22 Home Design Trends That Are Mega-Popular For Reasons Many People Will Never Understand
Decorating a home is a double-edged sword; on one hand, you can furnish and customize exactly as you please, but on the other hand, aesthetics vary from person to person — and sooner or later, you’re bound to invite someone in who just doesn’t vibe with your personal tastes. Recently, we shared people’s least favorite home design trends that are just about everywhere these days, and even more of you chimed in with your hot takes on how people decorate their spaces. These were the best ones.
1.”Doorless bathrooms. Why would anyone build a doorless bathroom, much less in a bedroom? ‘Why do I always have pink eye?’ That’s because poop and mold are on your pillows, Brittany. And don’t forget, if you’re a private pooper, you’re gonna have to go somewhere else or ask your partner to leave the room. Who thinks of this stuff?!”
2.”Exposed beams are beautiful and have been around for centuries — but you’re not fooling me when you slap up some heinous, faux wood ‘beam’ on your ceiling for that rustic, modern farmhouse look. I recently saw a TikToker put up a faux wood beam made of foam, and I swear I nearly threw up.”
—Anonymous, 36, Indiana
3.”Built-in appliances are definitely dumb. Unless there’s an easy way to remove the appliance for repairs or replacement, building around it is asinine.”
4.”‘Agreeable gray’ everything. When we repainted our living room, we read about how agreeable grey is perfect, so we got a tester pot and painted a wall that was out of direct sunlight. It looked like wet cardboard. It also took four or five coats of primer to cover up. We now call all that class of colors ‘grievous griege.'”
5.”One trend I cannot stand is putting gigantic houses on itty bitty-sized lots. There will be little yard to speak of, but a 4,000-square-foot house that is fighting against their neighbors to the extent that you can look into your neighbor’s windows — but have nowhere to be outside or throw a ball for your dog.”
6.”Doorless showers. Every time you use those awful doorless showers, the entire bathroom gets soaked.”
—Anonymous
7.”Pillows, pillows, and more pillows! Big pillows, bright pillows, itsy-bitsy pillows. They look pretty when arranged perfectly on a bed. The problem is most of the time, they end up jumbled or thrown on a chair.”
8.”Huge master bedrooms and bathrooms that minimize the number of bedrooms (or rooms) possible. I’m not having a party in my bedroom, so yeah, it doesn’t have to be so big.”
9.”Why do I see houses that are ALL built with the garages set as the FIRST in-your-face visual with new homes? Please, for the love of aesthetics, stop creating this atrocity!”
10.”Why are they designing homes where you have to walk through the bathroom to get to the closet? What if someone is using it when I want to get dressed?”
—Anonymous
11.”Two-tone kitchen cabinetry. The next owners will be thrilled to rip out that island that doesn’t match the rest of the kitchen — or even worse, the different colors on lower and upper cabinets.”
12.”Those huge bowl sinks set on top of vanities or counters. I call them above-ground sinks.”
13.”Free-standing bathtubs. They create about 30 square feet of nearly unreachable space that needs frequent cleaning.”
14.”No mud rooms or small entryways in favor of larger living spaces. Being in the Midwest, it can get wet and muddy as seasons change. I need a place to take off my winter gear and not track dirt into my main living spaces.”
—Anonymous, Minnesota, 25
15.”Kitchen sinks in a center island. Not everything goes in the dishwasher. So where do all the dirty items go until they get washed? And where do they air dry? Right on display in the center island. I also saw an island stove with a pot filler sticking straight up from the counter. What an eyesore!”
16.”Don’t get me started with the ridiculous trend of not having stair banisters at home — or anywhere else. It’s a lawsuit waiting to happen.”
17.”Pot fillers. How old is the water in those pipes that you’re just about to put in your cooking? It’s not like it gets used every day and the water is fresh.”
18.”Those kitchen cabinets that reach the ceiling are a waste of money. Nobody can reach the top shelf unless they’re pro basketball players. Just enclose the space over the cabinets if you don’t want an open space. It’s a lot cheaper.”
19.”I hate my fake balcony so much. Like, why?! They’re just big, sliding glass doors to nowhere. I see them all over Arlington now!”
20.”All the DIY paneling. Sticking wooden bits onto the wall to make it look like a period property is weird.”
—Anonymous
21.”Any room or place I see with barn doors becomes instantly tacky to me. You got a multi-million dollar home? Great! You have barn doors inside? Trash…”
22.”The common trend with new builds where bathrooms are built anywhere near kitchens, or places where eating takes place (like right off the kitchen bar counter or dining table).”
What’s a current home design trend that you just can’t get behind — and why? Tell us about it in the comments below, or submit anonymously using this form.