Every generation inherits a set of unwritten decorating rules, passed down through parents and home magazines, treated as though they were closer to law than preference. Boomers grew up with a fairly firm rulebook about how a proper home was supposed to look and function.

Gen Z, for the most part, never got the memo, and where they did, they’ve quietly ignored it. Here are eight decorating rules that used to be treated as gospel and have mostly fallen out of practice.

Never Mix Metal Finishes

For years, the accepted wisdom was that a home had to commit to one metal finish, all brass or all chrome or all brushed nickel, and stick with it across every fixture, faucet, and doorknob. Mixing was considered a design mistake. Gen Z has largely abandoned that rule, freely combining matte black hardware with warm brass lighting and silver faucets in the same room, treating mixed metals as an intentional, layered look rather than a mistake to correct.

Save the Good Dishes for Company

A cabinet full of formal china, reserved exclusively for holidays and guests while everyday meals were eaten off a separate, plainer set, was standard practice in most Boomer households. The good dishes might get used twice a year. Younger generations have mostly rejected the idea of owning things too precious to actually use, and inherited china sets have become notably harder for families to pass down as fewer heirs want a dedicated set they’ll rarely take out of the box.

Every Home Needs a Formal Dining Room

A separate dining room, distinct from the kitchen table, reserved for holiday meals and special occasions, was considered a near-essential feature of a proper family home. Gen Z, often working with smaller apartments and open floor plans, tends to treat the dining table as a flexible, everyday workspace and eating area rather than a room that sits closed off and unused most of the year.

Furniture Must Face the Television in Straight Rows

Living rooms were traditionally arranged with every seat pointed directly at the TV, lined up in tidy rows like a small theater. Conversation was a secondary concern. Gen Z tends to arrange seating in conversational clusters, angling chairs toward each other rather than a screen, reflecting a shift toward rooms designed for hanging out and talking rather than passive, synchronized viewing.

Plastic Runners to Protect the Carpet

Clear plastic runners laid over high-traffic carpet paths, crinkling underfoot with every step, were a common way to extend the life of an expensive carpet installation. It was purely functional and rarely questioned. Younger homeowners overwhelmingly skip this step entirely, generally preferring to replace worn flooring eventually rather than live with a permanently crunchy walkway for the sake of preservation.

Every Room Needs a Cohesive Theme

A nautical bathroom, a rooster-themed kitchen, a floral guest room: many Boomer homes were decorated with a clear, singular theme per room, often built around a specific collectible or color scheme. Gen Z tends to favor a more eclectic approach, blending vintage finds, thrifted pieces, and mismatched decor across a whole home rather than boxing each room into one rigid motif.

Buy Furniture Built to Last Forever

Boomers often prioritized heavy, solid wood furniture designed to be used for decades, sometimes purchased as a long-term investment meant to be passed down. Gen Z, dealing with more frequent moves and smaller, often rented spaces, has leaned toward more affordable, modular furniture that’s easier to transport and reconfigure, even if it doesn’t have the same multi-decade lifespan.

Keep the Curtains and Upholstery Matching

A long-standing decorating rule held that window treatments should coordinate closely with upholstery fabric, sometimes down to the exact same pattern, to create a unified, put-together look. It required careful planning and often custom ordering. Gen Z has largely moved away from matchy-matchy coordination, preferring contrast and texture over a perfectly coordinated room that can feel more like a showroom than a lived-in space.