13 Outdated Living Room Styles Fading Away In Arizona Homes

Arizona homeowners are updating their living rooms to match modern desert living. What was trendy just a few years ago now feels dated and out of place in our unique southwestern climate and lifestyle.

I’ve noticed these outdated styles disappearing as more homeowners embrace designs that better reflect Arizona’s character and practical needs.

1. Tuscan Overload

Remember when every Arizona home featured those heavy, dark Tuscan elements? The ornate columns, wrought iron details, and burgundy-gold color schemes are quickly vanishing from our desert homes.

Natural light is precious in our climate, and these dark, heavy designs simply absorb too much brightness. Many homeowners are now trading those terracotta tiles and dark wood beams for lighter, airier alternatives that reflect our abundant sunshine.

2. Wall-to-Wall Carpet

Plush carpeting throughout the living room is becoming a rarity in Arizona homes. Our desert dust, scorching summers, and active lifestyle make carpet a maintenance nightmare.

I’ve watched friends replace their wall-to-wall carpeting with tile, luxury vinyl, or hardwood alternatives. These flooring options not only stay cooler during summer months but are substantially easier to keep clean when those famous dust storms roll through. Area rugs now provide the softness without the commitment.

3. Matching Furniture Sets

The era of buying an entire matching living room set is fading fast. Those perfectly coordinated sofas, loveseats, and chairs from big box stores look staged rather than lived-in.

Arizona homeowners are embracing more eclectic, collected looks that tell personal stories. A hand-crafted coffee table paired with a modern sofa creates more visual interest than a showroom-perfect set. This mix-and-match approach allows for incorporating southwestern elements without creating a theme park atmosphere.

4. Formal Living Rooms

The dedicated formal living room sits unused in many Arizona homes. These spaces, often filled with uncomfortable furniture no one was supposed to actually use, are being repurposed for modern living.

My neighbor recently transformed her formal living room into a home office and reading nook. Arizona’s casual lifestyle simply doesn’t align with maintaining pristine spaces just for show. Today’s homeowners want every square foot to serve a practical purpose while still looking beautiful.

5. Mediterranean Blue Accents

Those cobalt blue Mediterranean accents that were once everywhere are disappearing from Arizona living rooms. While striking, they often clash with our natural desert palette and southwestern aesthetic.

Homeowners are replacing these bold blues with more subtle earth tones and desert-inspired colors. Sage greens, terracotta, and subtle turquoise better reflect our landscape. These colors change beautifully throughout the day as our intense sunlight shifts, creating a more harmonious living environment.

6. Overstuffed Leather Furniture

Giant, overstuffed leather sofas and recliners are vanishing from Arizona homes faster than water in July. That sticky feeling when your legs touch hot leather during summer months is something many of us won’t miss!

Performance fabrics and breathable materials are taking center stage instead. Modern living room furniture features cleaner lines and more practical materials for our climate. Plus, those massive pieces often made rooms feel smaller and blocked natural light flow, something Arizona homeowners have come to value highly.

7. Southwestern Theme Overload

Going overboard with Southwestern decor is definitely on the decline. Rooms filled with kokopelli figures, dreamcatchers, and cactus-everything created a caricature rather than an authentic space.

Arizona homeowners now incorporate subtle nods to regional style instead of theme-park levels of Southwestern motifs. A single quality Native American textile or carefully chosen piece of pottery makes a stronger statement than dozens of mass-produced items. This restrained approach honors our regional heritage without turning homes into gift shops.

8. Heavy Window Treatments

Those elaborate window treatments with valances, swags, and heavy drapes are rapidly disappearing from Arizona living rooms. They collect dust, block precious natural light, and feel fussy in our casual desert lifestyle.

Simple, functional window coverings are replacing these ornate treatments. Motorized shades that can adjust throughout the day to manage our intense sunlight provide both style and practicality. Many homeowners opt for minimal window treatments that frame views rather than hide them, creating a stronger indoor-outdoor connection.

9. TV Entertainment Centers

Massive entertainment centers designed to hide bulky TVs are becoming relics in Arizona homes. These furniture dinosaurs consumed enormous amounts of living room real estate and often featured awkward display areas for outdated electronics.

Sleek wall-mounted TVs and floating consoles have replaced these behemoths. The shift creates more floor space in our living rooms, important for airflow and movement in our hot climate. Many homeowners are even incorporating TVs that double as art displays when not in use, better integrating technology with design.

10. Faux Plants

Artificial plants and flowers that collect dust are losing popularity in Arizona living rooms. Those silk arrangements in massive urns not only looked obviously fake but became dust magnets in our desert environment.

Live plants that actually thrive in our climate are taking their place. Succulents, air plants, and desert-adapted greenery bring authentic life to our spaces while improving air quality. The trend toward biophilic design connects our indoor spaces with nature in meaningful ways rather than with plastic imitations.

11. Sunken Living Rooms

Once the height of 70s sophistication, sunken living rooms are being filled in across Arizona. These conversation pits create accessibility issues and disrupt the flow of our open-concept homes.

Level floors that seamlessly connect indoor and outdoor living are now preferred. The step-down design concept also poses safety hazards, especially in homes with older residents or young children. Modern Arizona living emphasizes connection between spaces rather than compartmentalizing them with different levels.

12. Mirrored Walls

Mirrored walls that were once thought to make spaces look larger are quickly being removed from Arizona living rooms. In our bright desert light, these reflective surfaces create harsh glare and distort the natural beauty of our spaces.

Textured wall treatments and local artwork are replacing these dated features. Today’s homeowners prefer authentic ways to enhance their spaces rather than optical illusions. Plus, those mirrored tiles inevitably developed that black edge deterioration that made rooms look shabby rather than spacious.

13. Closed Floor Plans

Walls separating living rooms from kitchens and dining areas are coming down all over Arizona. These compartmentalized layouts prevent natural airflow and make our homes feel smaller and stuffier, especially during hot summer months.

Open concepts that allow for better air circulation and family connection are now standard. This design approach also maximizes our beautiful desert light, allowing it to penetrate deeper into our homes. The ability to entertain while preparing meals suits our casual lifestyle much better than formal, separated spaces.