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    From Gen Z To Boomers, Here Are The 16 Home Decor Choices That Perfectly Summarize Each Generation (And Maybe Roast Them A Little, Too)

    If I walk into a kitchen and see a ceramic chicken, then I know I'm in a boomer's house.

    I've logged more hours watching HGTV than I'm ever willing to admit publicly, but trust me when I say it's a lot. I yell at the TV during an episode of House Hunters like it's the Super Bowl. "THE COLONIAL FIXER UPPER?!? OVER THE MOVE-IN READY COTTAGE???! NOOOO!" is the kind of nonsense my neighbors hear when things get heated. Basically, I'm really passionate about home decor and have a lot to say about it.

    "Why can't people look past paint color?"
    Broadway Video

    As trends evolve, it's interesting to see which design and decor choices are requirements for one person but totally prohibited for another, and how it varies from age group to age group. Millennials might looove white cabinets, but Gen X might see them and immediately get the dark brown paint ready to go.

    Here are 16 home decor trends that are total giveaways for each generation:

    GEN Z: Cozy cottagecore

    Cottagecore apartment
    u/ewstinkyy / u/DownrightDirt-E / Via reddit.com / reddit.com

    Gen Z is very into ~aesthetics~, and cottagecore is a major player. A staple of cottagecore are faux leaves and assorted mushroom decor that nestles them riiight in the middle of the woods, in the middle of their room. Cottagecore becomes *cozy* cottagecore with the addition of plushies and soft blankets, which is shown here with a cameo by a cartoon character that Gen Z strongly identifies with: Snoopy the dog. 

    GEN Z: Dark academia

    dark academia decor
    Jelena990 / Getty Images/iStockphoto / u/meadxwsweet / Via reddit.com

    Gen Z loves dark aesthetics, reading books, and staying home — so of course another decor of choice feels like a gothic library where they can comfortably isolate in shadowy solitude.

    GEN Z: "Big light" free zone

    Rooms with decorative lights
    u/curiouslilpsychonaut / u/driedsponge / Via reddit.com / reddit.com

    Another way to easily identify Gen Z decor is to count how many funky lil' lamps are scattered about the room. This generation would rather walk into the ocean than turn on the dreaded "big light," aka any overhead light.

    GEN Z: Squishmallow central