7 Things to Get Rid of for a More Timeless Home

I was recently featured in The Spruce alongside a group of designers on what to remove from your home if you want it to feel more timeless. The article was titled “Interior Designers Agree: Get Rid of These 7 Things for a More Timeless Home,” and my quotes ended up covering a few of the things I find myself saying most often on client walkthroughs.

Here is more context behind each point, since a quote in a roundup can only go so far.

Faux Materials and Trend-Driven Imitations

This is the one I feel most strongly about. When you fill a room with materials that are imitating something else, the room will always feel like it is reaching for something it is not quite achieving. Faux wood, faux stone, laminate finishes that try to look like marble, vinyl that tries to look like hardwood: these are all products that are defined by what they are pretending to be, and that quality reads in a room, even when people cannot articulate why it feels off.

What I told The Spruce is what I tell clients: “Swapping them for classic materials like natural wood, stone, and tailored upholstery creates a foundation that evolves more gracefully over time.” Real materials age with dignity. Faux materials just age.

Finishes Tied to a Specific Moment

Every era of design has its signature finishes, and those finishes eventually become the shorthand for that era. Overly ornate farmhouse details, ultra glossy gray flooring, oil-rubbed bronze fixtures from the mid-2000s: these all date a space because they signal a short-lived design cycle rather than a long-term aesthetic.

I noted in The Spruce that finishes like “overly ornate farmhouse details or ultra glossy gray flooring” are examples of this. The test I use with clients: if a finish became popular because a trend told you it was popular, rather than because it has inherent material quality and longevity, it will date the space.

The alternative is not to chase the next trend. It is to anchor your finish palette in materials that have been used well for decades and will continue to read as considered choices regardless of what cycle design is in.

Excess Clutter

Timeless interiors feel intentional. Every object in a room that has no clear reason to be there introduces visual noise, and visual noise is the enemy of the quality that makes a space feel considered.

What I said in The Spruce: “When every surface is covered, the eye has nowhere to rest, which makes a home feel more chaotic than enduring.”

This is not a minimalism argument. Some of the most enduring interiors are layered and rich with objects. The difference is that every object in those spaces has been chosen, placed, and edited for. Clutter is what happens when accumulation replaces curation. Walk through your rooms and ask whether each surface grouping was arranged or just allowed to happen. The arranged ones stay. The rest need to go.

Highly Thematic Decor

There is nothing wrong with loving a particular aesthetic or incorporating something personal and specific into your home. The issue is when a theme takes over a space so completely that it defines the room rather than enriching it.

What I recommend is incorporating the things you love in a restrained way that allows the room to breathe around them. A piece you are passionate about becomes a focal point. Twelve pieces you are passionate about become noise. Let one thing lead, and edit everything else to support it.

Trendy, Impersonal Items

There is a meaningful difference between a piece that reflects who you are and a piece that reflects what was popular at the store when you were shopping. Trendy items that have no real connection to you personally will always feel hollow in a space, and they will date it twice: once when the trend peaks, and again when it fades.

Rooms that feel timeless tend to be rooms that feel inhabited by a specific person, not a demographic. The way to get there is to slow down the acquisition process and ask whether each thing you bring into the home is genuinely yours.

Low-Quality Furniture Bought for the Trend

Trend-driven furniture is often produced at scale, with materials and joinery choices that prioritize margin over longevity. It looks right in the moment and starts to feel wrong within a few years.

The investment case for quality furniture is simple: a well-made sofa, a solid hardwood dining table, a properly constructed upholstered piece, will outlast three rounds of trend-driven replacements at the same total cost and look better doing it. For clients working with a real budget, I always recommend concentrating quality on the anchor pieces and being more economical on accessories and accent pieces that are easy to change.

Fast-Fashion Decor That Follows Trends Too Closely

The decorating industry has developed a fast-fashion equivalent: seasonal collections, trend-driven accessories, items that are designed to be replaced every year or two. Filling a room with these pieces does not build a home. It builds a backdrop that is already becoming dated.

The distinction I draw with clients is between things that contribute to the architecture of a room, which should be timeless and high quality, and things that express the moment, which can be more fluid. When those categories get confused, the result is a room that costs a lot of money to keep looking current because it was never built on a foundation that could sustain the changes.

The Underlying Principle

Every item on this list has something in common: it optimizes for the look of the moment rather than the quality of the material or the integrity of the choice. Timeless interiors are built from honest materials, edited carefully, and furnished with things that were chosen for reasons beyond trend.

If you are working through a renovation or full design project in Scottsdale or Paradise Valley and want to talk through what a long-term approach would look like for your space, book a discovery call here.

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Living with Lolo is a full-service luxury interior design and design-build firm serving Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Arcadia, and the greater Phoenix metro. We hold an active Arizona ROC general contractor license and manage your entire project under one roof.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What makes a home feel timeless?

Timeless interiors are built on honest materials, edited carefully, and furnished with pieces chosen for quality and intention rather than trend. Natural wood, stone, and tailored upholstery age gracefully. Faux finishes and trend-driven pieces age poorly. The editing process is as important as the selection process.

What should I get rid of first for a more timeless home?

Start with excess clutter on surfaces, then audit your materials for faux or imitation finishes that can be replaced over time. Both of these changes are immediately visible and do not require a full renovation.

How do I make my home look less trendy?

Anchor your space in quality materials and neutral, enduring finishes, then incorporate personal and more current elements in ways that are easy to edit: cushions, accessories, artwork. Avoid applying trend-driven choices to permanent or structural elements like flooring, cabinetry, and built-ins, where they are expensive to change.

Is Living with Lolo the right firm for a timeless interior redesign in Scottsdale?

Living with Lolo specializes in full-service luxury interior design and design-build projects across Scottsdale and Paradise Valley. Lauren’s approach is grounded in long-term material quality and enduring design rather than trend cycles. Book a discovery call to discuss your specific project.