OMG Janet, preach! I've been looking at design ideas for our small house. Now, granted, I have some pretty weird tastes even in home design/decor (RATE, dystopian, minimalist/brutalist, rich dark colors). However, so many of the things I see out there as suggestions/ideas just look like builder grade macmansion finishes, with no originality to them; they look so bland and formulaic to me. For kitchen, stainless steel appliances + marble or granite countertops + hand scraped hardwood floors = tasteful kitchen that appeals to the most possible buyers; but it just seems so cookie cutter to me. Granite or marble countertops can be quite tasteful, but everybody is doing them and they've become so ubiquitous that they're kind of boring to me unless it's a slab with a lot of motion/interest in the veining.

I should hop down off my soapbox now and go have more coffee LOL

Don't make me talk about subway tile for the kitchen! And that shag rug with diamonds!

I have to think about good taste and currency being a component of a stylish outfit.

And I do think tasteful is different than good taste, now that y'all mention it.

Yes -- being "tasteful" and having "good taste" -- two different things, I think. Tasteful implies a certain conservatism to me -- being able to choose something that will keep up appearances and not rock the boat. Someone who has good taste knows herself well enough to find things that suit her and are also stylish.

FWIW, I think a lot of us choose home fixtures a little differently than we choose our wardrobe, since you have to factor in if/how it will affect the property value. If you plan on selling in 5-10 years, hardwood floors and granite counters are probably good, albeit boring, choices -- durable and "timeless" more or less. Chevron wallpaper and shag carpeting, not so much. (Of course, maybe this is just me, and other people are like "Whatevs! Self-expression is all!" I do strive for durable and timeless in my wardrobe as well.)

Also -- I think being "in good taste" carries a totally different meaning than "having good taste". The former is wearing something simple and black to a funeral; the latter is rocking a pearl choker and culottes before the magazines start telling you to.

I'm with Barbara Diane and like those distinctions.

Another vote for Barbara Diane!

I'm not sure a stylish outfit necessarily equates to being a tasteful one, or to its wearer being lauded for her "good taste". I'm particularly thinking of an older TV anchor woman who did an important interview on national television wearing ripped jeans. Her outfit was certainly current and stylish, but was lambasted for being "tasteless".

And saying someone "has good taste" has always seemed to say more about the commenter's aesthetics than the person being described. Don't we all think we have "good taste" when we buy our chevron wallpaper, subway tiles, or granite countertops.

Gaylene, very insightful! And yes, I have been guilty of picking some basic mcmansion/trendy finishes before, loving them in the moment, then looking back wondering what I was thinking LOL

Oh and don't make me talk about my chevron hampers! Lol.

...can good taste become stale? Because I hate my hampers now.

Nil - disagreement all round. Totally subjective but quite closely correlated.

To me these terms are used interchangeably so often, I'm not sure what the correct answer is. I'm going to say that I use the phrase "she has good taste" when I notice the person has picked out something that suits them and I use the phrase "she has good style" when the person has assembled an outfit that looks well put together.

That's interesting, the difference of usage, Lisa. I wonder if I say a person has good taste if the thing is nice, whether or not it suits them.

Absolutely not the same, but not mutually exclusive, either. My mother always dressed with exquisite taste, and a disciplined sense of her own style. My husband's Auntie Mame-ish aunt had somewhat somewhat questionable taste, but oh, what unmistakably fabulous style! Both are role models for me.

Tulle, I love that.