This is my companion piece to Elle Decor's list of "35 Major Design Mistakes that Everyone Should Avoid." (You will want to open the link to follow along: https://www.elledecor.com/design-decorate/interior-designers/g28940630/bad-interior-design-trends/ )
It's a list compiled from apparent feedback from multiple designers (but not 35 unique designers -- a few designers appear at least twice.) Most of them are, in my design opinion, obnoxious.
1. Vessel sinks: You can set them lower. Your petite friends will be fine.
2. Leather sofas: Not everyone is a nudist. And, nudists sit on towels.
3. Karate chop pillows: The pillows aren't offensive. That wallpaper is.
4. Brass kitchen faucets: It will look better as it ages than any chrome faucet.
5. Icon-itis: I think Joe Nahem is jealous. This room looks fab.
6. Fools Gold: I hear Trump has one. I agree.
7. Fake Fancy: I'm not sure what the name brand in the tacky bedroom is. The round bed and fake 3-tier cake are tacky. So, I agree?
8. Sentimental Decor: This isn't a collection. It's a store display. Hummel figurines are not ugly and if I love my grandma's Hummel collection, f-you, Miles Redd. What's ugly -- Lladro.
9. One Night Table: This one is half-right. What's wrong with this set up is that anyone who sleeps on the right-side of the bed has to either climb over the person on the left or climb in from the bottom. There's room to move that bed over. There's also no lamp next to the bed, so who is going to be reading in bed? Assuming this is indeed a guest room, if you are sponging off your friends/family for overnight accommodations, don't complain. You could PAY for a hotel room and have a nightstand and lamp.
10. Beveled Glass: I don't know why. And I'm not sure that taking advice from someone named after a crunchie vegetable is the way to go.
11. Dried Flower Arrangements: Sorry Nate, I don't think this is an arrangement. The vase is too big for the stems that are there. It's more likely the remains of a larger floral arrangement. I take out the flowers out as they die off. But, Nate is right, how do you clean dried flowers?
12. Poorly Done "More is More": Sorry, is there really a way to do "more is more" well?
13. Hotel-Inspired Rooms: What's really ridiculous is that the bed is in front of a glass closet door and the only clothing this person has is little white dresses.
14. Dark Lampshades: It's not just dark -- it's patterns, too -- that Ellie dislikes. Personally, I like the example. It's by a large window, keep that Venetian blind up and I don't see gloom. I would consider the sofa and border on the Venetian blind are also dark and therefore gloomy, per Ellie.
15. Tourist Art: Art is subjective. So, no problem, Young Huh, I'll pay someone else to hung the art that I like. (See, I PAY you, not the other way around.)
16. Commitment-Phobia: So, having red napkins and a red curtain in a dining room with a glass-top table, white chairs and white carpet apparently is not committing to a color. The pop of color in the white room looks good. Mono-chrome sucks. Plus, the red will coordinate with the red wine stains that are soon to adorn that white carpet.
17. Not Using Every Room of the House: Who has rooms in their house they don't use? Maybe someone with a 14-bedroom and 16-bathroom house? But the real problem with this room is the drop ceiling. (Which honestly, makes me think this is an empty office in an office building -- the ceiling is lower than the top of the windows.) If you can afford an unused room, put in a real ceiling.
18. Matching Fabrics on the Drapes and the Furniture: This seems to contradict the "more is more" since this seems to be an ideal use of "more is more." Only the cushions on the stools and the drapes are the same fabric. So, in response to #12, can you do "more is more" well -- I guess so.
19. Dark Walls: It's not the dark walls, it's the over-saturation of color. The walls are a dark blue and the carpet is a plum-purple. It's not the wall color that's the problem -- it's all the purple in the room. Do dark carpet/light walls or dark walls/light carpet. And do better color coordination.
20. Shabby Chic: Sorry, that room is not cluttered. A twin-bed (looks like a long-twin, too.), a nightstand, desk and dresser are not clutter in a bedroom. Some people don't like mid-century modern, either. And, Jimmy-boy, wipe your feet on the way into someone's home and wiping them on the way out won't be a problem.
21. Reclaimed Wood: Yeah, I don't want any room in my home to look like the counter at the local coffee shop. But the reclaimed wood is not the problem. Madeline apparently hates the environment.
22. Over-Protection: Yes, I'm going to spend $1k+ on a nice dining room table and then let people place their hot dinner plates on the table, spill wine, etc. and ruin the finish. The problem with this table is that you cannot see the person across from you while dining because of the huge-a** centerpiece. (I supposed it's a bonus if the person sitting across from me is Trump, but not if it's Obama.) And, that tablecloth doesn't add anything.
23. Curtains that Just Graze the Floor: I suppose you could shorten them or does Ellie want them to puddle on the floor? Maybe just get your curtains cleaned on a regular basis and they won't "curl up over time and look mingy." (And what eff is "mingy?")
24. Assuming All Mid-Century Modern is Great: This is Joe Nahem. He didn't like the "Icon-itis" in #5. This is kind of confirming my opinion that he's jealous. This isn't my style, but the only bad thing I see is the plaid sofa. I don't think it fits the Mid-Century Modern that well. But, if that's the problem -- it really needs to be featured more prominently in the photo.
25. Rooms without Dimmers: Look, I like dimmers on lights. Being able to adjust the light level for what you're doing is great. Not having them doesn't kill friendships. And if it does, I don't think they were really friends.
26. A Different Wallpaper . . . (in every room)*: So you should put all of it in the same room? Frankly, once again, the photo shows a use of wallpaper that actually looks good. The hallway wallpaper (that you can barely see) coordinates nicely with the billiards room wallpaper. Try harder to make your point.
27. Mauve: Awww, poor Mary, a color hurts her "whittle" feelings. Really? A shade of pink does that much harm to you? I bet the dark blue and dark purple room in #19 kills her.
28. Framed Photographs of Family . . . (on ever possible surface)*: It would seems Brian is just struggling to be part of the critical crowd. He doesn't object to family photos unless you have them on every possible surface. It's hard to sit on your sofa if there are photos there, so don't put them there. This is really like Young Huh in #15, he doesn't like it, but art is subjective. Keep your pictures of granny out if they make you smile.
29. Pullout Sofa Beds: If you don't want to sleep on a sofa bed, you can PAY for a hotel. Or just be grateful for a warm place to sleep. (And remember, company is like fish, it stinks after 3 days.)
30. Cherry: This just in, Nate Berkus hates the color red. I personally, dislike the trend to decorate in gray monotone. So, I say, "Gray."
31. Using Decor from Just One Era: Okay, this is the THIRD time for this theme. Some designers must really be jumping on a hate bandwagon. Personally, I think "mix and match" can be really great. But they have a sofa in the dining room, maybe it doesn't work anywhere else? Or, maybe they like it. I think it looks good.
32. Gallery Walls: Okay, Wendy, are they good or bad? You like the personal touch but think they add clutter. Maybe the issue isn't the gallery wall, but what's in the rest of the room? I think gallery walls looks nice, but I think they are difficult to pull off because you need to get the spacing and balance right. More power to the person who can do that.
33. Too Many Brass Accents: This one is a toughie. I do agree -- you can go overboard on accents. I'm not going to limit it to brass, though. Frankly, once again, the photo is, in my most humble opinion, not a good example of too many brass accents.
34. Stark Modern Interiors: Okay, I think I can go all in on agreeing with Erika Yeaman on this. The stark look seems serene, but people live in homes. You need a place to have books, magazines, remote controls, etc. In the photo example, they seem to have purchased shelves to put nothing on. Why?
35. Forgetting to Edit: Wow, a third one I agree with (out of 35 -- this is not a good thing.) It's really tempting to put all of your collection out, but if you want it to look good, put out the best pieces. Or, do a rotation every couple months.
I will admit, it might really be more than three that I have agreement with, but the others have caveats.
So, what do you think?
*The statement is parenthesis is the continuation of the tagline -- kind of like a bait-and-switch.
