Does anyone need a sign reading ‘EAT’ in the kitchen?
Taste is subjective. It can also be costly when it comes to interior design. But that may not be obvious until it comes time to list your home for sale. Trend chasers may find that decades later, those interior design ideas have aged like an edgelord’s MySpace profile. While we can’t tell you what the future holds, we can point out some interior design ideas that are bound to end in regret.
Vertical Blinds: Design’s Dangling Disappointments
Has anyone in the history of interior design ideas ever actually liked vertical blinds? It seems like they’re the penance we pay for renting apartments. So, imagine the shock and horror of shopping for a home and seeing these hanging atrocities waving gently in the breeze like a white plastic gallows. Vertical blinds are highly ineffective at blocking light, fall apart easily, get twisted and tangled constantly, and just generally exude low effort. Pull down these pariahs and invest in some light-blocking curtains instead.
Plastic-Covered Furniture: For That Lived-In Body Bag Feel
Are people still actually covering their furniture in plastic? A plastic-covered couch is just slightly more inviting to guests than medieval torture equipment. But at least lounging in an iron maiden would be an instant conversation piece. Plastic-coated furniture is more of an elephant in the room; a cold, loud, uncomfortable elephant that wants you to leave.
We’re not even sure if we’d consider plastic coverings a design choice as much as a poorly executed precaution. We get it; you don’t want Barbara to spill wine on your new floral settee. But this is the equivalent of the uncle who meticulously restores a vintage roadster only to relegate it to a dark garage for the rest of his life. If you get the furniture, use the furniture boldly… ditch the packaging.
Open Shelving: Boundaries Still Have Value
The idea of stripping the cupboard doors away in your kitchen is oddly attractive. But those doors provide more than a barrier between you and your dishware. They give you a “rug” (so to speak) under which you can sweep your personal messiness. Do you have the discipline to maintain the open shelving life? Or the fortitude to handle guests seeing your “Chocolate: It’s Not Just for Breakfast Anymore” coffee mug? Open shelving is for the few, the proud… the tidy. Keep that in mind when embracing any interior design ideas that leave your business out there for anyone to see.
Minimalism: Sometimes Less is Just Less
Minimalism may seem like one of the more enduring interior design ideas. But we’re beginning to see minimalism fatigue in recent years. Between economic disparity and political stress, a lot of people have expressed that the world seems like a colder place these days. They don’t want more of that waiting at home for them. Does it mean you have to totally ditch minimalism in favor of some sort of hoarder chic? Of course not. It just means that letting a bit of your warmth and personality into those stark bare spaces may do you some good in the long term. As they say: everything in moderation, even moderation.
Fast Furniture: A Slow Death for Taste
Like fast fashion, fast furniture is mass-produced home furnishing that isn’t meant to stand the test of time. What it saves in affordability, it sacrifices in durability… and personality. In a way, it’s not the most regrettable interior design faux pas. After all, it’s not a fixture of the home. But you can build an entire aesthetic around a solid piece of time-tested furniture, and you’re missing out on that secure foundation by opting for fast furniture.
If you’re trying to sell your home with a room full of fast furniture, you risk dating your home or cheapening its aesthetic. It also creates the unfashionable impression that you don’t appreciate sustainability. So, the next time you need an added excuse to shell out for that gorgeous antique chaise lounge, here you go!
All-Gray (or White) Interiors: The Skim Milk of Interior Design Ideas
Going with all-gray or white interiors in a home may seem like a safe bet. After all, what’s more neutral than gray? But out of all the interior design ideas on our list (if you can call this an “idea”), all-gray interiors are the most corrosive to personality. Talk about canceling out a home’s unique charm! Purchasing a new home should be an emotional experience. Sure, colors, patterns, and textures are more of a risk compared to the blank slate of a gray wall, but they also stand a better chance of conveying authenticity. And don’t you want to sell your home to a genuinely good fit?
“Word” Signs: Overstated, Overused, and Probably Overcompensated
Subtlety goes a long way when it comes to the best interior design ideas. It’s why these word signs that blatantly just declare a sentiment have always been on the tacky side. Consider interior design a form of theater, and opt to show instead of tell. You don’t need a sign that reads “LOVE” if you organically fill your home with that feeling. And does anyone need a sign reading “EAT” in a kitchen? It’s time to start respecting the intelligence of our guests.
Do you want your home to have a certain feeling? It takes more than carving the literal word into a piece of wood. And everyone’s getting savvy to that. Opt instead for decorative flourishes that promote the mythology of your life. What’s important to you? Instead of a sign saying “LOVE”, maybe choose an item that has emotional value to you instead.
Fake Plants: Putting the “Ick” in Synthetic
For a while, fake plants were all the rage. They allowed us to embrace that fresh, bountiful, and natural aesthetic without hindering our busy lives with actually having to care for something else. The problem is that fake plants bring fake bounty. If you don’t invest in the highest quality replications, they begin to deteriorate, discolor, and erode rapidly.
Caring for a living plant is work, but it offers a unique, almost meditative lesson on generating vibrance in the home. And there are plenty of options for nurturing your green thumb on easy mode. We recommend starting with a snake plant. But if you’re feeling like really taking the plunge, do a bit of research on which plants work best in your home’s light levels. We think you’ll quickly realize that there’s nothing better than the real thing.
Linoleum: Easy to Clean. Hard to Enjoy.
When linoleum first hit the scene in the mid-1900s, it was a design revolution. Easy to clean, versatile, and able to match the post-war optimism of the era… what wasn’t to love? Well, several decades later, linoleum has outworn its welcome. And that’s not all that’s worn out. Linoleum is another of the numerous interior design ideas that isn’t meant to stand the test of time. After a few short years, it stains and discolors, begins to peel at the edges, chips, and fades. Ultimately, it looks like cheap plastic. And all the ease of cleanliness in the world isn’t worth that when you’re trying to sell a home.
Industrial Aesthetic: What’s Next – Chimneysweep Couture?
If you genuinely adore the industrial aesthetic, then by all means, stick with the industrial aesthetic. But if you simply adopted factory chic to impress buyers, they’re likely going to see right through it. And, since people are currently looking for more welcoming, warmer environments, the stark color palettes and exposed concrete just aren’t having the impact they did a decade ago. If you went all in on the industrial look, we’ve got bad news: it’s one of the more costly interior design ideas to turn around. But try adding in some more organic furniture, a few live (not plastic) plants, and some layered textures on the walls to soften that steel style a bit.
Sliding Barn Doors: Rotten to the Cottagecore
Who knew that “were you raised in a barn?” would actually become an enduring design aesthetic? Yet, one of the most tenacious interior design ideas of modern homes is this trend of sliding barn doors. In fact, it’s probably the regret on our list that will get the most reader pushback. The truth is that cottagecore is still in fashion, but it’s finally starting to outstay its welcome. And when people hit that point where they want to put the Little House on the Prairie look out to pasture, you’re not going to want to be awkwardly sliding a barn door open to show prospective buyers your master bathroom. Keep this bull in the barn where it belongs.
The Worst Interior Design Ideas Share One Commonality
Perhaps you’ve noticed an underlying theme connecting all of these regrettable interior design ideas. Almost all of them tie in some way into a sense of inauthenticity. Barn doors in homes. Living rooms that look like factories. Fake plants and plastic-wrapped furniture. It’s a good rule of thumb that sincerity is timeless. So, find out what best represents you and your home and work from there. Authenticity attracts authenticity. So, if you want to attract home buyers who are on your level, stay on your level.
With a brand that says as much as JohnHart’s, Senior Copywriter Seth Styles never finds himself at a loss for words. Responsible for maintaining the voice of the company, he spends each day drafting marketing materials, blogs, bios, and agent resources that speak from the company’s collective mind and Hart… errr, heart.
Having spent over a decade in creative roles across a variety of industries, Seth brings with him vast experience in SEO practices, digital marketing, and all manner of professional writing with particular strength in blogging, content creation, and brand building. Gratitude, passion, and sincerity remain core tenets of his unwavering work ethic. The landscape of the industry changes daily, paralleling JohnHart’s efforts to {re}define real estate, but Seth works to maintain the company’s consistent message while offering both agents and clients a new echelon of service.
When not preserving the JohnHart essence in stirring copy, Seth puts his efforts into writing and illustrating an ongoing series entitled The Death of Romance. In addition, he adores spending quality time with his girlfriend and Romeo (his long-haired chihuahua mix), watching ‘70s and ‘80s horror movies, and reading (with a particular penchant for Victorian horror novels and authors Yukio Mishima and Bret Easton Ellis). He also occasionally records music as the vocalist and songwriter for his glam rock band, Peppermint Pumpkin.
Totally agree about vertical blinds—they really do feel like a leftover from another era. One thing I’ve noticed too is how certain trendy accent walls or overly bold color choices can have the same effect: fun in the moment, but a turn-off to buyers later. Neutral, timeless elements seem to have the longest shelf life when selling.
Yeah, it’s a tough balance sometimes. Because on the one hand, you want to enjoy your home, so your tastes and personal preferences should outweigh future thoughts of resale. I guess I take comfort in the knowledge that no one who has actually lived with vertical blinds wants to ever do it again!