressed as DIY. And they didn’t age like wine. They aged like mayonnaise left in a hot car.
Let’s talk about what does age like wine—what trends transcend the trend cycle and what you should be shopping for when you're buying vintage.
image credit: John Bessler
1. Brass, Baby. But Not the 80s Shiny Kind.
Aged, warm brass is like the Meryl Streep of metals. It never looks desperate, and it plays well with everything. It’s soft, glowy, and makes your space feel considered, not trendy. Rembrandt lamps? Yes. Oversized 1980s hotel lobby sconces? Maybe not.
image credit: Pinterest
2. Natural Wood in Real Tones
Mid-century teak, deco walnut, chunky oak—all of it. Real wood with visible grain will never go out of style. It’s not painted MDF. It’s not trying to look like something it’s not. And it plays nice in just about every room, from rustic to high design.
image credit: Cave Interiors
3. Handcrafted Ceramics
There’s a reason people keep buying vintage studio pottery like it’s bread before a storm. The organic shapes, the glaze drips, the "no two are the same" ethos—it just works. Unlike, say, those sponge-painted accent walls from Trading Spaces that looked like a clown cried on them.
4. Wrought Iron & Forged Metalwork
Whether it’s a medieval-style candelabra, a 70s Spanish revival mirror, or a brutalist lamp with weight and texture—iron has a place at the table. It adds grit and permanence in a world of disposable design. No one’s tossing a 20-pound iron candleholder in the trash.
5. Patterned Rugs (That Weren’t Just Made Yesterday to Look Vintage)
Authentic, hand-knotted, time-worn rugs are the blueprint. Trendy rug brands try to mimic the palette and wear, but real vintage rugs have earned their patina the hard way—decades of foot traffic and love. And you can tell. These are the kinds of rugs that make a space feel grounded, not staged.
image credit: Dean Hearne
6. Lighting That Looks Like Sculpture
You know that feeling when a lamp could double as a museum piece? That. From Rembrandt to Laurel, vintage lighting was often made by actual artists—not mass-produced to vaguely resemble a mushroom. These aren’t “good dupes.” They’re just... good.
7. The Color Brown
Yep, brown. Earthy, chocolatey, woody, toasty brown. It’s been “coming back” for about 3 years now, but let’s be honest—it never left. Unlike the purple and lime combo from a certain early-2000s design show that we’ve all tried to forget.
image credit: Deane Hearne
8. Real Materials That Age With You
Marble that etches, leather that scuffs, wood that dings. These aren’t flaws—they’re patina. A lived-in object tells a story, and vintage is the original storyteller. That’s why plaster and burl and stone and aged metals endure. They're perfectly imperfect.
image credit: Kailtlin Green
So, What’s the Common Thread?
Authenticity. Craft. Story. Weight. Patina.
The trends that transcend don’t try to go viral—they just work, year after year, room after room. They aren’t “in” or “out”—they’re simply right. They wear their history well, they layer effortlessly, and they don’t rely on gimmicks (or fast-forwarded montage makeovers set to 2003 alt-rock).
So the next time you see hay stapled to a wall or a leather couch painted with wall paint (yes, that happened), take a deep breath. Remember that not everything on TV should be brought back. And thank the design gods that some vintage pieces never went anywhere to begin with.
-Juliette