Should You Completely Renovate Your 1990s Loft? 3201 N. Seminary in Lakeview
This 2-bedroom duplex up loft in the Lakeview Lofts at 3201 N. Seminary in Lakeview just came on the market.
The Lakeview Lofts were converted into condos in 1992, making them among the older of the loft conversions.
It has 20 units and parking (the listing doesn’t say it’s a garage, just that it’s “onsite.”)
This loft has authentic loft features including 34 foot ceilings, exposed brick walls and timber ceilings and oversized windows.
The listing says the loft has been “completely renovated” and that includes putting in a new kitchen with white cabinets, quartz counter tops, professional grade appliances and a wine fridge along with an island.
The staircase also has been renovated and has a new banister.
The second floor has the two bedrooms and laundry room. One of the bathrooms has a “newly renovated” Grohe bathroom.
There is a common rooftop deck.
The loft has all the finishes buyers are looking for including central air, washer/dryer in the unit and onsite parking.
At 1400 square feet, this loft sold with it’s older 1990s/2000s finishes in 2015 for $395,000.
With the renovation, it has come on the market for $164,000 more, or $579,000.
Do owners of 1990s lofts need to do complete renovations to be competitive for Millennial and Gen Z buyers?
Jeremiah Fisher at Compass Real Estate has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #209: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, duplex up, 1400 square feet
- Sold in September 1992 for $150,000
- Sold in September 2002 for $325,000
- Sold in June 2005 for $398,000
- Sold in March 2010 for $400,000
- Sold in February 2015 for $395,000
- Currently listed for $579,000 (onsite parking included)
- Assessments of $318 a month (includes exterior maintenance, lawn care, scavenger, snow removal)
- Taxes of $7118
- Central Air
- Washer/dryer in the unit
- Wood burning fireplace
- Bedroom #1: 14×12 (second floor)
- Bedroom #2: 12×11 (second floor)
- Laundry room: 7×10 (second floor)
whopping 34 foot ceilings, exposed brick & original timber beams creating that WOW effect you’ve been searching for!
Also, that WOW effect when you get your heating/cooling bills!
Seriously, though, I like this place. Price is maybe a bit high.
white is HOT HOT HOT right now
These folks did a good job upgrading in the right spots where buyers care about the most it seems… still get a kick out of the microwave over the stove though, thanks anonny
2015 pix here:
https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/3201-N-Seminary-Ave-60657/unit-209/home/13380494/mred-08752439
new carpet, new paint, some wallpaper, stained floors, new bathroom vainities, new island, couple of new light fixtures, modernized the stair handrails, they moved the kitchen appliances and walls to open it up
no short list here, big difference
“still get a kick out of the microwave over the stove though, thanks anonny”
Of course. And might I add that I haven’t looked at diagonal flooring the same in years.
It’s sort of nuts that these folks would go to so much trouble, only to install that stove/micro setup. I dig the wallpaper in the dining area though (which is odd, given that we just removed our dining area wallpaper and painted).
There’s no place to vent a hood anyway.
Nice reno. Amazing what paint and furniture can do for a place.
How can the stove next to the wall for the stairs be to code though? Seems like a fire hazard.
Looks like more of a hangout for post-grad frat boys than a place anyone would buy for nearly $600,000. And given the location, frat boys would be quite happy here. Near Wrigley and lots of bars. Not good for sleeping, but great for drinking.
“It’s sort of nuts that these folks would go to so much trouble, only to install that stove/micro setup.”
I don’t think they had any alternative that wouldn’t mean losing too much storage and being stuck as to where to put the microwave. And losing space in the kitchen is probably a bigger problem for selling than no hood, even today, especially for a 2/2 in that specific location.
I’m open to discussion on this point, but right now that would be my bet.
“I don’t think they had any alternative that wouldn’t mean losing too much storage and being stuck as to where to put the microwave.”
my guess is that it had more to do with how do you exhaust the hood. the range in located on an interior wall in the middle of the space. running an exhaust duct to an exterior wall is very problematic.
Yeah, looking at the photo again you could be right.
In my old place (also in Southport, late ’90s construction), there was a duct above the microwave hidden in the cabinet, so I was thinking this might be similar. But mine was not so far from the outside.
Anyone who pays in the 500s for this mediocrity is a sucker.
“white is HOT HOT HOT right now”
Chicago is always a few years behind on the trends. White is out on the coasts already. Oak wood cabinets are coming back in but modernized compared to those of the 1970s and 1980s.
I just saw a condo with a kitchen from 2005-2006 and it seemed really outdated now. The maple cabinets, the brown/black granite.
I guess you get a 10-year window before you need to replace things.
If you look closely, I think it looks like they just reused and reconfigured the same cabinets and appliances from 2015, which is why they have the microwave over the stove. I do wonder if they also just put new tile on top of the old flooring, too…the photos make it look like there’s a bit of a height difference.
With the new layout, floors, counters and backsplash it looks a zillion times better, though! Kudos to them for making such a bang with limited buck!
https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/3201-N-Seminary-Ave-60657/unit-209/home/13380494
https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/3201-N-Seminary-Ave-60657/unit-209/home/13380494/mred-08752439
I guess carpet is back. Sabrina, what is the carpet situation on “the coasts”?
Who gives a fuck what people on the coasts or anywhere else are doing? If you like cherry and maple cabinets or dark granite why would you replace it with something else, especially something lame? I would never drop a pile of money on the prevalent but weak look that is painted white cabinets and light gray quartz in this decade or any other, irrespective of any supposed “trends”. A kitchen (excluding appliances) should last 20-40+ years, depending on the quality and level of use.
That’s how I feel, but it seems like increasingly there is endless talk about and premium put on fixtures being the most “in-style” or “up-to-date.” Feels like a change (I blame the millennials! — sorry, obligatory Gen X whining), although it could just be that I’m paying more attention now and more forums exist for promoting certain trends.
I find it odd and irritating (but I get that’s my issue) that something not brand new and 100% up to date would be hard to sell because people would sneer at actual stained wood cabinets or dark granite as “dated.” I had people tell me I should paint my classic (in my mind) oak shaker style cabinets because white was in (I hate white kitchens). And the whole “granite is so out, you need quartz, or now whatever is replacing quartz, because quartz is likely out or on its way or not special enough).”
My current kitchen is probably “so 2006” — I would have preferred older than I could redo and put my own style and stamp on it, but the house I fell in love with was rehabbed in ’06, so I decided to go with it and do fewer cosmetic changes in the short term and more as time passes.
My concern with focusing on fixtures or style being up to date when making a real estate choice is that then it inherently declines in value if you don’t update it again (or keep it only a really short time). The discussion that sometimes comes up of undervaluing suburban houses (despite loving a location) because of their older fixtures or preferring luxury rentals for the fixtures is just not something I relate to (but then in a house my preferences tended toward vintage anyway, and I wanted something over 100 years old I could redo some, and that wouldn’t just look like everything else — and then I compromised some because choice and money are not unlimited).
My current kitchen is probably “so 2006” — I would have preferred older than I could redo and put my own style and stamp on it, but the house I fell in love with was rehabbed in ’06, so I decided to go with it and do fewer cosmetic changes in the short term and more as time passes.
In the same boat – in 2013, bought a place reno’d in 2005. It has dark granite and cherry cabs. Maybe it’s my frugal nature, but I just can’t justify spending money to replace things that are in perfectly good shape but just aren’t my particular taste.
My parents reno’d their kitchen a few years ago, after having the same cabs/countertops/ appliances since the late 70s/ early ’80s. Maybe that’s an extreme (35ish years between renos), but it seems more realistic to me that chasing the trends every 5-7 years.
Also, Sabrina, why am I still in posting jail?
Kitchen is not designed well.
” If you like cherry and maple cabinets or dark granite why would you replace it with something else, especially something lame?”
that’s all good and you’re entitled to have whatever finishes you want in your house. just don’t expect to get a premium or even market value for your home. most homes that have current on-trend finishes will be in more demand. it’s just a fact.
“Oak wood cabinets are coming back in but modernized compared to those of the 1970s and 1980s”
Really? I have not seen this, and I’m pretty good about keeping up with trends. If you mean quarter-sawn oak, that’s a different matter. Quarter-sawn never went out, and has been a very up-scale look when done in a flat-panel or simple shaker-panel style these past 20 years.
The real contrast between the old and new listings is the wide angle lens. 2015 photos really reveal how small the rooms are.
Love or hate the aesthetic, these are smart budget updates. Contractors are so shitty these days, I’m surprised they found someone to reuse their cabinets and appliances in such a seamless way. The stair rail removal also shows an artful hand.
Certainly not an original thought of mine, but one that bears repeating: “Nothing’s deader this year than last year’s hot trend,” or something like that. Remodeling your home to keep up with the latest news from cable TV decorating shows rarely “pays off” at selling time and is likely to be removed soon by the new owners.
Then again, some “fads” come back after a while, and some even become “classics.” Does anyone foresee a return to the strange mid-1960s practice of putting the handles of kitchen cabinets in the MIDDLE, rather than on the EDGE, of the doors?
“Remodeling your home to keep up with the latest news from cable TV decorating shows rarely “pays off” at selling time”
I do not find this to be true. I have sold several condo units with the latest finishes at considerably higher prices than they cost me compared to identical units that came on the market shortly afterwards. In each case, my neighbors got encouraged by the high selling price of my unit and listed theirs for the same, only to have it languish on the market for months, forcing them to lower their price to a more realistic amount given that they had not “done up” their places like I did mine.
Having said this, I don’t understand owners who live with outdated finishes the entire time they are living there, then spend a whole lot of money to update everything just before selling! They themselves got no chance to enjoy the renovated place! Yes, it’s true, if you live for a really long time in a place and renovate right away, by the time you sell, it may already be outdated. But in many of these cases, this is because they did not pick the latest finishes when they did the renovations, but picked trends that had already been in place for a while. You have to be up-to-date on what are the cutting edge trends. In 2005, I ripped up my perfectly good Uba Tuba granite kitchen countertop (repurposed part of it for a laundry room in our Michigan house) and installed a Caesarstone honed quartz. All my friends thought I was crazy. Five years later, friends of mine who were renovating their kitchen pooh-poohed my advice about granite going out of style with the “I don’t believe in being a slave to the latest trends” comment. Now, they are sorry they didn’t listen to me!
What a lot of people who aren’t into “being slaves to the latest trends” don’t realize that they too are slaves to trends – only what they are slaves to are the trends that were current ten years before! Btw, sometimes you can luck out in terms of trends. Our house in Michigan has kitchen cabinets that were installed when the house was built – in the mid-seventies. By a stroke of luck, the original owner chose a simple shaker-style with a natural finish on birch wood, which has mellowed over the years to a beautiful depth, and it still looks fantastic. All we had to do do was update the cabinet handles, countertops and backsplash. But I’m sure all the people who did maple cabinets in the 90’s with natural finish and traditional molding, paired with a dark granite, thought they were picking a “safe” style that would last forever! Who knew that this combination was a “developer’s special” used in the lowest offerings of builder’s grade finishes, and would end up having the taint it does now?
I think it’s sensible to make updates if your place is sufficiently out of date that paying a small amount could have a significant effect on market price, especially if in a market (like the Chicago GZ, for sure) where buyers care about that. Often there are quite small things one can do that make a big difference.
But then I think it goes both ways — if you don’t care about having the most up-to-date finishes (and being up-to-date doesn’t mean inherently better unless what you value just happens to be identical to the trends or the concern is impressing others), then save some money by not paying for that when you buy, and then redo to personal preference. Of course, for resale, obviously, don’t go too crazy, or be prepared for the consequences/for eating the costs, since the buyer will need to redo again unless you just really luck out. Personally, my current place is one (knock on wood!) where I have no plans to resell for a long time, so I’m not concerned about trends. I’m planning to redo some things I dislike and have a vision of what I want overall that fits with my aesthetic and the type of house I have, which I don’t want to look like every other house.
Re: “Having said this, I don’t understand owners who live with outdated finishes the entire time they are living there, then spend a whole lot of money to update everything just before selling! They themselves got no chance to enjoy the renovated place!”
This assumes they would have preferred the new, most trendy and up-to-date finishes, and people have style preferences independent of the trends. At least, some do, to some degree (I admit that even if you don’t notice it often trends subconsciously will affect what you like).
I dislike the idea that finishes that aren’t the most “up-to-date” or “trendy” or what’s likely to be most popular with a certain kind of buyer = bad, ick, no one would want that, I’d rather rent. If one’s main focus is on keeping it in shape for the best possible resale price (and that’s not unreasonable for many people), then sure, I get it, but there are other considerations for many people, including personal taste.
I do agree that it’s a shame not to redo if you WANT to redo, and then wait until selling. My parents did that, and were sorry they hadn’t updated soon, were “the place looks so great why didn’t we do this years ago,” and they didn’t mean the most “up to date” styles since it was a 1970s built split level and their market was unlikely to care about quartz v. granite, I suspect. (For the record, they had redone it since the ’70s!)
One other thing I have observed over the years is that, no matter how inevitable it is that styles come and go (some of this is deliberately contrived by the industry to make people buy new products), the people I have seen renovate their kitchens and bathrooms to a very high level, no matter how “trendy” their choices are, end up having the look continue to be attractive and a selling point far after the trend has passed. It’s the kind of place that would generate a comment like “Wow – look at this fantastic kitchen. Nothing like how anyone would do it now, but for some reason it looks so cool. I love it!” This can never happen with a cheaply-done trendy reno.
Another observation – I have seen many people buy a place because it hits them emotionally, despite the fact that the elements are not ones they will keep. One friend bought a small condo that had nearly the entire place swathed in a blackish metallic paint. It was clearly done by a decorator, and it screamed “sophistication”. It even had custom solar shades that were glittery black and controlled by remote control. She got drawn in by the entire custom-feeling of the place, and paid top dollar. Then, as soon as she moved in, she told me of her intention to repaint the entire place, as she thought a more neutral color would be more practical for eventual resale. I told her if she got rid of the black paint, she would be negating pretty much everything about the place that made it so wowie. She went ahead and repainted, and now the place looks like an ordinary box indistinguishable from the 10 other box-like condos she had viewed and rejected.
No matter how hard someone tries to buy a home with their head, it will always be a purchase of the heart to a large degree. For the seller, it doesn’t matter if the new buyer ends up getting rid of everything you did after they move in. The important things is to draw in the buyer in the first place. They can find out afterwards that the enormous loft that looks so impressive is an echo chamber and freezing cold! Of course, everything has to be done with the utmost good taste, trend or no trend. There was a unit available on the market for years in the 8 E Randolph building (super contemporary) in which someone put wood panelling all over that resembled the logs of a log cabin. I do not consider this “trendy” at any point in history.
One last thing – I disagree slightly with the universal advice on staging a place to sell removing every bit of personal effect in the place “so that the buyer can imagine himself/herself living there” and not let someone else’s stuff get in the way of doing this. Better than this – I think one should analyze the demographics of the likely buyers of your place, then stage your place as if someone already lives there that is an idealized version of what the likely buyer wishes he/she were like! If you have a tiny place in a trendy part of town likely to appeal to a single young person, do not remove all the make-up containers from the dresser. Instead, put down beautiful containers of very expensive make-up. Do not pick up all your clothes from off the furniture. Have a slinky silk dressing gown draped over a bedroom chair, or a Hugo Boss jacket hanging nonchalantly on a clothes butler. Don’t put away ALL the stuff on our kitchen counter. Keep that Michael Graves tea kettle out, and have a little stash of expensive tea bags clearly bought from a boutique out. What you are going for is the “My life would be like this if only I lived here” factor. Of course, this will never happen. The buyer will probably live like a pig once they move in. But you want to stir their imagination and trigger that idealist in them that make them dream all kinds of possibilities of their future.
Interesting, and slightly different than what I read you to be saying before, so I am glad you added to your thoughts.
Re: “It’s the kind of place that would generate a comment like “Wow – look at this fantastic kitchen. Nothing like how anyone would do it now, but for some reason it looks so cool. I love it!” This can never happen with a cheaply-done trendy reno.”
Agree with this. At least, I certainly hope it’s generally true and it’s not all about fitting in some little box of what is currently de rigueur.
“it’s not all about fitting in some little box of what is currently de rigueur.”
Well, it sort of is, in the sense that the original renovation was done to a peak on-trend style at some point in design history. It needs to have a definable look in the collective design memory to have this kind of impact. You can’t get this if you just put whatever you feel like that doesn’t conform to any known style, no matter how high quality the components are. I still maintain that we are all “slaves to trends” in this sense. Some of us are just more forward-looking than others! I don’t say this as a criticism . We are social animals. and conforming to social norms is part of our genetic makeup, although we should always strive to infuse some individualism into it. Being “trendy”, therefore, requires that delicate balance of pulling forward, but not so far ahead as to lose everyone else behind you. Once it reaches the point of being labelled “currently de rigeur”, it’s probably right at this point, but not for long!
For most normal people not caught up in some shallow world centered around Architectural Digest, Dwell or the Merch Mart, It’s NOT about the trends, it’s about the colors and materials. If I like cherry or espresso, cabinets, which I do, then that’s what I like, trends be damned. If I hate white painted cabinets, natural oak cabinets, concrete counters and gray quartz counters, then no trend is going to change that. Especially with natural materials like stones and hardwoods that have been in use for thousands of years, it is very presumptuous to ascribe their popularity, or lack thereof, to “trends”. Not everyone is so vacuous or uninformed about the myriad options when decorating that are ALWAYS available, regardless of the current trend. If the time comes to replace my kitchen it will be no more than a coincidence if the new one is “on trend”.
I have a kitchen remodeling book from the early ’70’s (from the Sunset series – remember those?) In the section discussing kitchen counter materials, it gives the pros and cons of various options. It mentions granite, but it states that even though the material is plentiful, and it would be great given the heat resistance of it, the weight of it is such that the manpower needed to fabricate and move it would be prohibitive in cost and therefore, it is not seriously considered as a viable countertop material. I guess “prohibitive” is a a subjective word!
The book was written during the days when people were happy with formica, and tiles were considered the upscale countertop option. My grandmother would be turning in her grave at the kind of money that is required for an acceptable countertop these days! So those people claiming that granite is not also a “trend” do not know their design history. It’s a trend just like everything else, and will come and go just like everything else. Of course, marble and granite has been used in country kitchens in Europe for hundreds of years. But only in small pieces – not huge stretches of continuous counters wrapped around corners. And they were allowed to get stained and rough – not the unnatural polished look like we have, having to be sealed constantly.
It’s not a big surprise that the first thing to go are the granites with the really busy patterns. My mother used to wonder how people could want something for their kitchen countertop that so multi-colored that it could obscure bits of food left on it – terribly unhygenic in her opinion. She pointed out one particularly popular pattern as looking literally like chopped raw meat had been scattered all over it! Even before quartz became available, I actually preferred solid surfacing (Corian) over granite. So clean-lined and easy to match with any cabinet. The one down side of that, of course, was the lack of it being heat resistant. But to be perfectly honest, I have never laid a hot pot on my granite or quartz countertop without a trivet, so I’m sure I would not have considered that a terrible thing to have to deal with if I had had a Corian counter.
I am very happy with quartz, but I recently read that the manufacture of it causes terribly unhealthy inhalation for workers in factories, and this is being ignored for the sake of the huge money that is being made these days in quartz. Sigh! Always something!
“Who gives a fuck what people on the coasts or anywhere else are doing?”
Decorating trends always start on the coasts first and then move to the interior of the country. Sorry, if you don’t like it, take it up with the interior design community.
For example, we’re still doing the dark wood floors here in Chicago but those have been “out” for several years already on the East Coast. They’ve been doing the light oak (almost white) wood floors. We’re starting to see those in the new luxury high rises here.
It will be the same with the white kitchen/counter top that we’ve seen for the last 8 years or so. The modern natural wood cabinets, where you can see the grain, is already popular on the coasts.
From Apartment Therapy in January 2018:
“Just ask Sophie Donelson, Editor-in-Chief of House Beautiful. “This is very specific, but I’m seeing more and more ‘bare wood’ kitchen cabinetry—pale or cerused wood, finished naturally, not lacquered,” says Donelson. “It combines the freshness and homey feel of the ubiquitous white painted cabinet with the warmth of exposed plank-wood shelves that have been trending hard lately.””
https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/kitchen-trends-natural-wood-cabinets-255231
“Well, it sort of is, in the sense that the original renovation was done to a peak on-trend style at some point in design history.”
Well, then we disagree again, since I think a focus on following what you perceive as the most up-to-date style often results in blandness, in a place that has no individuality, and often that ignores the actual property and what makes it unique to follow some style.
The idea that being the most “up-to-date” or “on trend” makes something more stylish is one that seems crazy to me, it suggests that being recognized as expensive and fashionable by others is what style is, is what’s important, and that’s not my view at all.
If you are in the RE business and that’s what sells a place for the most money, sure, whatever, that’s important. But the idea that one needs this to have a beautiful house they will enjoy living in and that being “up to date” is more important than personal taste seems flawed if the focus is not merely on selling or, perhaps, impressing others, conspicuous consumption.
“It needs to have a definable look in the collective design memory to have this kind of impact.”
I would say that it should have an overall coherent look, not just thrown together, sure. That doesn’t mean it has to be renovated to what is currently considered the most fashionable.
“I still maintain that we are all “slaves to trends” in this sense. Some of us are just more forward-looking than others!”
I think you are just wrong here. I’m sure what we like is to some degree influenced by trends, hard for it not to be, and some are more focused on the newer trends than others. This is similar to how just past clothing styles or hair styles or glasses styles often seem ugly. But that doesn’t preclude individual taste such that all that matters is being as up-to-date and trendy (or just ahead of the trend) as possible. Well, unless one’s main goal is renovating for eventual sale or impressing those who think the same way, again.
I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with being a person who cares about being super up-to-date and loves whatever is current. That’s fine. But not everyone is that way, and it’s not just because they aren’t as aware of the trends. People do have individual styles and preferences.
” I’m sure what we like is to some degree influenced by trends, hard for it not to be, and some are more focused on the newer trends than others. This is similar to how just past clothing styles or hair styles or glasses styles often seem ugly. But that doesn’t preclude individual taste such that all that matters is being as up-to-date and trendy (or just ahead of the trend) as possible. Well, unless one’s main goal is renovating for eventual sale or impressing those who think the same way, again.”
Yes, I agree with this nuanced viewpoint. There is always room for individual style, no matter what the trends are. But do you notice that teenagers of every generation rebel against their parents in how they dress, and say “I’m my own person”, or “I want to express myself”, or “I want to do my own thing”. You go to their school, and every kid “doing their own thing” is dressed identically, almost to the point where you would think there was a uniform code in the school!
I guess all I’m saying is that we should not be so presumptuous as to believe any one of us is so original that our personal style is created totally in our heads. More likely, it is percolating with a good amount of osmosis of what we see around us. If you are in the design industry, or somewhere where you are exposed to the latest trends, your “personal” style is going to magically happen to be a reflection of that exposure. If you are not, nor do you live somewhere where people around you tend to keep things updated, or do not have a general interest in fashion/design magazines/websites, your “personal” style is likely to be that of trends that have been around for a while. So you could be spending a lot of money redoing your kitchen or bathroom, picking finishes/fixtures that you truly believe are based on what YOU like, and not on any trends, and not realize that you are just as much a slave to trends – but the trend is a past one that you have been visually exposed to over and over again for the last 10 years! So don’t be surprised if, in as few as 5 years, your choices don’t look so good to you as before, nor if it turns out not to be a selling feature if you have to sell your house.
Once you understand and accept that you are not as individualistic as you thought, but just as susceptible to influences as others, you will have the humility to consult the “latest trends” before you make any expensive decisions you cannot easily undo. (Tiling a shower stall is not like buying a pair of jeans. You’re stuck with your decision for a very long time.) Chances are, if you let enough time go by bombarding yourself with images of the “latest trends”, you’ll find that your personal tastes are changing as well! If you don’t have time for this, there is nothing wrong with taking the advice of design professionals. It’s not “succumbing to the latest trends”. But in this case, if you don’t have the confidence of what you are doing, doing conservative versions of new trends is always an option, as extreme versions of trends (like you see in Decorator Showcase houses) are best left to people who know what they are doing. For example, I am thinking of doing a patterned cement tile floor for a bathroom. But I will avoid the dramatic Spanish scroll-type motifs that are all the rage now. I will just go with a subtle geometric pattern that has very muted colors.
So my point is that, contrary to what some others this point are implying, it is not snobbery or vanity that is always responsible for being up-to-date with trends. It’s the opposite – acceptance of our place in our world as social animals, and being careful custodians of what is usually your biggest investment – your home, rather than having the hubris to think you are totally free of style influence. Having said that, there is plenty of room to express your individuality within the confines of what is considered fashionable. Bach’s creativity was not curtailed because he was confined to writing in the strict fugue formula. There have been studies, in fact, that demonstrate that people exhibit more creativity having to work within the confines of a strict set of rules, rather than if they were told that it’s a free-for-all and they can do anything they want. I have heard multiple designers say they actually do better work when given clear limitations by their clients, rather than if they are told to do whatever they want. (Again, imho, Decorator Showcase houses are a proof of this. Given no restrictions, designers do some really crazy awful things!)
Having said that, I admit there are rare exceptional individuals who are truly “my own person”. I have a friend who is an avid collector of 17th-18th c American Colonial antiques. As a ubiquitous style, American Colonial has not been in fashion since the 50’s-60’s (as in all the interiors of “Donna Reed Show”-type sitcoms and the original Ethan Allen products). Any house decorated in mass-produced pieces of this style now looks just awful. But my friend has museum-caliber originals, and his condo on Astor Street is like a time warp from 1775. (Not one comfortable piece of upholstered furniture to sit on!) My friend is impervious to the march of fashion and trends. (His multi-million dollar condo has a beautiful mellowed linoleum counter top that looks like it was not used since 1955 given its pristine condition.) I applaud my friends and say, “You go girl!”