Today's topic is:

           What's hot -- and not -- for your home in 2009

                                                       So what's in — and what's out — in home décor for the new year? Several experts  have been interviewed who have their finger on the pulse of décor and remodeling trends to bring you some tips on what to do, what to avoid and what to change.

In: Mismatched dining-room chairs  

"People are kind of over the 'matchy-matchy' look. They are striving for individuality  and it's not rocket science, either." The  miss-matched chairs are relatively inexpensive. Look for subtle similarities in the chairs — height, color, pattern — to give them a nice uniformity within their diversity.

In: Thumbs up for gray

When I'm asked about color trends for 2009, I answer in one word: grays," says C. Davis Remignanti, director of catalog operations for Furniture.com. "There is an exquisite palette of dove grays, smoky blues, dusty whites, platinums and silvers that is coming on like gangbusters," Remignanti says. "It's a natural outgrowth of the recent popularity of earth and mineral tones that have supplanted the last decade's beiges and greens as the new neutrals."One thing to be aware of, however: "This new look has emerged fast and strong and is likely to burn out just as quickly. ... I'm concerned that in two or three years, the smoky look will be as 'over' as the recent chocolate brown/robin's egg blue combination is today," he says

In: Retro appliances

"Collectible, working appliances from the 1940s through the late 1980s" — think Coldspot refrigerators and double-stacked ovens — "have found a new niche among homeowners who appreciate their rock-solid construction and durability.It's all about kitsch, but it's highly functional kitsch."People are buying these older, warhorse appliances, which are sometimes available on eBay or in secondhand stores  — "and refurbishing and repainting them in bold colors such as metallic red.

In : Coral

Jackie Jordan, director of color marketing for Sherwin-Williams, says she is "starting to see some corals coming into the marketplace." You'll see corals paired with plums and grays, and not with teals, as in yesteryear. "That's what makes the difference ... We look at (colors) a little bit differently and combine them in different ways.

In: Lighter is right

"I've been watching as furniture has been getting visually lighter and less bulky. More and more, furniture looks like you can just pick it up and move it without requiring the assistance of two or three kind strangers." How does that show itself? Higher, thinner legs on pieces. Fewer cushions on upholstery. "The trend is toward things that just look and feel 'light.”

In: 'Green' goes luxurious

"The eco-trend — this is just getting stronger and stronger and stronger," says Carmen Natschke, founder and publisher of The Decorating Diva. There's been a flood of "amazing companies that have come to market with (eco) products that have been luxurious."The natural silklike linens are created from processed wood pulp from Italian beech trees and dyed with nontoxic dyes.

Still, Natschke and C. Davis Remignanti, of Furniture.com,caution that the furniture and interior décor industry as a whole has a long way to go to be truly green. That's why they're excited about today's trend toward incorporating antiques. "If you really want to hit 'green,' you need to be incorporating existing pieces. Antiques "are as green as you can possibly get right now."

In: The master bed as throne

"With consumer spending down and more nesting at home, homeowners are focusing on making their bed like an at-home luxury hotel experience," says trend-watcher Mark Nash.

How do they do it? With lots of pillows, luxury linens like the cotton sateen bed  and by spending more money on a very high-quality mattress, Nash says, "anything to get that high-quality hotel feel in their master bedroom."

In: Studied eclectic

Bring your own flair to your home's decor — especially in this world in which so much is mass-produced — holds lots of appeal for 2009.It is  taking lots of forms. One is growing interest in mix-and-match multicultural décor that grabs designs from , , Latin America, and .Another is the renaissance of Hollywood Regency, that 1930s aesthetic of understated glamour that can incorporate styles as varied as Baroque and Asian side by side, Natschke says. (The photo is of the Beverly Hilton lobby, with original William Haines furniture, redone in 2005 by interior designer Michael Smith.)( Similar Japanese chairs pictured can be found on our website.)How to pull this off without making your home simply look like a mishmash? "The one word I would give is restraint," Natschke says. "Go for a balanced look."

What's Out: Track lighting

When this lighting came out in the 1970s, it was considered very contemporary and fashion-forward. Now it's simply coming out. Why  were they installed in the first place?  when usually they don't  have any interesting artwork or architectural features to spotlight. They bring undue attention to nothing.'"

Out: The 'Muppet' sofa

"Your sofa is the bellwether for how your sense of style is perceived by others," says C. Davis Remignanti, director of catalog operations for Furniture.com. He's been railing against the so-called "Muppet sofa," those overstuffed, oversized, overly fuzzy sofas found in too many living rooms."Have you fallen prey to the trend? "Remignanti asks. "Here's an easy test: Stand in front of your sofa. Imagine it has two basketball-sized googly eyes and a tuft of green spiky hair between them. If it looks like it could teach your children their ABCs, it's a Muppet sofa.

                                                                                                                    Get rid of it."

 Based on  Christopher Solomon of MSN Real Estate report