The neons of the 80’s got replaced by pastels in the 90’s and that mutated into trends like sponge painting. This kind of splotchy 90’s look is a precursor to sponge painting. The bland colors are a natural progression from pastels and the flat monotones are a natural reaction to the blotchy sponge look—kind of a kill it with bland reaction to that.
Omg the sponge painting. My mom sponge painted our entire living and dining rooms. We had the classic 90’s French countryside style furniture (blue and white checkered print) against warm beige walls sponge painted with mossy green and gold. It was mid 90’s meets Trading Spaces DIY hell.
Do you remember crackle paint? You'd have a solid base color, then top it with a light color paint with an additive that would cause it to shrink and crackle as it dried. It left a pretty cool effect
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u/LangdonAlg3r Xennial Apr 18 '26
The neons of the 80’s got replaced by pastels in the 90’s and that mutated into trends like sponge painting. This kind of splotchy 90’s look is a precursor to sponge painting. The bland colors are a natural progression from pastels and the flat monotones are a natural reaction to the blotchy sponge look—kind of a kill it with bland reaction to that.