You guys, I adore the show Fixer Upper on HGTV. A. Dore. It.
Don't even get me started on how I can spend a Sunday afternoon vegging out in front of the tv watching old episodes on Netflix. Start the day off in my jammies and next thing you know it's dinnertime and I still haven't taken a shower.
Day gone.
OK, I'm 4 sentences into this post and I just lied to you.
I'm about to make blog suicide here.
Here it comes . . .
Shiplap
I just can't do it. Not in my house. Not in my lifetime.
I know, I know. It's all the rage on their Fixer Upper program. Shiplap on walls, shiplap on fireplaces, shiplap on ceilings.
Here a shiplap, there a shiplap, everywhere a shiplap lap.
But seriously, you know what I see when I look at shiplap?
Paneling from the 1970's.
And here's the thing. I lived in the 70's. I saw people go paneling crazy in their houses.
No room was off limits and there were entire homes covered head to toe in the stuff. Head. To. Toe.
Wood tone paneling, faux barnwood paneling, cheap laminated paneling. Even avocado colored paneling.
Avocado colored wood???
And then, sometime in the 80's, everyone got tired of paneling. Really really tired of it.
And then had to figure out how to get rid of it.
Huge undertaking. HUGE.
It wasn't just nailed up there, it was glued with some sort of super human strength glue. And when you took it down it split into pieces and the plaster behind it would chunk off and you'd be left with a huge mess which cost a fortune to then fix.
So whenever I see the gorgeous rooms on Fixer Upper, I ooh and ah over their kitchen renovations, their amazing transformation of the ugly and the outdated and their creative use of space.
But when I see the shiplap walls, all I can picture is the Brady Bunch rec room.
Marcia, Marcia, Marcia.
Or is it Joanna, Joanna, Joanna?
There's just some trends that I am too old to look at in awe and wonder and not have flashbacks to the first time they came around.
Rock on Chip and Joanna, you're still my heroes. I'm not breaking up with you or anything, but I just can't get on board with the shiplap/paneling trend this go-round.
So I'll see you Sunday. I'll be the one sitting on the couch with the unwashed hair.
Are there any design trends that you just can't get on board with?
Sue Pagels
I love them too, but the whole thing is a trend IMHO - "I would open up that wall, tear out the carpet, put in hardwood floors, all new kitchen cabinets, backsplash, new appliances, new light fixtures....etc...etc...etc... It all looks the same to me (sorry people) I miss shows like Decorating Cents (yup, still love it and Joan Steffand) that actually had some alternating styles. Most of FU is all the same style, which I do like, but it's nothing different (most times). Hell, even I could do that with a team like that! I like hardwood floors, but yes, I lived thru that trend before too and I am not a floor dusting fan, especially with furry ones living in the house. I still watch them, still love them, but I crave some different shows!
Judy Gaaskjolen
Hi Sue,
Im with you. Most of the decorating shows look to much the same for me. I agree , I don't have the money and help like they do. Id like to see shows that are more realistic! You mentioned the show Decorating Cents with Joan. I really miss that type of show.
Sue Pagels
Hi Judy ~ I always wonder about the people that move into the homes with none of their own items - do they move their dishes, wedding presents, mementos in later?
Judy Gaaskjolen
These homes are so staged. Would'nt it be fun to see these homes after they had been lived in for a month or more?
Jenny
Me, too! I miss Decorating Cents! I have pretty much stopped watching HGTV at all because it all seems too unrealistic and copy-cat. The older shows (there was one other I liked a lot) were more low-key and worked within a more realistic budget- not tearing out everything. Besides Trading Spaces, what were some other good decorating shows from the 90s?
My white appliances and cabinets are easy to clean with bleach water. My old wood cabinets were always gummy and disgusting. My new white sink, though, is aways stained. I don't want to scrub and bleach every day! Will replace that with metal. I really hate those crazy bowl sinks with sluice-type faucets. and pedestal sinks with no storage. Ridiculous.
And I agree- let's see how the rooms actually look after a month or a year of normal living.
Robin in Dallas
I love shiplap. But, my issue with shiplap is that it HAS to be authentic. It is marvelous in an old Texas house but not anywhere and everywhere. It has to fit the age and style of the house and most of us just do not live in an old Texas house. I live in Texas, but I live in a neighborhood build in the 1990's and shiplap just would not work here. And, I'm not moving just for the shiplap!
Pam Spencer
Pam, I love the chemistry between Chip (adorable antics) and Joanna. Ship lap is OK if original to the home.
Our house is dated 1855 but we did replace the old, smelly, moldy plaster and lathe which is Northern ship lap I think.
Joanna would more than likely recoil from my decorating style; farmhouse (it IS a farmhouse after all)
meets vintage, add to that garden, bird decor, plaid flannel ( fan since the 70's baby), quilts. You get the idea. ! raised 3 kids in the lovely clutter and they now admire "old" things too. Makes Mama HAPPY!
I would LOVE to paint .our lovely oak kitchen cabinets, but poor hubs would have a stroke. Guilty of one little chalkboard thingy, but it's already banished to our sideboard kitsch graveyard (for now?)
My husband has wanted a windmill to display on our huge garage, but don't consider bringing it inside buddy.
.
Also, I have enough WHITE outside the windows now with all the snow we've got in Michigan! Enough already.
Love your site!
Pam/Penny
Nadolyn
I agree about the shiplap as well...I also don't like the metal chairs and barstools that are popular now. I do like the cleanliness of Joanna's designs and watch their shows over and over. The ones they did with the French Country look are my favorites. I loved the Tuscan designs of the late 90's and early 2000's. That's how I decorated my house and really don't want to change it, although over the last couple of years I have started to make tweaks...I call it my Joanna tweaked Tuscan. 🙂
Leslie harris
Pam this is a great post and good for you on sharing your opinion about shiplap. I do think it must be a Texas feature--and in homes NOT built in California. But I like the idea of using reclaimed wood and I enjoy the texture it adds to a home, especially around the here in the beach community. I'm not a fan of all the faux looks however and I think it can be overdone. And not for every house that's for sure.
xo
Leslie
Irene
i like ship lap. Paneling is vertical as ship lap is horizontal. And don't paint it!!i love the look of natural wood! Paneling IS dated but THAT can be painted. I have it in both my houses and painted it both times. Adds a bit of texture to the walls. But it's not for everyone. My parents had in their living room in the 70's so I hear ya on that. But ship lap is much nicer than paneling. What bothers most about those two is the need to paint every fireplace they come across. They actually ripped out a beautiful STONE fireplace once. After that I stopped watching.
Sue Pagels
I agree - I also cringe when I see brick painted sometimes on the outside of the house.....can you imaging a mansion from the 1800's and if the color wasn't their style, they would just paint it???
Irene
Ugh, she probably would. Some of her styles are ok, but she's too "get rid of it" for me. I believe in leaving some integrity to a home. If it's out dated, yes, but don't go ripping out architectural doorways or moldings. I will give her credit in that she will leave hard wood flooring if it's in decent condition. Ok, this has turned into a gripe session about Joann and Chip. Sorry. Great post though!
Rosemary
You do realize that shiplap has been around for many decades?! Have you never seen it in vintage houses? Maybe it was just popular in Texas. My parents have a little vintage house on their property with shiplap walls and tin ceiling. It's absolutely charming! I for one love it
Pam
I think it must just be a Texas thing then. Most older homes in this part of the country (Ohio) have lath and plaster walls. The lath is thin strips of wood and then the plaster was applied over it. Or if it's a cabin it may have wooden walls with the studs showing, but no there's not a lot of shiplap around here unless it's the brand new kind 🙂 Wonder if it has to do with the warmer weather down there?
Michelle
Hey Pam . . . quick question . . . Trends are a part of our lives every day . . . from our hair styles, to the clothes we wear and obviously home decor. How do you think the best way is to remodel/decorate/etc. without something dating itself too quickly and feeling the need to start over in a few years? or is that just part of the process?
And then also . . . Got any thoughts about using REAL LIFE WINDMILL FANS on the wall? Right now in my area that seems to be the "crazy' even though Joanna used that probably at least a whole season ago? 😀
Pam
I just saw a windmill looking thing at Hobby Lobby the other day! It was huge, but also pretty expensive for my taste.
As for decorating with trends, I tend to decorate with what I like rather than what is too trendy, so it is more a matter of me getting tired of something rather than it going out of style too quickly. I think part of it is that I have seen so many trends come and go and then come back again (not that I'm 90 years old or anything) and buying something just because it's the HOT trend seems to be a waste of money.
Michelle
I've not seen any of teh windmills at our Hobby Lobby. hmmmm . . . would be interested in seeing one and the price. I sell the "real deal" when I can find them and it is amazing to me how many people want the real deal but don't want to pay for it but will drop hundreds at various places for replica! 😀
Gayle Zachariasen
I, too, am not on board with the shiplap graze. My husband and I were just saying that it was just another version of paneling, and a very rough paneling at that. It reminds me of the all the barnwood walls of the 70's, except everyone kept them looking like old barnwood, not painted white. I also am not on board with all of the chalk paint on perfectly good furniture. So much of it that you see in the antique/thrift stores is rough to the touch. I have a hard time believing that thick paint slapped onto a diryt, un-prepped surface isgoing to last over the long haul. Shabby chic is something that I think has been done to death also. Now that I have unloaded, I too, enjoy Fixerupper. I just won't be doing the shiplap.
melinda
Love the show, love them but not over the top with the shiplap...
I do like a bit here and there.
Shara
I like the shiplap, but more for the history of it. I like it when they pull it out of the walls and make an island out of it or something. As for design trends - I do not understand huge giant bathrooms with windows. Hello? I am NAKED - I want to be in a small area with no natural lighting. God forbid someone could SEE me through the window. I don't have enough insurance to cover that. I agree about huge open spaces - I need room to hide, sneak the candy I hid behind the organic cereal and scratch my nether regions in private. 🙂
Sally
Hilarious! Thanks for the early-morning giggle. 🙂
Maybe I found it so funny because you just described ME!
Ginger
So, they will be at the home show in Cleveland this March if you want to meet them. That being said, I've read through the comments and agree with a lot of them. What is up with the love affair of open concept? I like the thought of going into my kitchen, drinking coffee and being ALONE! Without "sight lines" so if my sink has dishes in it, it's out of sight! My house is from 1900 so when you see the inside, it matches the outside. Also? Stainless steel is for morgue and restaurants. I love my 1941 Chambers and my fridge that I made to look like an icebox. I love breadboard. It's truly timeless. Love your blog!! Keep in coming!!!
Mary
Open Concept, that one won't last. Sometimes you just want to walk out of the kitchen and not be reminded of the mess you left behind. And the clear glass showers..I do like a little privacy while showering.
jet
So true- I might add; the “ shiplap of today is not the stuff of your mother or grandmothers: much more inviting and if you live in the beach it’s very comfy; clean whites.
jet
Typo Correction: “Live ON...”
Jemma
Great post and provided such food for thought.
We just built a new home and incorporated pine tongue and groove to a few areas-I do love it.
I think there is a time and place for it, just like other design elements. I will let you know how I feel about it when it is time to clean it!
Jemma
diane
The one thing that redeems the shiplap for me is that it is reclaimed wood from the actual house and I like that idea...everything old is new again. But I agree that it can be overdone. The other trend she seems to use in every project are those oversized farmhouse dining tables. In some houses, yes, but not every single house.
I so agree on the chalk painted furniture trend as well as turquoise painted anything and stripes on walls. Cheap DIY curtains hung at windows that are most often too skimpy and diy drapery hardware..yuck. Am also not a big fan of chevron anything, ceramic garden stools as end tables and sloppy gallery walls. Each one of these trends are lovely when properly done and used but most of the time it is an attempt to replicate something they saw in a magazine and just does not work.
That being said, Chip and Joanna rock!
Pamela @ FlowerPatchFarmhouse.com
Actually I have never seen Fixer Upper and don't plan on it soon. I just don't watch t.v. I had tongue and groove pine put up on some of my walls over 15 years ago and still love it, I assume it is similar to the shiplap but I don't have it overdone. I had a 70's modular home back in the 80's and I painted all that paneling white, it worked just fine and no one would believe me when I said it was just painted paneling, it sure saved me a lot of time and hassle trying to rip it down.
Something that gets me is the metal dining room chairs, those things are the most uncomfortable, cold and clammy things to sit on and yet you see people pining over that trend for the look. I say comfort over a "look" any day but then I am getting old. 🙂
I agree with the person that said they are sick and tired of the grey neutral look everywhere, bring in some pretty color. Grey is so depressing (not just saying, it actually is, my husband suffers from clinical depression and that is was one thing that I was advised against, painting rooms grey, not that I was tempted)
My look would include more florals but then I am a garden and flower nut. I paint them on everything aka English Cottage style.
joy
Someone correct me if I am wrong~but I believe Joanna and Chip explained that houses built back in the day used ship lap as an economical way of structuring in the build. The ship lap generally is behind the plaster as the foundation used in the walls and actually came off ships and sold really CHEAP
I don't think its the same as the 70's paneling that many of us lived through. We had a basement rec room that had rough hew paneling!!! Yikes--don't rub up against it or it will bite!! My parents were so proud of the extra living space and gave one and all a tour of its loveliness. My Dad even made me wrap the structural jacks in twine to match the paneling. ROTFL
Pam
Wow, the twine wrapped jacks sound . . . uh . . . pretty 🙂
Brenda G
I agree with you, Joy. I can't see any similarities between ship lap and the 70's paneling. It's a whole different "species", in my opinion. I hope Chip and Joanna never run out of houses or clients!